CA7RIEL - PACO AMOROSO - Papota

When discussing the most recent developments in urban music (let's not beat around the bush: those more or less tied to trap), the average music fan's opinion often turns out to be rather tranchant, dismissing these musical universes as garbage.

There are, however, those who couldn't care less about such preconceptions and want to carve out their own place within this wave of innovation, without sacrificing style or substance: Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso are two Argentine musicians who have made merging seemingly opposite aesthetics their artistic mission.

Friends united by music since childhood, Catriel Guerreiro and Ulises Guerriero formed the band Astor in 2011, drawing inspiration from progressive rock. Despite their high technical caliber and preparation, the band didn't have much luck and only managed to release one EP, "Vacaciones todo el año" (the opening track, "Patos", is particularly recommended listening, with clear influences from Luis Alberto Spinetta). Between 2018 and 2019 the pair released a series of singles, some of which also achieved a certain degree of success.

Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso make a well-matched pair, each able to compensate for the other's limitations. While the former has greater grounding in music study and a more eclectic vocal range, the latter has more flair and creativity. This latter aspect is borne out by their respective solo works, both released in 2021: Ca7riel's "El Disko" is an alternative r&b album that, while full of good ideas, is also rather muddled and at times garish. "Saeta", by Paco Amoroso, is instead a gem of contemporary house, managing to hold together both the English deep and garage school and moods of trap as Latin as they are American. Absolutely recommended listening.

The duo re-forms and finally arrives at their complete debut work in April 2024, with "Baño María", an album that achieves great popular success and reflects the duo's desire to engage with contemporary musical styles such as hip-house, alternative r&b and trap, all delivered with hedonistic moods and minimalist arrangements. Perhaps too minimalist: while there's no shortage of interesting moments (above all "Supersónico"), one gets the impression that the proverbial handbrake is still on, especially in light of Amoroso's excellent results as a solo artist.

In March 2025, however, "Papota" is released and the situation changes decidedly. The turning point actually comes in October 2024, when the duo takes part in the famous Tiny Desk Concert series, a sort of YouTube-era heir to MTV Unplugged. The second half of "Papota" is made up of recordings from these performances. Where the MTV format practically demanded songs be stripped of their arrangements and presented in acoustic form, Tiny Desk is intelligently less restrictive in terms of which instruments can be used, leaving artists total freedom as to how they prefer to perform. Ca7riel and Amoroso immediately take advantage of this opportunity, performing six of their songs previously released on "Baño María" or on their solo albums in a completely different guise. The sonic backdrop is in fact that of an ensemble of jazz musicians, both acid and rap in spirit, yet frequently laced with Latin rhythms and textures. The most exciting thing is how the deeply provocative, sexual lyrics find a musical counterpart that is more interesting and daring than in the original versions: the somewhat formulaic electronic urban backing tracks are replaced by virtuosic interplay between drums, percussion, piano, bass, horns, electric guitar, and vocal call-and-response.

The instrumental complexity is very high: "Dumbai" shows off a bossa nova bed hybridized with reggaeton and touches of acid jazz. The rhythm of the choruses, on the other hand, is the classic Puerto Rican dem bow, perhaps in this case faster and closer to its Dominican cousin. In this sense, the onomatopoeic, "futurist" writing of the lyrics takes on further charm, where the very word "dumbai", repeated obsessively, becomes a kind of homage/parody of the rhythmic figure.

"El único" stands out for its clever use of congas and bongos, with the former playing refined ghost notes and the latter at times recalling the typical rhythm of samba-canção.

