El Guincho

by Marisa Brown Born Pablo Díaz-Reixa in the Canary Islands, the Spanish-owned archipelago off the coast of Northwestern Africa, El Guincho found indie blog fame in early 2008, shortly after the release of his album Alegranza (which came out in December of the previous year), which coincided nicely with his North American debut performance in Austin, TX, at the SXSW festival. At age 14, Díaz-Reixa left his home for Continental Europe to focus on a career in sports, but when that didn't work out, he moved to Barcelona, where he played drums in various bands, including Coconut with his guitar-playing cousin. It was while touring with Coconut in 2006 that the idea for El Guincho -- blending samples of his favorite tropicalia and calypso along with percussion and his own vocals -- came about. Alegranza was almost instantly compared to Panda Bear's Person Pitch and won El Guincho prized spots at both SXSW and the Pitchfork Music Festival, along with many favorable reviews.