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Smack dab in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, most of us can only experience other cultures through music. I'm talking about sounds and rhythms that address fans in musicians' own homelands, not something fabricated for the world-music tourist looking for something "exotic." ‘Chilango Power’ brings out
sounds of Mexican street lifeBy Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.comHawaii was the breeding ground for its own tropical brand of exotica, thanks to men like Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman. The tiki bar motif and its lounge sound is the islands' most identifiable export -- but, more often than not, we're not listening to this evocative, nostalgic stuff. Outside of pre-Western contact chants, ALL of our music has been touched by foreigners, whether in person, over the radio or recorded material on vinyl, tape or digital compact disc, from the missionaries to the rockers and deejays.
So instead of saying "auwe!" over our "impure" music, we should continue to celebrate the evolution of all Hawaiian music. And that's what the Luaka Bop label embraces, the best of "global pop."
With the label's co-owner David Byrne playing tonight at World Cafe, I wanted to make mention of some of Luaka Bop's ear-opening compilations and solo artist recordings released since 1989, plus highlight the label's Tuesday release by the Mexico City musical collective, Los de Abajo.
The group is described as "a concoction of a thousand sounds, beats and sweat; it is Mexican to the core and curiously cosmopolitan at once," which could also describe the label.
"Los de Abajo" translates as "those from below," and the band passionately identifies and supports Mexico's politically downtrodden. The group's radical lyrics are combined with what drummer and founding member Yocupitzio Arrellano calls "the strength and heat of Afro-Latin rhythms."
Los de Abajo's upcoming "Cybertropic Chilango Power" continues to mine the kaleidoscope of sounds and rhythms of common Mexican street life. Field recordings of street vendors and musicians, circus performances and religious dances are woven through the entire album. The band astutely mixes rap and hip-hop, Cuban mambo, Latin merengue and Mexican cumbia into an invigorating brew, from the infectious, wildly mongrel feel of "Que Mala Suerte," "Sr. Judas" and "Anda Levanta" to the smooth cumbia groove of "El Indio" and the tradition-minded "Vuelvo a Comenzar."
WANTTOHAVE more out-of-body experiences via Luaka Bop? Here are some of its best releases:
>> "Zero Accidents on the Job!" is an inexpensive two-CD sampler of most of Luaka Bop's recordings to date. It makes for a great jumping-off point to its other releases like ...
>> "Brazil Classics" and "Cuba Classics" compilations. The label built its reputation on these thorough, highly recommended collections.
>> Tom Zé -- This wild, idiosyncratic musician got a second wind with two of his own "Brazil Classic" compilations, then with the ambitious "Fabrication Defect (Com Defeito de Fabricação)."
>> Shoukichi Kina -- This great Okinawan musician should find an audience in Hawaii. Try giving "Asia Classics 2: Peppermint Teahouse: The Best of Shoukichi Kina" a spin.
>> Cornershop and Clinton -- Hip-hop and Punjabi folk music meet in Britain. Cornershop's two albums, "Woman's Gotta Have It" and "When I Was Born for the 7th Time" (and its hit single "Brimful of Asha") are two of the label's top sellers. Side project Clinton's "Disco & the Halfway to Discontent" is a good 'un as well.
>> Susana Baca, a wonderful Peruvian singer, with two albums, her eponymous debut and her latest, "Eco de Sombras."
>> Los Amigos Invisibles (Venezuela) and Bloque (Colombia) -- More south-of-the-border madness. The Amigos are one of the best dance bands around, and Bloque blends salsa and rock 'n' roll.
>> Os Mutantes and Shuggie Otis -- Two albums reissue prime, psychedelicized '60s music from Brazil and the good ol' United States, respectively.
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