Reappearing act

Since the release of their breakthrough second album, 1998’s “The New Sound of the Venezuelan Gozadera,” Los Amigos Invisibles have established a solid reputation as the quintessential Latino party band with an attitude -- and for good reason.

The South American sextet’s bubbly and refreshing sound is a playful blend of funk, disco, bossa nova, lounge and Afro-Caribbean idioms, peppered with lyrics that gleefully talk over risque sexual positions and endless make-out sessions at the beach.

Yet the band, which performs tonight at the Conga Room, has experienced its share of bitterness and despair. In fact, Los Amigos came close to simply falling apart.

The trouble began in the fall of 2001, when the group participated in the Watcha Tour Latin rock festival. Taking the stage of the Universal Amphitheatre during the trek’s Los Angeles stop, the Amigos looked frail and exhausted as they performed a colorless half-hour set that was booed loudly by the event’s hard-core rock fans. Lead singer Julio Briceno made an obscene gesture to the crowd before departing, his lips locked tightly in a grimace of anger and frustration.

“It was the lowest point imaginable,” says Jose Luis Pardo, the group’s guitarist and principal songwriter. “It was pathetic, because we didn’t want to be [on that tour] from the very beginning, but somehow we ended up doing it. And we lived through it. If you survive playing in front of 1,500 people who are throwing bottles at you and calling you [names], you can survive anything.”

That tour began an extended, painful cycle that saw Los Amigos move to New York City from their native Caracas, fire longtime manager Alberto Cabello, and hold up the release of their newly recorded fourth album because of their label Luaka Bop’s financial problems.

“I don’t really remember us discussing a possible breakup,” Pardo says. “But we were all very dispersed, caught up in the midst of this bad momentum.”

Then, unexpectedly, good things started to happen.

Los Amigos’ psychedelic soundscapes and electronica-friendly vibe attracted the interest of artists outside the Latin rock circuit. Notable production team Masters at Work (“Little” Louie Vega and Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez) suggested a collaboration, an offer the group was glad to accept.

The Amigos met French DJ Dimitri From Paris and ended up exchanging tracks that will appear on both of their upcoming albums.

“Working with DJs has changed our way of making music,” Pardo says. “These guys don’t labor over what kind of pedal you should use with your guitar. They think in terms of the overall ambience, the texture of the song. They leave all messages aside and strive to make music that envelops you.”

One listen to a rough-mix version of “Venezuelan Singa Sound Vol. 1,” Los Amigos’ still unreleased new album, suggests a universe of changes. The songs are longer, profoundly nostalgic, imbued with the dreamy, sophisticated textures of ambient electronica.

“I feel like we’ve been born again,” Pardo says. “We’re experiencing a new honeymoon of sorts. And we know that when the record is finally released this year, many people in the dance genre will be waiting for it.”

Fittingly, Los Amigos have changed their notoriously raucous live performances to reflect the new stylistic developments, dividing gigs into two defined sections.

Although electronica has become an important part of their identity, they insist on reproducing their complex sonics with live instruments. “There’s a lounge side to us that we really love,” explains Pardo, whose gentle bossa instrumental “Las Lycras Del Avila” is one of the group’s most transcendental moments. “We begin with a lounge set of our soft tunes, and then we follow that up with a second, funkier dance set.”

Pardo emphasizes that Los Amigos have not tailored their music to a specific demographic, be it Anglo or Latino. But he does feel constricted by the rock en espanol tag.

“Latin American music has more to offer than just groups like Jaguares and Mana,” he says. “It’s taken us a lot of effort to make people understand that.”

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Los Amigos Invisibles

Where: Conga Room, 5364 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles

When: Tonight, 10

Cost: $20 to $54

Info: (323) 938-1696