Sometimes a music video comes around that is so delightfully bizarre that it reminds us of the all too often underutilized possibilities of the art form. Like Omar Souleyman in “Warni Warni,” La Gallera Social Club have a vision for "Chocolate" that simply could not be tied down by the laws and restrictions of reality as we know it. Using the great tool of the green screen, the band matches the Afro-hippy-electro-folk of their sound with backward rafting through purple clouds, a band member strutting in front of a psychedelically-garbed rooster, and drums with wings floating about, among other flourishes.
The song itself begins as punchy Afro-cumbia, with guitars, horns and drums building to a chorus that shout-outs “Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Panama.” Then an off-kilter interlude breaks up the the more familiar-sounding melody. The band’s gleeful electo-psych filters through with droning effects and gargled voices. As the band told us in an interview a couple years back: “We can’t help it. We love the Beatles and many other bands from the psychedelic movement.” And we can’t help watching this video over and over again. Here it is:
