Those of you who have read the blog for the last few months might have come to the conclusion that I was wee bit smitten - some might even say obsessed - with Havana D'Primera. This has taken the form of - but is not limited to - listening to them everyday since I got the album back in February, and seeing every gig I could in Havana, even if it meant not seeing some other fine bands (sorry, Klimax).
There I was, happy in my obsession, with the occasional interruption from Pupy or Alaín Daniel or Yulien Oviedo, and then something happened: I came into possession of the album by Swedish group La Tremenda. Truth be told, I had just started listening to the album by their compatriots, Calle Real's Me lo gané, but then I put on La Tremenda, and I dropped everything.
From the moment the plucked strings began on the opener, No. 1, I was hooked. I don't know what I was doing - something around the house - but the first three songs all had these captivating little bits that made me stop what I was doing and look up and smile - or get up and dance. It's powerful stuff.
Since then, I've become enamoured by pretty much all the songs on the album.
After No. 1 - which also has trombones mirroring the bass for a meaty mix - is No escuché a tiempo. It has a classic wussy timba start, but shows its promise at the 50 second mark with a strong, ascending coro and delicious delayed accents from the brass. The marcha returns - bear with it - and at 1.54 come fantastic layers of horns and another great coro: "Lo que pasó es que no me daba cuenta, dios avisó pero no escuché a tiempo." At this point vocalist Lesmer really gets to show his versatility, dislpaying a good facility for phrasing as well as melody.
(I discovered after I had returned from Havana, that he is now singing with NG la Banda. Good score for El Tosco. Too bad I didn't get around to seeing them. Guess those guys get up too late to make it to a matinee. Diablo Tun Tun does go pretty late ... it's why I don't go there!)
(I discovered after I had returned from Havana, that he is now singing with NG la Banda. Good score for El Tosco. Too bad I didn't get around to seeing them. Guess those guys get up too late to make it to a matinee. Diablo Tun Tun does go pretty late ... it's why I don't go there!)
At the 4:00 mark this song has built up a really good head of steam and it all explodes with the coro "no hay lio, ni problema". This song goes through a variety of changes - the arrangement is astounding, as are all of the arrangements on the album: they are deft, clever, and executed impeccably.
Track 3, Timba vieja, is in a similar vein, though it's shorter (about 3:30) and gets to the point faster. There is something to be said for delayed gratification (and timberos know this well), but this song is easily as good as its predecessor. It totally fires. Great dance floor track. (Or dancing in the kitchen track.) The plucked strings make a return - they are programmed, but sound fantastic. I'm sure someone like Ritmo Oriental or Maravilla de Florida have used this technique (albeit with real strings) in the past - but it's perfect for timba. It adds a wonderful new layer and I wonder why I haven't heard them used like this more often. This is also the first song featuring guest star Alexander Abreu - he's blasting away on trumpet here. Later on he plays flugelhorn, and takes over lead vocals.
I played these three songs over and over for a few weeks before the others broke through - my current favourite is Lunes la semana completa (apparently it's named after the Swedish title of Groundhog Day): if the others are good; this one is to die for. It has real violins and flute, and is completely transcendent - it swoops down then soars up high; before fragmenting into percussion breaks. Check it out from :53 - it's this beautiful swirly trippy mix where everything just melds perfectly; at 1:46 the strings come out and they take it one notch higher before everything falls away except the piano and percussion, and then everyone else comes back in and they start to build it up again. This is absolute bottled joy.
The timba group La Tremenda most resemble are pre-noughties Klimax - though I'd say it's more in theory than execution. But Mulata is the one where the Klimax influence is most pronounced, the chanting coros in particular reminding me of some of Piloto's work. Alexander is back for this one, and there is an old-school, Moog-style solo, which is unexpected. It has a nice slow coda as well. Shit for the dance floor, but nice at home.
Tu forma, prologue, and the song itself, start off with washy analogue sounding synths and a drum machine - like early Pet Shop Boys meet Mtume. Then it goes into timba. (The '80s vibe isn't limited to Tu forma - there is a pop song that sounds like George Michael with a Latin twist. It's not bad actually - I don't turn it off; but it's not what makes me love the album.) When the coro arrives that tells the girl she has a "mala forma" you know a Cuban had a hand in the lyrics, and there is timbalero Calixto Oviedo's name in the credits. I suppose one could argue that if they're not slagging off the chicks, it's not timba. I do what I always do in this case: ignore the lyrics and embrace the lovely rhythms and gears and mambos - Alex is back, very briefly, before his starring role on the closer, Copos de nieve, risa de sol.
It's an odd little track - a bolero that goes into a kind of a cha-cha-cha fusion, I guess. It's lovely. It has beautiful orchestration and Alex, as ever, has that charming pull in his voice. He sings with a sincerity that few others can manage.
La Tremenda have a great formula here: good, smart, songs, well played, beautifully arranged and sung by a more than capable singer - something rare enough in itself.
The album clocks in at around just 40 minutes - just like the old days of vinyl, before CDs gave us "bonus" tracks, that filled an hour, but weren't good for much else. Just about every minute offers something to delight and surprise.
Michelle White has put together a nice medley of the album's songs at timba.com, to go with her review.
(You do.)
