Matt Gonzales is a busy man. When he’s not playing guitar for local fusion-soul group Anya and the Getdown or for hip-hop cumbia duo Raul y Mexia, he’s producing beats for his own solo Latin dance project, Philthy Dronez.
Gonzales has been performing as Philthy Dronez consistently here in the South Bay at the monthly Sonido Clash neo-Latin dance parties every first Fridays at the Pagoda Lounge. Now, Philthy Dronez is reaching for a larger audience with his debut EP Wepa Life, which will be released on Arizona label, Global Bass Experience. The release show is Friday November 1st at the Pagoda—the final show before the venue switches formats under new management.
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Wepa Life is a short listen with seven songs in about fifteen minutes. It has a nice blend of Philthy Dronez’ style, which contains some classic cumbia beats with some modern dance, trap and electronica. His first single, “Don Sandia”, is one of his more traditional cumbia tracks. The content however is not so typical—it’s about a watermelon that gets all the ladies. The “watermelon” (or rather Gonzales’ friend in a watermelon outfit) made his debut during Sonido Clash’s portion of the Music in the Park. “Don Sandia” features guest vocals by Jazmin Lopez (aka Jazzy Drone).
One of the heaviest dance songs—and the farthest removed from classic cumbia—is “Ratcheta,” featuring vocals by Mexia from Raul y Mexia. “Mira Como Mueve” is the best representation to the “nu-cumbia” sound that is growing increasingly popular. Wepa Life is also strung together with a lot of clips from various radio programs and commercials. One of the best of them is the old Frito Bandito commercial for Fritos chips which closes the EP.
Philthy Dronez plays the final Sonido Clash at Pagoda Lounge on Friday November 1st with Los Macuanos. More info.
