meta-scriptLatin Alternative Music Conference's 20th Anniversary Edition Set For July | GRAMMY.com
Latin Alternative Music Conference's 20th Anniversary Edition Set For July

La Santa Cecilia

Photo: Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images

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Latin Alternative Music Conference's 20th Anniversary Edition Set For July

Throughout the years, the "Latin alternative" conference has celebrated the genre's vibrant scene with concerts, panels and showcases

GRAMMYs/Jan 5, 2019 - 07:07 am

Every year since 1999, the Latin Alternative Music Conference has brought together a range of voices that make up the Alt. Latino scene and for its 20th anniversary in July it will honor 20 people that have helped it shine throughout the years.

The conference, which hosts panels, concerts, exhibits and showcases, will take place July 7–13 in New York City. The 20 conference honorees are "people or companies that have helped these last 20 years be filled with ongoing music."

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"The LAMC year after year has tried to be a meeting of the minds — a platform to show that there is an amazing, vibrant and complex market within Latin music," Nacional Records president and LAMC producer Tomas Cookman told Billboard. "Be it having Pitbull, Bomba Estereo or Natalia Lafourcade on early career showcases, or Calle 13 or Cafe Tacvba filling up a public park to capacity, the range and types of artists we have highlighted over these 20 years runs the gamut of the ever-changing face of Latin music."

Music performances will take place at the Central Park Summerstage, Celebrate Brooklyn at Prospect Park and Queensbridge Park. Panels will cover women in music, music education and the U.S. Latin market, among other topics. The LAMC will also have regional spotlights on Argentina, Colombia and Spain.

GRAMMY winners Natalia Lafourcade, Residente, La Santa Cecilia, and Carlos Vives  are LAMC alumni. GRAMMY nominee and Latin GRAMMY winner Jorge Drexler is another notable alum.

GRAMMY nominees Carla Morrison, Los Rakas and Kinky are former winners of the conference's Discovery Award.

More details are at the LAMC website. The conference has truly shaped the meaning of the phrase "Latin alternative."

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Inside Residente's 'Las Letras Ya No Importan': How His New Album Shows The Rapper In Transition
Residente

Photo: 5020 Records

interview

Inside Residente's 'Las Letras Ya No Importan': How His New Album Shows The Rapper In Transition

"It’s an album that marks a musical transition for what’s coming for me," Residente says about his sophomore record, 'Las Letras Ya No Importan.'

GRAMMYs/Feb 26, 2024 - 08:07 pm

Puerto Rican rapper Residente wants to embark on new adventures.  

The artist born René Pérez Joglar has dreams of directing movies and acting, writing books, and making for pleasure — not to pay the bills. These goals reflect a new attitude, one resulting from time spent reflecting on the passage of time and the presence of death.

Residente's sophomore album, Las Letras Ya No Importan (Lyrics No Longer Matter), echoes this transitory period. An extensive body of work, featuring 23 tracks, with several songs surpassing the five-minute mark. Las Letras is an act of deeply intimate rebellion.

"It’s a very personal album, and I sought to connect with myself in many moments throughout," Residente tells GRAMMY.com. 

While Las Letras explores topics already a hallmark of his music — the music industry, political systems, Puerto Rico — it's also exceedingly vulnerable. The 28-time Latin GRAMMY and four-time GRAMMY winner opens up about depression and personal relationships, and confronts mortality.

Lead single "313" is inspired by Residente's late friend Valentina, whose voice appears in the first interlude. As Residente recounted to El País of Spain and GQ Spain, Valentina was a violist, and the last messages they exchanged on WhatsApp were at 3:13.

The song begins with a French verse, fulfilling Valentina’s wish, expressed in the first interlude, to do something in that language. "Les paroles n'ont pas d'importance," (words no longer matter), a female voice whispers, followed by a spectacular string arrangement.

Residente revisited older works during this period of creative transition, and the record features previously released tracks  "René," "This Is America," and "Quiero Ser Baladista."

