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Bearcoon’s Andrea Walker (left) and Solange Igoa (right) listening to a playback at The Compound. Photos by Lindsey Ingram.

Long Beach musicians Andrea Walker and Solange Igoa—collectively known as Bearcoon—have just parlayed their winnings from last summer’s Long Beach Buskerfest concert/contest into a nine-song album, “El Guapo,” produced by Long Beach music mainstay Antoine Arvizu.

Buskerfest is the end-of-summer grand finale of the Summer And Music concert series, which was created by Justin Hectus and Fingerprints Records owner Rand Foster. “The original idea of Buskerfest was to feature simple, stripped-down live music,” says Foster. “In an age of gimmicks and stylists, it’s great to have a band succeed on the strength of their songs and a dynamic live performance.”

“This is one of my favorite records I’ve ever worked on, for the music and for the experience,” says “El Guapo” producer Arvizu, who hosted Bearcoon in January for a labor-intensive two-day session at his Signal Hill recording studio, The Compound. Arvizu, who grew up in Lakewood, has a deep resume that includes engineering on Sublime’s 1992 debut album “40 Oz. to Freedom” and manning the soundboard at singer/songwriter Jay Buchanan’s recent Bixby Knolls show. “Bearcoon is willing to be raw and honest, but they’re also willing to listen, which I’m very grateful for,” Arvizu says.

“Antoine had really good ideas—he was super-invested in the project,” says Bearcoon’s Solange Igoa. “The album is full of little magical sprinkles that a good producer can add.” For “El Guapo,” Bearcoon and Arvizu kept their approach simple and duo-based but in some spots added a little bass, some percussion and, on one song, a small choir of friends.

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Bearcoon working out a song with producer Antoine Arvizu.

Bearcoon has been gigging a lot locally for the last couple of years at venues like The Federal Bar, 4th Street Vine, BO-Beau, and the Viento y Agua coffeehouse, giving them a chance to hone their songs thoroughly. Many of the songs on “El Guapo” deal with themes inspired by the illness and passing of songwriter Walker’s mother a few years ago. “I have a strong ability to get in touch with my own emotions and translate those into sound and rhythms,” says Walker, whose remarkable skills on guitar help make Bearcoon so sonically self-sufficient. “Being with Solange has had a very positive effect on my songwriting,” Walker adds. “She has a huge vocal range and now I can write melodies with that in mind.

Walker and Igoa bring a wide assortment of influences to their self-described “front-porch Americana” sound. Andrea has a B.A. in Music from Radford University in Virginia, where she would often practice classical guitar eight hours a day. She’s also a big fan of blues pickers like Mississippi John Hurt and Lightnin’ Hopkins. Her rock-solid strumming, varying rhythmic concepts and imaginative counter-melodies provide a perfect backdrop for lead singer Igoa, who puts her own soulful stamp on Walker’s tunes.

Igoa is from Bakersfield, and she definitely brings some central valley grit to her singing. Adding to that texture is her Basque heritage and experience singing at Basque events in Bakersfield: She cites the “slightly raspy” tonal quality employed by Basque female singers as an influence. Her experience as a musical theater major at Long Beach City College helped prepare her to interpret the wide range of emotions touched upon in Walker’s compositions. “I’m obsessed with Barbra Streisand!” she said with a smile when asked to name a musical hero.

The full range of Bearcoon’s talent and depth can be heard on their new album’s first track, “Cold Steel Of Night.” Igoa sings the opening verses and choruses with a mellow and introspective tone, then abruptly shifts gears into a searing, blues-y soprano, driving home the meaning of Walker’s loss-and-hope-infused lyrics.

With dozens of live shows under their belt and a new album in hand, Bearcoon is ready to evolve, discussing the possibility of touring in a camper-van. “We love Long Beach, and it’s our home,” says Walker, “but we want to start being present in different cities. We are both definitely ‘full steam ahead’ with Bearcoon.”