The 2024 concert season at the sublime Opus 40 Sculpture Park in Saugerties opened May 9th with something that delighted ass-shakers and intellectuals alike– a high-energy performance by one of Colombia’s most renowned musical exports – Meridian Brothers.
The five-piece is the brainchild of Bogota-based singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Elbis Álvarez. Meridian Brothers is a moniker Álvarez has used on many albums and collaborations, on most of which he plays all the instruments. Friday’s performance was the kick-off of the band’s latest tour, on which Álvarez is supported by a quartet of equally adept and captivating musicians.
The Meridian Brothers sound is an intriguing amalgam of styles and influences. The songs are anchored on danceable Latin rhythms – salsa, boogaloo and cumbia – accented with eerie, experimental keyboard sounds reminiscent of ‘50s sci-fi classics like Forbidden Planet and echoed guitaring that brings to mind Syd Barrett’s work on Pink Floyd’s debut, Piper at Gates of Dawn. In performance, Álvarez’s vocals are often treated with a harmonizer, digital delay and phasing as are some of the ever-present percussive accents. It brings to mind the short-lived era of early Roxy Music when Brian Eno slathered a boatload of sonic treatments on the live sound to ramp up the otherworldly vibe.
But make no mistake. As heady and refined as this may sound, this is music for ass-shakers, first and foremost. And that was proved by the multitude that boogied down on the lawn at Opus 40 for all of The Meridian Brothers’ 90-minute plus set.
Álvarez and his cohorts – María Valencia (wind instruments, percussion and keyboards), Mauricio Ramírez (drums), Alejandro Forero (keyboards) and César Quevedo (bass) – ran through a 12-song set of their neo-tropicalista classics from their 10-album discography.
The band commenced with its 2020 single, “Cumbia de la Fuente.” Like many of the tunes, it’s anchored by a sub-harmonic bass riff and thump groove over which float cloud fronts of spacey keyboard effects and samples, triggered by Álvarez and Forero’s midi-keyboards. This track winds down with arpeggiated bells samples that sound like a drunken ice cream truck. Things moved more uptempo with the next number, “Bomba Atomica.” This is an almost traditional salsa groove belied by the slightly dissonant harmonizer vocals. Percussionist Valencia truly shined on this one, unleashing a heady dose of cowbell and delay-treated splash cymbals, something she would do all night with a bright smile delivered with each bash.
Álvarez introduced the next number, “Salsa Caliente,” as a salsa boogaloo. This was Plan 9 from Outer Space meets Tito Puente, with some groovy, new wave-y keys and sax accents from Ms. Valencia. The band’s 2022 album, Meridian Brothers & El Grupo Renacimiento, was the source for several of the best tunes performed including “Metamorfosis,” “Hipnosis” and “La Policia.” The next song in the set, “La Policia, provided the space for an extended echo-y guitar solo from Álvarez. The band initially closed their set with the high-energy dance jam instrumental, “Guaracha U.F.O.,” from their 2012 album, “Desesperanza.” After a brief pause, they returned for an encore, their tropicalia take on the Dusty Springfield classic, “Son of a Preacherman.”
The Meridian Brothers’ wonderful show was the first concert of what promised to be a watermark one for Opus 40, which over the years has hosted many legendary performances, mostly notably the one by sax great Sonny Rollins chronicled in Robert Mugge’s documentary, Saxophone Colossus. Read our remembrance of it here.
Opus 40’s headlining events will include two nights with the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra led by 100-year-old Marshall Allen (July 5 and 6), London post-punk with Dry Cleaning (June 27), alternative R&B with Nick Hakim (May 29), reggae with Sundub & Upstate Reggae Posse (August 13), the Afro-Pop of Zimbabwe’s Mokoomba (August 2) and more. Opus 40 will also host Sunday afternoon shows highlighting homegrown Hudson Valley talent including Larry Locust, Biryani Boys, Blueberry, Mac $ Cheeze Balkan Trio and Spaghetti Eastern Music.
“At Opus 40, I try to honor the musical legacy here with a curated selection of acts local and international, experimental and accessible, with a focus on spiritual jazz, ambient and singer-songwriters,” adds Mike Amari, Program Manager at Opus 40 and founder of local concert promoter, Chosen Family Presents. “Harvey Fite, who built Opus 40 by himself over 37 years, wanted his sculpture park to host events that uplifted the human spirit – just like his monumental earth art. So, this is why Opus 40 has committed so much effort and taken so much pride in bringing these incredible acts and many more community events to the site.”
“As for Meridian Brothers, I became obsessed with their brand of music via a compilation of ‘chicha’ music from Peru in the ‘60s/’70s called ‘Roots of ChiCha,’ continues Amari. “A friend who knew I liked this music turned me on to Meridian Brothers. They play some of the same ideas but chop them up and put them together in a Frankenstein-like, Krautrock-y way. It’s hypnotic, dissonant but somehow groovy and very danceable. For these reasons, they were the perfect act to launch our new season. It was the first night of their newest U.S. tour and they traveled for 24 hours to get here. So, we commend them on giving us such an energetic performance.”
Special props to the band’s sound engineer, Alejandro Araujo and the crew at Opus 40, for expertly balancing and EQing what could have easily descended into cacophony. This performance was more electric than the first I witnessed by the band at globalFEST 2023, an event co-programmed by another veteran Hudson Valley promoter, Isobel Soffer.
For a list at the Opus 40’s summer concert schedule, visit here.
photos by William A. Loeb
