En La Misma Onda

The 9th Latin Grammys sucked. Bigtime. And for only one reason: Juanes sweeping all five categories he was nominated for - okay, La Vida Es Un Ratico is an okay album, but Album ánd Song of the Year goes a little to far for me. I was also bummed by Tego Calderon losing to Wisin y Yandel and Nigga, even if his latest album wasn't his best he's still miles above the commercialism of those competitors.
Café Tacuba and Julieta Venegas walked away with two awards each, and Marc Anthony and Gloria Estefan won in the categories I praised them in last year, so it's not all bad. Still, I guess you know who won't be on my best of 2008 list ;)

Hector 'El Father', who used to be one of my reggaeton idols thanks to the Hector y Tito classic "Baila Morena", just made the worst album of 2008. Juicio Final is a mess of religious nonsense, brainless hiphop and toe-curling ballads. But at least he seems to realize that himself: Hector says farewell to music and devotes his life to God now. At least we won't have to listen anymore! (via Latin Gossip)

The Latin Americanist had a small interview with Aterciopelados' Héctor Buitrago. They discuss politics, fatherhood, and of course the beautiful new album Río.

Rock en las Americas compiled an all-time latin rock & alternative top 20 as the conclusion to his elaborate 'Evolution of Latin Rock & Alternative Music" series (in Spanish). All top quality songs and a great introduction to the previous work of many bands we write about on La Onda!

A highlight from the abundance of latin indie reviews on Club Fonograma this month: No Somos Muchos Pero Somos Machos organize dirty electroclash parties in Mexico DF, but appartently enjoy making a greasy beat of their own as well. The remix they did for Mexican Institute of Sound is fabulous, check it out.

And finally, after the closure of Fat Planet (now replaced by the more 'Western' Discontent) we have to say goodbye to yet another recently discovered blog: Turn That Shit Off got, ahum, turned off. Venezuelan indie popstar Nuuro dedicated a funky song to the team behind the blog. So long, farewell, adiós, y muchísimas gracias!

PS: the layout, image and audio problems should be solved by the end of the week, according to my hosting company. Apologies!

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

Our favorite altrockers Café Tacuba lead the nominations for the 9th Latin Grammys with 6 nods, including Record and Song of the Year. Juanes and Gustavo Santaolalla have 5 nominations each. Some of the surprises are the New Artist nominees, who for once are truly undiscovered talents, and the 2 nominations for rapper Tego Calderón in the urban category. Here's the full list, if you have a few minutes time! The Latin Grammys will be awarded Nov. 13th in Houston.

The Complete 78s is a collection of classic 78 RPM recordings of Tito Puente and his Orchestra and Quartet from 1949 to 1955, remastered and never before released on CD. Part I is already in stores, with Part II coming up soon in November. His close friend Joe Conzo selected 160 tracks of the King of Mambo for this series. Wanna feel the magic of his old days again, and don't have a rare LP lying around? More info on this great collection here.

Tropicalidad informs us that the legendary Buena Vista Social Club concert at Carnegie Hall, New York in 1998 is finally available on CD. The concert was prominently featured in the 1999 documentary film by Wim Wenders that sparked an Afro-Cuban revival throughout the world. Check out the funny album cover (quality photoshopping, since Ibrahim Ferrer sadly died in 2005) and a free mp3 of "De Camino a Vereda"!

Fat Planet breaks the silence for an excellent post about the load of nueva cumbia releases in the last few weeks. ZZK Records brings us mixtapes from El Remolón, Fauna and Chancha Vía Circuito (the last being my favorite). And El Hijo De La Cumbia released Freestyle de Ritmos on Soot Records. But for all the info, background and mp3s, head over here!

And may I point you again to our two favorite sources of latin indie, pop and alternative music? Ritmo Latino did another great podcast with Monareta, Señor Coconut and Sonidero Nacional among many others. And Club Fonograma keeps delivering quality CD reviews in an [onnavolgbaar] tempo. Juana Molina, Jovenes y Sexys (also below!), Coconot and Vicente Fernandez all got really high ratings recently, be sure to check out their albums!

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

Back on Track

Recovering from a well-filled festival weekend and a month of internet-free travels, here's a round-up of what other blogs wrote while we were gone.

I think we can speak of a veritable nueva cumbia explosion by now. Two more sources to get your mashup fix. First, Cabeza! is a new 'netlabel' mixing urban goodness with the all-familiar cumbia. negromoreno's mix has lots of elektro samples and is sure to do good on Western dancefloors. Second, Altos Colombianos is some kind of cumbia mashup community (if you're lost, the remix page is here ;)). Masala recommends DJ Toty.
And meanwhile the guys from Zizek haven't been quiet either. They did a second US tour (too bad I wasn't able to check them out), of course with accompanying free promo EP. Also check out this great podcast mix for XLR8 by Zizek DJ Villa Diamante.

