Name: Monte Carlo
Brand: Abraxas

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

SSQ201CD

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2022-10-28

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Cargo

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

0803238020129

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Total Cap

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

SSQ201LPC1

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Pink

Eggshell Pink

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Download code: Yes

With OBI.

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0803238020112

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1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / pink

Artist

Abraxas

Genre GB

Alternative / Modern

Label GB

Suicide Squeeze

Founded in 1996 by David Dickenson, Suicide Squeeze is a Seattle-based music label that has made its mark on the industry. With a focus on indie rock and alternative music, the label has consistently released high-quality albums from both established and emerging artists. Known for their commitment to supporting unique and innovative sounds, Suicide Squeeze continues to be a driving force in the music scene.
Over the years, Suicide Squeeze has built a reputation for discovering and nurturing talented musicians. Their roster includes notable acts such as Modest Mouse, The Black Keys, and Elliott Smith. With an impressive catalog of releases spanning various genres, the label prides itself on offering diverse musical experiences to its listeners.
As an e-commerce website dedicated to showcasing the best of Suicide Squeeze's discography, we are proud to bring you an extensive collection of albums from this influential label. Whether you're a fan of indie rock or looking to discover new sounds, our platform offers easy access to some of the most exciting music being produced today. Explore our selection and immerse yourself in the world of Suicide Squeeze.

Debut Album From Carolina Faruolo (Ex-Los Bitchos) and Danny Lee Blackwell (Night Beats).

Carolina Faruolo (ex-Los Bitchos) and Danny Lee Blackwell (Night Beats) had been friends and mutual admirers of each other’s musical projects for years, though with Faruolo residing in the UK and Blackwell residing in Texas, their interactions were limited. Yet as was so often the case for many of us during the shelter-in-place stretches of 2020, geographic proximity wound up being a non-issue as our socializations became almost exclusively online endeavors. In this era of isolation and uncertainty, Faruolo and Blackwell invented their own private escape to Latin rhythms, colorful vistas, and smoky revelries under the project name of Abraxas. Combining their shared love of Wendy Renee, Los Destellos, doo-wop and R&amp;B, they crafted their debut album Monte Carlo by bouncing ideas across the Atlantic.

“Planet Abraxas is a world ­lled with jungles, mist-covered rivers, panthers lurking in the night, desolate shopping malls, Neolithic citadels and sand-worn walls,” Blackwell says of the muse behind Monte Carlo. “The nights are usually dense with fog and the air is ­lled with the sounds of cicadas and faraway drumming.” This visual manifestation of their sound stands in stark contrast to the environment in which the songs were written. “I remember the feeling I got the ­rst time Danny added vocals to one of my tracks,” Faruolo recalls. “I was sitting on my sofa in rainy Manchester in the middle of winter. I pressed play and the song just made my heart jump. It instantly felt special and, more importantly, it felt like a perfect portrait of both of us.”

Uruguayan-born Faruolo grew up with the tropical beats of cumbia and the psychedelic ‑avor of classic chicha artists, and it became her mission to infuse those sunny in‑uences in her work as a UK musician. Blackwell’s work under the Night Beats handle involves the fusion of outlaw soul and R&amp;B with a resourceful DIY spirit. Despite the apparent contrast in their styles, the two musicians bonded over their reverence for Selena and Sade, exemplars of the humid pulse and sultry spirit of their respective approaches. As Abraxas, their distinctive musical perspectives created a sound that encompassed the tropicalia of Os Mutantes, the scrappy songwriting of Cleaners From Venus, and the trippy production of Lee “Scratch” Perry, though the duo is quick to assert that they were ­nding their own distinctive voices rather than adhering to pre-existing stylistic codes and constraints. And indeed, Monte Carlo feels rooted in tradition but blossoms into its own unique timbres and vibrations.

Monte Carlo opens with “Sunrise State (of Mind),” where a hypnotic cumbia beat serves as the bedrock for cosmic guitar leads, hazy choral melodies, and Blackwell’s seductive vocals. From there, the album continues its steady Latin pulse on “Mañana,” a perfect soundtrack to feverish nights in dancehalls, sipping on caipirinhas and sharing cigarettes with strangers on the dance‑oor. Across its twelve tracks, Monte Carlo unfurls a myriad of exotic in‑uences, from the Eastern melodies and guitar trills on “Sultan,” through the dub-in‑ected stomp and scorching fuzz of “La Estampida,” and on to the Anatolian psych-funk of album closer “Göbekli Tepe.”