Helado Negro and Reyna Tropical Form New Duo Helado Tropical, Announce Debut Album and Share “Tocando”

Roberto Carlos Lange, who records as Helado Negro, is back with another new project. This time he is teaming up with Fabi Reyna, the guitarist and songwriter behind Reyna Tropical, for a new duo called Helado Tropical.

Lange has kept a busy pace. Last year he put out the surprise EP The Last Sound On Earth and worked with artists including Irreversible Entanglements and Vines. A couple of weeks ago, he also shared a Sly & The Family Stone cover. Reyna, meanwhile, was born in Mexico and raised in Texas, and has balanced her own releases with touring as a guitarist in Sleater-Kinney.

The two met two years ago in North Carolina, after a friend set up a studio introduction. That first session turned into a long-running collaboration, and now the pair have finished a self-titled debut album for Helado Tropical. It was recorded across multiple states, sometimes in the same room and sometimes remotely.

The first preview is “Tocando,” a song sung by both Lange and Reyna. Reyna’s guitar lines sit over Lange’s bubbling synth beat, and the track arrives with a fuzzy VHS-style video directed by Lange.

Helado Tropical is due out this summer, with a release date set for 7/17 on Psychic Hotline. The duo has also lined up two live dates so far: 8/13 at the John Anson Ford Theater in Los Angeles and 8/15 at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco.

Below is the album tracklist.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Sensación”
02 “Tocando”
03 “El Tiempo”
04 “Soledad”
05 “Luna”
06 “Fluye”
07 “Sol”
08 “Déjate Caer”
09 “Un Calor”