Atmospheric Pop and Beats from Peru’s WiFi Hackers
24 August, 2011A few weeks ago Sounds and Colours received an email from Katia de la Cruz of Moldes, informing us of her new project WiFi Hackers. It took us a little while to get round to listening to the group, with the group releasing a single in the meantime, but we are more than glad we finally got round to it.
Moldes produced one of our favourite albums of 2010. Their self-titled debut was an indie-rock effort finding the perfect ground between dirge and ditty.
In WiFi Hackers, Katia (vocals) is joined by Ricardo Canales (guitars, vocals and production) and David Acuña Sanguinetti (drums and production), and their sound is something altogether different. Their new single “Isla” is a bustling tune with dashes of electronica and a narcotic feel. For a band that is still so young it represents a very mature sound.
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I had originally intended to describe WiFi Hackers sound as “atmospheric pop” but one of their other songs, “Conciencia”, stopped me from doing this. Essentially this is a hip-hop tune, featuring Capoxz Beatbox, and wouldn’t sound out of place on a Ninja Tune compilation. An effortless bass line combines with taut drumming, trumpet splashes and blissed out chords to find a middle ground between hip-hop and jazz that shows this is a band with a few tricks up it’s sleeves.
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“Zum” is akin to new single “Isla”, with a little of the 4AD roster about it, aping the drama of a great Cocteau Twins tune. The slowly-building guitars are a particular highlight.
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So far WiFi Hackers have released four tracks. The first one they created was “Enigma”, a song that was actually written before Katia joined the group. It’s frantic vocals help build a tense atmosphere which threatens to explode with seething guitars. Over it’s 3 minutes and 12 seconds it manages to pack more emotion than many bands fit on a single album.
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Keep your ears peeled for more from WiFi Hackers. Judging on these first four tracks they are definitely one to watch for the future!
soundcloud.com/WiFiHackers
www.reverbnation.com/WiFiHackers
facebook.com/WiFiHackers
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