Between the entertaining montuno of "Toda Mojaita", the hit track from Chandalismo Ilustrado, and the harmonic cadence of "Truly", the main song from his new album, Gone Down South, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. The difference between them can not only be measured by time, four years, but also by what, in philosophy, is called evolution. Gecko Turner, real name Fernando Gabriel Echave, born in Badajoz in 1966, seems to have evolved. His sound is more compact, his brass is increasingly soullike, his dynamics are more calculated, his singing is more decisive and emphatic, and yet, the elements with which he is working remain the same. According to his label, Lovemonk: "In Gecko's sound, you can clearly hear echoes of Bob Dylan, African music, reggae, Motown soul, Extremeño flamenco rhythms and The Velvet Underground". You can, of course, also detect bossa nova, swing, salsa, son, funk, folk and a good dose of electronic beats, all of which broadens his work and takes it to another level. He has already used all of this before and continues to do so, albeit with greater force. Gecko Turner likes his style to be called Afromeño (contraction of Afro and Extremeño), but his music goes beyond that label, and, in the case of Gone Down South, tangible evidence of his universality can be found, such as in the track, "Mbira Bira". Recorded in three countries with the help of the Californian artist, Sunny Levine, the Texan producer, Tim Gerron, and the London-based engineer, Antonio Feola, the new album will be on sale from 20 September. As for the music, Turner turns to his old friends, such as the trumpeter, Irapoan Freire (ex-Perroflauta), the soul man, Gene Garcia (ex-Reverendoes) and the pianist, Javier Caramelo Masso (ex-Jerry Gonzalez). In other words, concepts such as familiarity, harmony, good vibes and a good crack are still there too, even though evolution is the name of the game.
