Locobeach is New York Psychedelic Cumbia band. They call their music Psychedelic Disco Cumbia. It’s not disco in the traditional sense, but it is dance music. Psychedelic Cumbia brings surf guitar styling to the music of coastal Mexico, Colombia and Peru. It’s called “chicha” after the Andean and Amazonian corn beer.
Cumbia is fun to dance to. It’s a little more relaxed than Salsa, so you can be really playful. As a contemporary/traditional fusion, the band falls into the Latin Alternative framework.
Locobeach is all about losing yourself to maybe find yourself (or someone else) on the dance floor. It’s very Brooklyn.
Locobeach in New York City
Locobeach plays psychedelic cumbia rock at the Sultan Room in Bushwick, Brooklyn on Friday, January 13, 2023 at 11pm. $20. dice.fm 🇻🇪
Locobeach plays Psychedelic Cumbia Rock for the World Music Institute at BAM Café in the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Fort Greene, Brooklyn on Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 9pm. bam.org 🇻🇪
Locobeach, and its own Cheo Pardo (DJ Afro), join Underground System (Afrobeat) for the World Music Institute at Nublu 151 in Manhattan’s East Village on Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 8pm (7pm doors). From $20. worldmusicinstitute.org 🇻🇪
Monday, February 17, 2020 ~ Locobeach plays Barbès in Park Slope, Brooklyn at 9:30pm. $10 🇻🇪
October 25, 2019 ~ Locobeach releases their debut album. It’s a great dance album. Listen to it on locobeach.bandcamp.com. 🇻🇪
Locobeach is Fun
If you say the band’s name with a Latin accent, you’ll get the joke, but it takes one to know one.
The band is:
- José Luis Pardo (Cheo Pardo) on guitars and vocals (DJ Afro, Los Amigos Invisibles, Los Crema Paríso)
- Neil Ochoa on congas, percussion, electronics (Chicha Libre)
- Joshua Camp on accordion, keyboards, vocals
- Edward Marshall on bass
The band’s work is filled with Latin humor. Their videos are very fun too. They show the influence of Venezuelan contemporary art , especially the work of the world renowned Venezuelan kinetic artist Carlos Cruz-Diez (1923-2019).
The band’s singles Success on the Dance Floor (2017) and The Devil is a Charmer (2017) are all about dancing. Latin dancing can be about deciding who feels good because you want someone to go home with you tonight. Their music plays to that.
In other words, if you want to find success on the dance floor, be careful what you wish for.
Like the song says, “The devil is a charmer. He smiles and dances the Samba. You better run baby, run baby, run baby, run.”
Their home base in New York City used to be Barbès in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It’s incredible that you can see music at this level in such a tiny underground place in Brooklyn. There used to be a lot of places like that in New York, but they have mostly disappeared.
For more information, visit locobeachofficial.com
