Rolling Afro-Latin Music 2015 and onward: Salsa, Bomba, Merengue,Reggaeton, Bachata, Latin-Jazz and more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHosLW2NlYg

For the Spotify playlist, I am requesting that you stick to the more driving tracks. I don't generally like when Niche veers toward the salsa romantica end of things. Of course, this is just a request. You can do what you want. I think some of those more salsa romantica songs are actually more popular in Colombia than a lot of my favorites.

But anyway, other highlights (besides El Coco) for me would be: Mi Negrita y la Calentura, Primer Mensaje, and Primero y Que. Maybe a couple at the end too, but I need to listen more.

Also, you are very fast! I was shocked to see tracks from the album there already.

I'd like Spanish fries with that too.

There was some discussion over at salsaforums about how timba sounding or not this track is. At any rate, it does pull together a slightly novel blend of elements:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9kNd8EVMv8

Here's Oscar D'Leon and here's El Mola was on Bannakumbi's debut.

(I was adding a "who" but somehow clicked on send. Must have been some delayed scrolling.)

"As one of today’s most unique and prepared artists and musicians, Jorge Villamizar is a household name across the Americas and the Caribbean." (Wikipedia)

(El Mola is not really one of my favorite parts of that Bannakumbi album, but anyway. . .)

I was thinking that right now there are three political/social and/or economic trends that could lead to new developments in musica antillana:

• The US opening to Cuba, allowing more communication and collaboration to and from Cuba.
• The influx of Dominicans into NYC. This is already breeding a number of minor bachata stars. Maybe something more interesting will come of it. (One can hope.)
• The economic deterioration of Puerto Rico, which is likely to lead to more Puerto Ricans moving to mainland United States. I am not happy the Puerto Rican economy is in such dire straits, I am just pointing out that it could lead to some sort of new developments musically, especially if large numbers of Puerto Ricans relocate to the US.

I am not going to make any specific predictions (I'm sure they'd be wrong), but I think we could see some clearly new developments ten years from now.

(Sorry, I think the Bannakumbi album I am talking about what not actually their debut.)

my first First Listen listen to Grupo Fantasma's Problemas(Oct. 30) immediately had me walking into the club, eyes all over the place behind my shades; eyes all over the joint all over me too, with searching horns, especially: nuanced but never navelgazing, reaching and pushing, rough-edged and thoughtful and alert. Haven't gotten equally into all tracks, but several things are remarkable (intriguing fade of penultimate, which I'd love to hear further explored live; casually complex flair of finale, for two). The bolero version of Los Beatles' "Because" ("Porque") will get them played and maybe interviewed on World Cafe etc., but they go way past that all the time. Listening on sub-sub-audiophile headphones and distractable work computer, but pretty sure it's pretty good:
http://www.npr.org/2015/10/21/449220567/first-listen-grupo-fantasma-problemas

Even better so far (think I mentioned this before, but hey)
http://www.stereogum.com/1804712/stream-malportado-kids-total-cultura/mp3s/

That's the side-project band from punksters the Downtown Boys. I like 'em better than the Downtown Boys.

Ruben Blades with Roberto Delgado "Son de Panama" album is on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCCNx07drdQ

I think some folks including me talked about that Malportado Kids release back in May; but on the Downtown Boys thread

•The influx of Dominicans into NYC. This is already breeding a number of minor bachata stars. Maybe something more interesting will come of it. (One can hope.)

Bachata has become so successful as it features young heartthrobs singing sappy songs that appeal to Latin radio & tv; fans of all ages from everywhere who like melodic songs (its kind of the successor to salsa romantica) and it has just enough rhythm and edge to appeal to others.

But yea, hopefully there will be something more. Some of the Cubans and Puerto Ricans in NYC who seek to do something "different", end up just playing formulaic (to some of us) Latin Jazz

xpost Yeah, I agree re preferring Malportado Kids to Downtown Boys---for one thing, the lead singer seems more confident/less brash-to-strained in the former---do I mean "less punk"? No. And the DBs certainly have their moments.

OT: Since Ned Sublette gets a lot of mention here, three may be interest in his impressive looking new book:

http://www.amazon.com/American-Slave-Coast-Slave-Breeding-Industry/dp/1613748205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1446145695&sr=1-1

Ned and his co-writer, wife Constance, are doing some bookstore and university appearances for this effort

Ned's such a great writer and thinker - will definitely have to check that out.

Amen. He also produced some amazing shows for Afropop Worldwide, and, while not as relevant to this thread as some other tracks (some of his other solo guitar excursions) on his wonderful Kiss Me Down South, the following, though also relatively laidback, is pretty cool ( with other Ned on this page, suce as "Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other, " later covered by Willie Nelson for Brokeback Mountain)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Q7JjcsF_A

I still need to check out Cowboy Rhumba.

