Carolina Faruolo (ex-Los Bitchos) and Danny Lee Blackwell (Night Beats) had been friends and mutual admirers of each other’s musical projects for years, though with Faruolo residing in the UK and Blackwell residing in Texas, their interactions were limited. Yet as was so often the case for many of us during the shelter-in-place stretches of 2020, geographic proximity wound up being a non-issue as our socializations became almost exclusively online endeavors. In this era of isolation and uncertainty, Faruolo and Blackwell invented their own private escape to Latin rhythms, colorful vistas, and smoky revelries under the project name of Abraxas. Combining their shared love of Wendy Renee, Los Destellos, doo-wop and R&B, they crafted their debut album Monte Carlo by bouncing ideas across the Atlantic.

Today the band share a new video for third album single “Göbekli Tepe,” which they describe as “a dense, electricity filled fog hovers over the grounds of “Göbekli Tepe”. A dark samba emerges, drifting through the vines covered monolithic halls; while in rhythm with the sleeping jaguars and chirping cicadas. The beckoning choruses lull our traveler into a bossa nova induced trance, while the hand rhythms keep the pulse of the jungle.”

They also shared videos for the tracks “Mañana,” a perfect soundtrack to feverish nights in dancehalls, sipping on caipirinhas and cumbia single “Sunrise State (of Mind).” Watch both new videos below.