From the first strains of Monica Rodriguez' voice on Sounds of Machines, Zigmat defies categorization. Is it electronic? Jazz? Soul? Rock? Dance? Somehow the duo of Rodriguez and bassist Stephen Yonkin manage to pull them all off in spectacular fashion.

The duo performed at this year's SXSW in March with guitarist Santiago Munoz and drummer Dan Duggins. From all reports, the crowd dug them. And that seems to be the case wherever they perform, from the Mercury Lounge, Joe's Pub, Nublu, and Canal Room in New York City to the diverse crowds of SXSW.

Their album Sounds of Machines (SoM) fuses electronic beats and disparate styles to blur the lines between genres, creating a sound totally unique to Zigmat. I can only imagine that the band would be amazing in concert. The CD opens with Rodriguez soaring above simple, haunting keyboards and harp-ish guitar for "Whisper" and closes with "Machine" where an addictive dance beat, eerie background voices, and revolutionary words - "Stand up and face your fears again..." - urge you to break away from the patterns dictated by the machines in your life.

The sheer diversity of music styles on this CD surprised me. From the almost Speakeasy-sounding vocals at the beginning of "Whisper" to the sweet drums, off-beat guitar, Latin-feel blended with electronica and Spanish-language lyrics of "Don't Tire"... From the soothing piano of "So Sure" to the slick bass-line of "Fire"... These folks know how to groove in any language or musical style.

Among my favorites, the bookend tracks of the CD - "Whisper" and "Machine" - but also the beautiful multi-lingual voice of Rodriguez on "Don't Tire" and the hypnotic and haunting "Fire".

I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the lyrics. I've already gushed about Rodriguez voice and the amazing arrangements from her and Yonkin. But without the words, there would be a big piece of the puzzle missing.

Article Author: Fitz

Brian Fitzpatrick (aka "Fitz") is a software engineer and writer living in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with his wife, two daughters, two dogs, and two cats -- trying desperately to survive the chaos!

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