Contento: happy, contented. The two expatriate Colombians who go by the name of Contento like to make people feel happy. Their new single, “Dale Melón”, is guaranteed to get you dancing. Four and a half minutes of what they label “salsapunk”, in this case a delicious blend of cumbia and Nuyorican boogaloo that transports you back to the golden days of Discos Fuentes. As if Pete Rodriguez came to Medellín and found he liked it like that.
So who are Contento? Geneva-based Paulo Olarte is a member of Acid Coco and El Dragón Criollo, and has recorded under both his own name and various other guises. Former native of Medellín and current resident of Barcelona, Sebastian Hoyos, aka Sano, is a DJ and producer, who has released his own brand of minimalist Latin house for the Cómeme label in Berlin, ultra-hip devotees of “the dark side of the mirror ball”. It was in Berlin, at an Eddie Palmieri concert, that the pair met in 2011 and discovered a mutual passion for la salsa. They kept in touch, though it wasn’t for another five years that they took the time off from their respective projects to explore why and how they wanted to make music together.
They wanted to create what Paulo describes as “a new salsa sound that will make you want to discover some of the older sounds, too.” The new single does just that. It’s built, as most of their very immediate music is, around the tumbao or groove – in this case the beat, beat, beat of the vintage drum machines they used. Bass and keyboards pick up the riff and usher in guitar, shekere and other percussion. Add a simple insistent vocal refrain and the raw alto sax of the Venezuelan saxophonist they met in the Barcelona studio where the recording was finished, and you’ve got a recipe for some seriously smart, witty dance music to drive your funky soul.
And “Dale Melón”? Is there a message in the music? The clue is in the papaya on the cover. In Colombia, the expression “dar papaya” alludes to giving someone the opportunity to take advantage of you. “Dale Melón” is Contento’s way of poking fun at people who take advantage of every situation and think they’re smarter as a result. They’re not. The really smart set will pick up on this deliciously wonky, infectious single and look out for the new album, Lo Bueno Está Aquí, due out later this year.