Bubblegum pop combo RBD, a.k.a. the ultimate nightmare of everyone with a teenage latina in their surroundings, has finally split up. The Latin Americanist has all the details. To illustrate how much the band meant to many kids out there, read this post over at Latin Gossip...

Plastic Caramelo define themselves as "glampeta" - champeta + dancehall + cumbia. I think they make noise - but that's exactly what I first thought about CSS, MIA and Bonde do Role who could be considered similar artists. Check out the video for "Plastic Caramelo" over at Fat Planet.

Swedish Classical Tango. The name might sound like "steak-flavored ice cream", the music is something very special. Beata Söderbergh is a cellist who discovered tango in a New York club - and decided to dedicate herself to the music. The album Bailata is the unique result. More (including an mp3 sample) over at SoundRoots.

After the series on their selection for the Latin Grammy's, Club Fonograma list their favorite songs of 2008 so far in another elaborate post sequence. Here are the links to parts one, two and three.

One of our more recent discoveries in the world music blogosphere, Stuart Buchanan's Fat Planet, decided to stop writing and focus on the music (in his Slang Tang podcasts). His final post is a great piece of writing on the issues many music bloggers share - I for one recognize myself fully in the things he writes. But no worries - I'm not thinking about stopping just yet. Just maybe things will slow down a little around here, as I'll take more time for other things in life. Then again, maybe not ;)

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

The succesful reggaeton duo Jowell y Randy is working on solo albums, though they will 'keep working together in the future'. Randy's album is almost finished and will be called Romances De Nota - ewwwww. I guess that's bye-bye to party tunes like "No Te Veo"... (via BlogReggaeton)

Club Fonograma shine their light on the upcoming Latin Grammys. A mammoth task, considering the amount of categories and subdivisions at the Grammys. Here's what they've reviewed so far: Tropical (what a bummer that there's no Merengue category this year), Regional Mexican and Flamenco & Latin Jazz

And to prove that there's still loads of quality merengue out there, even without a Grammy category, CorrienteLatina has an excellent merengue mixtape with tracks of Dominican bands Oro Sólido, Coco Band, Josie Esteban and La Mákina.

Masala has an excellent half hour of cumbia nueva in this week's podcast. They also have all the info on the brand new Bersa Discos v2 vinyl. The San Francisco-based label's second EP has some great rebajadas from DJ Negro (listen on their myspace).

More hipster cumbia - here's a mixtape from El Hijo De La Cumbia. It's become a very eclectic mix with some dub and drum&bass, lots of rebajadas and creepy bleeps & blips. Interesting to say the least! (via Fat Planet)

SoundRoots reviews Sonidos Gold, the latest installment of Austin 'latin funk orchestra' Grupo Fantasma. They call it 'tracks that go great with summertime and sweat', and I have nothing to add to that!

Neil says this week's Ritmo Latino podcast is 'the best episode of 2008'. With tracks from Café Tacuba, Babasonicos Zoe and La Casa Azul you can't prove him wrong!

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

We begin this news overview with two latin music figures who passed away too soon.

Gerardo 'Toto' Rotblad, who was the percussionist of the legendary Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, died of pulmonary edema at the age of 38. Despite this sad news, the remaining members of the band announced a reunion for this fall, and the web is buzzing about a possible new album by the Argentinean ska band.

Elvis Manuel, a succesful Cuban reggaeton artist, has gone missing and is presumed dead. Lured by a lucrative record deal in the US, Manuel made the jump to Florida on a raft with his family, friends and producers, but wasn't recovered after it sank. The Latin Americanist has the full story, Mister Bryans digs even deeper.

The Latin Americanist reports that the violent attacks against 'emo' youngsters (that started in the Mexican city Queretaro) are now spreading across the continent. Chili, Peru and Colombia have all seen their share of anti-emo violence, often originating from homophobic and extreme-right sentiments. Not good.

On a more positive note, a new solidarity concert has emerged: ALAS, meaning América Latina en Acción Solidaria, or the Spanish word for 'wings' - how cute. This Sunday May 17th, dozens of artists will be performing for free concerts to focus attention on the 32 million impoverished children of the continent. El Zócalo in Mexico City and Constanera Sur in Buenos Aires will probably fill with 300,000 enthousiastics for performances by Alejandro Sanz, Babasonicos, Calle 13, Chayanne, David Bisbal, Gustavo Cerati, Jorge Drexler, Juan Luis Guerra, Juanes, Los Tigres del Norte, Maná, Miguel Bose, Ricky Martin, Shakira, and many more!

