Music
2025
Raúl Monsalve and the Outlaws
The corrupt power can pack its bags when this afrobeats gang gallops into the city.
The music of Raúl Monsalve y los Forajidos is primarily a fly swatter. The seven-member band, originally founded in Caracas, now hunts for all bichos, the corrupt little creatures that swarm not only the South American country but the entire world. It's a bonus that the band's fly swatting is highly exhilarating. The percussion is central and often reminds one of the playing of afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen. But around that, everything happens. Monsalve has explored every corner of Afro-Caribbean music, seamlessly intertwining it and eagerly pushing the boundaries. Indigenous rhythms blend with Latin jazz, transform into post-rock - and PATS, another mosquito dead.
