Cocoband

Among the top merengue serves of the first to mid-’90s, Pochy con Su Cocoband were an organization in the Dominican Republic led by Alfonso “Pochi” Vásquez. The group documented roughly twelve albums more than a ten-year period for the famous Kubaney label and billed themselves under a number of brands — originally simply Cocoband, after that Pochi y Su Cocoband or Pochy y Su Cocoband, also Los Cocotuces. Founded in 1988 by Vásquez, the initial Cocoband had been notably also made up of Kinito Méndez and Bobby Rafael. Alongside Vásquez, Méndez — who split in the Cocoband through the early ’90s and discover success somewhere else with Rikarena and Rokabanda, plus being a single artist — composed lots of the group’s music. The Cocoband produced their full-length record debut on Kubaney with Cocoband (1989), accompanied by many various other albums including La Faldita (1990), Llegaron los Cocotuces (1991), Pero con Coco! (1991), Un Arrollador (1992), Canciones Cocomanticas (1993), La Coco Ha sido la Coco (1994), Un Hombre Llegó Parao (1995), Temible (1995), and Un Ombliguito (1996). Furthermore, Kubaney compiled several greatest-hits series: Grandes Exitos de la Cocoband, Vol. 1 (1994), Grandes Exitos de la Cocoband, Vol. 2 (1994), as well as the double-disc Coco Mixes (1998). By enough time of the last mentioned collection — a compilation of expanded merenhouse remixes reflecting the changing moments — Vásquez acquired still left Kubaney and linked himself with a fresh label, Fonovisa Information. Changing his billing from Pochy con Su Cocoband to Pochy Familia con Su Cocoband, he released several albums that discovered him leaving solely merengue and implementing other tropical designs such as for example salsa and bachata: Ponle Sazon (1998), Tu Sabes…Zero Te Hagas (1999), and Con Más Sabor a Coco (2001). This trio of Fonovisa produces proclaimed a downturn in reputation for Vásquez, and following a one-off indie discharge, Pochy Familia con Su Cocoband (2004), he essentially inserted circumstances of retirement. A couple of years afterwards, the label Emusica bought the Kubaney back again catalog and reissued among the better Pochy con Su Cocoband recordings of the first ’90s: there have been two compilations in 2007 — the single-disc Coco de Oro as well as the double-disc A GUY and His Music…¡Pero con Coco! — and also a few select albums. After that in 2008 Vásquez reunited with unique Cocoband users Kinito Méndez and Bobby Rafael for any 20th anniversary special event performance in the United Palace in NEW YORK.