Dominican-raised Cuban artist Charlie Chimi presents Disco Chimi, a proudly left-field debut that’s decidedly not your average Afro-Latin fare. Sung entirely in Spanish and mixing genres like merengue, dembow, rock, Afro-disco, and Caribbean folklore, the album channels a New York no-wave garage energy that sits alongside traces of deep Afro-Cuban heritage. Leaning into playful experimentation with a tongue-in-cheek, finger-in-the-air irreverence, Chimi favours humour and surprise over convention.

Through electric live shows in New York with an international band of Dominican, Cuban, and American musicians, Chimi shaped the album’s first tracks—and not too long after, they landed him spots opening for the likes of WITCH, L’Eclair, and Tropical Fuck Storm. The album marks the first artist release on Coco María’s label, following Chimi’s effervescent, party-starting single Échale Candela, which appeared on her acclaimed compilation Club Coco: New Dimensions in Latin Music.

Some fires burn quietly. They don’t roar or blaze, but they warm you from the inside out, turning
a house into a home. Club Coco – new dimensions in Latin Music – is one of those fires—a
glowing ember that radiates through nostalgic rhythms and textures that dance between the
past and the future. It’s also a deeply personal trip for Coco María, where she reconnects with
artists from another time and meets new ones, instantly sensing the magic of journeys yet to
come. This volume is a love letter to Latin music, with a generous splash of Neapolitan soul.
And because it’s so close to her heart, it makes perfect sense that it’s the first release on her
very own label.