Senor Coconut El Baile Aleman CD

For the uninitiated, Senor Coconut is none other than the electronica artist Atom Heart (real name Uwe Schmidt), dancing his way into the Latin subconscious. EL BAILE ALEMAN consists of Latin covers of Kraftwerk tunes--computer music interpreted as faux acoustic music. Schmidt programmed the whole album (with the exception of some choice vocal parts), transposing Kraftwerk byte-for-byte into a sound field of maracas, congas, shakers, and vibes-a-go-go. Even though the music is played straight, the air of whimsy and sheer ingeniousness is palpable.

"Tour De France" is redone as a hyper-speed merengue, "Homecomputer" as a tarantella, while Schmidt's version of "Showroom Dummies" is positively baroque, like Tito Puente drowning in acid. EL BAILE ALEMAN is a feast for the senses, a smorgasbord of sonic samba and a coup de grace of calliopes and circus shrieks. Muy excelente!

Upon the American arrival of El Baile Alemán, the first record from Señor Coconut y su Conjunto, listeners were forced to contemplate the notion that a traditional Latin group from South America had organized a tribute album to Germany's favorite futurists, Kraftwerk. Even given the comparatively close ties between the two regions ever since World War II, it's a ludicrous proposition and turns out to be the work of Frankfurt native Uwe Schmidt, who has recorded his Atom Heart material in Chile since 1997. El Baile Alemán is that rare humor LP that succeeds on its musical merits as well. Beginning with a short vocal intro on which Señor Coconut himself introduces the record with appropriately comic English, El Baile Aleman presents remarkably faithful covers of Kraftwerk classics ("Showroom Dummies," "Trans Europe Express," "The Robots," "Autobahn," "Tour de France") with the stark percussion and effects of the originals replaced by just slightly less rigid Latin rhythm presets. Latin music can be a surprisingly precise genre of music, and Schmidt walks the verge between Latin and techno with a special genius that would be practically impossible for other electronic producers. Far more than just a novelty record (though many will see it that way), El Baile Alemán accomplishes an excellent Latin-electronic fusion. [A rerelease on Nacional added two bonus tracks, "Expo2000," a remix of "Electrolatino," and the radio edit of "Showroom Dummies."] ~ John Bush

Senor Coconut Y Su Conjunto includes: Atom Heart.

Recorded in 1999. Includes liner notes by Lazlo Curas.

Tributee: Kraftwerk.

Señor Coconut y Su Conjunto: ATOM TM (programming).

Personnel: Argenis Brito, Jorge González , Jorge Gonzalez, Lisa Carbon (vocals); Ricardito Tambo (midi, shaker).

Audio Mixer: ATOM TM.

Liner Note Author: Lazlo Curas.

Recording information: Mira, Musica!, Santiago, Chile (1999).

Author: Hanns Rittz.

Photographers: Victor Varela; Peter Voigt; Maria Paz Rivera.

Arranger: ATOM TM.

Q (9/02, p.128) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Kraftwerk fans will find much to enjoy..."
The Wire (7/00, p.64) - "...A revealing demonstration of Kraftwerk's strength and vibrancy..."
Mixmag (7/00, p.167) - 4 out of 5 - "...Takes [Kraftwerk's] most famous tracks and re-jiggs them for a beach-side merengue party. Congas replace computers, castanets secede keyboards..."
CMJ (8/7/00, p.39) - "...Deliciously entertaining....you don't need to be a Latin lover to get your groove on with this upbeat salsa sensation."
NME (Magazine) (7/29/00, p.27) - 7 out of 10 - "...Something that people who are post-everything...might find pleasant....Senor Coconut has genuine interpretive gifts..."