A whole night of world music, with a special Cumbia Colombiana night.
1- Hear Globally, a compilation from the collection of the Cumbancha label. The album has 13 songs by 13 artists that were released earlier by the label. It’s an excellent introduction to exceptional artists, including Zimbabwan Chiwoniso, who sadly passed away in 2013.
CD. Hear Globally – A Cumbancha Collection.
Label: Cumbancha (2009), code: CMB-CD-91. Video
2- In the summer of 1952, Anibal Velasquez walked into the ‘Discos Atlantic’ studio for his first recording session. What the 16 year old accordion player didn’t know at the time, was that he would become a living legend. Anibal Velasquez was the creator of a ‘silly’ mix of genres: the Guaracha, the Pompo, the Guarija, the Cumbia and fast African beats. CD. Mambo loco – Anibal Velasquez. Label: Analog Afrika (2010), code: LC:18467. Video
3- On this album, we find forgetten gems for which British music producer Will ‘Quantic’ Holland went through loads of dusty shelves. In this process, Quantic caught the Cumbia bug and started his own little group. In it, he plays the accordion like a legend of old and dragged seven strong Cumbia and Vallenato artists to his studio in Cali. CD. Los Miticos Del Ritmo, Label: Soundway (2012), distribution Xango Music. Video
4- Toto La Momposina is more than a name. It’s a place, a population, a way of life, all illustrated in the music of Toto and her band, many of its members are relatives as well. They come from Talaigua, a village on the island of Mompos in the Colombian river Magdalena. They play the music of their ancestors. CD. La Candela Viva – Toto La Mamposina. Label: Realworld (1993), code: CDR-W-31 (UK). Video
5- This album contains music by three different bands: Grupo Libre Cumbé, Los Bajeros de la Montaña and Gaitos y Tambores de San Jacinto, recorded live during European and Colombian tours.The music of the recorders and tambourines from the Caribian coust of Colombia, is a beautiful blend of mystical melodies of the native inhabitants and rhythms of African origins. CD. El Mapurito, Musica Caribe de Colombia. Label: Buda Musique, code: 860124. Video
6- International band Yacumba from Rotterdam, consists of an unique group of artists who all share a love for Colombia. They play original Cumbia and have a wide repertoire of their own as well. The motto is ‘Ritmo sabroso’ (nice rhythm), which acording to Yacumba is all about fun and dance. This really seems to be the case, because with their percussion, accordion, wind section and vocals and mostly their energy, Yacumba gets everybody moving. CD. Yacumba – Orquestra de la Cumbia. Label: Own production (2010): www.yacumba.com. Video
7- The Sound of Colombia 1962-72, a time when muscians effortlesly combined the swing of Cumbia with the driving bass of the Salsa. A period of musica history, which rarely can be heard outside the tropicals cousts of South America. The album Carthagena! is compiled by Roberto Gyémánt with a helping hand of British-Colombian music producer Will ‘Quantic’ Holland and others, the cd aims at the extraordinary life and career of Curro Fuentes. CD. Cartagena! – Curro Fuentes & the Big Band Cumbia and Descarga Sound of Colombia 1962-72. Label: Soundway Records (2010), code: SNDWCD026. Distr. XANGO music. Video
8- Lucho Argain, Colombian arranger and composer, is the founder of the band La Sonora Dinamita. The band plays tropical music, an umbrella term for Cumbia, Salsa, and other rhytmic forms. The driving force in this, is the wind section. It’s fantasic dance music, played by the most popular bands of Latin America. CD. A Mover la Colita – La Sonora Dinamita. Label: World Music Network / Riverboat Records (19980, code: TUGCD1016. Video
9- A thrliling and exiting album with music from different regions of Colombia, with a wide range of styles and rhythms, including the southern ‘Son sureno’, Cumbia of the Caribean coast, the ‘Bambuco’ of the south-eastern island, and the ‘Curruloo’ from the Pacific coast, also known as ‘the soul of black Colombia’. CD. Traditional Songs and Dance from Colombia – Son de Pueblo. Label: Arc Music (2013), code: EUCD2434. Video
