Uwe Schmidt continues to explore the line between sincere music philosophy and comical exercise with his
Señor Coconut project. While his breakthrough
El Baile Alemán album brought to life the idea of a traditional Latin band covering the songs of
Kraftwerk to amusing yet intellectual effect,
Fiesta Songs does the same to pop hits such as "Smoke on the Water," "Riders on the Storm," and "Beat It" with less easy results. While the recontextualization of a prototypical group such as
Kraftwerk clearly played with the notion of genre in a way never heard before, most were satisfied merely with the joke. But now that the joke has been done,
Schmidt is left with only a dissertation on the nebulous existence of real and synthetic in modern studio recordings -- which makes for fine reading, but will be lost on all but the most informed listener. Far more compelling is
Schmidt's
Pop Artificielle album, recorded under the
lb moniker, which re-recorded hits by
John Lennon,
James Brown, and
Donovan with a software program that converted each track into an ethereal robot serenade. The resulting versions maintained the keen pop qualities of the original while adding a new flavor. On
Fiesta Songs, the original pop sensibility is overpowered by the Latin formula of cha cha or merengue.
Señor Coconut may be sound in theory and sincere in conviction, but that doesn't answer the question, do you want to hear a Latin version of
Michael Jackson?