Zemog (Aagoo Records)
 
     Experimental salsa in the spirit of Sun Ra?  This is a real musical adventure, containing all the sounds of cultures clashing.  Only one word can describe this finely tuned, off-kilter release:  quirky.  Creative guiding light Abraham Gomez-Delgado serves up his saucy, often startling version of musical worlds in collision:  Latin music combined with everything from elements of free jazz to heavy-metal riffing.  With "Rumba Pa'la Ninas," Cuban dance rhythms intersect with free jazz a la Ornette Coleman, all layered over a heavy-metal-inspired Mozambican beat.  Elsewhere, the Puerto Rican "plena" supports a brash, sassy mix of attitude and influences.  On top, a virtuoso horn section strorms out everything from punchy Afrobeat to Eastern European wails.  From found sounds to the inspired lunacy of "Cemi Snowmobile," this free-flowing, organic work is the freshest approach to Latin music in some time.