PRESS RELEASE
Media Contact:
Sue Auclair, Sue Auclair Promotions
For Immediate Release:
May 31, 2022
AFRO-ANDEAN FUNK
Releases Debut Album Today
May 31, 2022 | Tiger Turn Records
Latin Grammy® Nominated
Peruvian Singer Araceli Poma &
Producer/Bassist Matt Geraghty
Introduce
The Sacred Leaf
New Album Traces Shamanism, Indigenous Peruvian Culture,
& Human Rights alongside the powerful, healing Coca Leaf
The coca leaf is a sacred plant of the Andes with many healing powers revered for thousands
of years in Andean culture. Often chewed while doing agricultural activities, the coca leaf has an important role in rituals where shamans make sacred requests to the leaf.
NEW YORK, NY – Latin Grammy® nominated Peruvian singer and producer Araceli Poma and bassist, composer, producer Matt Geraghty have today released (May 31, 2022) their debut album, The Sacred Leaf featuring their new band Afro-Andean Funk. Poma and Geraghty were nominated for a Latin Grammy® in 2020 in the best Long Form Music Video category.
Araceli Poma met Geraghty in a recording studio in Lima, Peru in 2019 while she was invited to be part of a documentary and album called 'The Warrior Women of Afro-Peruvian Music.' Geraghty brought this music travel series to Peru to highlight emerging artists and discover hidden cultural treasures in the Americas. With a focus on Afro-Peruvian women artists, Geraghty and team invited nine distinguished singers and percussionists to be part of this historic all women recording and documentary.
This serendipitous encounter between Geraghty and Poma would start a creative partnership leading to teaming up on a documentary in Puerto Rico and beginning to write new music together.
From that moment on, the two began to join forces to break cultural barriers and after two years of collaborating together and receiving a Latin Grammy® Nomination, a new band was born: Afro-Andean Funk, which made its debut in New York City in 2021.
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Poma's unique talent as a singer is equally matched by her talent as a producer. This is exemplified by Poma’s relentless work to bring Peruvian music to the world, documenting the legacies of the masters and creating platforms for women artists to share their stories and their struggles against racism and marginalization.
Poma now takes a creative leap forward with Afro-Andean Funk and the result is a fresh new sound, blending roots music of the Andes and the Afro-Peruvian scene with electronica, funk and rock, alongside West African grooves.
“I am proud of my roots and I want Peruvian music to reach the whole world with our new sound,” exclaims Poma. “We are inspired as much by artists such as Susana Baca, Victoria Santa Cruz, David Byrne and Caetano Veloso as well as by Thom Yorke, Empire of the Sun, Herbie Hancock and James Brown.”
“We don't see any limits stylistically to our music so I think The Sacred Leaf is a reflection of that,” comments Geraghty.
Afro-Andean Funk's first release, The Sacred Leaf, presents 9 original songs with Araceli Poma singing in Spanish as well as in the ancient Incan language known as Quechua--thus paying homage to her Andean and Afro-Peruvian roots.
“We wrote ‘Luchadora del Ande' inspired by these women who have been fighting for justice for years," says the singer. "This song features ‘spoken word’ by one of the victims, Victoria Vigo, who speaks to the solidarity with other survivors and raises the voices of these women to let the world know they will not remain silent."
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ARACELI POMA + MATT GERAGHTY
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The nine original tracks on The Sacred Leaf, composed by Geraghty and Poma, reflect the duo's deep love for music from a variety of styles and places. Their music expressively mingles a broad spectrum of traditional and modern musical styles such as Afro-pop, Huayno (a popular form of Andean music and dance performed by the Quechua people), electronica, drum and bass, funk, Cumbia (a folkloric music and dance that originated in Colombia) as well as hard rock. Lyrics on the album span across different languages like Spanish, Quechua, Haitian-Creole and English as well.
Best known for his cross-cultural and inclusive music collaborations, Geraghty has woven these many styles alongside Poma’s lyrical approach cohesively in the nine eclectic compositions. The songs are driven by his prominent melodic electric bass playing along with his own supporting background vocals on several tracks.
"I admire the stories, music and cultures of all the many artists I have been fortunate to work with. We also know that music has the power to spotlight issues that need more attention – especially relating to marginalized peoples and cultures. That is why we have several compositions featuring Quechua in our music. It’s a language that is disappearing and it’s important to preserve these traditions," says the Latin Grammy®-Nominated producer.
