Immediately upon starting La Pata Coja, the fourth album from the Bongo Hop, we get a sense of where we are. The jazzy sparkle of the keys, the rhythmic evocation of the clave, and, most overtly, guest vocalist Francy Bonilla’s declaration of “De Cali para el mundo” tell us that we are in tropical Latin America, and more specifically on the Pacific coastline of Colombia.
The opening track, “Mi Olla”, unfolds as a loving ode to the nation, evoking histories of war and peace and future possibilities for revolution. It also signifies beyond its text in even more fascinating ways. The particular depth of Bonilla’s voice almost immediately identifies her with her aunt Nidia Góngora, well known as a sonic ambassador between Pacific Colombia and the wider world. The brassy breadth of the instrumental ensemble calls upon decades’ worth of well-traveled musical circuits between European producers and Colombian performers and genres. From the beginning, we know what La Pata Coja is: a project that crosses water and land in the spirit of far-flung creative collaboration.
La Pata Coja is not just a rehash of so many cumbia hybrids, the Bongo Hop’s central member and trumpeter Etienne Sevet makes clear. Born in France, Sevet spent eight years living and working as a journalist in California before starting a musical career. His Bongo Hop project emerged during this time, but it’s far more expansive than a single encapsulation.
On La Pata Coja, Sevet and his central crew–Setounkpatin Gnanho (drums), Marc Pujol (percussion), Riad Klai (guitar), Jean Tchoumi (bass), Felix Marret (keyboards), Laure Fischer (sax/flute)–build warm and inviting musical beds pliable enough to take shapes that fit a range of guests. In addition to Bonilla, Nidia Góngora represents the town of Timbiquí on the title track, a piece about coming to terms with the inevitability of suffering and loss, and “meMento”, a list of beautiful moments.
Other featured vocalists come from outside of Sevet’s second home. Brazilian singer-songwriter Lucas Santtana lends his dulcet tones to the effervescent “Magica Bonita”. Multi-talented French composer and performer Laurène Pierre-Magnani sings a multilingual tale of soulful longing on “L’oubli Mauve”. Hailing from Haiti, the self-described “punky voodoo queen” Moonlight Benjamin is a powerful aesthetic force on muscular “Eko Eko”.
Meanwhile, her countryman Kephny Eliacin sings of feeling lost as a Haitian in Paris on heartfelt “Dekonekte”. La Pata Coja ends with bassist Tchoumi taking the lead on vibrant “Ah! Kumana”, a story that takes place on the coast of Cameroon.
For all the Bongo Hop owe to Sevet’s time in Colombia, La Pata Coja centers less around abstract ideas of place than it does around people who, while inextricable from the places that have shaped them, are far more than their outward terrain. The distinct geographic movements mapped out throughout the record are activated by lives and experiences, sounded out with blessedly minimal bells and whistles, and instead allowed to shine in their natural forms. Even with a clear leader, the Bongo Hop have always been about charting many stories, and La Pata Coja is an especially enjoyable example.