Category: music

New music & other stuff

On By scenebyginaIn music, New York, UncategorizedLeave a comment
It's winter so I'm just dreaming about listening to music on a beach.
It’s winter so I’m just dreaming about listening to music on a beach.

New music roundup!

  • Stream Sharon Jones (yes, two of my posts mention Ms. Jones this week) and the Dap Kings’ new single, “Give The People What They Want,” via NPR Music. It’s an especially welcome tune since 2013 was a tough year for her. (Details at NPR.)
  • My buddy K. Sabroso released a remix of an Arure track which goes from “Classical Orchestration to Jazzy Breakbeats and even touches on Future Garage” to celebrate his one year anniversary of moving to New York from Indiana. K. Sabroso says the track (“Satila“) is “the highlight of [his] career so far even though it’s been sitting in the archive for over a year.”
  • The D.C. homegirls of Maracuyeah have a new mix called Maraculeando Con Amor and I wrote about it for Sounds and Colours. The mix includes rhythms from all over Latin America, with a heavy emphasis on “Dominican electro-dembow, experimental 3ball, champeta-inspired electronic music, tropical vintage gems that are often left off the DJ decks, and Moombahton remixes, with that genre’s DC and Latin roots.” So get on it. There’s a free download to this mix!
Image via FUSION
Image via FUSION
  • My boy Cousin Cole made a New Year’s hangover cure mix. This mix of SOUL (yes, I said that in a high pitch voice) includes goodies from Leroy Hutson, Gil Scott Heron, the Commodores, and more, so it’s certainly soothing. As for the title of the mix, don’t worry, you’ll be hungover again, so stream or download it below.
Listen to Cousin Cole's New Year's Hangover Cure mix.
Listen to Cousin Cole’s New Year’s Hangover Cure mix.
  • I may be a bit of a Hall & Oates nerd, so imagine my surprise when Chicago-via-Brooklyn whiteboy rapper, Trevor the Trashman, released a new track (“Spoiled Brat“) that samples “Sara Smile.” Check it out via Stupid Dope.
Trevor the Trashman may, or may not, be a spoiled brat.
Trevor the Trashman may, or may not, be a spoiled brat.

Upcoming shows I want to see:

Just making this “to do” list public so I have to oblige and not punk out in favor of catching up on “Scandal” on the Roku.

La Mecanica Popular at the Electric Cowbell and Barbes APAP Showcase 2014 THIS VERY SATURDAY at DROM.

Helado Negro at the Silent Barn Bushwick, Brooklyn, in early February.

Buika at Town Hall in NYC this April.

—–

Take me here, please!
Take me here, please!

Tour video!

Last, but certainly not least, have you been to Panama? I sure haven’t! But I want to go. Check out this behind-the-scenes footage of Making Movies recent trip to the homeland of the Chi brothers (lead singer-songwriter/guitarist and bassist of the band). You’ll feel as if you’re there and live vicariously through them, EXCEPT for the part in which they hold snakes and scorpions. No thank you! 🙂

The band never stops touring, really. So stay tuned for upcoming tour dates here.

New mix: ‘We Love Sharon’ by Chorizo Funk of Texas

On By scenebyginaIn music, New York, People1 Comment
Image via Chorizo Funk's FB page.
Image via Chorizo Funk’s FB page.

So if you’re into good music, the funky stuff with SOUL, you have to be into Sharon Jones. Born in Georgia but raised in New York City, Jones has a very interesting music career. After years of trying to make it in the business, including stints as a corrections officer and armored car guard, she got a record deal in her middle age when someone discovered her backing vocals on a Lee Fields track. (Fields is another of my favorites, and also someone who ‘made it’ later in life.)

I saw Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings in concert on the Upper East Side a few years ago and was blown away. Her energy was contagious. (Yes, this meant white people were having dance spasms in the audience of Beacon Theater. It was amazing.)

And this is why I’m super pleased to share news that one of my favorite DJs from Texas, Chorizo Funk, has put some of her best tracks into a mix: ‘#WeLoveSharon.’ Whew, it’s got so many of my favorites, including “I’m Not Gonna Cry (Scroll to 13:41 in the mix).” Damn that woman could SING!