According to Blogamole, 2008 will finally bring a new album from the queen of latin pop, Shakira. It's been two years since the double release of the Spanish-language Fijación Oral, vol. 1 and its English counterpart Oral Fixation, vol. 2.

Despite the very commercial nature of the Premios Billboard, there were a few deserved winners this year. Juan Luis Guerra took home 3 awards, and Marc Anthony and Gloria Estefan were victorious in the 'Tropical Album' category. Latin Gossip rounds up the other winners.

Blog Reggaeton informs us that the highly successful Panamese rap duo La Factoría is splitting up. Both ladies want to pursue a solo career in the distinctive reggaeton panameño genre that got them continent-wide hits such as "Todavía", "Perdoname" and "Moriré". Here's a piece on La Factoría which we wrote back in 2006, when the reggaeton genre was just exploding.

A new addition to our blogroll! Club Fonograma may only exist for little over a month, but has already proven to be an essential read if you're into latin music. The sharp pens of bloggers Carlos Reyes and Paulo Correa deliver quality reviews of recent latino releases - for example this review of Alegranza! by El Guincho. There's also a great article on the most anticipated 2008 albums.

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

As I am currently experiencing a serious writers block (or is the recently released latin music just not good enough to inspire me?), another overview of what other blogs have to say.

The Paz Sin Fronteras concert held two weeks ago (an initiative by Juanes in the hope of sparking peace between Colombia and Venezuela, more info here) was quite the success. A crowd of 300,000 turned up all dressed in white, to watch the performances of Juan Fernando Velasco, Miguel Bose, Ricardo Montaner, Carlos Vives, Alejandro Sanz, Juan Luis Guerra, and Juanes himself. If you weren't there, you can catch parts of the concert on YouTube right here. That crowd is an amazing sight, let's hope it inspires some Latin American leaders to lay aside their personal and political differences for a while. (via The Latin Americanist)

Legendary Cuban bassist Israel 'Cachao' Lopez passed away at the age of 89. He was famous for popularizing mambo in the US in the 1950s, and for his mastership in the distinctly Cuban descarga genre (basically a jam session à la latin jazz). UPDATE: Captain's Crate has a great post on Cachao's life and music.

Emo teens are having a hard time in Mexico City, where adversaries of the punkrock movement are engaging in violent attacks on emo kids. Though you can't blame the attackers (hell I've been wanting to punch some emo's myself lately), this kind of mass brutality is just horrible. Read this controversial article about the emo attack on Turn That Shit Off, and don't forget to read the heated discussion in the comments.

According to this video, shot at a Wisin y Yandel concert, the year-long catfight between Don Omar and Daddy Yankee is over. Though their body language still suggests a strong aversion to each other :) (via Latin Gossip)

Turn That Shit Off interviewed digital cumbia producer Villa Diamante on the release of the ZZK Records mixtape we posted about earlier.

[...] Este mix tiene como idea ser el Lado B del disco oficial de ZZK Records [...] Cuando lo grabé pensé en que dieran ganas de bailarlo desde que pones play hasta el final, muy recomendado para ir por la calle caminando.

Looks like we can add another song to our Told You This Would Be A Hit! list. "Ella Menea" by young salsa duo NG2 is topping the radio charts in the US now, after conquering Puerto Rico and Central America. Read our article again here!
Sadly, we can say the same about "Te Quiero" by Nigga a.k.a. Flex. The return of reggaeton panameño, a softer, more tropical and more woman-friendly variety of the often criticized genre, shows further in the renewed popularity of female duo La Factoria (video "Perdoname") and the interest of famous producers Luny Tunes in underground star El Roockie (video "Martes de Galeria")

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

Back on Track: Blogs

The final post in our quick updates on what you all missed while we were gone, focuses on the tons of good stuff posted on other blogs we like. Enjoy!

VivirLatino lines up the latino winners for the 'real' Grammies. However they don't mention the striking similarities with the Latin Grammies: Juan Luis Guerra wins 'Best Tropical', Calle 13 takes home 'Best Urban' and Pepe Aguilar is the 'Best Mexican'.
And About Latin Music has extensive commentary on Univision's Premios Lo Nuestro. As usual I totally disagree with the winners (Jennifer Lopez best new artist of the year? That's TWO times wrong - she's not new, and certainly not the best!).

