MisterBryans

My Reggaeton Playlist

On my Facebook invite for Cuban Sunday, I wrote out a list of some of the reggaeton music that I was playing.

Older classics include 'Tatuje' and 'De Fi De Fo' from Clan 537, 'Pa La Calle' from Gente de Zona, and 'Bomba' from Elvis Manuel. More current reggaeton includes 'El Animal' by Gente de Zona (probably the single most popular Cuban reggaeton song ever), 'Gerente' by El Micha and Pipey, 'Pa Los Santos' by Baby Lores & Chakal, 'Susana', by Insurrecto y Julien, and some new music from Cola Loca 'La Estafa del Babalawo', a song called 'Tu Veras' from Gente de Zona, Insurrecto and Paulo FG, and 'El Trio' from Yulien featuring Blad MC.

Cuban Hip-Hop News

Black Sugarcane are the new live Cuban hip-hop and reggaeton group in Toronto. They are performing their second show this Saturday Feb 28th at Cervejaria, 842 College St,

Members of the group include, Felix Reginfo of Bajo Mundi, Netto Man, Lisette Padron, Estban Martinez and DJ Felix King spinning the finest cuban salsa, merengue and reggaeton.

Cover is $5.00 for men women $10 for women men - and there will be a raffle for a bottle of rum.

Also

Kumar, friend and collaborator of Telmary (he appeared on her song 'Ves') has just released his first album in Europe called 'Película de Barrio'. Folks in Toronto would remember Kumar from his appearance here last fall as part of the Havana Cultura festival.

En una entrevista con EFE, Kumar explicó que este nuevo trabajo combina la sonoridad de sus primeros años como músico en Cuba, con la influencia de los sonidos del mundo que confluyen en Barcelona.

Kumar refers to his sound as "hip hop afrocubano", a term which could apply to Telmary's music as well.

Adding: Kumar is very talented, very articulate and he has a BIG voice.

Los Van Van's Arrasando

 Michelle sent me the liner notes.........

1. "Arrasando" letra y musica Juan and Samuel Formell
2. "Si no te quieres tu" letra Jorge Diaz musica Roberto Carlos Rodriguez
3. "Tu a lo tuyo, yo a lo mío" letra y musica Juan Formell
4. "Me trajo dos" letra y musica Samuel Formell
5. "Que no te dé por eso" letra y musica Roberto Hernandez
6. "La rumba no" letra y musica Juan Formell
7. "Este amor que se muere" letra y musica Juan Formell
8. "Me mantengo" letra Jorge Diaz musica Roberto Carlos Rodriguez
9. "Dame la luz" letra y musica Samuel Formell
10. "Mi Songo" letra y musica Samuel Formell
11. "Un tumbao pá los dos" letra Kelvis Ochoa musica Samuel Formell
12. "Olaya" letra y musica Ruben Blades
13. "El trasvesti" letra Jorge Diaz musica Roberto Carlos Rodriguez

Production General Juan Formell
Direccion Musical Samuel Formell
Arreglos
- Juan Formell (3, 6)
- Samuel Formell y Boris Luna (1, 4)
- Samuel Formell (9, 10, 11)
- Roberto Carlos Rodriguez (2, 8, 13)
- Boris Luna (5)
- Jorge Leliebre (7, 12)

I'm pretty familiar with Arrasando now, having played out four or five tunes to the dancers at Lula Lounge and Babaluu. My favorite songs are Samuel Formell's 'Mi Songo' and the title song 'Arrasando'', which I am using to open my sets at Babaluu. The single released last year called 'Me Mantango' is classic Van Van and I also really like the Mayito vocal 'Si No Te Quieres Tu'. Doubtless there are songs on the album that I am not 'hearing' now that I will discover later on. This always happens.

In it's musical themes and textures, Arrasando feels like a continuation of the previous album Chapeando, but it's a much better recording technically with a much stronger overall direction in the material and the production. Some of the continuity would naturally come from Van Van's stable line-up of vocalists (Lele Yeni, Roberton and Mayito) and with Samuell Formel listed as the music director, Arrasando sure feels like an album with some one firmly in charge.

It does seem clear that with this new album, Formell senior has passed the leadership of Van Van on to his son Samuel. Of the thirteen songs, there are only three Juan Formell compositions, (plus a co-write with Samuel), and only two of his music arrangements. The bulk of the rest of the material and the arrangements come from Samuel and Roberto Carlos Rodriguez (Cucuruchu). Keyboardist Boris Luna played an important role in the arrangements as well.

What is so sonically distinctive about Arrasando is the prominence of the string arrangements. Occasionally, as on the Roberton's vocal 'Dame La Luz', it's a bit too much for me, but at other times - on the Mayito vocal 'Si No Te Quieres Tu' - it feels like Van Van have decided to expand their overall sound in a way they haven't had the opportunity to do before. Los Van Van, after all, is an orchestra.

Meanwhile, VanVaneros will argue that the 90's - when Pedrito, Mayito and Roberton were the vocalists and Pupy was still the pianist - was Van Van's golden period. It's an argument I don't necessarily disagree with.

But still, here Los Van Van are, some 10 to 15 years later, intact, dominant, and still exploring and expanding the genre of 'musica bailable that they helped to create, making interesting records that will leave us with three or four new songs to add to the list of Van Van's greatest hits.

It's quite an achievement

The Havana D'Primera Build Up Continues

I can't remember a record that has received as much pre-release attention as the new Havana d'Primera.

