Album reviewsThe Other Side Reviews

Yerba Mates – Yerba Mates Singles (2021)

Are you looking for music that fills you with a sense of joy and enjoyment for what is being played? Well, you are in the right place as this is exactly what you experience with the two-track EP Yerba Mates Singles by the band Yerba Mates. Through the two instrumental tracks, you are filled with the obsession and enjoyment the duo has for the music they make.

Bruno (bass, keyboards) and Franek (drums, guitar) met at a summer camp for young artists and connected over their love for funk, soul and jazz. With the idea of just having fun, they started recording and producing their own music. Bringing slinking guitars to energetic horns, they bring punchy grooves to your ears.



The first of the two tracks is ‘mkc’ which pulls you in with a wonderfully twanging yet groovy vibe. There is an amazing blending of funk and jazz with just a touch of soul. The beats make you want to sway to them while the keys have you lost in their blissful journey. Through the music, there is both a build-up of sound and a seductive slide of music. The instruments talk to each other and converse through your brain pulling you ever further under their spell. The production is masterfully completed while making you think that there are a lot more than just two people playing all the instruments.

The second track is ‘No Wonders’ which has a more ethereal vibe to the opening with twinkling high tones and rolling drums. This dips for a funky guitar that plucks against your ears. It is amazing how different the vibe of this track is to the first as it offers an almost fruity feeling to it. Through the music, you are drawn into a chilled jazzy soundscape that has a touch less funk and a little more retro soul to it. There is also this dark undertone lurking around the depths of the music that adds an interesting texture to the melody. The guitars mutter to each other against the backdrop of the keys and emphasising horns. The addition of the horns adds an old-school jazz feeling while taking everything to a whole new level.

Yerba Mates hit you with two very different instrumental tracks that capture the essence of their enjoyment and make you want to listen to them again and again. Yerba Mates Singles may only be two tracks long, but it is a wonderful EP full of texture, masterful productions and instrumentation that is utterly captivating. From the twanging tones of ‘mkc’ to the fat horns of ‘No Wonder’, there is something to capture you mind.

Find out more about Yerba Mates on their website, Instagram and Spotify.