His current book apparently covers how the Confederate South wanted to take over Cuba.

Unrelated-- As a Grupo Niche fan myself, I need to check out that latest one, and some other stuff Rudy posted. Plus that Grupo Fantasma Texas group Dow mentioned (and that others have discussed here over the years)

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/theater/sergio-trujillo-realizes-his-dream-of-salsa-on-broadway.html?_r=0

This Colombian 52 year-old choreographer is handling the choreography for the upcoming On Your Feet!,” a musical take on Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s rise to fame,

His Broadway résumé covers a wide stylistic swath of shows, but Mr. Trujillo says that he doesn’t have a choreographic trademark, other than a focus on fitting dance seamlessly into the world of a show — whether that means the hyper-synchronized moves of “Jersey Boys,” the electric ’50s jive of “Memphis” or the truck-centric numbers in “Hands on a Hardbody.”

“Jersey Boys” and “Memphis” won Tony Awards for best musical, but Mr. Trujillo has never been nominated for his work, and his next scheduled assignment is off Broadway. Still, he seems at peace with the ups and downs of show business and relishes the challenge of making the right dance for a show’s needs. “In all of my work,” he said, “I want to create a vocabulary that expresses that particular piece.”

For “On Your Feet!,” that vocabulary happened to already be embedded within Mr. Trujillo, who began dancing salsa as a boy.

More than any show Mr. Trujillo has worked on, “On Your Feet!” throbs with movement. The rapid-fire salsa steps that anchor musical numbers and seamlessly link scenes match the brassy energy of Ms. Estefan’s hit songs. The intimacy of salsa partnering likewise reflects the warmth of the Estefans’ Cuban culture and the easy intimacy they share as a couple

New Joe Bataan track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1Lf8mET7Qk

And here's some live footage from July:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZmbeiMIHqw

I liked Bataan live when I saw him a few years back. He's still entertaining.

New school Puerto Rican reggaeton (Farruko) and new school Colombian reggaeton (J. Balvin) are both big...Here's a Farruko interview excerpt

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/6752869/farruko-visionary-reggaeton-no-1-interview

There’s a new tendency of reggaeton coming from Colombia, which is what Maluma, Nicky and Balvin are doing. I’ve stayed more within classic reggaeton but I fuse it with other styles. People like the Colombian movement, but I’ve stayed around here. I’m more Caribbean, more reggae, and I like to fuse more with electronic music. I’m taking another path.

http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/culture/design/216801-designers-latin-club-night-posters

The Chucho Valdes & his (young) Afro-Cuban Messengers show I saw tonight was not advertised on a poster, but I did see an ad for it on a DC Latin concert list website. Nice gig. More jazz than straight-up Cuban dance, but there were a couple of rhythmic songs, plus some Afro-Cuban chants and plenty of percussion(a percussionist with various hand-held instruments; a conga player and a trap drummer). Great 5 man horn section too(2 saxes, 2 trumpets and a flugelhorn)

saw Portuguese / Cape Verdean singer songwriter Sara Tavares tonight; beautiful singer and guitarist and just utterly charming. Great show, especially the moments that veered towards zouk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFS6TfuoATo

Haven't listened to Tavares in a long time, but yep, her more rhythmic songs are better than her singer/songwriter folky ones as I recall

Latin Grammys are on Univision right now. No salsa so far. I missed some of it, but have seen Banda el Recodo and pop and pop-rock people. Julieta Venegas presented an award. Tego Calderon won an award.

Who should win album of the year at Latin Grammys?
Hasta La Raíz, Natalia Lafourcade
Creo En Mí, Natalia Jiménez
Todo Tiene Su Hora, Juan Luis Guerra 4.40
Sirope, Alejandro Sanz
Caja De Música, Monsieur Periné
Orígenes: El Bolero Volumen 3, Café Quijano
Consentido, María Toledo
MTV Unplugged, Pepe Aguilar
Son de Panamá, Rubén Blades con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta
Amo, Miguel Bosé

At the end of the Los Tigres del Norte song a banner was held up onstage that said in Spanish "don't vote for racists"

Natalia Lafourcade won I think 3 awards, and did a nice performance too.

