Shortdescription:
After the end of the glorious era in the middle of the last century, Cuba as a musical nation almost stopped being noticed in the west: due to the political situation the music from this Caribbean island only sporadically reached American or European [...]
from 9,95 EUR
incl. 19 % Tax excl. Shipping costs
Shipping time: 3-4 Days
|
|
Productsdescription:After the end of the glorious era in the middle of the last century, Cuba as a musical nation almost stopped being noticed in the west: due to the political situation the music from this Caribbean island only sporadically reached American or European ears. But that changed in the late 1990s when the "Buena Vista Social Club" had its triumphal worldwide success. The movie by Wim Wenders landed a huge surprise coup. Ry Cooder’s album of the same name with sales of eight million copies worldwide was equally successful and finally put Cuba firmly back on the musical world map. The revival gave the greats of the golden age long-deserved international recognition. Now the old guard hands the flame on to the grand children's generation. "Musica Cubana - The Sons Of Cuba" is a brilliant state-of-the-art document of the new young music scene. The "Buena Vista Social Club" rescued the soneros of yesteryear from oblivion; now the next project introduces us to the hopeful talents of today.
The movie presented by
Wim Wenders takes the cinema goer on a journey to the republic of
Cuba at the beginning of the 21st century. Director
German Kral, Wenders’ star pupil, followed promising musicians on their path to fame. The story begins with an encounter between taxi driver
Barbaro and
Pio Leiva. The driver persuades the 87-year-old maestro to help him set up a band of newcomers. First the two gather a group of success-hungry youngsters together; then they all rehearse and give their first concert in Cuba; and finally they give a triumphal performance in Tokyo. The musicians who appear in the film are of course all represented on the
soundtrack with their own contributions:
Chiki Chaka Girls: These sisters from Pinar del Rio were born for a musical career, and no wonder with their family history: their mother Maria Elena Lazo has enchanted visitors to the famous "
Tropicana" cabaret for many years with her forceful vocals; uncle
Mayito Rivera made his name as a member of
Los Van Van; and Juan Pablo Torres, another uncle, is a successful music producer. Arlenys und Annalays play leading roles in the movie "
Musica Cubana - The Sons Of Cuba" and recorded several excellent pieces for the soundtrack, particularly the single "Chiki Chaka", a sure hit. "
El Nene": The young professional (whose real name is
Pedro Lugo Martinez) sparkles with an astoundingly powerful voice. This and his strong feeling for
boleros made him popular in
Cuba in a very short space of time. "
El Nene" already has a career to show, including the
Estrellas de Areito,
Amadito Valdes and the Jovenes Clasicos del Son.
Mariana: Cuba’s leading female
rapper. The stops along the journey of this innovative musician have included the formations Free Hole and
Interactivo and a solo project.
Osdalgia: She too is one of the "Nueva Generación". A protagonist of the "young wild things", this female vocalist experiments lovingly with new forms of expression (e.g.
timba), which you can hear on her solo albums "La Culebra" and "Mi Armonia".
Luis Frank: This vocalist performed on albums by
Soneros de Verdad ("Presente y Pasado", "El run run de los Soneros"), was the brains behind the album "
A Buena Vista: Barrio de la Habana" and was also lead singer of the
Afro Cuban All Stars.
Mayito: Mario "Mayito" Rivera is currently one of the most sought-after
Latin music vocalists.
Los Van Van asked him along to the studio a number of times ("Llego Van Van", "En el malecón de La Habana"),
Haila got him to take part in "Tributo a Celia Cruz"; and he was guest singer on "Yo Si Como Candela" by the Orquesta Todos Estrellas.
Pio Leiva: The ancient of days, born in 1917, can look back on a vivid artistic biography. First place goes to his participation in the
Buena Vista Social Club, and his work with
Compay Segundo and
Ibrahim Ferrer are also essential parts of his life’s work.
Pio has recorded three productions of his own on the
TIMBA label and more are to follow. All the vocalists named above are supported on "
Musica Cubana - The Sons Of Cuba" by a superb back-up band. This band includes
Roberto Carcassés,
Elmer Ferrer,
Julio Padron,
Feliciano Arango and
Samuell Formell (son of
Juan Formell, founder of
Los Van Van): all top cracks who have proved their class elsewhere. Here they have created an up-to-the-minute
Latin sound which broad-mindedly integrates input from the styles: rock (in "
Entre Tu Y Yo"), rap ("
Conga, Conga"), disco ("Chiki Chaka") and electronic music (in the new version of the cult classic "
Chan Chan"). Building on the foundation of established musical tradition, they have time and again created a trailblazing sound on this album which reflects the feel of present-day life and is at the same time forward-looking. "
Musica Cubana - The Sons Of Cuba" is right up to date and listening to it we really grasp how Cuba currently sounds and feels. We experience the sea change in this Central American country, with new developments starting, and putting on a new face.
Cuba ahora!