 Las Letras Ya No Importan features many collaborations, with actress Penélope Cruz, Spanish singer Silvia Pérez Cruz, Rauw Alejandro, Ricky Martin, Christian Nodal, Arcángel, Jessie Reyez and others making appearances. Hip-hop icon Busta Rhymes is featured on "Cerebro," while Big Daddy Kane makes an appearance on "Estilo Libre" with Vico C.

GRAMMY.com spoke with Residente via Zoom about the process that led him to his second album, the symbolism behind "313" and the artistic connection to Spain.  

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What inspired you to create Las Letras Ya No Importan?

It’s an album that marks a musical transition for what’s coming for me. It feels diverse; it also has songs with which I may not feel as connected [to] now because several years have passed since I made them. There are newer songs with which I do connect, which have a bit more to do with the way I want to start working on my music in the future.

"René" is part of this album, even though it came out four years ago. This is an album I was going to release during the pandemic. 

We have "René," which is very personal; we have "313," which I also feel is personal; then "Ron en el piso," [a song about the passage] of time, the collaboration with Nodal ("Pólvora de Ayer") also touches on the theme of time, of enjoying everything.

You confront death in several songs. In "René," you sang about losing a friend; in "Ron en el piso," you see your funeral; and in "313," you draw inspiration from your late friend Valentina. What is it about death that inspires you?

It’s something I’ve been going through in recent years. I lost many people I love, and it made me much more reflective when it comes to understanding time, the things I want to do, and the things I’ve stopped doing.

That’s why I’m also transitioning to cinema. I’ve always wanted to make films, directing, being behind the scenes, not being on stage.  I’m crazy about dedicating myself entirely to that.

I discovered acting now in a movie I starred in [In the Summers] that won the Jury Award at Sundance. When I saw it, I didn’t know I was the protagonist until I watched it. [The film] encouraged me to follow that too, and I’m going to want to act, direct; I want to dedicate myself to that for a while fully.

The album has a lot of life, and even though the lyrics no longer matter, you still have much to tell. You already said the album is very personal, but how would you describe it?

I can describe it in two years, not right now. It’s transitional. That’s what happened with Calle 13; everything was a musical and lyrical change from the second album onwards.

Residente represented a fusion of world music and rap. Now, in this one, I’m using a lot of strings, cellos, and double bass. I’m going to experiment a lot with different instruments in different ways. I’m going to be creative without the need to balance the album.

What’s coming next doesn’t have that artistic pressure. The only artistic pressure I want to have is to do the highest I can, which happens organically, not feeling pressured but naturally.

I want to do art as I did in college [at Savannah College of Art and Design]. I was never thinking about people or trying to convince anyone, and I was completely free, and that’s what happened with "313." I had the freedom I always wanted to have.

There’s substantial symbolism in "313," from the faceless dancers, the color pink. What was your vision with the visuals?

The dancers represent time. Penélope [Cruz] can represent many things, from life to Valentina, my friend, who inspired me to make the song. Penélope controls me, holds me, flies me, brings me back, and then I decide to control my life and time. That’s why I raise my hands, and everyone raises them, and time is running out, and then you see a sunset.

Sunset marks the end of something. The colors of the costumes also have some dusk elements. You can see at the end when I’m disappearing; it fades and blends with the end of the sunset.

These are decisions I make that are both aesthetic and technical. I put masks on the dancers because I liked it aesthetically. It also helped me speed up the process with makeup. I had to find creative ways to maintain the video’s aesthetics and make everything more agile because in filming, everything is time, and I had little of it.

What’s the idea behind the song "Las Letras Ya No Importan?"The arrangement is magical, with a numerical sequence from one to eight in different languages and a voice spelling of the alphabet.

That was the initial track. Before "313," I had this idea that I dreamed of with some basic notes, and it turned into something big.

There’s a voiceover of Penélope [Cruz] that says that we were eight [people in the studio], we are on an 8th street in New York, in studio B, which, if you look at it, it resembles the number 8. Everything connected with eight and [that number] also at a time level can mark infinity. So, I connected all that with the immensity of letters and languages. That piece’s runtime is five minutes. I think it’s pleasurable. I like that music, which resembles what I want to do.

Leo Genovese, an excellent musician and musical genius, made the arrangements. I greatly respect him.

