"Nooooooo! We party! We party! We party!"
Those shrieks are just the desperate pleadings of Miami music fans collectively panicking at the news that Afrobeta's Cuci Amador and Tony Smurphio might be splitting, like so many promising 305ers, for friendlier (and possibly more profitable) West Coast climes.
Don't worry, though ... The Afro fanatics' reaction is a bit premature. Because Cuci and Smurphio aren't leaving forever. They're just temporarily relocating to Los Angeles.
See also: Afrobeta on Miami Crowds: "Rude as F@#% ... But Nobody Dances Better"
Last month, when we here at Crossfade chatted with Ms. Amador and Tony, they expressed frustration that a new, full-length Afrobeta record hasn't come out since 2012.
"We have a bunch of new songs," Smurphio said, "we're just trying to figure out how to release them.
He also admitted: "The reality is, honestly, our label is pushing more of an EDM sound. And ehhh, we're trying. But it feels like the stuff we're doing now, the label doesn't really get. They want more of that Avicii sound and we just can't do it, man."
In that interview, Cuci and Smurphio also mentioned an impending trip to California. "I know it's a horrible thing to say," Ms. Amador acknowledged, "but I think that we should leave [Miami] for a little bit."
So this week, when rumors of Afrobeta's imminent departure started sweeping through the social media sphere, we hit up Tony to ask: Is it true that you're moving to L.A.?
"Yeah," he says, "but only for the summer," explaining that "we're trying to find a new label and management, because our present one wants us to make 'cheesEDM' and I can't."
The relocation should last only a few months. They'll take meetings, record, and tour before returning to the 305. "Unless we make $6,324,456," Smurphio jokes. "Then we stay."
But even if they become instant Tinseltown millionaires, Tony insists: "We'll keep our beloved Miami informed of all our moves."
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