There are at least two bands named Pacha: (1) Pacha Massive (from Pachamama, meaning 'mother earth'), the debut MTV Tr3s' “Descubre and Download” artist, has been making a buzz since playing their first gig at Madison Square Garden in 2004 (opening for Aterciopelados). The Bronx-based act’s rhythmic blend of funky Latin jams with Colombian cumbia, Afro-Cuban son, Jamaican reggae-dancehall, dub and drum-and-bass has made them a New York club favorite.
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There are at least two bands named Pacha: (1) Pacha Massive (from Pachamama, meaning 'mother earth'), the debut MTV Tr3s' “Descubre and Download” artist, has been making a buzz since playing their first gig at Madison Square Garden in 2004 (opening for Aterciopelados). The Bronx-based act’s rhythmic blend of funky Latin jams with Colombian cumbia, Afro-Cuban son, Jamaican reggae-dancehall, dub and drum-and-bass has made them a New York club favorite. DJ Nova (writer/producer, King Chango, SiSé, Om) on keys/guitar and Maya (writer/bass) make up the core of Pacha Massive, often sharing the stage with up to seven or eight collaborators. They are the first U.S. group to be signed by Nacional Records. Exposed from birth to the pulse of Palo, Son, Cumbia, Reggae and the whole gamma of the Afro-New World tradition, Pacha concoct a positively charged blend that will hit you like a rum laced organic smoothie on the hottest summer day. The duo met in New York while working on a project with Ivan Benavides (Sidestepper, Bloque, Carlos Vives) where a creative collaboration between the two led to the formation of Pacha Massive in 2005. After winning the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) Battle of the Bands contest (previous winners include Kinky and Los Abandoned who have both gone on to launch successful careers) the duo caught the attention of Nacional Records. Pacha Massive’s infectious track “Don’t Let Go” was featured last year on the Nacional Records soundtrack to the box-office hit “La Mujer de Mi Hermano,” and landed airplay on such leading tastemaker stations as Indie 103.1 (Los Angeles), KCRW (Los Angeles), KEXP (Seattle), and KUT (Austin). The new album ‘All Good Things’ is already being hotly anticipated, with first single “Don’t Let Go” recently selected by NBC to air in the popular show ‘Las Vegas’. www.myspace.com/pachamassive (2) Pacha is the solo work of percussionist Pierre-Guy Blanchard, who recorded this album at home with engineer Radwan Moumneh in 2009 and subsequently self-released it in a tiny run of CD-Rs. Affaires Étrangères features intensely satisfying rhythm-heavy instrumentals often propelled by fried, amped-up Middle-Eastern synth lines and sprinkled with guitar, bass and oud along with the odd looped field recording. Think early Trans Am if they had come out of Cairo or Beirut, or Oneida in their motorik mode and with an Arabic pop fixation. Blanchard received a BA in music in 2003, majoring in percussion performance, and then escaped the 'new music' trajectory by traveling extensively and immersing himself in Middle Eastern and Balkan traditions, studying under various masters and playing with a wide range of regional groups. During his periods back in Canada he performed in countless ensembles and first came to Constellation's attention when he was recruited as guest percussionist for Black Ox Orkestar and ultimately appeared on that group's Nisht Azoy album, about which Tiny Mix Tapes wrote "Blanchard's freeform jazz-indebted playing opens the album up to even more adventurous terrain…the second leg plays like a Balkan Henry Cow". Pierre-Guy has also performed regularly with Sam Shalabi's jazz/psych/arabic orchestra Land Of Kush.