Venezuelan authorities (i.e. Hugo 'El Presidente Loco' Chavez) has cancelled another concert of Spanish pop singer Alejandro Sanz. Sanz is not best friends with Chavez after making several remarks in the press criticizing him. Latin Gossip reports that 85 latino celebrities now showed their support for Sanz in a public letter.

Calle 13 made quite an impression at the annual Viña del Mar festival in Chile, easily the biggest music happening in the whole continent. After a performance, artist earn different awards according to the enthousiasm of the audience, and the Puertorican rappers took home every single one for their headlining show that lasted until the early hours. Read more on VivirLatino. The duo confirmed the release of a follow-up to their Grammy-winning albums Calle 13 and Residente o Visitante scheduled this fall.

mun2 has a profile on Mexican art-rockers Porter. Next april they will perform at the Coachella festival, alongside other important Mexican acts like Café Tacuba and Austin TV.

SoundRoots reviews the latest CD of the unknown Argentine indie-folk band Tumbatú Cumbá. The accompanying mp3 "Bajo Del Arbol Un Tambor" reveals a female voice of intense beauty, backed by subtle percussion. Certainly worth checking out!

As nueva cumbia keeps conquering Latin America, Masala posts a very hip crunk-reggaeton-cumbia mashup by the Super Kumbia Bros. That's certain to do well on any dancefloor.
The club around which this movement seems to be revolving, Zizek in Buenos Aires, is sending its deejays out north on a US Tour. No better way to celebrate that than a freely downloadable EP! Dates here.
Also, cumbia DJ Oro11 let us know that some of the Zizek crew united themselves under the label Bersa Discos. They plan to release a 12" every couple of months, the first one sounds very promising (check the MySpace). And what's even better: he mixed up some old & new cumbia in a nice 45-minute mp3 that you can download totally free here!

The Latin Americanist dedicated this week's video posts to famous Latin American protest songs. See the video for Aterciopelados' "Canción Protesta" here, and click through for the other videos - Manu Chao, Los Tigres del Norte and more!

And finally, after Barack Obama's reggaeton anthem, check out the Obama mariachi song below!

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

(Sorry about the lack of music posts, I'm in the middle of some heavy exams, I'll post whenever I find the time. To tease you a little: expect new material from Daddy Yankee, Los Hermanos Rosario, and La Valentina!)

One news item overshadows all others: a series of tragic deaths hit latin music last week, with three young icons passing away unexpectedly.

• Andy Palacio, aged 47, died of multiple strokes and heart attacks in his homeland Belize. His album Watina - honoring the music and traditions of his Garifuna people - earned him a prestigious WOMEX award, the top spot on many world music lists and the title of UNESCO Artist for Peace. Belizeans are very affected by the loss, Palacio will receive a state funeral and a tribute concert is planned. The full press release is over at Soundroots.


• Gabriel Manelli, bassist of Argentinean rock band Babasonicos, passed away at the age of 38, after a 'severe illness he has been fighting for a long time'. You can read the communiqué on their website. Babasonicos were working on their ninth studio album in London at the time. (via Latin Gossip)


• And in a continuing spiral of violence in the Mexican grupera community, Jorge Antonio Sepulveda - better known as 'El Koquillo de Sinaloa' - was brutally murdered by multiple gunshots. He was only 20 years old. This is the fourth consecutive murder in little over a month, other victims were Jose Luis Aquino (Los Conde), Sergio Gomez (K-Paz de la Sierra) and Zayda Peña. (via VivirLatino)

May they all rest in peace.

Turn That Shit Off posted the second part of its "Hitchhikers Guide to New World Music". To be honest, I haven't had the chance to read it entirely, but considering the quality of part one I'll take the chance ;) This time they talk about 'nu' reggaeton, merengue, kuduro and much more - quite a goldmine.

More 'nu whirled' music thanks to Fat Planet (who are starting to deserve a space in our sidebar with that continuous post quality). El Remolón is one of the nueva cumbia geniouses that's conquering the blogosphere at the moment, and I was completely overwhelmed by his latest mashup of Modeselektor vs. Calle 13. Really combining the best of two worlds: Modeselektor are pioneers of modern Berlin techno, Calle 13 are the most inventive reggaeton combo out there. Read the full post with mp3!

