Around the World

Senor Coconut, aka Uwe Schmidt, is back with another album that fuses jazz, Latin, and a little bit of electric sounds with Around the World. The album changes several well known songs into Latin-sounding hits. Senor Coconut succeeds in changing songs that were from several countries into one unified sound.

Senor Coconut brings an electronic-Latin sound to a lot of classic songs. As a big fan of the original Daft Punk song, I was quite intrigued by the variation of "Around the World" that was included. It keeps the spirit of the original, but fits perfectly with xylophones and a horn section. Likewise, "Da Da Da," which is still sung in German, instantly makes me get up and Cha-Cha in my room. I'm almost shocked that no one else thought up of making "Da Da Da" a cha-cha-cha.

I love the experimentation and arrangement of each track. "Corcovado" almost sounds like aliens are trying to communicate at times, but it never drowns out the cha-cha tempo or horn section. It just has a few nuances of a '60s space travel/ Jetsons-futuristic feel to it. I love how, with the title of "Pinball Cha-Cha," you feel like you're bouncing around, hitting bumpers, trying to make a high score without losing a ball. It ramps in intensity.There is only one slight complaint, most of the songs on the album abuse the "hoo" and "hah" sound samples. Are there no other sound effects that one can use? As much as I like hearing "hoos" and "hahs," there are other sounds that you could still use to maintain a Latin sound.

The album harkens me to compare Around the World to albums that I own, but the two closest to this sound are Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream & Other Delights Rewhipped and Rhythms Del Mundo: Cuba. Alpert's remixed album is more jazzy and experimental, but has some classic Latin horns mixed in. The latter album has a variety of artists and a definite Cuban edge. Around the World is more danceable and fun in comparison.

This album is great for anyone looking for practicing Latin dances. Especially with the wave of popularity from television shows like Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance?, this album would be great to create your own personal routines to songs that are popular. Most tracks are a cha-cha-cha tempo, but there are some rumbas, mambos, boleros, and even one merengue.

Senor Coconut's Around the World is a fun and experimental take on the electronic and Latin sounds. It is a beautiful combination that succeeds in its execution.