Once again, it’s on… The Live At The Loft crew is back in beast mode, this time to present the Afro-Latin freestyle, funk, and boogie of Jersey City’s own Chico Mann, the brainchild of Marcos Garcia. In recent months, the Wax Poetics Records signee has scaled down to one-man-band status, so there are less moveable parts to juggle since the first episode, but no less wrinkles to iron out in show production. We’re running behind schedule, but those who know better, understand it’ll all be well worth it in the end.

To describe the Chico Mann sound is to recall a history that stretches from West Africa to the Spanish Caribbean to the barrios of 1980’s New York City. The music is spiritual. It’s Yoruba meets Santeria. As one show attendee put it, this music will awaken your ancestors. The music is lo-fi digital versus new wave funk. It’s Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam, minus the buxom Latina and the big hair. By the time Chico Mann really shifts the momentum of the evening from “socialize” to “mobilize”, there is no shortage of finely feathered females moving their jiggable parts to the rhythm. The transition from song to song is seamless and the call-and-response style chanting would have you believing you spoke Spanish, just for this night.

LIVE PERFORMANCE 01/02

LIVE PERFORMANCE 02/02

INTERVIEW

After a strong 45 minute set, everyone is either discussing the dopeness of what we just witnessed, updating their contact lists with new names and numbers, or spilling out into the street in search of the next lurk. For those who don’t know, the Loft sometimes doubles as a flop-house for crew and talent, and this night saw about seven bodies, including Marcos, sprawled out on the sofas overnight. The next morning we would dig into the interview segment that we didn’t have time for the night before. A morning-after interview is going to be groggy and gravelly voiced, as expected, but to top it off our video lighting was shot, so we had to record under the beams of sun coming through the upstairs loft window, with an occasional shadow of a cloud to make things extra weird. No sweat off our backs though, we got through it like champs. Another one in the can. Off to the diner to nurse hangovers and pack on a few calories. This is Live At The Loft…

AUDIO FROM SHOW