Havana Cultura anthology

"While it's tempting to think only of Buena Vista Social Club, scratch [Havana's] surface and there's a whole host of styles throbbing out from each corner of this proud, cultural oasis of a city. Determined to explore the avant-garde and the underground, Gilles Peterson has spent much of the last eight years working on a series of releases showcasing the best of the talent on offer in the capital. On this anthology, he curates a selection of some of the most incredible sounds he uncovered. His Havana Cultura Band are a phenomenon in their own right, with Roforofo Fight an exhausting blend of Mingus' big band, salsa and clubland. Conversely, Arema Arega's Ay showcases a sultry singer-songwriter with an infectious contemporary sound. The entire anthology is a burst of colours, energy, textures and passion that call you back, like Cuba itself, to get entwined in its unique and endless wonders".

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"As a crate-digging teenage DJ, Gilles Peterson fell in love with Latin music via "dodgy bossas". A couple of decades later the broadcaster and tastemaker was producing albums in Cuba, forging links between the island's unexposed young talent and global club culture; "a Buena Vista Club for the 21st century," as Peterson put it. This double CD handpicks his productions, winding from ambient street noise through polished salsa, elegant jazz piano, storming DJ mixes and drum-heavy rumba. Among the many voices (and handclaps) come jazz diva Mayra Caridad Valdés, the popular Arema Arega (whose Ay is a gem), hip-hopper Danay Suárez and ethereal choirs summoning the spirits on Orisa. A seamless selection of Cuban joys".

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