Global eclectic pop artist Jose Conde is in constant evolution. His latest work reveals a sonic journey into electric, eclectic, tropicalized, funk. Conde re-emerges from the New York Afro Cuban music cocoon with Moog synthesizer, looper, vintage organ, wah-wah electric guitar, acoustic and electric beats, and an album of new signature songs. Souls Alive in the 305 (out now on PiPiKi Records) is Conde’s ambitious second solo album and fifth overall following his critically acclaimed Cuban rooted eclectic work with OLA FRESCA. Souls Alive in the 305 was recorded between Brooklyn and Miami in a five-year span and produced by Conde with help from celebrated Miami musician and producer DJ Spam, aka Andrew Yeomanson. The album has received critical praise and reached #1 on the college and community radio charts of NACC in North America while staying in the top 20 world music charts for 12 weeks in the summer of 2022.
His most diverse release to date, Souls Alive in the 305 grooves through a wide range of moods and continues Conde’s knack for blending rhythmic elements across genres seamlessly in memorable, lyrical songs rooted in his love and fascination of nature, his appreciation for the absurd, and for existential exploration, and in his own Cuban American reality. As he passionately explains, “My journey has taken me full circle back to a more pop approach and back to the city where I am from. After writing and producing so much Cuban music I have been gravitating towards funk and in this case the funky pop I heard prevalent in Miami while growing up…on the radio or spilling out of cars. Soul and funk, breakbeat, Miami bass, disco rap, rock n roll, Cuban music and salsa all co-exist in the Miami musical landscape of my youth.” The result is funky, eclectic, crossover pop, with 8 new songs written half in English and half in Spanish.
Recorded between Brooklyn and Miami in 5 years, the process began in 2017 in Conde’s retooled Park Slope setup that featured a Moog synth, a Vintage red 62 Yamaha Organ, Electric guitar and percussion and an MPC. After building the foundational skeletons of the new songs Conde moved to Miami and linked up with co-producer DJ Spam of the Spam Allstars. The two bonded over a mutual love of vintage funk and soul and the gear that makes it sound authentic.
The Sound of Songwriter José Cónde:
Just Jose Conde
José Cónde lives his lyrics. He gets grooves from the names of trees. He leaves melody lines on his own answering machine. He can turn a playful refrain to his dog into a dance anthem. His songs are odes to hot dresses, Brazilian muses, discombobulated elephants, and life-giving springs.
Cónde brings a new focus and maturity to this whimsical world on Jose Conde . He turns highly personal songs into new global grooves and reflective, dynamic ballads.