Daniell Fridell is a multi-instrumentalist and producer with a deep background in jazz, funk, soul and Balkan music. Throughout his lengthy professional career, Fridell has played and produced material for albums, commercials, TV and theater while residing in Denmark and Sweden. As a result of his work, the currently Sweden-based Fridell has toured across the European Union, Africa and the US.
Fridell’s latest project Cumbiasound draws from Colombian cumbia and Peruvian chic with elements of reggae, Balkan folk, Afrobeat, sou and jazz added to the mix. Cumbiasound can trace its origins back to 2010 when Fridell was first introduced to cumbia. “2010 I heard cumbia the first time while standing outside of a supermarket eating ice cream,” Fridell explains in press notes. “It was blazing hot and all of a sudden this music came out of the speakers. ‘What’s that?’ I asked and the rest is history. A true love affair.”
Earlier this year, Fridell released his Cumbiasound debut, Vol. 1: Instrumentales, a critically applauded effort that found the Swedish-based multi-instrumentalist and producer collaborating with Erik Axelsson (trombone, euphonium) that received attention across the blogosphere for being a blissful bit of escapism — and for being an oddity in our increasingly globalized world. South American cumbia convincingly done by Swedes and other Scandinavians? Uh, why not?
Fridell caps off a successful year with his sophomore Cumbiasound EP, Cosas del Universo. The EP, which sees Fridell collaborating with vocalists Boogie Castillo, Lis Flores Varela and José Pereelanga and frequent collaborator Erik Axellsson continues where its predecessor started off — but while digging deeper into several different styles of cumbia paired with 70s Palenque rhythms.
Interestingly, many of the collaborations on the five song EP can be traced back a couple of decades before: Fridell first met Chilean-born, Swedish-based emcee and vocalist Boogie Castillo in the mid-90s, when Castillo was a member of Helsingborg, Sweden-based hip-hop act DOSS. They managed to meet again in 2012 and they collaborated on a couple of early Cumbiasound tracks, including Fridell’s Cumbiasound debut “Calzones Largos,” which was released on the net label Caballito. Considering it a great time to get together to finish old ideas and create new music, Fridelll and Castillo wanted some additional flavor on the EP, so they recruited Lis Flores Varela to contribute her vocals.
Simultaneously, Fridell had been working with Congolese vocalist José Pereelanga on a number of different occasions and invited the Congolese vocalist to broaden the effort’s overall sound. Fridell and his collaborators are hoping that with Cosas del Universo, they have crafted material that can appeal to a broad audience — while adding a Scandinavian twist.
“Maz Paz,” Cosas del Universo’s first single is a breezy yet dance floor friendly anthem centered around shuffling, Latin polyrhythms, a looping and fluttering flute line, an Afrobeat-inspired guitar line, a sinuous bass line and an infectious hook. Boogie Castillo and Lis Flores Varela contribute impressive and inspired turns rhyming and singing to the mix. “Maz Paz” finds the act crafting an infectious and funky bit of cumbia with a globalist and genre-defying bent.
