Chico Mann

The sounds of Africa have taken multi-instrumentalist Chico Mann—aka
Marcos García—all over the world. So itʼs fitting that after spending
years learning to speak Afrobeat, albeit with a Cuban accent, Chico
Mann has employed several dialects to make a larger musical statement,
creating a hybrid of Afro-Cuban rhythms, Afrobeat and classic
freestyle that has emerged to be one of the new, vibrant musical
styles of today.

Born in New York City to Cuban parents—his mother a pianist and disc
jockey, his father a record label head and producer of merengue
records—a young Chico started early, diving headlong into the spheres
of guitar, piano, and break dancing; the works of Willie Colón, Fela
Kuti, Lisa Lisa, and Afrika Bambaataa led the way. His father told him
to steer clear of the business, but did he really have a choice?

Fast forward to the early 2000s. When he wasnʼt burning up stages
worldwide with the mighty Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Chico was home
cooking up a more personal sound, featuring himself on all the
instruments (guitar, bass, keyboards, programming) and vocals (in
Spanish!). A debut album Manifest Tone, Vol. 1 emerged in 2007 and now
2010, he is ready to drop another groundbreaking statement - Analog
Drift, his first for Wax Poetics Records. Here Chico Mann introduces
the rhythms of Afrobeat to the music of Cuba, the Latin freestyle
flavors of 1980s New York and Miami, and the synth-heavy electro beats
of dance floors across the globe.

This is music is good for your mind and behind. And itʼs always real.
The total package. Chico says it best himself: “If you want it you can
have it / If you want it, you can take it, you can grab it.”

So go out and get what you want, and let Chico Mann provide the soundtrack.