Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra’s (ALVO) new album Pulsion delves deeper into spiritual jazz, library and film music. The result is a heavier, more progressive and darker sound albeit with their signature funk and groove remaining intact as the foundation.

As a collective with a rotating cast of members and ranging in size depending on the project, the core musicians on this record are the same as their previous effort “Last Odyssey” with the addition of a string quartet. Their designated ring leader Masta Conga remains the driving force behind the group, and cites library music by Vladimir Cosma, Michel Colombier, and Francois de Roubaix along with French progressive acts Magma and Zao as the main influence for the album especially in terms of the groove. Their spirituality is derived from the east with works by Yuji Imamura, Hozan Yamamoto, Masabumi Kikuchi and Hino Terumusa lending the more esoteric flourishes to the complexity of Pulsion’s sound. Contemporary classical music by Pierre Boulez rounds out the list of inspiration listed by Masta Conga in terms of constructing song structure and composition. Describing the album in his own words:

“On this fourth album, we tried a new approach by including various inspirations such as library music, spiritual and electric jazz funk, abstract hip-hop, with a touch of european groove and contemporary music. Always willing to create new and original rhythmic forms, we hope that it will satisfy you!! - Masta Conga”