Juan Miguel Marin was the lead singer and drummer for La Rúa and back in 2005, his band toured with Los Amigos Invisibles in the Southeast of the States. Juan’s experience with the LAI on the road was unforgettable; LAI were the first on set, they set up their gear, they even helped La Rúa break down their gear, and they wouldn’t leave the venues until every last fan was able to say hi, get their autograph and talk to them.
This experience opened Juan’s eyes to who LAI really were – 6 incredible, hard-working guys who loved what they did and were truly passionate about their music, their fans, and didn’t take for granted what they do for a living.
Summer 2010, La Casa del Ritmo was born after a chance encounter between Juan and LAI bass player Catire, and a conversation about LAI celebrating 20 years together as a band. 20 AÑOS!
A series of photographs of Haiti and Jamaica in the 1950s by Herbert List.
MundoVibe has unearthed a spectacular series of photographs of Jamaica and Haiti and Martinique by photographer Herbert List. Shot in the 1950s and published in the German magazine “Kulturelle Monatsschritt”, they portray the faces, religious rituals, play and culture of two islands at crossroads in their respective histories. These photographs will run as a daily series.
Lindstrøm @ Santos Party House in New York City, The Vanguard in Los Angeles and San Francisco’s Mezzanine in February
Lindstrøm and Christabelle
It’s a rarity for Norway’s Lindstrøm to cross the pond more than once a year, but after a quick trip over last November, he’s once again gracing both New York and San Francisco in February with what will be his second show in 6 months, as well as making a highly anticipated first-ever appearance in Los Angeles at the Vanguard on February 11th.
LINDSTRØM TOUR DATES
Thur. Feb. 10 New York, NY @ Santos Party House
Fri. Feb. 11 Los Angeles, CA @ The Vanguard
Sat. Feb. 12 San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine
While Lindstrøm’s label, Feedelity, has predominately been a vehicle for his original space-disco creations, Lindstrøm has brought another cosmic musician into the fold by way of a remix. Glasser’s “Mirrorage” has been given the Lindstrøm treatment, though rather than overwhelming the mildly paranoid track with additional elements, he’s extended the aural odyssey by featuring the core components. Cameron Miesrow’s witchy vocals mingle with the hypnotic, pulsating beats that seem to breathe with a life of their own. Ominous bells twitch and tingle behind a smoke cloud of electronic rhythm and Meisrow’s tribal narrative is further deconstructed to create an abstract masterpiece.
On his fifth album, Courage, Mamadou Diabate carves out a new direction. A departure from the traditional melodies on his previous album, these contemporary pieces highlight his versatility as a composer and affirm his place as one of the finest kora players living in the world today. He is accompanied here by a five piece band recorded in Bamako, Mali. His previous solo effort, Douga Mansa, took home a 2009 Grammy Award in the category of Best Traditional World Music.
In 2007 “Achilifunk”, a compilation and booklet selected and written by Txarly Brown, was released to much critical acclaim both in Spain and the rest of the world. “Achilifunk” was a surprise which opened the eyes of many, especially in Spain of the rich sounds of Catalan rumba, infused with ‘70s funk and disco.
Two years later Txarly paired the best rumba combos from Barcelona with international remixers for a new funky stew with rumba and electronica as the main ingredients. After the success of these two releases, Brown had to come up with something original for the third part. “Gitano Real” is that closing chapter of the Achilifunk trilogy. A musical evolution, an attempt to create a new rumba scene with what the predecessors have already accomplished. On “Gitano Real”, the best musicians from this new scene have come together to form a unique band. Disco, rap, funk, and soul blend with rumba and gypsy music on this incredible record.Together, they have all recreated, Achilifunk-style, a repertoire of rumba hits, funk classics, originals and the surprising eighties-style gypsy rap of “Bombéalo!”.
Txarly Brown co-ordinated and designed this project in his usual inimitable style, with deluxe packaging for the CD, consisting of a specially designed sleeve including a newspaper and digifile. It couldn’t be any other way: life is better when in it’s in style.
Abacus, LAL, and Ivana Santilli. In the process, Moonstarr has gained worldwide acclaim for his music from veteran DJs such as Gilles Peterson, Rainer Truby, Laurent Garnier, Marc Mac, Derrick May, and DJ Spinna and from various publications like Straight No Chaser, XLR8R, Montreal Gazette and Exclaim, and has scored for the cult hit film Next: A Primer On Urban Painting.
Digging through dusty boxes of old cassette tapes, floppies and DATs, Moonstarr decided to compile some unreleased and classic joints from The Archive. This nostalgic look back reveals signature vinyl-only dancefloor jams praised by DJs and tastemakers the world over, as well as unreleased joints that are just now escaping Moonstarr’s studio walls.
As a poet and performance artist, Ursula Rucker has enchanted critics and fans across the globe with her diverse repertoire, captivating vocals and accessible poetic verse.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, she began documenting her observations of the world when she was just a girl. A graduate of Temple University’s journalism program, Ursula kept her creative writing as a prized, personal possession until she was prepared to share with the world. In 1994, she introduced an open-mic night audience at Philadelphia’s Zanzibar Blue to the beauty and urgency of her poetry.
Word quickly spread throughout the city of Ursula’s poetry and stage performance, which has been described as “strong, vulnerable, wounded and raging.” Producer King Britt invited her to create her first recording, the 1994 single, “Supernatural” (Ovum/Slip N Slide UK). (more…)
Fort Knox Recordings is proud to present Sabor Tropical, (out January 11, 2011) the debut album from the Empresarios. The band was originally introduced on the 2009 label compilation The New Gold Standard 2, with infectious tunes that just begged to be remixed and reworked. The Empresarios are the first new artist to release their own full length album on the ever-growing Fort Knox roster.
With Sabor Tropical, they have set the bar very high for the new generation of artists to follow. From the opening track on Sabor Tropical, you already know you’re in for a diverse ride of styles. The album smoothly combines latin funk, cumbia, dub and reggaeton on a grooveoriented tip, perfectly balancing beats for both the headphones and dancefloor.
Hercules & Love Affair – Blue Songs by moshi moshi music
John Tripp Creative 