Music, it was noted in these pages in a 2020 article about the band Conga Cartel, is a proven change agent, bringing people together. “Life is a party, after all, or it could be,” The Star wrote.
While the Covid-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the band’s performances in March 2020, Conga Cartel would not be stopped. Fresh from an April performance for the East Hampton Fire Department’s annual dinner at the Maidstone Club in East Hampton Village, the band was busy rehearsing last week ahead of a date at the Stephen Talkhouse, next Thursday at 10 p.m. (They will also take the Talkhouse stage on July 22.)
Despite diverse musical backgrounds, the multigenerational band is a tight-knit unit that has built a reputation for infusing Latin flair and elements of salsa, funk, and other genres into a repertoire that spans more than 50 years of popular music. The ensemble enjoys a close-knit, family-like dynamic that allows its seven members to be flexible and responsive to each other’s musical choices, a rhythm section comprising three percussionists providing a foundation over which the others can improvise and follow one another’s lead.
“Music is the universal language,” said Carolina Kohn, the band’s vocalist, who celebrates her birthday today. “Music brings us all together — everyone of all nationalities and races dance and come together when we perform. Ultimately, we are all brothers and sisters.”
Along with Ms. Kohn, Conga Cartel features Fabian Rodriguez on guitar, Willy Fuentes on bass, Aquiles Brito Sr. and Aquiles Brito Jr. on a variety of percussion instruments, Jorge Castano on drums, and Bill Smith, the newest member, on keyboards. Last week, the band was auditioning backing vocalists. They’re also considering adding a horn section and incorporating original music. “We’re looking to do more fun collaborations, play with special guests, stuff like that,” Ms. Kohn said. “We’re looking to grow, and keep it the living organism that it is.”
That said, “it’s just like a family,” she added. “It’s so fluid. It is so easy to jam together, and that’s something so special.”
The band puts “a fun twist on well-known songs,” Ms. Kohn said. “We primarily tend to play songs that are kind of disco or oldies. We want to do more modern music, but love throwbacks because we’re multigenerational. We want everyone to have fun with the songs. Everyone brings something from their era, their sweet spot. We want to make it our own and make it danceable. We’re known for our high-energy funk, salsa mixes, anything you want to dance to. We can make it more lounge-y and ambient, but people come for the dancing and the energy.”
Examples include Conga Cartel’s take on Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music” (“we break into this Latin part that no one expects,” Ms. Kohn said); a mashup of “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes and “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Eurythmics (“but then we break it down Latin,” she said); “Come Together” by the Beatles (“we play it two ways: either fast and high energy, or slow and groovy”), and the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” (“we have our own take on that one”).
“We do a lot of ska, and reggae as well,” Ms. Kohn said.
“We do a reggae version of ‘Wicked Game’ [by Chris Isaak],” Mr. Castano said, “and then change it to ska, and then go back to reggae. That’s what we like to do. Another cool one, ‘Light My Fire’ from the Doors. That song is boring, but we make it like funk, high energy. That’s what we like to do — we’re not a tribute band.”
The rock-solid rhythmic foundation provided by the band’s three percussionists allows flights of fancy, be it Ms. Kohn’s improvisational approach or the instrumentalists’ space to step into the spotlight. “The chemistry is so good,” Mr. Castano said. “We have a really strong rhythm section because we’ve been playing together for so long,” he said of himself and the elder Mr. Brito, who played percussion from an early age in his native Venezuela. “We used to come to this house and put on some Santana and follow the songs. It has been, like, 20 years jamming with this guy. And my school for drumming was Willy, his bass playing. I’ve got it so down that it’s like a train, you know?”
“We have a connection,” Mr. Fuentes agreed, the kind that transcends verbal communication or eye contact. Rather, it is heard and, most importantly, felt.
“That allows me to be the crazy butterfly that I am,” Ms. Kohn said, “because if they didn’t have such a solid base it would be hard for me to just read off the crowd. I always say it’s so important to read the crowd’s energy. That’s why it’s hard to say, like, how many ending choruses are we going to do? If they’re hyped, let’s do four more. Let’s keep them dancing.”
“We look at each other and are like, ‘what is she going to do?’ “ Mr. Castano said. “We try to follow as best we can. But it is cool, man. Like she said, we are like a family.”
“I love improv,” Ms. Kohn said. “I love to feel it out, and I don’t like to stick to a structure. What makes us different is that we’re not just a cover band. We really like to make the songs our own and give it that Latin flair. There’s so many different types of sounds and rhythms we can make that the sky is the limit.”
But “the most important thing,” Mr. Fuentes said, is that “we have fun, all the time.”