Gabriel, who knows well the bands music from her time in Havana, gives a rundown of the album - which will be released on the  Egrem label sometime in March.

As well, here's a new post from TimbaStarts site.

I have been spinning a few Havana D'Primera tracks (most notably 'Cuando El Rio Suena') but as per usual with Cuban salsa music, when a new release is sent to me as a collection of MP3 files, I never know exactly what i am getting (demos, rough mixes, unmastered final mixes etc etc), and usually I prefer to wait on the finished product. I've no doubt it will be a great album though, very original and very musical at the same time.

Ingrid's Top 6 Cuban Reggaeton Hits

1-Echale Un Palo - Zhao
2-El Animal - Gente d'Zona
3-La Estafa del Babalawo - Cola Loca
4-Menor Que Usted -Tito Cuba y el Padrino
5-Hay Lola- Gente d´Zona
6-Tu veras - Yulien Oviedo & Gente d Zona y Paulo Fg

Chalkers Thursday Night Series

Chalkers is beginning a Thursday night live music series starting this with Hilario Duran and Havana Remembered. I'm not sure who else will be playing, although I'm DJ'ing up there on Thursday March 12. The format seems to be salsa dance lessons, DJ and live music but again we will have to see who they book to see if it is strictly salsa, or different types of music. The owner Steve grecco, is a real enthusiastic guy, and they have apparently done well with their Jazz performances, so lets hope it works out.

Chalkers is located at 247 Marlee Ave, just north of Eglinton. I'm hoping to get up there, but my old pal Lucie Idlout is launching her album at the Rivoli, and Black Sugar Cane are doing o show on St. Claire, so I'm not sure what to do. It's tough to be in three places at once.

Canada 1 Spain 0

El Seña Roberto Linares Brown has returned to Toronto from Spain. Permanently.

Roberto raises the level of everything around him - not just through his considerable skills - but through his calm, friendly, quiet manner.  He is a special kind of guy and we are lucky to have him back.

I'm sure we will see him involved with the Telmary and Alberto project, hopefully he reassembles the Havana Norte Orchestra for a Lula Lounge play. He'll be all over the place by this summer.

On Friday night, Roberto was filling in for Orlando Cardozo with Son Ache. By the second song, it was as if he had never left.

Hey All

It's true. i have been ignoring my blog. Gone awol- absent without leave. And you can blame it on Twitter, the new microblogging platform that has become all the rage these days. (see my updates on left side of page)

I have been wasting hours of time over there trying to figure out what use it has to the rest of my life. So far, not much except that in the local west-end Toronto blackout of a few weeks ago, Twitter was the best place to find out where the electricity had come back on. All I can say about Twitter at this point is that, if you are fatally addicted to wasting time broadening your horizons on-line (Gabriel, Daniel?) then Twitter may just be what you are looking for.

The problem I have with Twitter  is that most of its users seem to be the kind of audience who think of the release of a new U2 album as somehow a meaningful event in their lives.

A couple of years ago, I wasted quite a few hours on Facebook and now it has become a very useful way to reach the audience here in Toronto for my Sundays at Babaluu. (Fyi, to reach people on an individual basis, I estimate the proportion as  1/3 email and 2/3 Facebook. Not including blogs and websites).

But anyways, time for some news.............

Babaluu This Sunday - Not The Regular Routine

This will *not* be a normal Sunday at Babaluu due to the long weekend.

1) Cuban Sunday will happen as per normal, with Sarita's class at 8:30- but at around 11pm, dj Julio Cesar will take over decks to play his patented latin party mix.....the type of music that Babaluu normally features on the weekends.

2) The cover charge will be $14.00 after 9pm for both men and women.

So all those coming to Babaluu on Sunday for Cuban music, please arrive before 9pm to avoid any cover charge and what will probably be a crazy line-up.

Sorry for any confusion. When I made the arrangements to take over Sundays for Cuban music at Babaluu, Pilar and Nubia (the owners) always made it clear that long weekends were reserved for their normal week-end party crowds.

But the Cuban Sundays have been quite successful, so we are trying to accomodate both crowds.... which could be really fun, as long as people know what is happening

So, once again, ARRIVE BEFORE 9PM!!!! If you are coming for Sarita's class, I would recommend coming around 8pm just to avoid line-ups. Same with anyone (Caterina?) doing a birthday party.

Cheers to all of you! Happy Valentines Day!

The Son Ache Party This Friday (Also Featuring Me!!!)

I know the current 'buzz' has been around the Sunday nights that I'm doing at Babaluu, but people shouldn't forget that  the origins of the Cuban music scene in Toronto came with the musicians who moved here in numbers 10 to 15 years ago.

And for a long time, the Son Ache Friday night at Cervejaria was the only consistent spot for Cuban music.

This was before we started doing timba parties at the old Bamboo Club, and well before Lula Lounge opened it's doors  with a two night performance from Issac Delagdo and special guest Haila (remember that?)

So when Son Ache left their Friday night spot at Cervejaria last year, it was a natural to bring them to Lula, where they've sounded better than ever (they were getting tired at Cervejaertia) and where the parties have become a kind of reunion of old friends from the early days of the T.O. Cuban music scene.

I'm actually hoping that some of my Babaluu crowd come down to Lula this Friday, not for a history lesson, but because the combination of me spinning and the band playing can get pretty lethal.

Here's the Lula link