Afrobeta Brings Its Space Funk to Transit Lounge This Friday

Cosmic. Karmic. Ghettotech house. These are a few of the words used by local duo Afrobeta to describe their sound. An ambient blend of disco, funk and house with underpinnings of various other electro styles ranging from breaks to trance and even bit of gabba, Tony "Smurphio" Laurencio and Cristina...

By Christopher Lopez

February 18, 2009

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "19274298",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17482312",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482310",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482313",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Cosmic. Karmic. Ghettotech house. These are a few of the words used by local duo Afrobeta to describe their sound. An ambient blend of disco, funk and house with underpinnings of various other electro styles ranging from breaks to trance and even bit of gabba, Tony "Smurphio" Laurencio and Cristina "Cuci Amador" Garcia's distinct flavor tastes kind of like old school Deee-Lite would if it were rolled in sugar and served by an old dude with a churro cart on Calle Ocho. Smurphio's funky beats and campy melodies caress Cuci's sweetly soothing bilingual vocals perfectly.

The group formed after the two met in the summer of 2006 at one of Smurphio's shows with one of his 19 other bands. That may be a slight exaggeration, but the man does work hard as a permanent member of local favorites Suenalo Sound System and frequently gigging with other nationally recognized bands, such as Bacilos. Meanwhile, Cuci came up from salsa proving grounds, singing with Son Con Clave back in college and since taking the stage with local groups like OrganicArma and Beat Machines.

Be sure to catch Afrobeta's live delivery of cosmic-karmic-ghettotech-house-funk-disco this Friday, February 20th at Transit Lounge.

Afrobeta performs at Transit Lounge (729 SW 1st Ave, Miami, FL 33130) this Friday, February 20th at 12am. As always, no cover. Enjoy $6 Absolute Mango drink specials from 9-11pm.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.