Arrasando at iTunes - NOW!

For some reason I was under the impression that prior to the official release date of February 6, Los Van Van's Arrasando would be available only from Latin Music Store - maybe it was the bit that said: "available in exclusive world premiere on latinmusicstore.com ONLY January 15". This included shipping the CD to you, so it would mean a wait of, at the very a least, a couple of days, before you could have it in your mp3 player.
Well, I stand corrected. Timba menor Dominic (and I mean that in the sense only that he is very young - at 18, he is already a baterista and is forming his own changui band) tonight informed me that he bought it yesterday from iTunes. Australia. For $AU13*.
Get. Thefuck.Out.
And there are those who say Steve Jobs is the devil's spawn. Pish posh!
If iTunes Australia has it, I'm guessing, iTunes pretty-much-everywhere has it. So if you're not hung up on hard copies, you could have it as soon as you finish reading this sentence.
What are you waiting for?

* $US3.76; £0.52; €0.08**

** May not be actual exchange rates

¡Camina pa' la pista!

We are back - finally! It's been a long wait, but finally the only 100% Cuban night in town is returning this Friday - the first in our new venue. It wouldn't be anything to crow about (apart from, you know, the fact that our crew totally rocks) except for the fact that every other Latin night in town is 100% Cuban free - or at best, 99% Cuban free. (And I tell ya, they must play their one Cuban song whenever I'm not there, cause I don't hear it. And I have to be honest, I don't want that one song to be: Marcando la distancia. Great song and all; but, newsflash guys: other good songs have been recorded in Cuba in the last 20 years. Quite a few of them actually. Like, a few hundred – give or take a hundred.)
But anyway, enough bitchin', cause this Friday we are going to casino, despelote, tembleque and rumba to our hearts' content.
If I see any shines you are OUT! And ladies, no semaphore either.
Dance with your booty, dammit!

Squee!

Just posted to Youtube three days ago - the video for Havana D'Primera's Cuando el rio suena - forget Arrasando - this is the album I am really hanging for. I must have played this track a million times this year. It begins with a thumping kick drum that gives way to a lazy jazz intro that then segues into a funky salsa before finally closing with the pay-off: an ass-shake-inducing bomba. This song is an infectious mass of juxtapositions that rubs me up exactly the right way. Mm-mmm.

Pupy & Formell on Piso 6

Great episode of Piso 6 to end the old year and ring in the new. I have edited out three choice snippets, though of course you can see the whole thing at Mucho Swing for the next couple of weeks.
First up is Pupy with his new singers. This is actually kind of heartbreaking because it more or less indicates that it's over between him and Mandy for good; which just makes me want to burst into tears. And OK, I'm hungover after an awesome NYE of a lot of timba and too much champagne, but to see him standing there with this three singers and for one of them not to be Mandy – not to mention the thought of returning to Havana - which I hope to do this year - and seeing the band and Mandy not being there in all his rumbificent glory ... Sniff.

Let's just watch it and move onto the next video.



Now that there is finally an official release date for Arrasando (see previous post) Juan Formell is out spruiking Los Van Van's wares. He's a little excited, as you can tell by the way he waves the mic around at the end. Well, aren't we all?



The last video is a little bit of fun: Piso 6 hosts Yuliet, Raulito and Leo offer us a "sorpresito" - best wishes for the new year from the cream of Cuba's musos: Charanga Habanera, Pupy, Adalberto, Gente D'Zona, Gardi, El Indio (great to see him!), Maykel Blanco, Maraca, Yumurí, Leonel Limonta and Elito, who insists on spruiking his gig in Guantanamo tonight. I'd probably go with Pupy at Alamar!

Listen to the new Van Van

Melao from the new Timba Stars web site, advised the timba geeks yesterday that Planet Records' sales site Latin Music Store had finally listed Arrasando, the long-awaited Los Van Van album. The site says the world release date is February 6, but that they will have it by January 15 and can deliver it to you by January 19 - might be a bit of a stretch to think they could get it to Australia so fast, but you never know.
Better yet, they have full samples from this album that many have been so eagerly anticipating for so long - Formell sure knows how to tease.
I'm just listening to it now - NYE hangover and all. (Had an awesome night on a boat on Sydney harbour last night right under the spectacular, extravagant fireworks, thanks to my mates Lars and Yarima. An excess of champagne was drunk and timba was danced to. Bloody perfect it was.)
I'll come back to give a full opinion, though I will say that I think the Mayito track La rumba no está completa will be burning up the dancefloor in the months to come, even though the drum and flute solos slow down what is otherwise a kicking track (of course I love the Alexander solo...).
But you have everything you need to know to go and hear it yourself!