In "Cerebro," you showcase your skill and vocal speed; what was it like collaborating with Busta Rhymes, whose own flow is iconic?

We met, and he loved the concept of what I was working on. He was a very humble, good person to me. After we met in person and talked for a while, he went to write after I sent him everything I had written in English.

I created ["Cerebro"] a while ago…. That’s why I tell you that the album has several concepts that I had to let go of because it was too much, and a lot of time had passed. I had a previous concept when I released the song "René" [in 2020], which is why it’s on the album. [At that time] I was working with the brain waves of different animals and people, and I made music with those brain waves.

This song ["Cerebro"] is part of that, and that’s why it’s called "Cerebro." The album was originally going to go that route. Then I didn’t do it; maybe I’ll connect to it in the future because I loved that idea.

What has Spain meant to you? The country has been so prominent in the trailers you’ve released and in the collaborations in your latest songs.

I've been making frequent trips to Madrid. This past year, I was there a lot; I was more in Madrid than at home. I traveled, wrote, and filmed videos like "Problema cabrón" and "313."

 I grew up with Spanish cinema by Almodovar and a bunch of directors I admire, and I wanted to collaborate with the actors I grew up watching in movies.

This album has many personal elements, and cinema is very intimate for me. I saw [Penelope Cruz] in [the movie] Abre los ojos when I was a kid; working with her now is a dream. The same goes with Javier Cámara and Najwa (Nimri) [who is in the film] Lovers of the Arctic Circle by Julio Medem. I saw all these people, and now being able to collaborate with them, be friends with them, talk to them is a dream. Everything is very connected to my life.

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How The Latin GRAMMYs Brought Latin Music Excellence To The 2024 GRAMMYs
Peso Pluma attends the 2024 GRAMMYs

Photo:  Lester Cohen/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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How The Latin GRAMMYs Brought Latin Music Excellence To The 2024 GRAMMYs

Latin music was celebrated throughout GRAMMY Week and on Music's Biggest Night. Read on for the many ways Latin music excellence was showcased at the 204 GRAMMYs.

GRAMMYs/Feb 9, 2024 - 09:56 pm

The 2023 Latin GRAMMYs may have occurred months ago and thousands of miles away, but the leading lights in Latin music also shined at the 66th GRAMMY Awards. From historic wins and meaningful nominations, to electric performances and interesting installations, Latin music excellence was everywhere. 

In anticipation of the 25th anniversary of the Latin GRAMMYs in 2024, the exclusive GRAMMY House — the site of multiple GRAMMY Week events — included a significant installation dedicated to the Biggest Night In Latin Music.

The cylindrical display showcased some of the biggest moments in Latin GRAMMY history, including images, facts, and even a real Latin GRAMMY award. 

The celebration of Latin music continued throughout GRAMMY Week, with several Latin GRAMMY-winning artists also winning on the GRAMMY stage. Among the major moments at the 2024 GRAMMYs, Karol G won her first golden gramophone for her 2023 LP Mañana Será Bonito. "This is my first time at GRAMMYs, and this is my first time holding my own GRAMMY," the Colombian songstress exclaimed during her acceptance speech. 

Música Mexicana star Peso Pluma also took home his first GRAMMY; his album GÉNESIS won in the Best Música Mexicana Album (Including Tejano) Category.

Premiere Ceremony presenter Natalia Lafourcade — whose Todas Las Flores won big at the 2023 Latin GRAMMYs — also took home the GRAMMY Award for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. She tied in the Category with Juanes

Premiere Ceremony performer Gabby Moreno also took home a GRAMMY Award for Best Latin Pop Album for her album X Mí (Vol. 1)

Beyond the stage, Latin artists graced the red carpet and the nominations list. For example, producer and songwriter Edgar Barrera was the only Latino nominated in the Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical Category.

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Overheard Backstage At The 2024 GRAMMYs: What Jack Antonoff, Laufey & Other GRAMMY Winners Said
Jacob Collier, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick, Amanda Taylor, and Erin Bentlage, winners of the "Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals" for "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" pose in the press room during the 66th GRAMMY Awards.

Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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Overheard Backstage At The 2024 GRAMMYs: What Jack Antonoff, Laufey & Other GRAMMY Winners Said

Get an exclusive glimpse inside the 66th GRAMMY Awards press room, where Jacob Collier, ​​Natalia Lafourcade, Brandy Clark and others spoke with GRAMMY U about their big wins on Music's Biggest Night.

GRAMMYs/Feb 7, 2024 - 05:38 pm

From Miley Cyrus winning her first GRAMMY to Billy Joel’s comeback performance after 30 years, the 2024 GRAMMYs were filled with a range of special moments at Crypto.com Arena.

Backstage at the Recording Academy’s media center and press room, GRAMMY U spoke with several GRAMMY winners just as they stepped off the stage. Each spoke about the vital role of collaboration in the studio, and the role they played in their GRAMMY-winning Categories. 

Read on for insights from Jack Antonoff (Album Of The Year and Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical), Laufey (Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album), Jacob Collier (Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals), Natalia Lafourcade (Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album ), and Brandy Clark (Best Americana Performance).

Jack Antonoff Can Truly Fly Free With A Collaborator

The 10-time GRAMMY winner took home several golden gramophones on Feb. 4, including the prestigious Album Of The Year for Taylor Swift’s Midnights as well as Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical for the third consecutive year. 

Antonoff told GRAMMY.com that, as a producer, collaboration is simply "everything."

"The visual I have is a balloon. When it's your words, lyrics, and your life, you have to be able to fly free without being scared of drifting away," Antonoff continues. "I see the producer holding that string, and I know both ends." 

When he’s not creating hits for other artists, Antonoff delves into his own artistry as the founder and lead singer of indie rock band Bleachers, known for their hit single "I Wanna Get Better."

"When I’m making the Bleachers records, I’ll have these crazy thoughts and then [producer] Patrik Berger will ground me in it. I think it’s really about trust," Antonoff reflects.

Laufey Won In The Same Category As Many Idols

Laufey first wowed audiences with a live performance of her hit song "From the Start" at the 66th GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony. Later in the day, the 24-year-old won her first GRAMMY on Sunday in the Category of Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Bewitched

"This category means so much to me, so many of my inspirations and idols have won in this category before," she tells GRAMMY.com. 

Read more: With 'Bewitched,' Icelandic Singer Laufey Is Leaving Jazz Neophytes Spellbound

Laufey transcends the boundaries of genre, blending jazz and pop into her original music. With 18 million likes on TikTok and 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify, the Icelandic singer/songwriter effused awe an gratitude. 

"It feels so cool to make the kind of music I make today and still get recognized for it," she shares. 

Jacob Collier Shared His Imnprovisiation Techniques

Collier won his sixth GRAMMY Award this year, taking home the golden gramophone for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals for his feature on "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" by vocal supergroup Säje. The first-time GRAMMY-winning vocal group is composed of Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor, Johnaye Kendrick, and Erin Bentlage. 

The multi-instrumentalist provided insight into the making of "In the Wee Hours of the Morning," revealing that this collaboration began with an improvisation Collier created around the song, which was later decorated with Säje’s harmonies. 

"The best types of collaborations reveal parts of oneself that you wouldn’t otherwise have access to, and I think the amazing thing about [Säje] is that the four [of them] brought colors out of me that were new," Collier says. 

"I feel so lucky to have been clothed by these four voices, it feels really wonderful," he says. 

Natalia Lafourcade Realized Her Own Importance

Known for infusing a variety of Latin genres with elements of folk, jazz, and alternative music, Natalia Lafourcade picked up her fourth GRAMMY win for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album with De Todas Las Flores.

"It took seven years for me to realize I need to write my own music again," Lafourcade says. "This album has [helped me realize] the importance of my inner garden, my creative universe." 

Read more: Catching Up With Natalia Lafourcade: How Togetherness, Improvisation & The Element Of Surprise Led To Her Most Exquisite Album

The Mexican singer/songwriter also served as a presenter at the Premiere Ceremony, presenting in Categories such as Best Music Video and Best Song Written for Visual Media. Previously, Lafourcade won for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album at the 58th GRAMMY Awards for Hasta La Raíz, and discussed the importance of reclaiming her sound in this category. 