By the way, this is the second in Chorizo Funk‘s “#WeLove” series. The first one, #WeLoveOtis, is one full hour of the best Otis Redding jams ever. Listen to and download it here.

And keep up with Chorizo Funk’s gigs and new mixes on his Facebook page. And catch Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings live (you must!) by checking her tour dates here.

In which I write about my love for Big Band music

On By scenebyginaIn music, New York, PeopleLeave a comment
Image via Revive-Music.com
Image via Revive-Music.com

Totally random fact about me. If I’m getting ready to go out on a Saturday night, chances are I’m listening to old archives of “The Danny Stiles” radio show.

Stiles, who died in 2011, had this totally rad show in which he played “the greatest records of the 1900s” from 8 to 10 p.m. on Saturday nights on WNYC (820AM). Luckily, WNYC still airs archived shows.

I don’t know … it may seem corny, but throughout the show, I imagine couples dancing at parties in that era. In fact, Styles will talk about parties during the Depression, which must have felt like the highlight of the week, considering the circumstances.

I feel as if you could never stop learning about music history in this country. Stiles didn’t just play songs by the greats, such as Frank Sinatra, or one of my personal favorites, Glenn Miller. (Listen to “In The Mood.” You’ll know it. It was a global hit in its day.)

Stiles pays homage to the history of music from our country, often featuring musicians of color, who as you may know, are at the roots of American music, though it was brought to the mainstream by record labels and white singers.

On this week’s show, he played a song that I know (incorrectly) as “Mani” (the Spanish word for peanut) because I’ve heard it on old Spanish radio stations. The song is called “El Manisero/The Peanut Vendor” and though there were several versions by many recording artists, it was Louis Armstrong who made it a big hit in the 1930s as Cuban rhythms was influencing music in the States. It was smart of Armstrong to record it. All of this I learned on the Danny Stiles show.

But wait! There’s more.

How does listening to this show translate to music I’ve heard in the nightclubs today? Well, using “The Peanut Vendor” as an example, Uproot Andy (real name: Andy Gillis) tends to play this track (I’m guessing this is the version he plays, though I can’t be 100 percent sure) at his well-known “Que Bajo?” monthly parties. It’s obvious they sampled “The Peanut Vendor” sound. And now I’ll think of Danny Stiles and Louis Armstrong in 1930 the next time I hear it!

Bonus fact: Another of my favorite Big Band songs is “Midnight, the Stars, and You,” by Ray Noble, otherwise known as one of the songs in The Shining. Creepy, right? 🙂

 

Video: ‘La Peligrosa’ by Martina La Peligrosa

On By scenebyginaIn Colombia, music, UncategorizedLeave a comment
Martina La Peligrosa
Martina La Peligrosa

Story by me via Sounds and Colours:

You never know what you’re going to find when conducting a random search on social media. Case in point: I recently typed #champeta into Instagram’s search bar and stumbled upon an interesting champeta-inspired track by, what seemed to be, a pop star from Colombia. What’s this? Is champeta going mainstream?

Turns out, the artist is Martina La Peligrosa, (real name Martina López) a native of Córdoba, on the Northern part of Colombia’s Caribbean coast…

Read the rest and watch the music video here.

Making Movies December Tour: Los Angeles

On By scenebyginaIn musicLeave a comment

1520722_10100129622897139_1624080311_nMy buddies from the Kansas City-based band, Making Movies, are on tour this month. They’re currently in Los Angeles and if these photos are any indication, I’d say they’re having a great time.

Get acquainted with the band and their sultry psychedelic son at their website, or via this great video from our friends at American Latino TV.

Listen to their latest album, “A La Deriva,” (produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos), here.

Watch an acoustic performance of “Lo Que Quiero” via 123UnoDosTres here.

Listen to an amazing, plugged-in performance, via KEXP’s “El Sonido w DJ Chilly,” here.

