HOMELESS HERO EP, BUFIThe Poni Republic, Mexico ****
Rating: 83
By Carlos Reyes
And yet another fantastic EP from the net label Poni Republic, Mexico’s Bufi is Mateo Gonzalez, a cybernetic guru releasing a mesmerizingly confident debut production. He is really one of the first progressive electronic acts to emerge from Mexico’s hipster social life and the head of Le Touch, a fantastic collective blog of audiovisual artists. An electropop album influenced by the European market, clear waves of Daft Punk and their synthetic vision of how to walk on pixies. He is a top DJ for Mexico City’s coolest parties and begins to show signs for international success. Homeless Hero is an auspicious 4-track EP that serves as a great introduction of an already announced full album in the works. It is hard to recognize official singles on any net labels, but I’m guessing “We Begin” is the highlight track here as it is the only one fully vocalized. The other three tracks have minimal vocal courtesy, as they should be; there is perfect mediation in a frenzy record that belongs to French radio. Also very popular among my friends is “Like a Child” (included on La Rocola #6), that song really brings me back joyful memories and a handful of chuckles. Homeless Hero is chromatic, pastel, and contrasting, a truly wonderful opera prima. One other thing, I don’t I’ve heard a better engineered album this year, the design sounds truly mesmerizing even if not innovative, it’s just sparklingly fresh. Bufi is also a member of an upcoming band called Neon Walrus; I really like what I hear from them too. As you know, all the music from Poni Republic is free, I honestly feel like I should run to get a physical copy of it like I do with almost any album that gets a rating of 80 and above, but this is pure digital.