Europe has a new reggaeton portal - Reggaeton.eu arises from the ashes of our former partners Reggaeton.be and Reggaetonworld.eu, bringing you news, videos, reviews and party info in four languages. I'm quitely hoping the Google News bit gets replaced by true content, but at least the party section tipped me to a great latin dance last weekend :)

Daddy Yankee is not the only reggaetonero to star in a movie soon (though half the world is wondering when Talento de Barrio will actually be released). Rene Perez a.k.a. Residente, the rapping half of Calle 13, also has plans to appear on the big screen. Pasiones Urbanas will tell the tale of three couples, all played by Perez and his girlfriend Denise Quiñones (ex-Miss Universe). (via BlogReggaeton)

And finally, here are two nice videos of songs we featured before on La Onda. Tego Calderón keeps it ghetto-style in La Perla, San Juan on "Ni Fu Ni Fa". Read the review of his album El Abayarde Contra-Ataca here. And Shakira takes us back to the time of cholera in "Hay Amores". Videos below!

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

What do you do when you are a talentless singer in desperate need of YouTube exposure, and your sister is Penélope Cruz? On your new video, you make her kiss your other very hot sister, and dub porn vocals in Spanish. Sadly, all the lesbian action can't disguise that the song is utter crap - better luck next time, Eduardo Cruz! (via mun2)

Turn That Shit Off (a blog on all kinds of party music from Mexico City) has more videos, photos and mp3s regarding the Zizek cumbia movement we talked about this week (article). The other incarnations of 'new world music' he mentions are quite interesting as well. I do hope the promised 'Part II' will be posted - I'm anxious to read what he has to say on reggaeton, baile funk and speed merengue. (via Masala)

mun2 reports on the declining CD sales in latin music, and the steady uprise of legal downloads. According to the numbers I'm guessing they're talking about the US market, or else the artists are in some serious trouble.

Tropicalidad discovers Grupo Fantasma, a Texan salsa outfit that released (in their words) "...so far one of the best live albums in my collection". And their enthousiasm is justified - sample the highly energetic Comes Alive album on the Grupo Fantasma MySpace.

Captain's Crate has found another funky old latino LP, this time the obscure Phirpo y Los Caribes brings you rhythm & soul from 1973.

Another good place for timeless latin music is Nelson Guirado's Cubanocast. Nelson combined his love for pre-revolutionary Cuban songs with his interest in politics on a special series of posts recently: he selected an appropriate Cuban campaign song for every presidential candidate.

Do I still have to link to Ritmo Latino, or are you already tired of my endless praising of this always diverse, hip & surprising podcast and its spontaneous, often hilarious presenter? This week's show has some lesser-known reggaeton & hiphop I'm really liking!

We're in the paper! La Onda Tropical is mentioned in The Guardian as 'one of the best sites for free music', among Pitchfork, iTunes and Discobelle. Read the article and be sure to check out the other sites - especially the smaller blogs are really worth it!

(And to all the new readers who are wondering what this post is all about: in En La Misma Onda we link to articles on other blogs and websites we enjoyed reading lately. It's a kind of regular feature here, along with the Lost in MySpace posts that focus on newly discovered bands. Want more? Click the "links" or "myspace" tags below this post, or in the sidebar!)

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

Don't forget to vote for our 2007 Readers Award - who do you think deserves to be called the best latin artist of this year? The poll is on your right, in the sidebar!

mun2 rounds up the facts on the horrifying murders of three grupero folk singers in Mexico. Jose Luis Aquino (Los Conde), Sergio Gomez (K-Paz de la Sierra) and Zayda Peña did NOT sing those dreadful narcocorridos, glorifying illegal immigration and drug trafficking, but average romantic Mexican folk songs - leading to the suspicion that drug cartels are also extorting mainstream acts now.

Shakira received a very deserved Golden Globe nomination for "Despedida", which you can still download in our playlist (on the right, in the sidebar). (via mun2).

"Many Venezuelans are suffering through the dictatorship of Chavez" - Alejandro Sanz will definitely not perform in Venezuela until 2011 :) His october gig in Caracas got cancelled after a similar remark. (via VivirLatino)

Latin Gossip reports Ricky Martin could be gay. Get outta here. In other shocking news: the sky is blue.

A much-hyped MC battle between Arcangel and Jowell y Randy, which would be decided by text messages from the audience, ended up without winner because of technical difficulties. After a very rehearsed 'kiss-and-make-up' scene on stage, the press even accused the three rappers of organizing the tirarea (diss songs) just to build the hype for the concert.

It doesn't always have to be Maná or RBD: the Independent Music Awards have a few nice finds among their 'World' category winners, like José Conde or the -to me unknown- Zoraida Santiago. SoundRoots also selected their picks for 2007's best world music. Great stuff as always, but not much Spanish-language music this year.

