Mambo Blogorama
Sometimes, when I get real homesick for Havana, I look at my photos.
Sometimes this helps, sometimes it makes it worse...
Internet radio is pretty interesting. Some stations even take requests, and the cool thing is that unlike real world radio, you can immediately see who is playing the song you're listening to at the moment.
WJYC Jazz Y Clave is one were you can make requests from their playlist, and I'm happy to see our tune
La Gata Loca at number three on the request list.
Dewayne Woodley runs a fantastic Timba station at Live365.com. His station is called
Radio Timba, and as I'm writing this, he's blasting out Pupy y los que son, son's
Que cosas tiene la vida. He has a great collection of some of the most obscure and up and coming timba that you just aren't going to find anywhere else, especially on commercial radio. Good work, Dewayne!
You may or may not have noticed that there is a link after every post here on the Mambo Blogorama for comments. Hey,
use it! We want to hear from you, and it's a great way to interact.
a word from our sponsor...
The digital age has proven to be a perplexing one for the music industry. While the RIAA has decided to start suing its own customers, the issue is certainly not so black and white for everyone in the music biz. If not for the internet, mp3s, email and CD burners, I don't think anyone in Europe would have the slightest clue about Mamborama. Yet, Europe is by far where we are most popular even though we haven't even played there yet (YET! we'll make it!).
I have no problems with people sharing their music with each other. One Italian club DJ sent me an email asking for a promo copy of the first Mamborama CD, and I gladly sent it to him. Six months later, every DJ in Italy was playing Mamborama, and it spread from there. To me, this is a miracle, and I love it.
BUT! (didn't you suspect that word was coming?) at some point, you need to pay the piper. Records cost money to make, and the market for tropical music is miniscule compared to the mainstream industry. None of the big Cuban bands that I idolize are signed to Sony or Universal. You probably already know how hard it can be to even find their CDs. The major labels are not interested in this music because the market is too small. Therefore, it is up to small independent labels like Cuba Chévere, Ahinama, Bembe, Qbadisc and others to provide the music. They fight an uphill battle, and for most of them it is primarily a labor of love. Distribution is controlled by the majors and shelf space in your local store can be hard to come by.
I certainly have lots and lots of CD-Rs in my posession that friends have given me. It's a great way to check out new music. But, if I find something I absolutely love, I
buy it. A fragile, easily-scratched CD-R is no substitute for the real thing, and I want to support the music by purchasing the official CD. People argue that labels rip off the artists anyway, so why bother, but if the labels don't make money with this genre of music, they move on, or go out of business and we are going to be hard pressed to find new tunes to listen to.
So, if you like what you hear either listening to the mp3s on this site, or that copy your friend burned for you, please support us and
BUY a copy. Same goes for any other artist you like. Vote with your dollars to keep them working and bringing us fresh music. Thanks.
Our good buddy and Timba expert Kevin Moore has an extensive review of the CD on
Timba.com, complete with audio examples. Mil gracias, Kevin!
Bruce Polin of
Descarga.com, has given the new CD a
stellar review! ***EditorsPick: Boom! Pianist and composer Bill Wolfer returns with his second Mamborama release: an explosive hybrid of timba, salsa, and Afro-Cuban jazz. Recorded in Cuba and L.A., Mr. Wolfer brought in some very special guests like El Indio, Manolito Simonet, Giraldo Piloto, Cesar "Pupy" Pedroso, Jimmy Branly and Julio Padron. Wolfer has managed to harness the energy of these monster Cuban musicians and inject it, pure and undiluted, into "Entre La Habana Y El Yuma," a multifaceted, funky dance masterpiece that helps to define this new era of Cuban dance music. It's club-ready, dance floor-filling plutonium.
This, folks, just may be the sleeper hit of the Summer of 2003. Not to be missed.
Very Highly Recommended. (BP)
Entre La Habana Y El Yuma is now in stores and available online! If you don't see it in your local store, tell them it's on Cuba Chévere records, distributed by City Hall (that is, if you live in the States). You can preview the album on this site
here.