The second single from the album, ‘Agua del Olvido’ (Water to Forget), brings to life the ancestral stories of the jungle and the shamanic rituals that take place during Ayahuasca sessions in the Peruvian Amazon. And, the title track, ‘The Sacred Leaf’ pays tribute to healing powers of the coca leaf. That track also features the star Haitian singer and producer, Mannobeats.
"In addition, we worked closely with the well-known electronica artist Grod from Argentina in the development of key ambient sounds and electric beats as well as the incorporation of live percussion instruments from my Afro-Peruvian traditions such as the checho, the cajita, the donkey jaw bone and the Peruvian cajon,” says Araceli. “You’ll also hear the Andean stringed instrument known as the charango on several tracks. It has an important role on songs like ‘Luchadora del Ande,' ‘Me Permito’ and ‘Tanto Tanto.’
The sum total of Afro-Andean Funk's album is a music that is not only deeply reflective of its roots and history, but is a music that finds unity through a diversity of sounds, languages and stories — a catalyst for demystifying cultural differences and building bridges between musical communities.
The album was produced by bassist Matt Geraghty. All compositions were written by Matt Geraghty and Araceli Poma. Electronica arrangements are by Grod.
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TRACK BY TRACK DESCRIPTION & CREDITS:
1. The Sacred Leaf (5:45): The coca leaf is a sacred plant of the Andes with many healing powers revered for thousands of years in Andean culture. Often chewed while doing agricultural activities, the coca leaf has an important role in rituals where shamans make sacred requests to the leaf. The lyrics speak to a special prayer to the coca leaf to protect young Andean girls who often grow up in vulnerable situations in rural Peru. Featured on the track is guest vocalist Manno Beats from Haiti.
- Araceli Poma (vocals, lyrics), Matt Geraghty (composer, musical director, arranger, vocal direction, bass, piano, vocals), Neal Alger (guitar), Misha Tsiganov (piano, rhodes, pads, intro arrangement), Grod Morel (electrónica arrangement, sampler), Shirazette Tinnin (drums), Manno Beats (vocals and arrangement)
2. Spirals Of Vision (5:10): Inspired by when Matt was a child seeing a Great Horned Owl for the first time in the backwoods of his home state Connecticut, ‘Spirals of Vision’ captures this moment and his fascination with the owl’s eyes and its intense gaze. The inspiration to write a song about this owl was triggered by a recent discovery of a painting Matt made of this owl when he was 9. The lyrics written by Poma in Spanish, describe the moment of being completely enraptured by its beauty and pose – a memory to remain etched in Matt’s memory forever.
- Araceli Poma (vocals, lyrics), Matt Geraghty (composer, musical director, arranger, vocal direction, bass, vocals, piano), Neal Alger (guitar), Misha Tsiganov (piano, rhodes, pads), Grod Morel (electrónica arrangement), Shirazette Tinnin (drums), Poetry by Miguel Angel Zapata
3. Agua Del Olvido (Water of Oblivion) (4:41): Araceli took part in a shamanic ritual deep in the jungle of Peru where the shaman directed all their healing powers and energy around a basin of rain water. The shaman channeled the spirit world into the natural world with the rain water as the receiving entity. They then then asked the participants to drink the water as a means to wash away and forget all negative emotions, energy and old baggage and begin anew. Agua del Olvido (Water of Oblivion) speaks to the power of natural mystic healers to cure us of our ailments.
- Araceli Poma (vocals, lyrics), Matt Geraghty (composer, musical director, vocal direction, arranger, bass), Neal Alger (guitar), Misha Tsiganov (piano, rhodes), Grod Morel (electrónica arrangement, synth), Shirazette Tinnin (drums), Freddy Huevito Lobatón Beltrán (cajita,quijada, cajón,shells), Lilia Arroyo Torres (spoken word), Coco Vega (composer)
“We wrote ‘Luchadora del Ande' inspired by these women who have been fighting for justice for years," says Poma. This song features ‘spoken word’ by one of the victims, Victoria Vigo, who speaks to the solidarity with other survivors and raises the voices of these women to let the world know they will not remain silent.
