Biography
Ocote Soul Sounds originated as Martin Perna’s stylistically expansive Latin-infused outlet drawn from his work with Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. The project regularly features Adrian Quesada of Grupo Fantasma and maintains ties to Eighteenth Street Lounge Music, the imprint run by Thievery Corporation. Perna, whose credits include vocals, saxophone, flute, guitar, organ, and percussion, established Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra in 1998 and also contributes to the acclaimed TV on the Radio; he launched Ocote Soul Sounds with the 2003 Fruitmeat Records 7-inch Divinorum. The following year he issued the full-length El Niño y el Sol on Airesol Records, a collaboration with Quesada handling guitars, bass, and drums. Eighteenth Street Lounge Music re-released the album in 2005, bringing wider attention, and reviewers highlighted its stylistic breadth spanning Afro-beat, salsa, jazz, funk, hip-hop, downtempo, and lounge. In 2006 the label followed with the four-track 12-inch Tamarindio/Divinorum, pairing the title cuts with remixes, before unveiling the second album-length effort The Alchemist Manifesto in 2008. By then Ocote Soul Sounds had expanded from a studio-only endeavor into a flexible live ensemble maintaining distinct configurations in New York City, Perna’s base, and Austin, Quesada’s home.
Albums
