Ex-Amparanoia guitarist Jairo Zavala AKA Depedro impressed with an acoustic set that managed to hold an impatient crowd attentive for an all-too-brief half hour. Having just recorded his debut solo cd (very favorably reviewed here) with Joey Burns and John Convertino of Calexico, it would have been awfully nice to have had them onstage with him, especially since Calexico’s covered him and he’s shared a stage with them on multiple occasions. But it was not to be. To his credit, Zavala’s songs still resonate even without the album’s mansions of echo and ominous tremolo guitar arrangements. His shtick seems to be to take pretty much every style he knows and transform them into southwestern gothic; watching his solo show was more of an excursion through those particular styles rather than the dusky, otherw0rldly trip that is the album. The straight-up feel was enhanced by Zavala’s casual stage presence – he didn’t let what seemed at least early on to be a tough audience phase him a bit.

Minus all the Mexican and latinisms of the cd, Zavala’s guitar playing stood out as distinctively Spanish. He took one number deep into flamenco territory, rapping on the body of his guitar while essentially playing bass and rhythm simultaneously (he’s an excellent electric player, as well). The best song of the night was a powerful take of his Mexican liberation anthem La Memoria, galloping along with a gorgeously resounding clang. Done acoustically, the old Amparanoia song Como El Viento (Like the Wind) took on a sunny Mediterranean ballad feel; his reworking of a Mexican folk song, La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) was stark and rustic in contrast with the album’s twangy, ghostly version. His strong command of English helped carry the noir, slightly Orbison-esque ballad Don’t Leave Me Now; he closed the set with a singalong on a new one, then the lullaby that closes the album and a funky take of the bouncy number Comanche that could have been mistaken for G. Love if G. Love had soul and a feel for latin rhythm. Zavala promised a return trip here; hopefully he’ll have a crew behind him next time to flesh out those captivating songs.

Argentinian tango nuevo/pop sensation Federico Aubele was next on the bill, but at this point the show was running an hour and a half behind schedule and there were more captivating things to see, for cheaper (namely, Cliff Lee shutting down the Yankees in Game One of the World Series).

by Federico Aubele

Circa un anno e mezzo fa, qualche mese dopo il mio secondo viaggio in Argentina, ho curato uno speciale per Alias del Manifesto sulla nuova onda musicale del grande Paese sudamericano dai più identificato con le meste melodie “tanguere”. Uscito col titolo ‘Il beat continuo dell’Argentina’, l’articolo parlava principalmente di quattro musicisti: Kevin Johansen, Axel Krygier, Federico Aubele e Lisandro Aristimuño. Per l’occasione a quest’ultimo avevo rivolto tre domande via mail ma sullo speciale avevo inserito solo stralci delle sue risposte. Ho deciso di mettere qui su Blaluca la versione integrale dell’intervista perché si tratta di un musicista misconosciuto dalle nostre parti, ma di raro talento; in questi giorni inoltre, in Argentina, sta uscendo il suo quarto album, Las cronicas del viento (Viento Azul discos), che aspetto impaziente di ascoltare. Un paio di suoi brani potreste averli ascoltati su Radio Popolare, precisamente su Jalla!Jalla!, trasmissione in network condotta da Paolo Maggioni e Nello Avellani dove sono stato ospite qualche volta, più che altro per parlare di musica argentina appunto. Aristimuño, classe 1978, è nato a Viedma, la città più antica della Patagonia. La sua musica, una sorta di “folktronica” spesso acustica e sotto forma di canzone, ha alle spalle un gran lavoro sugli arrangiamenti e sulla parte vocale, è molto intima e si sofferma sulle piccole cose. Il quotidiano spagnolo El País ha definito Aristimuño “il Thom Yorke della Patagonia”.
Sui booklet dei tuoi album in fondo ai testi delle canzoni, di fianco al tuo nome si legge spesso ‘voci’, più di ‘voce’. Che lavoro c’è sulle parti vocali?
La voce per me è importante in tutta la musica, non solo nelle mie canzoni ma anche in quelle che ascolto; se la voce è dolce, profonda e credibile, la canzone mi cattura subito. Nel mio caso mi piace utilizzare la voce in molte maniere: nei concerti uso due microfoni, in uno canto con la voce chiara, nell’altro la filtro e ci metto dei delay per ottenere varianti e colori. I musicisti che suonano con me oltre a suonare i propri strumenti cantano tutti, così ci sono molte armonie vocali nella maggior parte delle canzoni. Mi piacciono i cori e nei miei dischi me ne servo abbastanza.
Nei tuoi testi torna con insistenza il ‘tu’ (in argentino, ‘vos’, nda) e spesso sembra si tratti di una persona amata: si può dire che il verbo amare sia il primo da associare alla tua musica?
Come dicono i Beatles: all you need is love. Credo nell’amore e mi interessa fomentarlo. Non solo l’amore di coppia: nei miei testi spesso sembra che sto parlando di una donna ma l’amore non sta solo lì… per farti un esempio si può parlare dell’amore tra una pianta e l’aria.
Sembra che molti dei tuoi testi – penso per esempio a quello di Anochecer nell’album Ese asunto de la ventana - sia più “facile” scriverli se si è cresciuti in Patagonia. È così?
Può darsi sia così. La Patagonia è un posto che mi ispira moltissimo e in varie occasioni i miei testi presentano quei paesaggi che mi porto dentro. In questa grande città che è Buenos Aires (dove vivo da sette anni) a volte ho bisogno di chiudere i miei occhi e far uscire quelle fotografie, quegli odori e quelle sensazioni della mia infanzia patagonica per ispirarmi in mezzo a tanto fumo e rumore urbano.

