THE CRIOLLO "MIX"

By The X Man
ElCircuitoTv.com

When I think of "three way" this is not what immediately comes to mind, however, I was fortunate enough to contact not one; not two; but all four of the band members known as Criollo - and the call didn't drop once (Thanx Nextel!)

My first greeting came from Salvador "Sol" Valdez, who I later learned is the conscience minded one of the four. Sol stays reflecting on things like humanity, and matters of the heart, while always trying to take the groups music to the next level, and it's not that hard for this talented group of individuals who seem to know exactly where they want to go, but more importantly - how to get there.

Alexis "El Gordo" Grullon introduced himself next, and shared the majority of the history surrounding how and where the group met (four young Dominicanos, in Canada?? Yes, this is not a typo, I said Canada). El Gordo, being the Hip-Hop specialist of the group, shared his passion with me for the whole lifestyle of hip hop - but especially the Graffiti! The expression of art comes all too natural for him, and it doesn't matter if it's a stage, or canvas El Gordo reps to the fullest.

Gilbert "Giby" Capellan cleared his voice to be heard next, and shared his piece. "Giby" being the "Romantic" of the group, plays the Gituar, and leans more towards the Bachata aspect of the groups mix. I'm told that "each one... brings [their] own flavor to the Bahire style" (the "Bahire" being a term coined by the group, representing: the fused influences of: Bachata, Hip Hop, and Reggae), and judging by the sound of things - the mexcla they put together hits the spot!

Last, but far from least, Jose "Chiro" Mata, the business minded member finally spoke. Chiro was born in the Dominican Republic, and made it to Canada sometime in the late 80's; his English isn't as fluent as he'd like, but I'm sure speaking both Spanish, and French should compensate for something.

The group got together to collab on a track or two, which then turned to four or five, which then led to the inevitable - 19 hot tracks compiled into their first album titled: Bahire under the label One Island Music. These guys not only engineer their own songs, but they produce and direct music videos to boot! Make no mistake, these guys are the total package, and Canada is just the first stop.

One thing is for certain Criollo wasn't planned, but they were sure meant to be.

www.myspace.com/criollo