The London-based, pan-continental female instrumental four-piece, Los Bitchos, have announced the release of their debut album, Let The Festivities Begin!, on February 4th 2022 via City Slang Records. The album was produced by Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand in Gallery Studios, London – the recording space owned by Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music.
To coincide with the announcement, the band have also shared their new single and video, “Las Panteras“, a disco-funk prowler that sounds like it’s beamed in from another planet. The accompanying video was directed by Tom Mitchell.
The band’s Augustina Ruiz has this to say about the accompanying video directed by Tom Mitchell: “We wanted to show the mystery of the song combined with sassy dance moves. Inspirations for the video are Kill Bill, Scooby Doo & Spice Girls’s ‘Wannabe’ video. The huge battle climax at the end is a Bram Stoker ‘Dracula’ inspired fight which will leave you hanging for what’s in store next, between Las Panteras and the girls. A tacky ’70s show in which the band must solve the mystery of Las Panteras, taking a break now and then to bust out some sassy choreographed dance sequences to keep their spirits up! To be continued…”
Listen to “Las Panteras” and watch the video for it below:
Serra Petale (guitar), Agustina Ruiz (keytar), Josefine Jonsson (bass) and Nic Crawshaw (drums) hail from different parts of the world but met via all-night house parties, or through friends. Their unique sound binds them together, taking in a retro-futuristic blend of Peruvian chicha, Argentine cumbia, Turkish psych and surf guitars. It’s not unlike if Khruangbin – their spiritual cousins, who are fans of Los Bitchos – spent a night getting slammed on cheap mezcal at the Shacklewell Arms in Dalston.
“I wanted to sound like Van Halen and Cocteau Twins – but from Turkey,” says multi-instrumentalist Serra, who was born herself in Western Australia and takes a lot of inspiration from her mother’s 70s Anatolian rock records. The rest of the band bring influences from their upbringings, too. Agustina comes from Uruguay and the group fell in love with her Latin-American music collection (as much as they did Madonna’s ‘La Isla Bonita’ period). Then there’s Josefine from Sweden – “who brings a touch of out-of-control pop,” her bandmates joke – and Nic from south London, who drummed in various punk bands before rounding off Los Bitchos. “Coming from all these different places,” says Serra, “it means we’re not stuck in one genre and we can rip up the rulebook a bit when it comes to our influences.”
Let The Festivities Begin! artwork & tracklist:
1. The Link is About To Die
2. I Enjoy it
3. Pista (Fresh Start)
4. FFS
5. Tropico
6. Las Panteras
7. Good to Go!
8. Change of Heart
9. Tripping at a Party
10. Try the circle!
11. Lindsay Goes to Mykonos
Los Bitchos will tour the UK in February 2022 with a London headline show at The Scala on Wednesday 2nd March 2022. Full tour dates are listed below.
09.10.21 BE Bruges, Close Encounters
16.10.21 ES Formentera, Posidonia
11.11.21 FR Hydrophone, Les Indisciplinés
12.11.21 FR Saint Lo, Rendez Vous Sonique
15.02.22 UK Southampton, Joiner
16.02.22 UK Manchester, Gorilla
17.02.22 UK Leeds, Brudenell
18.02.22 UK Glasgow, Stereo
19.02.22 UK York, The Crescent
20.02.22 UK Liverpool, District
22.02.22 IRL Dublin, Workman’s Club
24.02.22 UK Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
25.02.22 UK Bristol, Exchange
26.02.22 UK Brighton, Patterns
27.02.22 UK Margate, Elsewhere
02.03.22 UK London, Scala
07.04.22 NL Nijmegen, Merleyn
08.04.22 NL Amsterdam, Paradiso
09.04.22 FR Paris, La Maroquinerie
11.04.22 FR Bordeaux, Iboat
12.04.23 ES San Sebastian, Sala Dabadaba
13.04.22 ES Madrid, Moby Dick
15.04.22 ES Barcelona, Laut
16.04.22 FR Toulouse, Le Connexion
19.04.22 IT Milan, Magnolia
20.04.22 CH Zurich, Bogen F
21.04.22 DE Munich, Milla
23.04.22 DE Berlin, Urban Spree
24.04.22 DE Hamburg, Molotow
26.04.22 SE Stockholm, Hus7
27.04.22 NO Ingensteds, Oslo
28.04.22 SE Goteborg, Oceanen
29.04.22 SE Malmo, Plan B
30.04.22 DK Copenhagen, Stengade
02.05.22 DK Cologne, Bumann & Sohn
03.05.22 BE Brussels, Nuits Botanique
04.05.22 FR Lille, Aeronef
05.05.22 FR Rouen, Le 106
06.05.22 FR Rennes, Ubu
07.05.22 FR Amiens, La Lune des Pirates
26.05.22 DE Berlin, Desertfest
27.05.22 PL Warsaw, Hydrozagadka
29.05.22 CZ Prague, Chapeau Rouge
30.05.22 HU Budapest, Dürer Kert
31.05.22 AT Vienna, Fluc Wanne
01.06.22 DE Augsburg, City Club
02.06.22 DE Schorndorf, Club Manufaktur
07.06.22 ES Barcelona, Primavera Sound