Monthly Archives: August 2011

CD recommendation: Jose Conde and his nu Latin groove!

Artist: José Cónde
Title: José Cónde
Label: PiPiKi Records
Release date: September 6, 2011
CD release party: at 92nd Street Y Tribeca on September 9, 2011
Genre: singer-song writer/latin groove

José Cónde lives his lyrics. He gets grooves from the names of trees. He leaves melody lines on his own answering machine. He can turn a playful refrain to his dog into a dance anthem. His songs are odes to hot dresses, Brazilian muses, discombobulated elephants, and life-giving springs.

Cónde brings a new focus and maturity to this whimsical world on Jose Conde. He turns highly personal songs into new global grooves and reflective, dynamic ballads. As a songwriter and bandleader, Cónde developed a striking instinct for merging his Miami upbringing, Cuban roots, and the sizzle of New York’s Latin underground. But the new self-titled album is distinguished by a universality; catchy melodies and danceable rhythms likely to draw listeners of all stripes.
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3 video stories: Sonny Rollins vs Michael Brecker vs Antibalas

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Here are three YouTube videos of two musicians, Jazz icons Sonny Rollins and Michael Brecker, and the Afro Beat Brooklyn band Antibalas. These three video speak for themselves. They tell us stories you might like to know. Enjoy!

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Concert Review: Gauri Guha the Indian music traveller

Date: August 13, 2011
Venue: Chhandayan Center for Indian Music (NY)
Concert review and video by Sarah Rihani

As you take off your shoes and walk into the Chhandayan room, located on 43rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenue, it is immediately evident you have entered an oasis in the middle of the city. Incense is burning, and everything is serenely quiet. There is a cozy and well lit room that has an oriental rug – a humble home to all visiting Indian musicians who come to play at Chhandayan on a weekly basis – and then about 20 small, but unbelievably comfortable, floor cushions facing the performer’s rug, which is where the audience sits.

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Guarco’s new video “Que Paso” is being featured on YouTube Music today!

Guarco was born to Uruguayan and Italian parents in Elizabeth, NJ. Growing up in both that immigrant-rich industrial city, and the small beach town of San Luis, Uruguay, he acquired an eclectic taste in music.

Guarco spent years experimenting with a 4-track tape machine creating a vast collection of sonic collages, dense reggae loops, wild drum-machine drones, and flowing psychedelic delayscapes. At 21, Guarco decided to go back to Montevideo, Uruguay to study folklore guitar, and to write new material for what would be his debut release.

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