Bogotá guitarist and composer Juan Cortés steps boldly into new territory with Camino x la ciudad, released October 20, 2025, a kaleidoscopic album that feels like walking through a living city where every street corner hums with a different rhythm. Known for his virtuosity and fearless genre-blending, Cortés distills decades of performance and collaboration into a record that travels fluidly between jazz, funk, blues, rock, and electronic soundscapes. Recorded with an international cast of musicians he’s met along his global journey, the multicultural, restless, and endlessly inventive album mirrors the vibrancy and chaos of urban life.
From the very first track, “Aire,” Cortés sets the tone with dark, hypnotic guitar lines that creep in like dusk settling over the skyline. Subtle percussions shimmer in the background, gradually giving way to a low, brooding bass and melodic lead guitar. It’s an emotional mood piece that pulls you into its spell. The rhythm swells and recedes like breath, evoking the tension between solitude and motion that defines the album’s central theme.
Then comes the title track, “Camino x la ciudad,” where layered guitars seem to converse across busy sonic avenues. One riff lays down a steady pulse while another dances playfully above it, the beats rustling like traffic and footsteps on wet pavement. The interplay between structure and improvisation is cinematic as it portrays the city life constantly in flux.
By “Zona Ch,” the energy peaks. Here, Cortés lets loose with catchy riffs and thicker, rumbling percussion, weaving multiple melodic layers into a free-flowing jam that swings between funk and fusion. It’s vibrant, confident, and effortlessly cool, like the sound of a musician completely in his element.
With Camino x la ciudad, Juan Cortés invites listeners into an ever-changing, soulful journey through rhythm, reflection, and the electric heartbeat of the modern city.
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Review by: Naomi Joan