Pa' Tu Cuerpa/ Cimafunk

With TerapiaCimafunk was glued in Cuba. With The food became the first Cuban to sing in the Coachella and shared a Grammy nomination with Jorge Drexler, Rosalía, Fito Páez, Mon Laferte and Gaby Moreno, established names in the Latin American music markets. Pa' Tu Cuerpahis most recent recording production, follows, without much deviation, the artistic line that appeared in The food. From Cun Cun Pra something changed: the quality of the production increased notably and the narrative took other paths. It was felt that it was not a product geared for Cuba, unlike Terapiaa record where the texts seem to be typical conversations of any Havana night.

From Cun Cun Pra The target public is perceived to be different, as well as the way of facing its aesthetics. This, that a priori is neither bad nor good, it is an element that helps to listen to their most recent productions. A consistent change considering that it's been seven years since the release of Terapia and the author's life is no longer remotely the same.

This is the context in which Pa' Tu Cuerpa (Mala Cabeza Records, 2024) is published. This is Cimafunk's third studio album, with eleven songs and a tour that will conclude at Zankel Hall, one of the halls of the legendary Carnegie Hall. On a listening, I feel that the album doesn't have a clear and concise thread, but is instead a compilation of songs with varying intensity and a common aesthetic (with the exception of A Tu Merced, which goes to a completely different area). It is a work that has several feats of high caliber, both from our island and the continent. Artists such as Monsieur Periné, Big Freedia, George Clinton, Wampi, Pancho Céspedes, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Camila Guevara, just to mention some of those who appear in the credits, parade through its 37 minutes.

Cuchi Cuchi is the theme that opens the album. It's a bit monotonous, but it's compensated by the arrangements and melodies in the trumpet, which at times remind me of the energy of Celebration by Kool & the Gang. It sounds impeccable. The funk, in this case more funk than Cima, announces the sound that you will hear in most of the album: lots of energy, an energetic sound funky delightful, pristine production with a complementary and predictable text.

The first track leaves me with the feeling that I'm going to listen to Food 2.0which changes with Beach Nighta collaboration with DJ producer Michaël Brun and trumpeter Keyon Harrold. This plate lowers the intensity and is an invitation to contemplate the in size of the moment. Undoubtedly one of my favorites and, along with Pretty, the single I have burned the most of those that preceded the release of the album. Great vibesI think it's one of the candidates to be selected for the hitespecially for its catchy chorus. Like bonuseshas a live session not to be missed on YouTube.

Tell meproduced by his fellow countryman Alfredo Rodriguez Jr., I didn't like it so much at first listen, but the more I repeat it, the more it sticks with me. growerespecially in the chorus/chorus part. Although I find the verse repetitive, the sonic space where it occurs makes it worth listening to again and enjoy the mood.

Then comes the turn of CatalinaI was happy to find this name because it could represent the consolidation of Cimafunk in important markets for Latin music such as Colombia, Mexico and Chile. It would be nice to see him as a Cuban representative in the Latin American alternative scene that has been gaining strength for years; a scene that mixes alternative music with pop and rides on top of local rhythmic cells. I don't have much more to say about the song, it's catchy and is closer to the terrain of the Cuban than that of the Colombian group, which makes sense since the initial proposal is from Cimafunk. It is a typical story cimafunkeana from the point of view of someone who is entangling the other.

Pretty has one of the best drops of the album and is the one that owes the most to the urban music of the United States; yes, mounted on top of a tumbao and topped with the imposing presence of Big Freedia. Good energy, better beat and a message of self-love incorporated into the song, declaimed by her voice that seems like a divine intervention. 

After the adrenaline rush of Pretty and I don't carethe intensity and arrives Anythingwhich recalls the storytelling of the topics of Terapia but with a production upgraded. The song narrates a seduction plan for a night of intimate unloading.

The Pomade have a riff that hits from instant zero, warning in different ways what the whole track is going to sound like. This melody then goes on to be heard filtered, on a Moog or something that sounds like an electric guitar but can also be digital. The track continues with a delivery precise Wampi opening the way for Cimafunk to set the tone and do his part. Between the two of them they divide the space and the sentences well, even if they exploit the word cast and its conjugations. This announced collaboration, which I was looking forward to with curiosity, didn't quite shake me like I imagined, but I enjoyed its West Coast hip hop vibes (there are passages that remind me of the soundtrack of the GTA San Andreas) mixed with delivery resources.

At your mercy, with Pancho Céspedes, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Camila Guevara, is the track that I would highlight from this album and from everything Cimafunk has released since Terapia. With the potential to be a classic, it unites several generations of performers, each doing their own thing, opening a niche in 2024 for styles that have been somewhat neglected. Both in the production and in the ways of treating and performing the voice (listen to the intervention by Camila Guevara and the bends that it does in some of its phrasesin contrast to the style and treatment Pancho Cespedes' much cleaner voice in the same sentence), the fusion of the tradition with contemporary resources and techniques in an organic way. Undoubtedly my favorite of the album and a track where everyone is doing what they do best..

One thing that has been maintained throughout Cimafunk's work is the style. heater and spicy, which reached its peak in The foodwhere the theme seems to be the analogies with food and temperature, apparently a resource that is here to stay. This form of heat, that I started to notice in Cun Cun Prá, is a mutation of the discourse of TerapiaIn addition to warming up and spicing up with catchy phrases, he told stories that he contextualized and narrated through the heater. 

My main problem with Cimafunk after Terapia is that I come looking for some of that narrative that I felt more present in their debut album. But as I say that, I also recognize and appreciate the sonic leap and the fusion of elements that before were only winks of what could be. Pa' Tu Cuerpa is another step in that direction and I feel more of the essence that I long for in this album than in the previous one. The closing theme, At your mercyThe new project confirms to me that there may still be many good ideas to come and leaves me eager to know what will come next. For now, let's enjoy For your body the remainder of the year.