Panamá-born drummer and DJ Daniel Villarreal releases incredible cosmic jazz debut on International Anthem

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Panamá-born drummer and DJ Daniel Villarreal releases incredible cosmic jazz debut on International Anthem

Highly innovative and active Panamá-born, Chicago-based drummer and DJ Daniel Villarreal, who also notably plays and co-leads in a number of groups including Dos Santos, has recently released an incredible collaborative cosmic psych-jazz debut (under his own name) on International Anthem.

Appropriately titled Panamá 77 to reflect his birthplace and year, this brilliant twelve-track album was recorded in three different locations, beginning with a 2019 gig at the Freehand Hotel in Los Angeles, a September 2020 session at Jamdek Studios in Chicago, and the majority of the record being captured on October 16th, 2020 at Chicali Outpost, which it an outdoor open-air garden behind International Anthem co-founder Scottie McNiece’s home in Los Angeles. The music blends together heavily-layered instrumental textures and percussion rhythms, psychedelic grooves, folk-funk, spacey electronics, and jazz-inspired improvisation featuring guitar, synth, and horn led melodies.

The record features a number of contributors, including a few from the International Anthem family, like Dos Santos guitarist Nathan Karagianis, guitarist Jeff Parker, and trumpeter Aquiles Navarro of Irreversible Entanglements. Other collaborators included bassist Kellen Harrison and Gordon Walters, baritone saxophonist Elliot Bergman, organist Cole DeGenova, double bassist Anna Butterss, Bardo Martinez on both bass and synths, Kyle Davis on rhodes piano, Cole DeGenova on farfisa, viola and violinist Marta Sofia Honer.

Over a number of sessions with a community of musicians and collaborators, Villarreal has put together a phenomenal album together featuring a unique sound that truly speaks to his story as an artist and musician. By far, one of BeatCaffeine’s favorite records of the year!