1528597_10202813447923156_1587385001_n
With superhost, Pili Montilla, of WAPA-TV’s “Té Para Tres.” http://www.wapa.tv/programas/teparatres/
1489222_10202815007682149_1355167921_n
Performing at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, L.A.
1528640_10100129737158159_70417821_n
Photo shooting w the good folks of My Square Bear & stylist, Demetri Faye. http://mysquarebear.com/

 

Checking out Wavelab Studios with Steve Berlin.
Checking out Wavelab Studios with Steve Berlin.
Check out upcoming tour dates at www.makingmoviesband.com
Check out upcoming tour dates at http://www.makingmoviesband.com

New music video: Somos Mujeres, Somos Hip-Hop

On By scenebyginaIn music, PeopleLeave a comment

I wish I had more information to share about this video because it’s bad ass. If features a bevy of Latina rappers who I assume hail from Ecuador (they flash the flag a couple of times in the video) spitting some thoughtful lyrics about women, femininity, the barrios they are from, resistance, activism, and more.

Watch below. (And shout out to the girl who comes in at 3:53. She can spit!)

New music: Sembeh Ma Fa Fe (Roots Volume)

On By scenebyginaIn musicLeave a comment

smff2_cd-01Sembeh Ma Fa Fe, translated from Susu, the language of the Soso people of Guinea, West Africa, is ‘strong sound coming,’ and that’s exactly what is found on the new album by Stronghold Sound.

Sembeh Ma Fa Fe: Roots Volume is the follow-up to their earlier Guinean compilation, Sembeh Ma Fa Fe: the Revisits Volume. The Roots Volume is a lively selection of home-grown soul, folk, salsa and traditional djembe percussion from this musically rich West-African country.

I am loving this album!!

It features tunes that share some of the roots of the musical traditions of the region. (Listen to Captain Planet’s remix of Saran’s Tounkan below. On fire!!!)

From the powerful polyrhythms of the djembe, to the soothing cyclical melodies of the balafon, to the longing cries of the grio, each instrument is rich with history and significance; even the Mandeng kings prized them as near to possessing supernatural powers.

Amongst the featured elder artists Mybaby (Kadiatou Sylla) stands out, performing her own blend of salsa infused Guinean folk. Also, Aicha Sidibe sings a classic form of traditional folk called Mamaya, Geizu accompanies the percussive group Balandougou Kan bringing you a taste of village life, and Blondi (Alseny Camara), a modest man whose voice startles you with its depth of emotion and power sings alongside the traditional gunguma.

Then there are the newer generation artists: Saran Diabate who teams up with her talented brother, Lanciney Diabate, on bass to create a kind of traditional Guinean soul with a funk foundation, Cissoko Aboubacar, a talented singer in a family of vocalists who offers something akin to Guinean blues also in the Mamaya style, and Alessane (Alassane Bangoura), a young and talented percussionist with a voice both innocent and passionate, who sings alongside the balafon in a number that reminds one of Conakry island living. Lastly, Sekou Keita and Bondo Sidibe lead the percussion ensemble, Balandougou Kan, in arrangements that show the interlocking beauty and raw energy of tam tam Mandeng, or djembe music.

In addition, Stronghold Sounds adds 4 dancefloor remixes (released earlier this fall exclusively on 7’’ vinyl as Guinea Folk Remixed) by Captain Planet (Bastard Jazz), J-Boogie (OM), Chief Boima (Ghetto Bassquake, Dutty Artz) and Giku, and Stronghold Sound’s own Dub Snakkr.

Closed to much of the world since independence, Guinea is home to many masters of Mandeng traditional music and culture. In parallel with these masters of tradition is a new generation of artists who have embraced reggae, hip hop and r&b as their own and worked on their individual expressions within these genres. After years of dictatorial rule, the nation has recently experienced its first democratic election and emerges anew to share its rich musical culture.

New music by Calle 13 features Tom Morello, Julian Assange, & Kamilya Jubran

On By scenebyginaIn music, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Screen shot 2013-11-13 at 1.45.39 PMAfter nearly four years of not releasing music, Calle 13 is back with a single that’s sure to go viral.

The track is called “Multi_Viral.”
“It represents a universal discomfort, it speaks about courage, about what lights the wick, and it manages to cause a chemical distress in your body,” says Residente of Calle 13. “It’s about the actual connection amongst people that exists on a global scale.”
The song features the participation of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, an activist who is accused of being a hacker and leaking classified information. Also a guest is Tom Morello, who Calle 13 has worked with in the past and RollingStone magazine deems as one of the best guitarists of all time. Palestinian singer-songwriter and musician, Kamilya Jubran, is also on the track.