July Overview: Cuba
Cuba is stranded in a sea of worsening problems. The electricity crisis is unsustainable, and all the provinces of the country, except Havana, suffer blackouts of almost 12 hours a day as a result of the malfunction of thermoelectric plants and the shortage of fuel, with the economic crisis, the embargo against Cuba and the poor government management as background. To try to balance this situation, they decided that the capital would also begin to be affected with what they called a “solidarity” blackout planning (with the rest of the provinces). Meanwhile, dengue, covid-19 or "the flu that knocks you down" coexist with us during this infernal summer, activating another booster of vaccines for the population and forcing us once again to use masks in closed or crowded places; all this while prices continue to skyrocket, public transport almost does not exist and the lack of basic necessities… has us exhausted.
As if that were not enough, this month we lost César puppy Pedroso, founder and director of the Cuban dance music group Pupy y los que Son Son. There is no solution in sight, but you have to move on, as musicians do who do not stop releasing music.
Write down these recommendations and discover what Cuba sounds like today:
Chucho Valdés has released a new album with Paquito D' Rivera, a “brutal” duo that has been somehow united by music for more than 60 years. I missed you too (2022) is the record reunion that both musicians owed each other for a long time, because throughout their lives they have played a lot together, although they spent a long time without doing so. The album has seven emblematic songs, some composed by Chucho (composer, pianist) and others by Paquito (composer, clarinettist and saxophonist) throughout their careers; in the case of The Majá de Vento by both, and includes versions of Pac Man, by Hilario Duran and The day you Love Me by Carlos Gardel. An album made with good taste, using the jazz sextet format, and in which we find all those harmonic melodies and rhythms that are synthesized in Latin jazz and Cuban music: afro, son, song and jazz are combined here in a masterful way. An album to remember the musical past of Cuba and the future to come. Dafnis Prieto (drums), Diego Urcola (trumpet), José A. Gola (double bass) and Roberto Vizcaíno Jr. (percussion) collaborated on the recording.
MORE RELEASES
Rxnde Akosta— Black Dog: If you want to meet the Cuban rapper, this is the right song with the perfect symbiosis of heartfelt lyrics, melodies and jazz accompaniment, developed through the timbres of the tenor sax, piano and electronic samples. “AKG quiet type, more person than rapper”, confirms it several times to tell us who he is and where he comes from. End with a snippet of the topic The entire sites by NG La Banda, nothing more to say. Everything is very clear here.
white noise — Songs for shadows: This Cuban indie rock band has released its first full album with 10 songs. Until now, little by little each month, they had released on informal platforms some singles that make up this phonogram and that come here remastered. Many demons and fairies walk over and alongside the songs on this album. Shadows, The Resistance, and tear out the song They scream truth. If you want to get a little closer to the band, check this out interview which we published a few months ago.
AL2 The Villager and Raymond Daniel — Nomads: What kind of album has AL2 scored, the Cuban rapper living in the United States, together with Raymond Daniel, Cuban musician, producer and guitarist also living in Miami. A phonogram of 14 songs between ballads, boleros, funky, afro, electronic sounds, reggaeton mixed with timba and son, good hip hop in every way. Messages of peace, love, honesty, a lot of Cuban identity. Freedom, stay and Daily are some of the topics that engage with your flow violent.
Diego Hedez and Marcos Morales — The Happy End: Very few people play free jazz in Cuba, and these two boys belonging to the new generation of jazz players on the island are one of the few exceptions. The Happy End It is a project that was idealized a few years ago and today results in an EP of five totally improvised songs. It was recorded in a session live on PM Records and there, in the heat of the recording, original songs were born with the marked style of both musicians. There is a lot of virtuosity and organized thought here, a combination that hardly fails.
MORE CULTURE
The Hip-Hop Festival recently concluded Rhyme Love and Poetry, which took place during the first three days of August and which invited the team of Magazine AM:PM to talk about our publications related to the world of hip-hop and rap, and about the sociocultural processes that develop these styles within the Cuban urban music scene. On the other hand, after two years on hiatus due to the pandemic, the sixteenth edition of the Gibara FIC Film Festival took place from August 2 to 6 in the province of Holguín. The contest had the participation of more than 15 countries and a varied program. Musically, they had the luxury of having Alexander Abreu and Havana D' Primera at the closing event.
