LISTEN TO THE iTUNES PODCAST PREVIEW OF HAVANA CULTURA, HOSTED BY GILLES PETERSON

Gilles Peterson presents Havana Cultura / The project

Gilles Peterson: I got the call about a year ago now. A trip to Cuba in September ’08 to check out the new generation of Havana-based artists. What a great opportunity! I’d never been before and had literally only just stepped out of the cinema having watched the Che movie. But would there be anything going on outside of Buena Vista, rumba and reggaeton? I was about to find out.

I was only there for a few days, not even the weekend, but shifting quickly through 1950’s Chevrolet gears with Yuset and Francois by my side, we rifled through the city picking up sounds in every nook and cranny. I heard Obsesion on my first night there, Ogguere were introduced on the second and by Wednesday I’d heard most of the tracks that have made it onto CD2. With rum, fried chicken and “Hollywoods” featuring heavily in my daily routine, there was just enough time to meet Cuban dons like Bobby Carcasses and Roberto Fonseca before returning to London.

The project then paused as the non-communist world hit a financial brick wall but, come the spring of ’09, I was preparing for a 5-day Egrem Studios love-in. Vince was my co-producer (I’d met him just a few days before in an Old Street basement where I was spinning) and Roberto Fonseca was my overall saviour and chief of operations with Orestes by his side conducting the desk. The band was Fonseca’s and the groove was free. I had a few covers as starters: one from Fela to capture that true Afro-Cuban fusion; a Blue Note joint as a 70th anniversary gift; and a couple of Cuban faves from my Electric Ballroom days – ‘Chekere Son’ and some Juan Pablo Torres. The rest was pretty much controlled jamming, picking up the Rumba boys from the bar below, or convincing Mayra Valdes to hit it freestyle. So many fond memories – hearing Danay sing for the first time, record shopping with Doble Filo, Ogguere vibesing the set, Obsesion dropping science Cuban style about Dilla…

What a week we had in this iconic spot. I feel so blessed to have worked with these guys – folk who take their art very seriously, but always with a smile at the end of the session. I hope you enjoy the fruits of our labour.

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