For our Dutch readers: Tropicalidad talks about Colombiafrica/The Mystic Orchestra, a mixup between the Caribbean flavors of champeta and the distinctively African soukous rhythm, which both have evolved from the rumba. Curious what that sounds like? Check out their MySpace!

I was thinking about doing a christmas-themed article, but then Ritmo Latino posted this great holiday podcast - I couldn't possibly match that ;) Happy holidays!

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

Following the motto 'better late than never': a full backstage report on the 2007 Latin Grammys, blogged live from Las Vegas by VivirLatino. Big winners included La Onda sweethearts Juan Luís Guerra (5 awards, including song & album of the year, and a lifetime achievement award) and Calle 13 (3, including the whole 'Urban' category). There were also awards for Aterciopelados and Manu Chao (Best Alternative), Gustavo Cerati (Best Rock Song), Ojos de Brujo (Best Flamenco) and El Gran Combo (Best Salsa). I must say the Latin Grammys are growing into the only music award show that really awards quality instead of popularity!

Spanish pop combo La Oreja de Van Gogh has split up. Singer Amalia Montero decided the time was right for a solo career. Jorge over at Crisol de Musicas has some interesting reflections on the marketing mechanisms behind the band and the separation. My thoughts: now Montero can focus on the sugar-sweet bubble pop she's made for, while the band can pursue their more rock-oriented nature.
But, in a vile twist of fate, pop princess Paulina Rubio (40% plastic, 60% marketing) could become the new singer of the band. Cover your ears! VivirLatino further suggest this is just another move in Pau's transformation from Mexicana to Española.

Menudo was the mother (erm.. father?) of all boysbands, conquering Latin American charts in the early 80's and later launching the career of Ricky Martin. Now some record company bobo decided it's time for a Menudo revival, and five new boys were selected through a reality TV show. *Sigh*. Of course, the result is crap. Have a listen over at Latina Viva.

Besides being the only rapper willing to defend Calle 13's Grammy sweep, rapper Julio Voltio is also releasing a new album (En Lo Claro) and a joined tour with Toby Love and Alexis y Fido (called 'Yo Soy Barrio'). Both his tourmates also released an album this month, respectively Reloaded and Sobrenatural. Off the album, "Ponmela" is a nice collaboration with hot duo Jowell y Randy. As always, Richard Liriano has the songs! (Here, here and here).

Some quickies:
-Mun2 has an article on latin DJ duo Masters at Work, an old love of mine.
-SoundRoots takes a global tour of YouTube music videos, including Manu Chao and Gotan Project.
-Last week's Masala podcast is kicking some serious reggaeton ass.

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

The MTV LatinoAmerica Awards again managed to ignore new talent and sent the most obnoxiously commercial acts home with the 'Moonman' statue. Maná won 'Artist of the Year' and 'Best Group', Avril Lavigne took 'Song of the Year' and 'International Pop Artist', and there were awards for Evanescence, Belinda and Panda. Or as Crisol de Musicas sums it up: something smells rotten.

Latina Viva reports that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez cancelled an Alejandro Sanz concert, just because Alejandro once said he's not a big fan of the prez. Maybe he sees Sanz as too big a competition - Chavez recently released his own folk CD. Talk about a nutcase.

The Latin Americanist had the wonderful idea to adapt VH1's 'The Greatest' to latin music: they're gonna compile a list of the best latin rock songs of the nineties. Mail your favorites to ourlatinamerica@yahoo.com!

More rock at The Latin Americanist: the return of Soda Stereo was a big success - over 70,000 people attended the reunion concert of the Argentinean supergroup. The post further mentions the "piss-poor" tribute to Soda held at the MTV Awards. They can't get anything right, huh? :)

The video for "Promesas" by Los Mono (see this post) has become quite the YouTube hit: over 350,000 people have watched it after it was featured on the YouTube home page. Now that's an exposure an alternative latin artist can only dream of! Watch the video here and here.

And finally, to prepare for 'Dia de los Muertos' (All Saints Day) next thursday, Ritmo Latino has a specially themed podcast. Creepy! :)

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

I'm back! Thanks to El Guiri for filling the void, and the mp3s accompanying his Manu Chao review are up at last.
Of course the music industry didn't sleep while I was trekking through Slovenia. An overview!

Opinions vary on the new Gloria Estefan album 90 Millas. She supposedly went searching for her musical roots, resulting in a 'modern take on classic Cuban rhythms'. Mister Bryans says

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what her politics are, it doesn't matter how many famous musicians played on her new album, or how powerful her husband is, it just matters if her music is any good.

