CHICO MANN

Marcos "Marquitos" Garcia, born into a musical Cuban family and member of American Afrobeat pioneers, Antibalas, set out to play afrobeat with his childhood Casio keyboard as an experiment. The outcome was Manifest Tone Vol.1, a collection of raw and dirty, Lo-Fi tracks that hypnotize and make you want to move. Encouraged to keep exploring by his bandmates in Antibalas, Garcia ventured into the world of 1980's drum machine beats and sounds. Using the vocabulary of Fela Kuti's afrobeat, Marquitos' melodic sensibility manifested as playful and engaging, with vocal hooks and melodies that resurface hours after listening. The music has a relaxed quality commonly refered to as "chill." The sounds and images evoked are familiar from the past, yet, contain a creative, electro-freshness. Directly future-vintage. Syncopated bass and guitars simmering, keyboard melodies bubbling over, and Marquitos' harmony-laden vocals, create a sonic sofrito. Pungent Latin aromas waft throughout the music in the rhythms and the choruses. Known as "sabrosura," it is the effect that urges your body to boogie and makes you singing along. The live band consists of Marquitos (beats, guitar, keys, and vocals)and musical cohorts Jeremy Wilms (bass, keys, vocals) and Wilder Schwartz (keys, electronic drums, vocals) of the NYC-based band Chin Chin. The group captures the spirit of the recordings, true to its conception. Live electro-afrobeat is a "brand, new thang!" As the worldwide afrobeat movement gains momentum and a greater audience, Chico Mann is poised take it's place as the darling of afrobeat through it's fresh take on the genre pioneered by Fela Kuti. Lovers of all dance musics are sure to dig Chico Mann and the band.