~Hey, Really pleased to be a part of this great night happening in downtown Austin at La Zona Rosa on April 19th. There will be some terrific live music courtesy of Del Castillo as well as a Salsa Dance performance. Of course, some great food as well from El Sol y La Luna. Its gonna be a fun night! Tickets on sale now. Get them here.
Also, glad to announce that the MasCultura Music website is up and running again. This new look is an improvement over the older site, I think. Thanks to wix.com for making it so easy to make my own site. It is still a work in progress, as I need to add some pictures and various details. But, its up and thats what matters...for now. Check it out!
~I usually make it a point to put together an end of summer mix. Not for any reason in particular, but simply because the idea seems logical. Its a time of transition, and what better way to mark it than with a mix of fresh music to nod your head to in the car...at least thats how I see it.
Well this year, I'm gonna take a break and, instead, jam out to some mixes from some djs who have been puttin in some work.
First off is Don Bustamante's "Palmas Vol.4". I recently had the pleasure of djing along side Senor Bustamante at his Tropicana Night in San Fran. It was a great night, the house was jam packed with sweaty bodies and I went home realizing I need to step up my Salsa and Merengue game. Check out his mix here via mixcloud and be sure to check out the Cumbia group he moderates as well.
~the next mix is by Indianapolis resident soon-to-be Austin Tx resident K. Sabroso. The selection on here is right down my alley with a nod to jazz-flavored b-boy hip hop in the vein of Naughty, Crown City Rockers, and Bahamadia with some Bomba Estereo and Bole 2 Harlem thrown in for good measure. Int'l b-boy style.
~Rafranga has been posting to the Global Bass group page on Mixcloud for some time and he never disappoints. Take a listen and d'load via mediafire link.
~The first Soul Boulders mix was something of legend. This one continues in that tradition. Makes me want to get out and dig in some dusty, dimly-lit backroom in some soon-to-be gentrified neighborhood in East Austin. RIP Matthew Africa.
~Juan Data drops a mix consisting exclusively of 7" records. I have to admit, I checked his playlist and added a few new searches to my Ebay saved search list (I almost refuse to pay int'l shipping-so anyone stateside got a copy of that first joint--holler). This is a dope mix that features some truly great tracks, most of which were released within the last few years. Cop it.
~So I've finally managed to finish my latest project entitled "Esoteric Sunshine". Five tracks in all with a bonus track included with purchase ($3 minimum, feel free to pay more if you so desire). Here is the link where you can listen.
http://masculturamusic.bandcamp.com/album/esoteric-sunshine
and my Soundcloud page can be found here for comments, big uppage, and general blabbery:
http://soundcloud.com/dj-avatar
If you're in the Bay Area, mark your calendars. I will be djing at Tropicana alongside DJ Don Bustamante at Madrone Art Bar on Divisadero on Aug 16th. This will be my first appearance in San Francisco, so it goes without saying that I'm looking forward to it. I will be in SF through the weekend, so please feel free to hit me up with possible dj opportunities.
Thanks for listening/visiting.
so, back in june the whole digital switch left me sans-tv...just static these days. luckily, theres the interwebs, cuz i was feelin a bit pissed that i was missing this special on PBS on Latin music. so i got the chance to check out hour 2: the salsa revolution.
http://video.pbs.org/video/1293757593/
great interviews, unseen footage, all around exceptional work. Jerry Masucci comes off looking like some Leonard Chess exploiter of the brown and black youth of the Loisaida Nuyoricans...whatever the footage of the show at Yankee stadium, with the crowd surging on to the field, jumping on stage and confiscating instruments was pretty wild. the interview w Willie Colon sayin they sounded awful, Larry Harlow breakin down the piano, footage of Lavoe, Mongo...it was all too much...
As a historian, though, i would have liked to see the film makers tie in the African roots of Salsa and then connect the music to modern day hip hop artists who incorporate salsa rhythms into their productions--a sort of before and after if you will. i listen to salsa from a hiphop frame of mind, and i know im not alone. there are many others.
dj avatar--boricua bounce (loisaida rmx)
another thing, how bout some of the other fania subsidiaries...vaya, inca, etc...?? why no mention of them??
like i said, i'm an amateur historian with an interest in latin and modern day music, so i tend to view these things with a critical eye...forgive me.
