Priveligio Mio – J Diligente (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

It is fair to say that for most people, the lyrics of a song are more important than the music. Most are happier to be led by what the singer has to say than perhaps where the music takes them, happier to travel the intended path than consider the overall effect of the music.

Such an approach has limits, such as now, as I am presented with an album of music sung in Spanish, a language I am ashamed to admit I don’t speak. All you can do in such a situation is take the music for its overall sound qualities and not hang on to the singer’s every word to understand what he is trying to say to us. Or, put another way, forget the words, how does the music make you feel?

Thankfully for me, JDiligente makes dance music, fusing Latin grooves and Mediterranean rhythms with digitally infused beats into infectious clubland music. This means that even without understanding the titles or the lyrics, it is easy to find yourself pulled into the sound he makes.

Take the opener, “Casi Sexo. “It’s a song that shimmers with the embrace of the warm Shirocco winds as readily as it sparkles with the neon lights of the most discerning uptown dancefloors. And whilst you are considering the deft meeting of worlds, you realise that the song’s rhythm has you under its spell, and you are already moving your feet. He’s unstoppable.

We find songs laced with the echo of reggae rhythms, such as “Capitulo Perdido. ” There are threads of Colombian traditions with the easy danceability of “Cumbia del Deseo,” the title hinting at the infusion of styles. There are more balladic ebbs and flows, such as with “Mar Sin Luna.” There is even room for two of the songs to be reworked via the unmistakable sounds of the Salsa sound.

Words are important, but it is where the sound of a song leads you that is important, and JDiligente makes music that leads us… that drags us onto the dancefloor or any space where we can sway and swing and dance and glide and deftly step in time to these powerful rhythms.

Priveligio Mio is also an album that reminds us that dance music is a global phenomenon. If you present this music to anyone, Spanish speaker or not, they will be on their feet in no time, despite any language barrier.

Yes, words are important, but action is everything.