Illya Kuriaki and the Valderramas complete discography review + plus solo stuff

Illya Kuriaki and the Valderramas

Fabrico Cuero (1991)

Genre: Rap, Hip Hop, Rap Rock

This is probably the first Rap album ever put here in Argentina, and sadly it's pretty bad, the rapping and songwriting have a long way to go. The thing is that Dante Spinetta and Emmanuel Horvilleur, were really young when this album was made around 15 or 16 years old, so they are in their very basic formative stages as rapper and musicians. Another thing was that there was no rap culture in the country, so they learned how to do every from scratch because even coming across with a rap album in this country at the time was almost impossible. And even though these kids have a long way to becoming a creative driving force in Argentine music, this album has a couple of good moments. 

Overall: 40 

Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas

Horno Para Calentar Los Mares

Genre: Alternative Rock, Rap Rock, Funk Rock

There is a quantum leap in the quality of songwriting for this duo, there are still rough edges, but these kids land some memorable tracks, "No Way Jose" kick ass. Dante has taken up the guitar just like his father the legendary guitarist Luis Alberto Spinetta, changing up the sound and style becoming much more a rap rock and funk rock effort instead of straight up rap album. The Kuryaki also incorporate more melody into the vocals showing off an impressive evolution as artists, "Virgen de Riña" is an incredible song written by to kids. Also instead of using drum machines and keyboards, there is an awesome band behind the Kuryaki with the highlight of Argentine bass god Javier Malosetti landing a couple of good basslines, Fito Paez on the keys on a few tracks.

The only bad thing about this album is that the quality does not maintain itself in the whole production there are a couple of filler tracks, but this album is a classic anyways.   


Overall: 59.3 


Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas

Chaco

Genre: Hip Hop, Alternative Rock, Rap Rock

I remember when this album came out back in the late 90's, my parents wouldn't let me by it. Because the lyrics were pretty sketchy for a 15-year-old kid,  they were pretty provocative, sexually explicitly and vulgar for the time, it funny now these songs are almost the norm now, but lacking the wit and artistic value the Kuryaki would have. 

Now these guys have created Argentina's answer to the Beastie Boys's Check your head the Kuriaki's, they many of the cues from the New York band fusing rap, hip hop, 70's style funk rock and alternative rock, but the Kuryaki show off being more artsy, much better musicians and have a much better use of melody just killing it with a couple of ballads.

Overall: 60

Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas

Ninja Mental (1996)

Genre: Rap, Hip-Hop, Funk, Soul  

This album is the band official MTV unplugged live recording, and even though they cut a couple of corners using some electric guitars and some trippy effects hidden in the mix, these guys just thieved in an acoustic set. They rework their song in such a way that they work totally well unplugged, even hip hop tracks like the "Abarajame" or "No Way Jose". They take advantage of the format adding strings and keys anytime they can. The instrumentation is top notch,  it's a really treat, and this album is a true gem for music lovers.

Overall: 58.5 


Vs (1997)
Genre: Rap, Hip-Hop, Funk, Soul 

This album really let me down they went in a super mellow direction on this album, just overindulging with the ballads and pretty much axing the alt-rock out of their sound, having a significant presence of synthesizers. I went to see them when they presented this album and the funny thing that happened at that show was that Molotov, the opening act, blew everyone away with a high-octane set.  The place bursting with energy after their set and when the Kuriaki's came out with their mellow hippy set, and the crowd just started to throw everything they had at them.
Now the good things about this album is that it has some of the Hip Hop tracks are pretty experimental like "Expedicion al Klama Hama" and Jugo is a fantastic funk track, a direction the band will mostly take after this production.

Overall: 58

Illya Kuriaki and the Valderramas

Leche (1999)

Genre: Funk, Funk Rock, Hip Hop

The band always flirted with funk, being a significant influence in their style, but with this album, they just indulge in this genre. They take funk into some really interesting directions, from some straight up Dance/pop stuff in "Latin Geisha" or "Coolo" to an insane punk funk track called "Robot" and there are some pretty heavy funk rock tracks like "Apocalypses Wow" and "Wacho". Funk patron saint  Bootsy Coolins actually appears on the track DJ Droga with just killing it with one of his signature bass lines and  solos. 

The production sounds super clean, energetic and fresh, overcoming the dark feel of VS. The bass guitars have some super cool old school funk effects, and some of the keys  have an old school Bernie Worrell vibe. There is somewhat of a marriage between classic funk production with a modern electronic dance sound, something that artist like Jamiroquai ushered in to funk in the early 2000's. 

Overall: 60.1