Caetano Veloso is called the Bob Dylan of Brazil; it may be Dylan who’s flattered there. At 67, Veloso continues to make music with the grace of a poet and the ebullience of a kid. In recent years his sound has been reinvigorated by the sharp edges of his son Moreno, who coproduced Zii e Zie(Uncles and Aunts). But the jagged rock and funk flair never buries Veloso’s deep roots in samba and bossa nova. You won’t hear a more stirringly beautiful postpunk tune than the opening “Perdeu.”
Colombia has a very wide range of musical styles, reflecting the country’s strong regional cultures and diverse roots – African, indigenous, and European. It’s similar to Brazil, and that shows in the music. But I think many of us are more conscious of the richness of Brazilian music. Here are some listening suggestions for Colombians artists and styles mentioned in my story this week.
Aterciopelados are that very special combination of a creative and original yet extremely popular group. The band has become political and social advocates. The title song on Río, the most recent cd, refers to the very polluted Bogotá River; the band has promoted a clean water referendum. (But there’s also a lightness to Aterciopelados’ lyrics – as singer Andrea Echeverri points out, “río” is also a form of the verb for “to smile.”) “Canción Protesta” – Protest Song – was reworked for an Amnesty International-UN project as “The Price of Silence,” with new multilingual lyrics. Here’s the video, recorded at the UN General Assembly hall. Note that Andrea is very pregnant with her second child!
Here are more listening and general links for Colombian artists:
Bomba Estéreo mixes cumbia rhythms with lots of sampling and mixing – and also a serious rock attitude. They’re part of a very creative stable of artists recording for the indie label Polen, in Bogotá. Nacional Records has picked up the most recent cd, Blow Up, to break the band in North America. [video]
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Carlos Vives is the former soap opera sweetheart who was inspired by a role he played to explore the roots of Colombia’s accordion-driven vallenato music, and in so doing so really raised urban audience’s awareness and respect for the music.
First he made a cd, Clasicos de la Provincia, covering traditional vallenato classics. With the help of producer Ivan Benavides, he followed up with a more contemporary take on vallenato, Tierra de Olvido. The title cut was a huge hit, and he’s made several more hybrid records. [video, video]
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Ivan Benavides also led Bloque, a band that didn’t make it into the final version of our story as things got whittled down. But Bloque is a critic’s choice as probably the first Colombian band of its generation to organically mix rock and roots.
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Benavides and British DJ Richard Blair are Sidestepper, maybe the first group to effectively blend electronica with any Latin music.
Sidestepper has been enormously influential on younger artists in Colombia including Bomba Estéreo, and has influenced the popular cumbia DJ scene in Buenos Aires, known as Zizek. [video]
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Pernett is a talented young Polen label artist originally from Barranquilla. Like Bomba Estéreo, they mix cumbia and the African-inflected champeta with modern beats. [video]
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Sol Okarina is a fine young artist whose lovely cd Sumergible, also on Polen, blends champeta and other styles with indie pop. [video]
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Choc Quib Town is a highly acclaimed Afro-Colombian band that’s a little more rap-oriented, but also blending traditional styles and rhythms into their music. Orowas nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2009 and is being released in the US in February. [video]
Another stream of musical hybridism in Colombian music blends jazz and traditional music. This collection from the (sadly defunct) Chonta records is an excellent starting point for further explorations in new Colombian music.
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Finally, here are a few good cds for exploring more traditional and old-school Colombian music:
Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto: This group is carrying the torch for the most traditional form of cumbia, played on the long-tubed vertical gaita flutes with percussion. A good example is their cd, Un Fuego de Sangre Pura.
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And I’ve only scratched the surface here! If you’d like further recommendations, or have questions, thoughts, corrections, or suggestions – post a comment below. Or you can also contact me directly.
On this week’s show, there’s a lovely story about the song that made Brazilian samba queen Carmen Miranda an international star in 1939 – “O Que è Que a Bahiana Tem.” The name roughly translates to “What is it that the Bahian woman has?”
When I hear the word Bahia, I immediately get a picture in my mind… of a duck and a parrot. Donald Duck and the Portuguese-speaking parrot José Caroica, that is. They are two-thirds of The Three Caballeros – Disney’s 1944 movie about Donald’s trip to Latin America with two feathered friends.
It might sound hokey, but the movie is like one awesome party – a psychedelic romp through Brazil and Mexico with delightful music and hilarious antics. It was also one of the first films to combine live action and animation.
The scene forever stuck in my brain is when Donald and José follow a beautiful woman selling pastries down the streets of Bahia. Her song builds into rollicking samba called “Os Quindins de Yaya” (Coconut Cupcakes). It turns out the woman is Aurora Miranda – Carmen’s younger sister. Aurora was also a well-known performer in Brazil, but not nearly as famous as her sister. This was one of her biggest roles in America.
Like José asks Donald, “Have you been to Bahia, my friend?” No! “Well, let’s go!”
The hottest music out of Brazil at the moment might actually be from Minnesota. On Rádio do Canibal, Twin City beat-makers BK-One and Benzilla have crafted one of the most musical hip-hop records of the year. As the title indicates, the American DJs cannibalized a slew of records gathered on a recent trip to Brazil. Dirty salsa beats mix with Tropicália melodies in a seamless 19-track excursion from the City of God to the beaches of Ipanema. It helps that the roster of guest hip-hop talent includes such stellar wordsmiths as Black Thought, Murs, and Raekwon.
Zii e Zie
Caetano Veloso
Studio 360 Blog 