Mentallogenic by Alex Figueira

An album that sounds like The Menahan Street Band playing in a tropical jungle, at dawn, right at the point when the first rays of the sun penetrate the dark depths of the forest.
During the 2022 summer of natural disasters, under an unprecedented heatwave, and haunted by news reports of ancient relics, sunken ships, and hunger stones resurfacing as rivers dried-up all-over Europe, Alex Figueira started to hear uncanny metallic vibrations and eerie melodies of untraceable origins, day and night. He recalls nightmares of winged creatures inside timeless structures of Escherian architectures playing cosmic instruments amidst tropical storms and acid rains. As the visions came more often, his wife Hester reported that he babbled during his sleep about South American demon Yurupari.
Soon, Alex found himself in a sleepless state and decided to cleanse the studio, with hallowed rites and the intense burning of Palo Santo. After almost burning the studio down, he turned to his neighbourhood’s most experienced psychic, seeking answers. He was told there were “cosmic entities” trying to manifest a message “too complex for us to understand in this dimension” and the only way he could find peace was to deliver those messages in a decipherable form. It was then he decided to transmute his hallucinations into music, an all-or-nothing cathartic solution.
Alex entered a feverish dream, fuelled by the kaleidoscopic motion of the cosmos, ancient meteor showers, and visions of forgotten interstellar South American gods. He remembers very little of the work, but the outcome is this record. Entirely composed, recorded, produced, and mixed in a frenetic nine-day studio stint.

How the experts describe it:

”Just when outernational vinyl vampires thought they had it all sewn up, the metronomic makeshift magician known as Alex Figueira unravels the entire fabric of your record collection to expose a gaping hole where PUNKUMBIA and Transplant-Tropicalia should be. Reducing an expansive palette of influences to a recipe that tastes wildly exotic but comfortably over-familiar, Alex’s roles as both scavenger and chef, bookend a whole ensemble of other highly adept musical personalities in between. Discover this record NOW, or wait until all your friends (or enemies) recommend it to you later.”

Andy Votel (Finders Keepers)

“Incendiary, lysergic takes on South American and Caribbean music from one of the scene's truly authentic and eccentric producers. You can always count on Venezuelan-born, Amsterdam-based, multi-instrumentalist, music-fanatic Alex Figueira to surprise and innovate, whilst consistently keeping it true and real. The former Fumaça Preta drummer & front-man's debut solo album does not disappoint!”

Miles Cleret (Soundway)

“The one man band Alex Alex Figueira comes through with some major flavors on this one. Cumbia beats and psychedelic elements with that Latin touch of soul & Funk!”

Kenny Dope (Masters at Work)

“I really respect Alex Figueira’s DIY ethos. From running his own little funky recordstore to running his own label and making his own music by playing every instrument himself. I was already a fan of the song “Aprende” which he released on 7 inch and with“Mentallogenic” he takes it a step further in that same vibe. From songs like “La Culebra” making use of a vocoder in his typical latin sound to songs like “Serious” playing with rhythmic changes and topping it off with some synth flavors. A lovely and fun album”.

Antal (Rush Hour).


Additional Info:
Release date: April 14th, 2023.
Edition: 500 copies
Comes with insert and download code.

Blurring the line between tradition and innovation, beyond the Anglo-Saxon axis.

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