Something had happened in the past few years in Spain and a whole rash of extraordinarily talented bands have appeared, The Sweet Vandals, Phat Fred and Casbah 73 to name just a few, but the ones that have recently excited me the most are this crowd from Bilbao.

Perhaps it is because they are a few hundred miles removed from the hub of Madrid that has allowed them to develop in a very different way, but the place they have reached is truly wonderful! Their first album was a reverential take on their musical heroes as they got into the groove of the 60s soul jazz greats such as Reuben Wilson and Grant Green, but with this album they have really spread their wings, it is full of original material and the confidence that his has brought has really allowed them to get fired up and let loose.   

For me the whole album is a pleasure from start to finish but a few tunes are definitely worthy of note.

La Pulguita is nothing short of a full frontal assault. The theme is set up by Juan Ortiz on Hammond and is deceptively simple but has that instantaneous hook that draws you straight in and before you know it they’re off into what they do best really taking the tune by the scuff of the neck and pummelling it into submission. There is feeling of total abandon here that can only be achieved by pure talent letting off steam in the controlled environment of a recording studio, and that is to say nothing off their innate understanding of the drama of a tune as they repeatedly tighten up to bursting point before they give the listener some breathing space for respite. This is worthy of Brother Jack McDuff during his Cadet years.

Blue De Los Colores is a real slow burner and brings to mind the boogaloo jams of Lou Donaldson and Dr. Lonnie Smith on Blue Note, or Rusty Bryant on Prestige Records. Like all the best slow jams it comes in waves gradually building to crescendos when Juan Ortiz (Hammond), Mikel Piris (sax) and Mario Llantada (guitar) start to impose their will on the piece. This particular piece has been picked up by legendary guitarist Javier Vargas and he has made one clever move there as it is one majestic piece of music.

Watermelon Man, this is the tune that really won me over to them when I first heard them. In a sense you can never lose with this Herbie Hancock classic as it has magic of its own that defies failure, the real challenge is to avoid an average interpretation. To say they have passed the test is an understatement, there is something quintessentially Spanish about their interpretation, you can almost taste the exuberance that the band collectively cram into this piece. 

And this is why I love this band so much, they have cut their chops listening to the masters and are now off on their own travels and they do it with such a zest for life

Simon Hodge,

Producer,

The Craig Charles Funk And Soul Show,

BBC 6Music.