This summer season may be coming to a close, but there should always be time for another visit to Malphino. Said destination is "an imaginative tropical island", inhabited by a mystical band of outer-nationals from London, who have dreamt up their own musical "promised land of hypnotic cumbia rhythms, subtle digital warbling, accordion textures, voodoo vapours and woodblock charm".
In May the eponymous London collective of musicians and visual artists released its debut album "Visit Malphino", a 17-track "cinematic score and audio backdrop to their idyll", available to stream/buy on Bandcamp. Travellers to their affluent realm will be mesmerised by the outfit's broad range of styles from either side of the Pacific, combining "East-Asian folkloric traditions, Brazilian forró, 1930's Cuban rumba or Peruvian chicha and cumbia" to create "a heady mix of volcanic sounds". Simply magical!
Band members Alex Maglalang, El Dauphin, Bruce Beach, David Aird, Graham Mushnik, Julian Varencia, and Yu Sato themselves hail from Japan, Malaysia, Colombia, France, the UK and the Philippines, making for a solid multicultural foundation to their joint project. That being said, we can only repeat what we said from the start. So go ahead and "Visit Malphino". You will not be disappointed. And while you're at it, you may also want to check out their 2013 released EP "El Lava de Gabacho".