ke Dr. Octagon, Los Amigos Invisibles have skipped the banality of Y2K and set their sights on the next millennium on AREPA 3000: A VENEZUELAN JOURNEY INTO SPACE. AREPA is no typical retro boogie-down. The hipster boys from Caracas have followed Sun Ra's travel advice and loaded their hormonal South American blend of acid jazz disco/funk/lounge/house on a rocket ship, bound for grooves of a higher order.
The band launches a suite of sexed-up anthems with the mid-tempo "La Vecina", followed by the sweaty "Que Rico" and "Cuchi-Cuchi". Guest pop songstress Martika blows some breezy Brazilian vocals into the mellow yearning of "Si Estuvieras Aqui" (If Only You Were Here), while "Piazo 'e Perra" is big-chorus, organ-grinder funk. If HAL from the film 2001 were slipped some acid, "Pi Pi Ri" could be the soundtrack to his daydreams. The club-pop jewel "El Barro" glances back over its shoulder to 1985, with singer Julio Briceno picking up the vocoder for some metallic vocal luster. The boys offer a nod to drum-and-bass with the thumping bagatelle, "No Le Metas Mano", yet venture off into more tropical territory on the faded AM salsa of "Llegastes Tarde", and the electro-chintz merengue of "El Sobon".|

Rovi