As promised, the ACL preview continues with my picks for bands to see on Saturday.  Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to see Sunday’s line-up!

2:00 pm

!!!

Dance-worthy mash-up tunes by a band whose name can’t be pronounced.  Now, that’s ACL!

3:00 pm

Grizzly Bear

If you missed my review of Grizzly Bear’s latest, read it here and check out this sure-to-be interesting show.

4:45 pm

Federico Aubele

This show offers a refreshing break between indie bands with breezy genre-blending Latin sounds.

The rest of the day, after the jump!

5:30 pm

Eek-A-Mouse

You probably won’t want to miss the eccentric reggae DJ legend.

6:00 pm

Mos Def

7:00 pm

Devotchka

Intense gypsy band Devotchka is one of the most interesting to play on Saturday.

8:00 pm

Ghostland Observatory

The live music pros and Austin faves were pitted against Dave Matthews in the lineup.  The bottom line, if you want an insanely exciting show to end your night, check out Ghostland (and read my review of their latest album here!).

]]> http://soulvakispacestation.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/more-capsules-more-capsules/ Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:34:50 +0000 soulvakispacestation http://soulvakispacestation.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/more-capsules-more-capsules/

Out of [*****]

Che Grand – Everything Good’s Ugly (2009/hip-hop)

Defined by Che’s charismatic, wordy flow, this is a treat for anyone who loves their hip-hop heady and verbose. A rare treat.

[****1/2]

Toki Wright – A Different Mirror (Hip-Hop/2009)

Keeps it to the G-code, full of great verses. Toki’s mad and he spits with a passion that you can’t help but admire. A bit uneven.

[***1/2]

Lightning Bolt – Earthly Delights (RAWK!/2009)

Once again, Lightning Bolt delivers a squalling, feedback infused mammoth of a record, it doesn’t do anything new for Lightning Bolt’s formula.. but this is the kind of sound I never bore of.

[****1/2]

Federico Aubele – Amatoria (World/2009)

I’ve been loving recent latin releases as of late, and this is no different. Airy and dubby sound bliss.

[****]

14KT – Nowalataz (2009/Hip-Hop)

Glitchy, soulful instrumental from Detroit. Consistentally interesting and varied. A bit too glitchy in spots, but overall, it’s a treat for the ears.

[***1/2)

DJ Spinna - Sonic Smash (2009/Hip-Hop)

Has an infectious, raw energy about that's hard to deny. Rough, tough hip-hop that doesn't pussyfoot around.

[****]

Nino Rota – Music From the Movies of Federico Fellini (Score/Various dates)

Nino Rota’s music is every bit as magical and whimsical as the films his compositions accompany. Bliss.

