One of Holland's most unique multi-dimensional characters is going solo to tell his point of view, spread awareness and provide a much needed musical medicine.
The Amsterdam-based multi-instrumentalist Gino-Cochise might be new on the forefront as a vocalist & bandleader, but he's been living and breathing music pretty much his entire life. Both parents are musicians (mom sang and was a founding member of Dutch soul/disco group Cheyenne and dad played guitar with countless bands over the past 40 years) and he's been hitting pots & pans since early infancy before moving to the drums at the age of 5. His first love didn't stop him to explore other instruments such as the bass guitar, acoustic guitar, various percussion and keyboards in the years after. He's a real artist who embodies music in the truest sense. Like Obelix who fell into the pot of magic potion as a child and became invincible, Gino fell into the pot of music as a child and gained endless capacity to create music in any form. His pure approach reminds me of the Brazilian phenomenon Hermeto Pascoal and I got a feeling they would really hit it off if they would meet.
He first came to most peoples attention around 2014 as one half of Badjekkah, the other half being Mano Yeah. They brought a refreshing blend of hiphop, soul & funk grooves, exemplified here in the anthem 'Badjekkah Theme'.
I always hoped to hear more of Badjekkah as a duo but it seems they were mostly busy as Pink Oculus' band for many years recording and performing all over, including prestigious festivals like the North Sea Jazz in 2017. They had this magical click together and established a solid name in those years.
Since then Gino played drums with other artists like Anne-Faye and went deep into his zone to write and develop a lot of new ideas. He shared glimpses of that through his social media, so we knew it was only a matter of time before he started unleashing the full results into the world. The first full Gino-Cochise (online) performance we were able to witness was last November at the Super Sonic Jazz Festival. We spotted a few familiar faces in his band, like half of the 4-piece group SMANDEM.; drummer Kick Woudstra (yeah, his actual first name is Kick, and he's a drummer. You can't make this stuff up) and guitarist Rafael Devante Sinay. In the last months they did livestream performances at Eurosonic Noorderslag and BIRDfest. As soon as the real life festivals can be organised again, we are certain Gino and his band will be there to rock the stage and blow some minds.
Gino's first solo output 'Foa Woa' is raw, almost punk-like, strangely catchy and makes you question a lot of things, such as the material world we live in. It's the kind of music that needs to be absorbed in an honest way by the listener and requires no further explanation. So it makes sense when you're asking Cochise about it and his answer is:
"I'd rather not talk about it."
'Fo Woa' is out now through his newly founded DJAGO record label and we'll definitely keep an eye out for his forthcoming debut album LBM III.
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