"Having the producers, musicians, and my beautiful team has been an incredible experience. It means a lot," she says. 

Brandy Clark Loved Working With Brandi Carlile

After 17 nominations, Brandy Clark landed her first GRAMMY win in the category of Americana Performance. At the Premiere Ceremony, Clark performed a solo acoustic rendition of "Dear Insecurity," which features 10-time GRAMMY winner Brandi Carlile

Previous nominations for the Washington native include Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. 

"The work I did with Brandi Carlile was really important for me. Seventeen nominations, first GRAMMY win — I’m mind blown," Clark says.

Clark's collaboration with Carlile is a key part of her support system, and she continues to push the boundaries of artistic expression — especially when it comes to her love for country music.

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Catching Up With Natalia Lafourcade: How Togetherness, Improvisation & The Element Of Surprise Led To Her Most Exquisite Album
Natalia Lafourcade performs in Madrid, Spain

Photo: Mariano Regidor / Redferns / Getty Images

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Catching Up With Natalia Lafourcade: How Togetherness, Improvisation & The Element Of Surprise Led To Her Most Exquisite Album

"I feel completely overtaken by this record," Natalia Lafourcade says of 'De Todas las Flores.' Her first album of original material in several years is nominated in the Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album Category at the 2024 GRAMMYs.

GRAMMYs/Jan 31, 2024 - 02:21 pm

Even those who were familiar with the artistry of Mexican singer/songwriter Natalia Lafourcade were stunned by De Todas las Flores, her tenth studio album. Her first collection of original material in seven years, it is also her most vulnerable and sophisticated work to date. Her voice has such an immediacy that almost leaps off the speakers.

Lafourcade is only 39, but she sounds like an old soul on these delicately arranged songs informed by Latin formats like bossa nova, bolero and trova. The shades of composer Claude Debussy in the intro of the folk ballad "Llévame Viento" are no coincidence — her album is a neo-impressionist masterpiece, the best effort of her career, and a fitting nominee in the Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album Category at the 2024 GRAMMYs.

"I would never have imagined my album being nominated in this category. But then I think about the idiosyncrasies of rock — a style spawned from broken places, the crevice where a flower can blossom — and it makes sense," Lafourade told GRAMMY.com in a roundtable discussion with her fellow 2024 nominees.

Recorded live to tape without any previous rehearsals together with a select group of virtuoso, jazz-oriented musicians — including Marc Ribot on guitar — the collection has an austere beauty to it, favoring a purity of sound and stately elegance that has been mostly absent from Latin music during the past decade. No visitors were allowed during the 12 days of sessions to preserve the intimacy of the process. 

Helmed by acclaimed producer Adan Jodorowsky, De Todas las Flores was mixed in Paris — a trip that allowed the singer the opportunity to visit the legendary flower garden by painter Claude Monet. "This album saved me," Lafourcade says. "It reminded me to be responsible for my own garden, my self-care. Its message is not only directed at me, but to other people as well."

Lafourcade’s commitment to her art and her fastidious attention to detail were rewarded at the 2023 Latin GRAMMYs. On the Sevilla stage, she won golden gramophones Record Of The Year, Best Singer/Songwriter Album and Best Singer/Songwriter Song Categories.    

Ahead of the 66th GRAMMY Awards, the singer discussed her recent tour, her recording process, and the album’s common points with a Cuban classic from decades past.

One of the best things that happened to me last year was seeing you in concert during your U.S. tour. I was especially impressed by the gigantic costume that you begin the show with — the larger-than-life skirt.

Ah, yes, the skirt. [Laughs.] It all began at the photo shoot for the new album. The photographer asked me to wear a huge skirt because she liked the texture, like taffeta. I loved the end result and asked my stage designers for a skirt of many meters in diameter. Something truly huge that would allow me to transform myself. It could be like a boulder, or the endless sea, or a shadow that I carried along with me. 

I wanted something absurdly elegant, the kind of ritualistic getup that you may wear at a wedding or a lavish evening reception. I was getting ready to present the album at Carnegie Hall, and I imagined myself walking onstage in the darkness — the skirt would be the protagonist.