She did "Hasta la Raiz" which won song of the year. Nice pop

http://www.billboard.com/articles/events/latin-awards/6770030/latin-grammys-2015-winners-list

Some other winners

BEST SALSA ALBUM
Son De Panamá - Rubén Blades Con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta -- WINNER
Jukebox Primera Edición - Luis Enrique
Que Suenen Los Tambores - Víctor Manuelle
Son 45 - Ismael Miranda
Estaciones - Rey Ruiz

BEST CUMBIA/VALLENATO ALBUM
Por Siempre - Américo
Sencillamente - Jorge Celedón & Gustavo García -- WINNER
Sigo Invicto - Silvestre Dangond & Lucas Dangond
Al Son De Mi Corazón - Gusi
El Camino De Mi Existencia - Ivan Villazón y Saúl Lallemand

BEST CONTEMPORARY TROPICAL ALBUM
Buen Camino - Lucas Arnau
Lloviendo Estrellas - Leslie Grace
Presente Continuo - Guaco
Todo Tiene Su Hora - Juan Luis Guerra 4.40 -- WINNER
Johnny Sky - Johnny Sky

BEST TRADITIONAL TROPICAL ALBUM
#SiguedeModa - Checo Acosta
Tributo A Los Compadres No Quiero Llanto - José Alberto "El Canario" & Septeto Santiaguero -- WINNER
Homenaje A Tito Rodríguez - Rafael "Pollo" Brito
El Alma Del Son – Tributo A Matamoros - Alain Pérez
Locos Por El Son - Sonlokos

BEST TROPICAL FUSION ALBUM
Radio Universo - Chino y Nacho
El Mismo - ChocQuibTown -- WINNER
Esa Morena - Daiquiri
The King Is Back - Juan Magan
El Día Que Vuelva - Jorge Villamizar

BEST TROPICAL SONG
"Agua Bendita" - Andrés Castro & Víctor Manuelle, songwriters (Víctor Manuelle)
"Cómo Duele El Silencio" - Edgar Barrera, Efraín Dávila, Guianko Gómez & Leslie Grace, songwriters (Leslie Grace)
"Tú Tienes Razón (Bachata)" - Gusi, songwriter (Gusi)
"Tus Besos" - Juan Luis Guerra, songwriter (Juan Luis Guerra 4.40) -- WINNER
"Ya Comenzó" - Alex Cuba, Luis Enrique & Fernando Osorio, songwriters (Luis Enrique)

ChocQuibTown are great; nice to see them win.
I fucking hate Juan Luis Guerra.

ChocQuibTown performed too.

I think you and Rudiph and maybe others hate Juan Luis Guerra and I forget why? I saw him live once and was entertained by his merengue and more rhythms. Is it because he became a born-again Christian? My Spanish is so poor that I have no idea if that is what he is singing about. Curious to hear your reasons. Although I might decided to just show up on metal and free jazz threads and announce my hatred for such musicians.

I had no idea he was a Christian. I hate him because I don't like the sound of his voice, and I find his music to be very NPR/"world-music-is-good-for-you," over and above my well-documented loathing for merengue and bachata in general.

Ok....His audience remains Spanish speakers only btw, I don't see any evidence he has reached NPR types for what its worth.

The voice that grated on me was that of the singer of Bomba Estereo. Her group was doing a special performance with guest Will Smith.

See, her (and them) I like. Not the song with Will Smith, though. I like this one (their first, or at least breakthrough, single):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZXlgNMDK3E

Here's what Ned Subl*tte likes:

Applause for José Alberto "El Canario" (New York) and Septeto Santiaguero (Cuba), whose Tributo a Los Compadres: No Quiero Llanto won and very much deserved the Latin Grammy for traditional tropical. It's a knockout. A fabulous production, a distinguished repertoire, a shining example of international collaboration with Cuba, the best new son record I've heard in years, a very specific statement of a particular musical connection between Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and somehow, as traditional as the style is, it's a contemporary moment. Good for dancing, too. OMG, with Oscar d'León. Ismael Miranda. Andy Montañez. Tiburón Morales. The Conga de Los Hoyos, no less. Eliades Ochoa. Lots more. Pure joy. It's on Spotify, if you have that.

Listening to the above one now...So good so far

As we move to the end of the year, I'd like to drop a quick note to encourage any readers / lurkers / ilxors to post their favorite spanish language tracks from this year to the thread so that I can hoover them into the ongoing spotify playlist. Last chance for any accessible stragglers that may not already be in the lexicon.

Thanks.

I need to listen to that El Canario and Santiaguero one again.

Not my thing. I didn't get through it once.

Cuban folkloric

I prefer the Jose Alberto of Tipica 73's "Baila Que Baila" or RMMish stuff like "A la hora que me llamen voy" or "Quiero Salsa" (which might be SONY but still RMMIsh).

Not that anyone who has gone salsa dancing a little in the last 15 years hasn't heard "Quiero Salsa" a billion times already, but I am afraid I am still a sucker for it.