Well, About Latin Music gives 90 millas a five-star review, while the Miami Herald think it's worth only two. This just begs for an Onda review, no?

Babyfaced rapper Tito El Bambino has recorded a track with superproducer Pharrell Williams for his new album It's My Time. But "El Booty" isn't as hot as the first single, "Solo Dime Que Si". BlogReggaeton has the info, Richard Liriano has the tracks!

This Tuesday is the big day for Café Tacvba: the release of their first studio album in four years, Sino. Here's the extra long video to their epic single "Volver A Comenzar" on YouTube. The video follows the track in its sound & feel: 80's disco dancerock interluded by serene acoustic chills. Well, maybe the bootylicious bling-bling part is a little out of place ;) Be quick - Universal Records is taking the videos down...

Of course you'll hear more of these albums soon here at La Onda. Glad to be back ;)

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

A short news update!

Last wednesday, the nominees for the 2007 Latin Grammy awards were announced. Juan Luis Guerra came off best, with 5 nominations; Calle 13 and Ricky Martin each got four. I was especially surprised to see Gustavo Cerati's "La Excepción" nominated for Best Song. Heavy competition in the Best Urban category too, with Calle 13, Orishas, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar & Wisin y Yandel all going for the gold. And murdered ranchero Valentin Elizalde scooped a posthumous nomination. Here's the complete list, and here are some interesting comments by Latina Viva, bashing every artist I like in the list ;)

Two big shots in latino music recently released a new single: Gloria Estefan released "No Llores", a collaboration with Carlos Santana that sounds very much like all other Santana songs. And yesterday, Juanes premiered "Me Enamora", which sounds very much like all other Juanes songs. Of course you can listen for yourself, here and here!

A remarkable coincidence brings two albums to two Belgians at the same time. Except that Wouter over at Tropicalidad is a tad faster than me ;) Manu Chao's La Radiolina is found 'filled with energy and idealism', though Wouter feels like Manu pushed the recycle button a bit often. Piñata by the Mexican Institute of Sound is described as 'a catchy mix of old-fashioned cumbia, chachacha and danzón, woven with deep electro beats, lounge and hiphop'. Coming soon to La Onda ;)

And we conclude with two Brazilian bands in concert: Bonde do Role invites half the crowd on stage for a favela funk party, and Bebel Gilberto signs for an intimate and beautiful performance. Thanks to FabChannel, you can watch both concerts from A to Z below!

Bonde do Role:

Bebel Gilberto

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

After that little salsa overload, we're getting ready for another theme week. Have a sneak peek here ;) In the meantime: links! (PS: Did you know this is our 200th post?)

Wayne&Wax analyzes how reggaeton is embracing more true latino influences (cumbia/salsa), as opposed to it's black (reggae) origin. And shows that references to those roots are nonetheless still ubiquitous. A fascinating read!

A nice selection of salsa fusion mp3s over at Masala. Die-hard La Onda readers will recognize the girls of K-Narias on the first track! Here is our article on the Canarian reggaeton twins.

The Latin Jazz Corner has an extensive look at the Spanish Harlem Orchestra album United We Swing (also reviewed below).

Win a José Conde CD over at The Latin Americanist!

Captain's Crate tipped me onto "Descarga En La Discoteca", by dj/producer Ursula 1000. Not only interesting because of the electro-latin funk approach, but also because of the Los Amigos Invisibles vocals: they contribute in their typically chaotic manner. Ursula 1000 is on the same label as Federico Aubele, by the way: more info at ESL Music.
(Related articles: here on Federico Aubele, and here on Los Amigos Invisibles).

And lastly, Mexican singer and actor Antonio Aguilar died June 19th at the age of 88. He was an icon of Mexican cinema and ranchera music. I leave you with the videos to two of his most famous songs, "Un Puño De Tierra" and the very appropriate "Tristes Recuerdos".

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

I hardly find the time to listen to podcasts, but for Ritmo Latino I gladly make an exception. The show is recorded in Poland, aired in Micronesia, presented by an American, and consists of an eclectic selection of Latino tunes. Did somebody say 'global village'? (Almost reminds me of that blog by two Belgian students, written in English, focusing on Spanish-language music ;))

Another noteworthy blog: ¿Revolución, No? is a lesson in latin music history. With fully downloadable out-of-print albums!

VivirLatino brings the best news of 2007: Soda Stereo might reunite for a tour! I hope the legendary band (lead by our favorite rockero, Gustavo Cerati) will record some songs again too.

