FLASH AMAZONAS
60nice, Colombia/Japan
Colombian and Japanese art-rock duo, Flash Amazonas mix DIY punk bolero, scrappy Latin no-wave and the absurdist fervor of early Talking Heads on new album uva-uva, forthcoming on 60Nice. Named after an Ecuadorian money transfer business, self-conceded "modern band emulating a 90s band, emulating a 60s band”, Flash Amazonas evoke the esoteric psychedelia of Connan Mockasin with the social satire of Ohio new-wave five-piece Devo on uva-uva, an eleven track medley of apocalyptic Spanish and Japanese-language lyrical theatre and hyperbolic existential realism.
First crossing paths at Red Bull Music Academy in 2015, the story of Julián Mayorga & Ryota Miyake aka Flash Amazonas, is a tale that travels from Montreal, Tokyo, Madrid and Ibagué. Meeting at a two-week residency in Montreal, Colombian avant-pop quirksmith, Julián Mayorga and prolific Japanese producer/multi-instrumentalist, Ryota Miyake (CRYSTAL, Sparrows) returned to their respective homes in Madrid and Tokyo with nothing but a wav of wonky futuristic bolero and an old CD-R of Mayorga’s, handed to Miyake on his way to the airport. Two weeks later, the two unknowingly started working on their first record, Binary Birds (2019) and later, uva-uva, a name Mayorga explains is mocking old cheesy, gringo, 60s pop bands in suits and bow ties, singing about love and heartbreak. Uva also means grape in Spanish – “I imagine this album tasting like bubblegum-flavoured grape” says Mayorga.
Growing up at either end of well over 14,000km and a twenty-hour flight between them, two outsider artists in their respective worlds, who have met only 3 times face-to-face, in 7 years are growing to compliment each other perfectly.
With highly-stylized pop art visuals, a fierce DIY ethos and an infinitude of wild fictions, Flash Amazonas have all the signs of becoming one of 2020s most fascinating and arcane cult groups. “We don’t behave like a regular band. If you already know what is going to happen at the end, then the material won’t speak to you. When you are open, the material will speak its truth. “
Produced between Julian and Ryota, mastered by Felix Davis at Metropolis Studios, London, and mixed by Carlos Mas at Strongroom Studios, London, the album will be released on October 14th on the US label 60nice.
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