[*****]

]]> http://aegroove.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/lollapalooza-wrap-up/ Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:55:21 +0000 aegroove http://aegroove.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/lollapalooza-wrap-up/

Kate Langenburg/A&E Groove

Well music lovers, the folks who brought you Lollapalooza this year are famished and finished. The three day festival came to an end last night as Jane’s Addiction, the Killers, and Deadmau5 finished their sets simultaneously around 10pm.

Jane's Addiction performed on Day 3 of Lollapalooza. Photo from Rollingstone.com.

For those of you who went, how difficult was it for you to choose which band to see? Sometimes it is a major problem to have multiple stages at a huge fest because you can’t see everyone you want to see.

Anyway, some of the other bands that played throughout the weekend were the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Depeche Mode, Tool, Kings of Leon, Ben Harper, Rise Against, Vampire Weekend, Snoop Dog, and Lou Reed.

So you might be wondering, what’s the point of this post if it’s about an event that’s already passed? Well, if you really wanted to go to Lollapalooza this year, but couldn’t make it due to a lack of money, medical emergency, or other heinous act, you still have a chance to see all the performances!

The Fuse television network will be playing a recap of the festival on August 15 at 9pm. To find out about the channel, how to get it if it’s missing from your tv guide, or to download videos of performances, visit fuse.tv. It’s not like seeing the music live, but hey, it’s better than nothing.

Even though I wasn’t there, I can pretty much decipher from reviews a little bit of what transpired over the weekend. It seems that fans liked day three the best. That’s all I keep hearing about. Perhaps this is so because of the many headliners that played on that day.

For all you Lollapalooza goers, which day was your favorite?

I will leave you with a shot of the crowd during a Dan Deacon performance. Looks like they had fun crowd surfing!

Fans rocking out at Lollapalooza. Photo from lollapalooza.com.

♪ Federico Aubele – Lluvia
♪ Brazilian Girls – Corner Store
♪ Blockhead – Grape Nuts and Chalk Sauce
♪ Men – Credit Card Babie$
♪ Juvelen – Don’t Mess
♪ Girls – Lust for Life
♪ Nickodemus - Endangered Species (Raeo Remix)
♪ Stardelay – Thoughts and Words
♪ Olga Tanon & Hakim - Ah ya albi
♪ Empire of the Sun – We Are The People (Build Remix)
♪ Gliss – Morning Light
♪ Plane – Blood On The Waves
♪ Electrocute – Cops Copulating
♪ Federico Aubele - Contigo

Just a few of my personal recommendations – generally soothing, aesthetically pleasing to the ears, laced with a bit of aural vacation opportunity. Check them out wherever you sample music and toss some coins if you like them. If nothing else, Federico Aubele is downright essential summer listening.

In the mean time, I continue my pursuit of glass objects and a higher road.

Federico Aubele at LAMC 2009

The Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) kicked off Tuesday evening and goes on throughout this week in NYC. El Niño Diamante y Don Palabras wished they could partake in the festivities and rub elbows with industry changos, but alas, we sit in front of our computers and share, talk, and move you with the music we love. The New York Press has an brief interview with Argentine born, New York City transplant Federico Aubele. Aubele talks about his new record, Amatoria and his collaborations with Cibbo Mato’s Miho Hatori and Brazilian Girl’s Sabina Scuibba.

This year the LAMC celebrates its 10th anniversary and sees performances by Columbia’s Aterciopelados, la Venezuelan gozadera de Los Amigos Invisibles, Argentine singer-songwriter, Juana Molina, Puerto Rican hip-hoppers, Calle 13, as well as lesser known acts such as La Oveja Negra, Curumin, and Maluca. This week’s festival is a chance for artists, industry moguls, and music fans alike to converge and celebrate Latino music.

We’ll try to keep you posted on all things LAMC 2009!

This is what it’s been like lately in MTL. Most people hide from the rain. But I welcome it. I loooove the rain! I say, bring it on! Rain makes everything better. Rain at the end of “Paranoid Android” in Vancouver. Rain at the end of “Man in the Mirror” for Wonder’s set. And today, rain during Alice Russell and David Rotundo Band and Enrico Crivellaro was wonderful. Today was a good day! Great music all day long! Recap after the jump!

