196: LDA v the Lunatics, by Los de Abajo

Los de Abajo (Mexico)
LDA v the Lunatics (2005)
15 tracks, 65 minutes
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Before this album, Los de Abajo were seen as the kings and queen of ‘salsa punk,’ but on this album they took a bit of a change of direction. Salsa and punk are still very much in evidence, but so are ska, mariachi, cumbia, dub and mestizo music, all rolled up together. We’ve already seen that Latin music and ska are a potent mix with Ska Cubano, but Mexican music has a bit more of an edge to it, and I think that comes from their culture’s much stronger connection to their pre-Columbian heritage. It means that LDA’s music is a meeting of three different sound worlds, the Latin, the African and the Mesoamerican. They even sing in the indigenous language of Zapotec on the track ‘Tortuga Dub’.

What prompted LDA’s proliferation of styles? Probably a lot of things, I don’t know them personally. BUT I reckon a big part of the sound of this album comes from the producers, UK duo Temple of Sound. We’ve featured Temple of Sound quite a bit so far on this blog (and we’ll continue to throughout the year) although not in that name yet, I think. They are Neil Sparkes and Count Dubulah (nowadays known as Nick Page), founder members of Transglobal Underground whose music together was on the much more dubby side. The elements of their production can be heard all over LDA v the Lunatics, but they don’t steamroller it – every sound that they add is in harmony with the band’s groove, only serving to accentuate their musical message rather than turning it into something it’s not trying to be.

But enough of the deep-dive, what is it like?? Well…it’s a total party, of course. This is excellent music for no-thoughts-required hour-and-a-bit of revelry. Maybe my thoughts are influenced by the fact that I’m writing this on the evening of the hottest day of the year so far, but this is proper cider in the park music. Even when its themes are serious (‘Resistencia’, for example, features a speech by revolutionary Comandanta Esther), it doesn’t become dry, it just adds more passion to the music, and more fuel to the party fire. And then there’s just the straight up bangers like the two covers (one Spanish, one English) of Fun Boy Three’s ‘The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)’ with guest spots from Dennis Rollins on trombone and FBT’s own Neville Staple.

I’m not sure there’s much more to say about this one without ruining it. Want a punky, dubby ska party that’s totally Mexican all the way through? Play this, loud.