Eccentric Systema Solar goes out of this world

“SYSTEMA SOLAR,” Systema Solar (ONErpm.com)

Years ago, “world music” was the quaint domain of indigenous, acoustic instruments and a cappella vocals. But with the advent of cheap, readily available technology, the genre has broadened considerably to include the likes of such offbeat acts as Systema Solar.

The self-titled release from the DJ crew from the Caribbean coast of Colombia offers Afro-Latin sounds meshed with electronica, hip-hop and animated vocals, often with improbable results.

The act’s “sound architect,” Juan Carlos Pellegrino, does construct serviceable quasi-traditional fare, including the near-conventional modern R&B ballad “En Los Huesos” as well as arrangements easily associated with typical Latin music on the sweeping “Sin Oficio,” the humming “Ya Veras” and the celebratory “Fayaguaya Aka Firewire.”

However, the freakier Systema Solar gets, the better.

The festive band often goes far afield into a disarmingly eccentric realm. For example, on the political “Mi Kolombia,” the cadence feels like a breathing organism, inhaling and exhaling in a woozy haze as a cartoonish vocal leads a peculiar call-and-response. And the rhythmic-centered “Chico” and “Oye” seem cloaked in hypnotic obscurity, the former stirred by the faux-nostalgia of chopped-up, classic-pop vocals and the latter sliding along an eerie, albeit mellow, vibe.

Elsewhere, “El Majagual” juxtaposes a spellbinding pulse with chaotic chants, and “Quien Es el Patron?” contrasts an anti-drug-lord message with a joyously hedonistic aural theme. There’s also an oddly alluring stretch of tracks late on “Systema Solar” where it appears as if most of the players have evaporated from the mix, creating an strange void occasionally interrupted by effects seemingly parachuted in from some other songs.

There may be a system to Systema Solar, but fortunately it’s not an obvious one.