Tour Dates
10/15/09 BELLY UP*, SAN DIEGO, CA
10/16/09 Troubadour*, LA, CA 10/17/09 Solar Culture TUCSON, AZ 10/24/09 930 Club*, Washington DC 10/28/09 SOB’s*NY, New York 10/29/09 Sala Rosa*,Montreal, Quebec 10/30/09 Rivoli*, Toronto, Ontario 10/31/09 Schuba’s*, Chicago, Illinois 11/01/09 Schuba’s*, Chicago, Illinois 11/03/09 Varsity Theatre*, Minne, MN 11/13/09 Womad Festival, Palmas 11/28/09 BLACK NOTEA, Valencia 12/11/09 Sala Plateruena, Vizcaya 12/12/09 La Faktoria de Arts, Barcelona *with Federico Aubele |
National Geographic's Music have been on my mind lately. First off, I got some free songs from Gabon People and Bibi Tanga et le professeur inlassable, via PNY's National Geographic Bonus Offer because I had recently purchased a 8 gig SanDisk for my Olympus Camera.
DEPEDRO
depedro.net ♥ myspace.com
While searching for shows coming to Minneapolis, I noticed that Jairo Zaval, aka DePedro, will be playing here with Federico Aubele, in early November. He's probably most famous for being the touring guitarist for Calexico, but in the Spanish world, he'll probably be known for being the frontsman for the rock group Vacazul, blues band 3000 Hombres, and surf group Los Coronas. Well, his self-titled debut album was released last August via the National Geographic Music Label.
Since I only have basic high school Spanish, I really couldn't tell you what many of the songs mean. There are a few English songs that I did understand (and enjoyed, particularly "Two Parts in One"), but the majority of his songs are written and sung in Spanish.
There are some welcomed surprises, including incredibly poppy song "Te sigo soñando", a latin-bluesy "¿Qué puedo hacer por ti?", and a partial duet on "Llorona".
His single and radio song that they seem to like is "La Memoria" (the Memory), which, if you can understand Spanish, it might convey how he felt about poverty and injustice when he visited Mexico. The song was a free giveaway on natgeomusic.net, but I couldn't figure out where on their website.
PUTUMAYO PRESENTS ESPAÑA
www.putumayo.com
When it comes to World Music, I think Putumayo's the label for these type of music. Each release is gorgeous, always including a gorgeous booklet with each artist's biography (in English, Spanish, and French). This is one of those company that doesn't really release their music on iTunes - which is fine, because the real experience is in its physical package. These releases are made to be on display on your bookshelves.
Beyond DePedro, of course I did not recognize any of these Spanish artist on this release. But that's okay, I trust Putumayo to do a great job compiling the best of the best, as they say. After all, they've been doing this since 1993.
Most of these songs are on the upbeat side. Sometime I feel these songs are mixture of traditional with modern mix. The stand-out tracks that does that traditional/modern thing is "Cumbia Caimanera" by El Combolinga, a band from Madrid. Judging from the translated lyrics, they are singing about "real life" of the state of things in Cuba.
While I did mention that most of these songs are very Flamenco/Spanish, there is a surprisingly vaguely reggae song on the album called "Te Estás Equivocando" (You Are Getting it All Wrong) by Gecko Turner. I believe the chorus music might be stolen from "The Tide is High" by the Paragons (who was made famous by Blondie), by the way.
Also, this must be a reoccurring feature, but in addition to music, there's a few recipes for Bread Pudding and Torrijas de Natillas, by chef Eva Arguinaño. And as always, buying Putumayo means they will donate a portion of their profit to a charity. This release proceeds will go to Intermón Oxfam.
Look for their two upcoming release in late October, A Family Christmas and Jazz Around The World.
DEPEDRO
depedro.net ♥ myspace.com
While searching for shows coming to Minneapolis, I noticed that Jairo Zaval, aka DePedro, will be playing here with Federico Aubele, in early November. He's probably most famous for being the touring guitarist for Calexico, but in the Spanish world, he'll probably be known for being the frontsman for the rock group Vacazul, blues band 3000 Hombres, and surf group Los Coronas. Well, his self-titled debut album was released last August via the National Geographic Music Label.
Since I only have basic high school Spanish, I really couldn't tell you what many of the songs mean. There are a few English songs that I did understand (and enjoyed, particularly "Two Parts in One"), but the majority of his songs are written and sung in Spanish.
There are some welcomed surprises, including incredibly poppy song "Te sigo soñando", a latin-bluesy "¿Qué puedo hacer por ti?", and a partial duet on "Llorona".
His single and radio song that they seem to like is "La Memoria" (the Memory), which, if you can understand Spanish, it might convey how he felt about poverty and injustice when he visited Mexico. The song was a free giveaway on natgeomusic.net, but I couldn't figure out where on their website.
PUTUMAYO PRESENTS ESPAÑA
www.putumayo.com
Read More |
Beyond DePedro, of course I did not recognize any of these Spanish artist on this release. But that's okay, I trust Putumayo to do a great job compiling the best of the best, as they say. After all, they've been doing this since 1993.
Most of these songs are on the upbeat side. Sometime I feel these songs are mixture of traditional with modern mix. The stand-out tracks that does that traditional/modern thing is "Cumbia Caimanera" by El Combolinga, a band from Madrid. Judging from the translated lyrics, they are singing about "real life" of the state of things in Cuba.
The lone woman singer on this whole compilation, Uxía, certain stood out for me. According to her biography, she grew up very close to Portugal, so she's long felt kinship with the Portuguese culture. Her song, "Danza Ritual" (Dance Ritual) sings about a dance, describing it as a spider spinning the web of fate.From the other side of the river, where there are no streetlights
Foundtains are dry and we don't put foot to ball
That's where we the caimans live
Without a job or glamor
We have big mouths and our eyes are looking south
That's why we sing looking towards the south
While I did mention that most of these songs are very Flamenco/Spanish, there is a surprisingly vaguely reggae song on the album called "Te Estás Equivocando" (You Are Getting it All Wrong) by Gecko Turner. I believe the chorus music might be stolen from "The Tide is High" by the Paragons (who was made famous by Blondie), by the way.
Also, this must be a reoccurring feature, but in addition to music, there's a few recipes for Bread Pudding and Torrijas de Natillas, by chef Eva Arguinaño. And as always, buying Putumayo means they will donate a portion of their profit to a charity. This release proceeds will go to Intermón Oxfam.
Look for their two upcoming release in late October, A Family Christmas and Jazz Around The World.
10/13/2009 19:17:48 ♥ vu (
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