Abraxas is a new project by former Los Bitchos member Carolina Faruolo and Danny Lee Blackwell of Night Beats. Their new album will be out October 28th via Suicide Squeeze.

They have been mutual admirers for years, but with the Atlantic between them never got round to recording together. Covid taught them distance was no issue, so Abraxas was born – where colourful vistas of hypnotic cumbia, dub-inflected stompers and Anatolian psych-funk combine.

Yet as was so often the case for many of us during the shelter-in-place stretches of 2020, geographic proximity wound up being a non-issue as our socializations became almost exclusively online endeavors. In this era of isolation and uncertainty, Faruolo and Blackwell invented their own private escape to Latin rhythms, colorful vistas, and smoky revelries under the project name of Abraxas. Combining their shared love of Wendy Renee, Los Destellos, doo-wop and R&B, they crafted their debut album ‘Monte Carlo’ by bouncing ideas across the Atlantic.

“Planet Abraxas is a world filled with jungles, mist-covered rivers, panthers lurking in the night, desolate shopping malls, Neolithic citadels and sand-worn walls”, Blackwell says of the muse behind ‘Monte Carlo’. “The nights are usually dense with fog and the air is filled with the sounds of cicadas and faraway drumming”. This visual manifestation of their sound stands in stark contrast to the environment in which the songs were written. “I remember the feeling I got the first time Danny added vocals to one of my tracks”, Faruolo recalls. “I was sitting on my sofa in rainy Manchester in the middle of winter. I pressed play and the song just made my heart jump. It instantly felt special and, more importantly, it felt like a perfect portrait of both of us”.

Uruguayan-born Faruolo grew up with the tropical beats of cumbia and the psychedelic flavor of classic chicha artists, and it became her mission to infuse those sunny influences in her work as a UK musician. Blackwell’s work under the Night Beats handle involves the fusion of outlaw soul and R&B with a resourceful DIY spirit. Despite the apparent contrast in their styles, the two musicians bonded over their reverence for Selena and Sade, exemplars of the humid pulse and sultry spirit of their respective approaches. As Abraxas, their distinctive musical perspectives created a sound that encompassed the tropicalia of Os Mutantes, the scrappy songwriting of Cleaners From Venus, and the trippy production of Lee “Scratch” Perry, though the duo is quick to assert that they were finding their own distinctive voices rather than adhering to pre-existing stylistic codes and constraints. And indeed, ‘Monte Carlo’ feels rooted in tradition but blossoms into its own unique timbres and vibrations.

‘Monte Carlo’ opens with ‘Sunrise State (of Mind)’, where a hypnotic cumbia beat serves as the bedrock for cosmic guitar leads, hazy choral melodies, and Blackwell’s seductive vocals. From there, the album continues its steady Latin pulse on ‘Mañana’, a perfect soundtrack to feverish nights in dancehalls, sipping on caipirinhas and sharing cigarettes with strangers on the dancefloor. Across its twelve tracks, ‘Monte Carlo’ unfurls a myriad of exotic influences, from the Eastern melodies and guitar trills on ‘Sultan’, through the dub-inflected stomp and scorching fuzz of ‘La Estampida’, and on to the Anatolian psych-funk of album closer ‘Göbekli Tepe’.

Blackwell recorded his contributions with the assistance of engineer Chris Maciel at his studio the 22nd Dimension in Pomona, California and Faruolo recorded her parts in Manchester, England at Brunswick Mill. While Abraxas conceived their material in bedrooms and studios six time zones apart, the music on ‘Monte Carlo’ sounds like a live band in the throes of an ecstatic performance. And Abraxas plans to make the live incarnation of the band a reality when conditions allow for it. Until then, listeners can bask in the invented world of Abraxas and all its exotic and enticing splendor across the twelve tracks of ‘Monte Carlo’. Suicide Squeeze Records is proud to present ‘Monte Carlo’ to the world.

“Each song is its own moon”

I’m guessing you were inspired by the fantastic Santana album to name your project?

That record is amazing, however it is not the one reason why we named the group Abraxas. The word has many meanings and you can find your own. Some have defined Abraxas as the omnipresent chicken headed deity ruling the cosmos, some see it as oneness or synthesis. It’s the embodiment of us two coming together to create our own world.

In October you will release your new album, ‘Monte Carlo’. Is it already finished? What was it like to work on it?

Yes, it was finished a while ago. Records take a long time to release these days when you’re pressing vinyl, and we love vinyl, so it’s been worth the wait. Caro and I wrote and recorded everything, made our own art and decided Suicide Squeeze Records would be a great home for it. The record was made in a state where time and distance didn’t apply, so we’re happy to see it become a physical reality. We’ve shown each other sounds we now both love and are inspired by, and we are not trying to hinder it from evolving. There’s a sacredness to the claves and the congas, we let the music teach us.

<a href="https://abraxasintl.bandcamp.com/album/monte-carlo">Monte Carlo by Abraxas</a>

I really enjoyed the recently released track, ‘Sunrise State (Of Mind)’. What can you say about this track?

Thank you. The track transports us to the source of what we do. After a long discussion one night about witnessing a particular sunrise, we took our ideas and molded them into what you’re now hearing. This is a song of new beginnings, swollen pride, reconstruction of the mind and movement. The idea of us orbiting a passing moon comes to mind and the cosmic dance of interplanetary rebirth, supports our sound and vision. Landscapes!

What can you tell us about the songs from the album? What’s your typical creative process when it comes to songwriting?

Each song is its own moon, so the climates, colors and gravity fields are all different. Rhythm, space and melodies came together almost immediately– some were heard on a different frequency, so there are no absolutes. There’s no rulebook to songwriting, you just do.

“‘Monte Carlo’ is an open book”

Can you share some further words about the album making and the production of it?

‘Monte Carlo’ is an open book. We are sharing this record with love and free spirits. I got to make this record with some of my closest friends, and that is all that matters. I am a guest in any musical format/home, but I think what makes it ours is the love and desire to create our own.

Are you planning to play some gigs?

When the time is right. We are working on more writing and videos around the upcoming album. Carolina is busy with her band Well Yeah, and I am preparing for the next Night Beats European tour, and always writing. But we want it and will work on it till it’s ready.

Have you ideas that refuse to step through the door with you?

What door? We see things through.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

I was listening to alot of music Carolina and other friends turned me on to: Pibes Chorros, Grupo Sombras, Antonio Rios, Damas Gratis, Gilda, Los Chakales, Los Destellos, Los Mirlos. I have a steady stream of Arthur Alexander, Sade, Everly Brothers, David Bowie, Sergio Mendes, Gilberto Gil. Cleaners from Venus – ‘Midnight Cleaners’ is great. Sandy Bull – ‘Vanguard Visionaries’, 13th Floor Elevators – ‘Easter Everywhere’, Os Mutantes, GZA – ‘Legend of the Liquid Sword’, The Mystery Lights.

I’ve been searching for a copy of Alcides – ‘Violeta’, hard to find but great guitar work. Re-listening to ‘Oar’ from Skip Spence lately, and listening to evangelical AM pastors.