I remember catching the MTV for Clocks at 3am in the morning 2 weeks ago and saying to myself, hey that tune has a familiar
cha-cha-cha to it.
I mean the music for this Coldplay staple I am familiar with but the opening ivory riffs sounded, errr, like something straight out of Havana. And I was right.
Rhythms Del Mundo is not a group. Rather it is the name of an album put together by APE (Artists' Project Earth), environmentalists hoping to create more awareness of global issues through the universal power of music. APE counts amongst its stellar board of advisors, Al Gore, he of An Inconvenient Truth fame.
The Buena Vista Social Club, for those who are
au fait with the likes of Ibrahim Ferrer, Ruben Gonzales, Omara Portuondo and Compay Segundo, was a members-only club in Havana in the forties. In the 90s, nearly 40 years after the club was closed, it inspired a recording made by Cuban musician Juan de Marcos González and American guitarist Ry Cooder with traditional Cuban musicians, some of whom were veterans who had performed at the club during the height of its popularity. Naturally Ferrer, Gonzales, Portuondo and Segundo, the oldies but goodies of the Havana club scene way back then, continued to figure prominently on the follow-up recordings. Together, they put the sexy, sometimes languid sounds of Cuban jazz back on the world stage. Making that double shot of whisky and a
Cohiba Robustos between your teeth so much more satisfying =))
So with World music on an upswing and the likes of Coldplay, Maroon5, U2, Kaiser Chiefs and the Arctic Monkeys still on everyone's lips, a collaboration to come up with something unique was dreamt up and materialised on Rhythms.
Rhythms also marks the final recording of Ibrahim Ferrer before his passing in 2005 at the age of 78. On it, he croons the old
Casablanca classic As Time Goes By. He returns for an encore duet with Omara Portuondo on the same song as a bonus track at the end of the CD.
For those who enjoy the old sounds of the The BVSC, you will probably like this. For the rest of you weaned on alternative rock, you'll probably feel really wierd listening to Havana band Los Van Van do a cover version of Radiohead's High and Dry, Cuban style.
And oh yah, purchase this album and a minimum of 2 bucks will go to APE's Natural Disaster Relief and Climate Change Awareness programmes. I did my part.
Do yours =)
Labels: Music