Sharks Eat Meat

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Tek Roc’s “Yayaya” is a Konpa-Cumbia Revolution

Tek Roc’s “Yayaya” is a Konpa-Cumbia Revolution

by John Aaron Coulter

Something’s brewing in Brooklyn’s backrooms — a wild, genre-unifying, revolution. “Yayaya,” the newest track by Tek Roc, is a radiant combustion of konpa and cumbia, channeling psychedelic synths and sassy strings. “Yayaya” is an explosion of sound that doesn’t just cross borders — it vaporizes them.

Superduo Leo Joseph “Minimum Tek” Mintek and Ronnie Roc are Tek Roc, virtuosic veterans of the city’s underground Latin and global scenes — known for sets that veer from folkloric to futuristic. With crackling chemistry and cosmic chops, Leo locks down lush layers of guitar and bass while Ronnie rips up rhythmic storms on percussion and keys. Mintek and Roc have collaborated with powerhouses such as Grupo Descarrilao, NuFolk Rebel Alliance, Los Coulters, and Gogol Bordello —a testament to their ethnomusical prowess and creative genius. Their fingerprints are all over the musical mosaic that is NYC’s live circuit, shaping and defining the sound of the city.

With “Yayaya,” Tek Roc distills Afro-Caribbean percussion, fuzzy barroom cumbia, and smooth synths into a gritty and hypnotic tour de force that builds from a montuno core into a swirling dubscape. The extended mix is full of delicious breakdowns and solos. Think Neil Young, Caifanes, and Alan Cavé jamming in a smoke-filled club, set somewhere between Port-au-Prince and Queens.

While “Yayaya” is THE moment, Tek Roc’s creative catalogue is well worth a dig. Their 2022 EP Time Travelers offers an alternative, borderless vision — taboo weavings of chicha, flamenco, Tex-Mex, outlaw country, and more gallop across time-warped tracks that encompass flavors akin to The Thirteenth Floor Elevators, Johnny Cash, and Chicha Libre. The whole album is overflowing with juicy, dynamic and diverse percussion. Time Travelers’ alluring titular track is both foreign and familiar — cultureless, but not uncultured — presenting an unknown tradition. Recent cuts like “Another Journey” and “Dulce Gouyad” explore further dimensions — from haunting Haitian electro-funk to outrun and jungle grooves.

“Yayaya” is the word of the day. The answer to X. A bold mission statement and a reminder that the dancefloor has always been a meeting place for magic. DJs and general enjoyers of music are going to want to get their hands on this fire summer anthem.

“Yayaya” is freedom.

@tek.roc

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUJ-bzGSdD100O4lUxX4tqg

https://maximumcollabo.bandcamp.com/album/yayaya

https://maximumcollabo.bandcamp.com/