You leave the big skirt behind after the first half of the show. I imagined there was a deeper meaning to that.

The skirt represents the darkness and emptiness that you feel when there your soul breaks down. It’s like a dark canvass that allows you the option of painting it with light, thus finding life again. The skirt pins me down during the first half of the show, but then I lose it, much like an animal sheds its skin. 

All that death — the shadows, the tears, the emptiness — I offer it to the light as a gift, with the understanding that darkness can also be the greatest teacher. The moment where I took off the skirt became very moving to me, like psychomagic. Getting rid of that unwanted weight — but at the same honoring it with gratitude.

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Just like the skirt, De Todas las Flores is a larger-than-life record. I believe it will be treasured by fans for many decades. In a way, it’s the kind of album that transcends us all. Do you feel the same?

I feel completely overtaken by this record. It’s the kind of rare album that appears once in a while. It forced me to become exceedingly humble, honest and patient with myself. My task was to deliver these songs, and let them do their thing with the people who listen and absorb them. 

I am grateful that it is recognized and nominated, but it goes beyond any marketing strategy or accounting. 

Something that strikes me about the album is the almost supernatural immediacy of your voice. It sounds like you’re right here singing those tunes. How is that effect achieved?

I think you’re referring to the magic of an energy that I could not really explain with words. It’s like a physical sensation about something that arrives from a different place. It’s not in me — it’s just passing through my being.  

I’ve never considered myself a virtuoso singer. When we were making the album, I tried to remove myself from the equation. I was vocalizing with the least possible effort, simply surrendering to the songs, allowing them to express what they wanted to say. It felt warm and comforting.

What about the actual recording process?

There were different elements that played a part in creating that feeling: the fact that we were playing together in the same room, without a click track, reverb or autotune of any kind. 

The element of surprise played a big part, because we didn’t really know where the music was taking us. We relied largely on  improvisation. We felt it was important to respect the natural qualities of my voice, the instruments, even the echo in the room. I knew that it would add a special quality to the album, and make it sound like you describe it.   

I remember the indelible moment of listening to Casa for the first time in 2005. A young girl singing bossa novas about ducklings and sunny love songs about baking a cake for her beau...

So innocent, right? [Laughs.]

The vibe of that record was incredibly light and frothy. In contrast, De Todas las Flores has this beautiful, ever-present gravity. How did you become the singer you are today?

My music has always involved a transference of my soul and personality in the present moment. In the period of time that elapsed between both albums, at one point I broke down. It happens to all of us. The dance of life gives us moments of flight, and moments of crashing down — I see both as treasures. 

My life has been marked by changes. The register of my voice is different; I can’t sing a number of melodies the way I used to. The road taken has given me experience, and you find different shades as you go through life. I’ve learned not to run away from the dark moments, but rather take from them something that can enrich my art. 

That said, a song like "Canta la Arena" [from De Todas las Flores] is related to the bossa novas of my youth. It’s about finding life and joy at a beach in Veracruz. There are elements that pull me out of the shadows, and I interpret them through my current point of view.  The only way to reinvent yourself is to live intensely, to search and explore. De Todas las Flores is about doing that. A song like "“Pajarito Colibrí" is about liberating your soul from a place of mourning.

I may be completely off, but the acoustic vibe and wide-open spaces remind me of the first Buena Vista Social Club album...

What a spectacular reference. We definitely had in mind albums like Buena Vista, Kind of Blue, Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, and some Nina Simone records. They all reflect the same search – our album is Latin in the point of view, but reflected through the prism of jazz. A group of musicians playing together in the same room, with audible mistakes. We played together, reading each other, finding the rhythm of the moment in an organic way. Just like the Buena Vista Social Club did.

That album happened by mistake, of course. It was meant as a conclave of African musicians playing in Cuba, but when they didn’t show up, Ry Cooder assembled an improvised group of local veterans.

At one point in the recording, Marc Ribot commented that real music happens within a short span of time. It’s a very intense moment of togetherness, and somebody must be there and press the record button. 

So many coincidences need to happen at the same time for the magic to take place. I’m always praying for that moment, because when it happens, I feel truly alive.

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