And the weirdest announcement of late might be this: reggaeton icon Hector 'El Father' wants to become a pediatrician. Blog Reggaeton reports his main reason is 'not being afraid of needles'. Something tells me most parents will not take the writer of "El Tiburón" and "Gata Celosa" very serious as a doctor.

US presidential candidate Barack Obama is reaching out to latino voters. Reggaeton-style! A support group called 'Amigos de Obama' recorded this catchy campaign song. Guanabee has the lyrics!

And finally, mestizo legend Manu Chao lets you download his new single for free. "Rainin in Paradize" sounds a bit different because of the distorted guitars, but essentially it's just another ripoff of his successful 1998 debut Clandestino. We leave you with the video to his earworm hit "Me Gustas Tú"!

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

Remember our devastating review of the new Jennifer Lopez album? It caused a lot of discussion on our partner site BlogCritics - read the pros and cons here.

The sunny weather is a nice occasion for VivirLatino to have a listen at their favorite summer tunes for 2007. This is a very well written review of Techarí by Ojos de Brujo.

Masala likes Fulanito so much they used 3 new tracks in their latest radio show.

Last week's Billboard Latin Music Awards seen from three perspectives:
-About Latin Music sums up the winners.
-VivirLatino watched the show, and concludes "... Ninel Conde showed more silicone than the FDA should allow in one woman".
-Latin Gossip has all the red carpet pictures.

If you're into indie music, La Suerte del Perdedor knows all that's going on in the Spanish MySpace scene. For example, this post on Abraham Boba makes me wanna live in Madrid and roam all the local pubs.

Bar Doméstico a Domicilio might not update very often, but it put me onto some nice latin electronic music. Check out this compilation released on Gozadero Records, the label of 2006 favorites Los Amigos Invisibles (our review).

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

Lost in MySpace

Our own MySpace page is doing quite well, but essentially MySpace Music exists to find new bands. When every kid that plays three guitar chords has its own page, discovering good music between the general sludge can be challenging. So the selection below is not representative at all - just remarkable findings for you to enjoy.

Maui y Los Sirenidos called their disc Flamenco Sumergido - and that's what it sounds like: jazzpop drowned in Andalusian influences. Check out the very excentric front lady Maui in the psychedelic video for "No Pensar En Nada".

They could've fitted well in our Electronic Week: Sidestepper makes cultures clash with their tropically spiced drum&bass and club music. Lead man Richard Blair picks his guest vocals very well, they give all songs an authentic bolero feel. Aterciopelados vocalist Andrea Echeverri joins in on one song too, apparently.

Jose Conde y Ola Fresca updates salsa and son with a funky and soulful touch. He defines his latest album as "musical ajiaco" (which is a famous Cuban stew with many ingredients mashed up). Tasty!

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

A collection of latin links from around the blogosphere.

-About Latin Music is wild about Venezuelan salsero Victor Hugo.

-IndieLondon loves the musical testament of Ibrahim Ferrer just as much as we do. Another review here, in Dutch from Nu.nl.

-Slant Magazine dislikes Jennifer Lopez just as much as we do. Not surprisingly, album sales are not as expected.

-Latin Gossip rounds up the rumors in the reggaeton scene.

-The promising Afro-Peruvian band Novalima won an Independent Music Award for World Fusion. Crisol de Musicas has a great article (in Spanish) on them.

-More awards: electro-tango combo Gotan Project wins a BBC World Music Award in the 'Club Global' category. We're reviewing their latest album Lunatico here soon!

-SoundRoots puts flamenco rappers Ojos de Brujo in their World Music Top 10.

-More Ojos de Brujo: the band proves an excellent live reputation on FabChannel: their entire concert in Paradiso (Amsterdam) is was available online. Update: the rights have expired now, too bad if you missed the concert!

Show Videos...

Hide Videos

En La Misma Onda

(A new feature on La Onda: we link to articles we enjoyed reading on other blogs and websites. Yes, I stole the concept from The Latin Americanist, but I hope they don't mind ;))

VivirLatino has a roundup of latino Grammy winners. More awards: the nominees for this year's Billboard Latin Music Awards.

A Blog Soup talks about Jibara, the mountain music of Puerto Rico.

Mister Bryans and Timba.com are following Telmary on her visit to Canada. (Read our review of her debut A Diario).

About Latin Music and the Dutch-language Latin Blog NL have also discovered the greatness of Los Cocorocos.

Sand Is Overrated links to an impressive live performance of Rodrigo y Gabriela on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

La Troba Kung-Fu is a new mestizo band from Barcelona. World music blog Tropicalidad has a great (Dutch) post about them.

Show Videos...

Hide Videos