Monday, February 03, 2014

RAY LUGO & THE BOOGALOO DESTROYERS - EL RITMO DE NUEVA YORK

Ray Lugo's mind is very fertile, and he's been rather prolific over the last decade, putting out a variety of groovy sounds ranging from organic to electronic, afrobeat to soul, Latin to Brazilian and many different sorts of mashup/fusions in between. But just because he is creatively fecund doesn't mean the quality suffers - each album is hand-crafted and Ray takes his time to shape and mold it to just the right proportions.

So when Ray told me he had some new music he was working on, I didn't know what to expect, but I knew it was going to be sabroso, whatever the ingredients. Turned out it was his second Latin soul record with The Boogaloo Destroyers, and destroy the dance floor is just what they will do when you put this record on the Hi-Fi.

The Boogaloo Destroyers' sound is inspired by the warmth, diversity, and youthful spirit of classic New York Latin Boogaloo of the 1960s, yet at the same time, as composer and lead vocalist, Ray feels he is bringing some of his afrobeat sensibilities and vocal personality to the proceedings. When I asked him to talk about the songs, he offered some entertaining insights:

El Ritmo De Nueva York: "I wanted to feature some real descarga tunes as we lacked those on the first album. Also wanted to show NYC pride!" Let Me Tell Ya 'Bout The Boogaloo: I was thinking of a couple going uptown for a night of dancing"

I want to leave you, the listener, with this thought Ray shared with me recently: In a hyper difficult music environment Ray has had the great fortune to bring so many of his concepts to life, and he feels this new boogaloo album has come at the perfect time in his career. Now is a time in his life when he's never been more comfortable making music, and he feels blessed to be finding himself constantly amazed by people's kind consideration of his work. After they hear this one, I can assure you Ray, the deal will be sealed!




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