"Mi deseo/Bad Bitch" is a medley of two tracks released by Amoroso and Ca7riel on their solo works: the first opens with a distinctive clave, a rhythm that spread from Cuban music into numerous variants throughout Latin America (in this case we're talking about the brazilian or samba clave). This rhythm is the beating heart of the track, played at times with the most classic rimshot and at times on the snare. Just as the atmosphere starts to feel familiar to the listener, there's a very decisive change of scenery. "Bad Bitch" is in fact pure funk, borrowing the bass line from Stevie Wonder's "I Wish", and sees a frenetic Ca7riel show off his technical skills, both when singing in the style of James Brown and when playing a harmonically rather complex electric guitar solo. Moreover, the guitar is "doubled" by the voice in a kind of scat singing, a style typical of the jazz vocal tradition.

"Baby Gangsta" is excellent terrain on which to admire the skill of drummer Eduardo Giardina: throughout these tracks he doesn't just play drums, but, being one of the main arrangers of Ca7riel and Amoroso's live show, holds the reins, demonstrating a broad stylistic range. The track opens with a driving ride cymbal in latin jazz style taken at high speed, enough to make even Max Roach of "Cherokee" envious. The second verse carries the idea forward with a dazzling drum&bass and breakbeat rhythm. The contribution of percussionist Marco Lopez is also noteworthy: his bongos replace the now overused hi-hat cymbals of trap, blending in a Latin American touch and helping create an urban/jungle/jazz sound as fun as a night of youthful mischief under a summer rain in Buenos Aires.

"Lo que puede puede" is the last live track and is perhaps the most complex from a rhythmic point of view. The song is subtly linked to Caribbean cumbia, more precisely to the more modern Argentine variant associated with urban culture (cumbia villera). The bass drum accentuates a bombo leguero style on the first and third beats with small anticipations, typical of modern urban cumbia (especially Argentine and Colombian). All of this is sped up considerably compared to the standards with which these styles are usually played. In the finale we hear a well-architected interplay of interlocking parts and polyrhythms, decidedly prog, in which all the abilities of a very well-matched band come to the fore.

Energized by the outcome of this performance, which also helps introduce them to American audiences, Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso write four more previously unreleased tracks together with various other authors, which go on to make up the first part of the album. The duo's main collaborator is producer and songwriter Federico Vinvder, an Argentine professional who has also worked with many English-speaking artists such as Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Coldplay, etc.

"El impostor", "#Tetas", "Re Forro" and "El día del amigo" come together to form a sort of mini-concept album, a vividly colorful satire on the world of the contemporary record industry.

The first of these tracks, set to a backdrop blending bossa nova, acid jazz and synth-funk, stages the dilemmas of the two protagonists, who feel like impostors who have achieved great success despite lacking any extraordinary talent:

⟦Q1⟧

⟦Q2⟧

⟦Q3⟧

Fucked

I think we're fucked

They won't believe

That we're the best

Impostor syndrome

It's not entirely clear whether the feelings expressed in this lyric are sincere: if they were, you could say the duo shows a certain humility, given the technical and compositional level they've displayed throughout their career, which is certainly far above the average of today's most successful artists.

In any case, the solution for masking one's limitations is right around the corner: "#Tetas", meaning growing some “tits”, i.e. pecs pumped up at the gym, or else getting one's features redone with botox, should that not be enough. This extreme, irreverent cynicism is counterbalanced by a musically creative track split in two, conceptually prog: a first section of syncopated r&b/neo-soul and a second that takes a disorienting new jack swing turn.

“Re Forro” is a neo-soul track with 90s r&b moods, where the rhythm part played on the rimshot recalls drummers like Stewart Copeland on “Reggatta De Blanc”, though with a more linear, less soloistic touch, closer to a classic samba-enredo. The lyric is a melancholy reflection on the price that had to be paid to achieve one's biggest ambitions:

The dream has come true

But at what cost

Yesterday I didn't want myself

And today I hate myself

“El día del amigo”, however grotesquely, in keeping with the album's mood, offers a solution to the decadence and emptiness that fame can bring: don't forget the reason that drove the desire to make music in the first place, namely having fun, in this case with your best friend.

The song, for once, is a little less complex rhythmically, but still doesn't skimp on disorienting harmonic modulations and acid jazz textures.

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14/09/2025