“Sunrise State (of Mind)” by Abraxas

Carolina Faruolo (ex-Los Bitchos) and Danny Lee Blackwell (Night Beats) had been friends and mutual admirers of each other’s musical projects for years, though with Faruolo residing in the UK and Blackwell residing in Texas, their interactions were limited. Yet as was so often the case for many of us during the shelter-in-place stretches of 2020, geographic proximity wound up being a non-issue as our socializations became almost exclusively online endeavors. In this era of isolation and uncertainty, Faruolo and Blackwell invented their own private escape to Latin rhythms, colorful vistas, and smoky revelries under the project name of Abraxas. Combining their shared love of Wendy Renee, Los Destellos, doo-wop and R&B, they crafted their debut album Monte Carlo by bouncing ideas across the Atlantic.

Today the duo shared a new video for the cumbia-inspired first single “Sunrise State (of Mind).” They explain, “(Horacio) Bolz and (Edward) Heredia were able to create a video concept that originally incorporated elements of our album artwork and sound. The feeling of weightless-ness and interplanetary discovery permeates through the video beautifully.”

“Planet Abraxas is a world filled with jungles, mist-covered rivers, panthers lurking in the night, desolate shopping malls, Neolithic citadels and sand-worn walls,” Blackwell says of the muse behind Monte Carlo. “The nights are usually dense with fog and the air is filled with the sounds of cicadas and faraway drumming.” This visual manifestation of their sound stands in stark contrast to the environment in which the songs were written. “I remember the feeling I got the first time Danny added vocals to one of my tracks,” Faruolo recalls. “I was sitting on my sofa in rainy Manchester in the middle of winter. I pressed play and the song just made my heart jump. It instantly felt special and, more importantly, it felt like a perfect portrait of both of us.”

Abraxas
Monte Carlo
Tracklist
Suicide Squeeze

1. Sunrise State (Of Mind)
2. Mañana
3. Sultan
4. Monte Carlo
5. La Estampida
6. Hourglass
7. Prismatic
8. Yes
9. Golden
10. Fuji
11. Shapeshifter
12. Göbekli Tepe

Pre order Monte Carlo by Abraxas HERE

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