Gecko Turner's fourth album, That Place By The Thing With The Cool Name is a marvelous journey. A globetrotter lifestyle and the opportunity to share experiences with musicians from remote places are the reason for the exuberant worldliness of this album. First signed to Quango, Gecko Turner released Guapapasea! in 2006 and has been going strong ever since. There is an incredible band playing on the album. Guitarist Rafa Prieto and bass player Dr. Robelto, whose Fender Bass is the backbone of the full sound of the Afrobeatnik Orchestra, have played on most of the tracks, with the participation of musicians from Texas, Nigeria, Brazil, Cuba, Guinea, England and Extremedura, transforming what Gecko once defined as his "soniquete". But despite all these flavours, the album still sounds distinctly like Gecko Turner and comes packed with his unique and unorthodox interpretation of Soul. The songs cross the frontier of an imaginary space, that "imaginary South" that can be found on the Guadiana/Mississippi River, which has its capital in the American deep south and which shares borders with Nigeria, Brazil, Jamaica, Cuba and Latin Harlem. In this imaginary space the spirits of Coltrane and Lou Reed roam freely and proudly make appearances on some of the songs, especially the last two on the album. "That Place By The Thing With The Cool Name" is not just a brilliant name, it is an overwhelmingly good album, created with the humility that only the very best have.