- Araceli Poma (vocals, lyrics), Matt Geraghty (composer, musical director, arranger, vocal direction, bass, vocals), Neal Alger (guitar, charango), Misha Tsiganov (piano, rhodes, pads), Grod Morel (electrónica arrangement), Shirazette Tinnin (drums), Freddy Huevito Lobatón Beltrán (checo,seeds), Lara Bello (lyrics)
5. Estereotipos (Stereotypes) (6:08): Araceli invites us to think beyond social stereotypes and conditioning to inspire humanity to realize we have more in common than not. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that the human race is connected as one and our well being depends on others. There is no room for prejudice. Only by opening our minds and not judging others may we truly find freedom. Lyrics by Lara Bello.
- Araceli Poma (vocals), Matt Geraghty (composer, musical director, arranger, vocal direction, bass, piano, vocals), Neal Alger (guitar), Freddie Gomez (charango), Misha Tsiganov (piano, rhodes, pads,organ), Grod Morel (electrónica arrangement, synth), Shirazette Tinnin (drums), Lara Bello (lyrics, vocal arrangement)
6. Hojita de Coca (Coca Leaf) (4:58): Hojita de Coca brings special guest artist Manno Beats from Haiti and Afro-Andean Funk together to collaborate and pay homage to the power of Pachamana (Mother Earth) and the Coca Leaf. This song traverses Afro-Pop West African grooves and Afro-Peruvian percussion to bring the party to the dance floor.
- Araceli Poma (vocals, lyrics), Matt Geraghty (composer, musical director, arranger, vocal direction, bass, piano, vocals), Neal Alger (guitar), Misha Tsiganov (piano, rhodes, pads), Grod Morel (electrónica arrangement), Shirazette Tinnin (drums), Manno Beats (vocals & arrangement), Freddy Huevito Lobatón Beltrán (quijada, cajón, bell, vocals)
7. Me Permito (I Give Myself Permission) (4:29): Me Permito is about the importance of taking risks and finding a true creative calling in life by looking deeply within oneself. We are reminded that we have the power to become the person we aspire to be and we must have faith and patience to follow the heart path.
- Araceli Poma (vocals, lyrics), Matt Geraghty (composer, musical director, arranger, vocal direction, bass, piano, vocals), Neal Alger (guitar), Freddie Gomez(charango), Misha Tsiganov (piano, rhodes, pads,organ), Grod Morel (electrónica arrangement), Shirazette Tinnin (drums), Freddy Huevito Lobatón Beltrán (cajón, bell), Lara Bello (lyrics)
8. Eternal Thoughts Of You (4:42): This song inspires us to look at lost love with new eyes and an open heart. A love that went away can feel like a timeless and eternal love as you come to cherish the memories of that person forever. It is a universal love that lets you feel free from loss by embracing acceptance.
- Araceli Poma (vocals, lyrics), Matt Geraghty (composer, musical director, arranger, vocal direction, bass, piano), Neal Alger (guitar), Freddie Gomez (charango), Misha Tsiganov (piano, rhodes, pads), Grod Morel (electrónica arrangement), Shirazette Tinnin (drums), Freddy Huevito Lobatón Beltrán (cajón, tambor)
9. Me Tienes Esta Noche (3:39): This cumbia is about a woman who tells a guy, "We are going to be together tonight, but I don't want anything serious, ok?!" It’s fairly ironic because in Latin culture women have been portrayed as the ones who dream of getting married and wanting relationships. ‘You Have Me Tonight’ flips the gender roles showing it’s perfectly acceptable for the woman to say, “I just want one night and have a good time.”
- Araceli Poma (vocals, lyrics), Matt Geraghty (composer, musical director, arranger, vocal direction, bass, piano), Neal Alger (guitar), Misha Tsiganov (piano, rhodes, pads), Grod Morel (organ synth, electrónica arrangement), Shirazette Tinnin (drums), Freddy Huevito Lobatón Beltrán (bell, guiro, tambor)
Recorded March 4,5,6, 2022 at Douglass Recording Studios, Brooklyn, NY
Mixed April 1,2,3,9,10th, 2022 at Spin Studios, Long Island City, NY
Mastered April 29th, 2022 at Kevorkian Mastering, Greenpoint, NY
Engineered and mixed by Anthony Ruotolo
Assistant Engineered by Chris Gilroy
Assistant Engineered (Mix) by Linds Cadwell
Mastered by Fred Kevorkian
All Songs written and composed by Matt Geraghty & Araceli Poma.
Produced, arranged and musical direction by Matt Geraghty.
Agua del Olvido co-composed by Coco Vega
Album Cover Art by Samuel Gutierrez
Song Titles by Leo Gambin
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