Quantic and his Group of Barbarians!

I don't know exactly what Will "Quantic" Holland does. I don't know if he writes, plays, produces or all three. All I know is that anything with the Quantic name is going to be interesting. A few years ago, he moved to Cali, Colombia and began soaking up the local sounds. This summer he released his latest project, Quantic and his Combo Barbaro's Tradition in Transition. It's a melange of latin jazz, soul and funk. All 13 tracks are worth a listen, but my favorites are:

The Dreaming Mind, Part I
Mas Pan
Linda Morena
Un Canto a Mi Tierra
I Just Fell in Love Again

The Dreaming Mind, Part 1 has an amazing string section and harp backing up a slow, breezy tune inspired by beaches and sunsets. It reminds me somewhat of Cinematic Orchestra.

Mas Pan is a Latin jazz jam. The expert horns blast a contrapuntal melody over a basic Latin jazz rhythm.

Linda Moreno is the centerpiece of the album. It's an eight minute epic of Afro-Cuban rhythms and traditional story-telling lyrics.

Un Canto a Mi Tierra is the "single". It's short and punchy. The female vocalist croons smoothly in Spanish backed by a salsa rhythm.

I Just Fell in Love Again shows Quantic's soul side. It sounds like a Sam and Dave song, complete with hot organs, plaintive soul vocals, doo-wop girls and those funky horns.