Locobeach

LOCOBEACH is the musical moniker of the NYC supergroup comprised of José Luis Pardo on guitars/vocals (Los Crema Paraiso, Los Amigos Invisibles), Neil Ochoa on congas/percussion/electronics (Chicha Libre, Los Crema Paraiso), Joshua Camp on accordion/keyboards/vocals (Chicha Libre, C.A.M.P.O.S., One Ring Zero), Edward Marshall (La Muy Bestia Pop) on bass, and Fernando Valladares on timbales & drums (Guaco). The dynamic group has forged a sound blending cumbia pop and Latin disco with a psychedelic edge. Their debut album is aptly titled Psychedelic Disco Cumbia and is coming out on October 25, 2019 (Dorsal fin Records/Peace & Rhythm). The official record release party for New York will be on Halloween 2019 (details to come).

The tight-knit unit came together through collaborating with each other on other bands. Cheo Pardo met Joshua Camp when he was subbing for the legendary Chicha Libre, which Cheo got introduced to through Neil Ochoa. Joshua and Cheo clicked immediately and Joshua started inviting Cheo to play live for his C.A.M.P.O.S. project, which until then was a one man studio band. DJ Bongohead of Peace & Rhythm (which released the C.A.M.P.O.S. album Miracles & Criminals) had asked Joshua to form a live band in order to play the music of C.A.M.P.O.S. at a local music festival, and the band members had such a fun time playing together they decided to keep at it. The live playing eventually evolved into LOCOBEACH.

Cheo adds “those live shows were fun and marked the first LOCOBEACH shows. We wanted to keep going because we were having fun playing together. I wrote more for the band and after doing a fair share of live shows and getting the band tight we thought it was time to make a record. We wanted to work it old school; try the tracks live, make them tight, bulletproof and then get in to the studio.”

Neil, Edward, and Fernando joined in and rounded out the band. The results are diverse, fun, and infectious with classic cumbia meeting psychedelic rock, as well as disco, funk, and Latin house mixed with surf and spaghetti western influences to build a cohesive LOCOBEACH sound that equals “dance music for your brain.”

Locobeach official Bandcamp here.