Latin funk Archives - KUT & KUTX Studios

It’s a new month. It’s new music Friday. And there’s a fresh collaboration out that’ll really spice up your playlists. One that marks the welcome return of Cilantro Boombox.

See, the genre-bonding octet formally entered the Austin scene a dozen years back with their eponymous debut and followed it up a half decade later with their 2017 sophomore full-length Shine. And while Cilantro Boombox did keep our pandemic-addled brains sane with three singles in 2020, the latest pulse we felt from them on streaming was last June’s “Little Sign”. Well, just in time for the release of Geto Gala’s first-ever full-length, Cilantro Boombox has teamed up with one half of Geto Gala and our July 2022 Artist of the Month, Jake Lloyd for another spicy standalone.

Yes, just a week ahead of a gig next Friday at the Sahara Lounge alongside DJ Chorizo Funk and Geto Gala, Cilantro Boombox laced up their coriander kicks with some upbeat pop on the Jake Lloyd collabo “Best Shoes”. Like a finely diced blend of Pharrell’s “Happy” and Janelle Monae’s “Tightrope” garnishing a full plate of hand claps, slick funk rock grooves, G Funk-inspired analogue synth bends, and soulful horn refrains, “Best Shoes” is made easily accessible for those who haven’t fully acclimated to a Latin/Pan-African palate.

We don’t personally think cilantro tastes like soap…but this track is squeaky clean and eager to scrub the dance floor.

Although self-sufficient prodigies like Henry Invisible do a damn good job of filling out a fiery funk set entirely on their own, it’s tough for any one-person performance to go toe-to-toe with with a full funk ensemble. And fortunately for us, the “everything’s bigger in Texas” philosophy applies to several stage-sprawling acts right here in Austin – which has become a fruitful haven for latin funk over the past decade and a half.

Like, check out Ex Romantika, who’ve been doing there thing since 2018. This high-energy collective doesn’t need to rely on theatrics to enhance their sound, yet their penchant for colorful attire does complement their vibrant, bilingual sound. Ex Romantika’s sensibilities really exploded on their 2020 debut full-length Latin Funk Konnection, an eleven-song collection of extended horn solo sections, impassioned group vocals, and just a ton of inventiveness.

For their latest single that dropped at the end of July, Ex Romantika issued a reggaeton-esque reproach over the 2019 El Paso mass shooting on “Muevelo Ya”, that in light of its heavy subject matter, is an instant motivator to move your body. And you can do so in person 11PM this Saturday at Swan Dive with openers Serumn (formerly known as Continental Drift) at 10PM and closers Big Wy’s Brass Band at midnight. Until then, fire up “Muevelo Ya” on repeat and shake your groove thang, no knowledge of Español necessary…unless you want the full societal discourse.