This Halifax group, Gypsophilia, put on such a great show on the main stage. Lots of energy, and great humor, saying stuff like, we heard Stevie Wonder was on the stage a few days ago, we never thought Stevie Wonder would be opening for us! Har har har! Funny beans. Great jazz set and very interactive. Always egging the crowd on to clap and sing along. Great set!

BEST DISCOVERY OF THE JAZZ FESTIVAL SO FAR.

Since I had enough jazz, I decided to venture off to non-jazz stages and found myself settling at the Loto Quebec Stage where the David Rotundo Band and Enrico Crivellaro were playing. The electric guitar solos blew my mind. The soul from the harmonica was astounding. Though I don’t oft listen to blues, I knew this was blues when I heard it. Cold. Hard. Blues. Rotundo has such an energy, grace, and a smile that seduces us all to cheer as loud as we can. I think my most memorable moment was during the song “Can I Come Into Your Kitchen”. Not sure if this is the actual song name. The lyrics to this song are absolutely fantastic. The build up, the stops and gos of this song defined their entire sound for me, defined for me what blues are really about.

Can I come into your kitchen and cook all night long
Your stove is so hot it makes me wanna go down there and turn it on
I want to smell…
YOUR SOUP!
I want to lick…
your pudding!
Finger your…

And he leaves it there, teasing the crowd and leaving us hanging as he goes into the chorus. Donning a Habs shirt, Rotundo’s main talk was…CA VA BIEN?!?! They put on such an amazing performance that I decided to return to see their second show the same night. And it was just as awesome. I got to meet Crivellaro right after the first show, and told him that I’d be back!!! Surely enough, during the second show in the front row cheering and dancing wildly, he recognized me with a bow and returned my thumbs up! I am famous. Tee hee.

I had to sit down after Rotundo and Crivellaro. I circled Colin Hunter next, as the man to see. He sounded a lot like Sinatra as he delivered well known jazz hits such as Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable”. Great voice. An OK show though. There wasn’t a large stage presence in comparison to the other artists I’ve seen this week.

Next up! The Argentinian (Que Bueno!) Federico Aubele. As with most latin music tends to be, his songs were slow and sensual. He seemed to have read my mind when he described what they were playing, a collection of love songs. He jokingly said that if you wanted to make out with the person next to you, or grab someone , it’s ok! It’s the effect of the music. It’s love music. And if you don’t feel anything, maybe you should see a shrink…maybe there’s something wrong with you! Ja! Gracioso, mate. The bassist looks like he’s possessed in this picture and in a way he was, being the most locomotive of the bunch, grooving and grinding his hips with the beats and playing the bass gently as to give that you know, love effect. The woman’s voice was fantastic as well. Overall a wonderful show that left me in a state of nostalgia. I really miss latin america. I really miss Buenos Aires (where Aubele is from). Such a wonderful show. Below are two songs that I really liked during the performance…though on the LP there is a woman singing it, and during MJF Aubele was singing…and I think I much prefer the latter. My favorite of the night was “La Esquina”, which means the corner. He explains to us that he grew up on this corner, saw a lot of things in the corner…a very important junction in his life.

MP3: Federico Aubele – La Esquina

MP3: Federico Aubele – Corazon

I love the Bell stage. Last time it was the Samsung stage. Pretty much all the funk, groove, dance, rhythm, tropical, and the like artists play here. I remember being here every single day for the MJF two years ago. I discovered so many artists such as Pawa Up First (who return this year), Artist of the Year (who also return), Misteur Valaire, Forro in the Dark, and countless others. Alice Russell, walking up to the stage, seemed like an eccentric lady, with purple tights, black laced short skirt, and a pink bow standing out in her bleach blonde hair.  Eccentric doesn’t even cut it.

She reminds me of Beth Ditto of the Gossip. Super strong voice paired with relentless stage presence. Funny thing is, I had Alice Russell on my computer since she released her newest album Pot of Gold quite a long time ago but never got the chance to listen. But now I have. It’s fantastic. Live, she kept us dancing, clapping, wooing away the rain so to speak. It was funky, jazzy, rocky, and all over the place. She even covered the White Stripe’s “Seven Nation Army”. Her and her band raised these mini flags saying “why not?”. Why not indeed. The cover was SICK. Just incredible. With the rain drizzling down, it made the performance even more surreal. There was also a bit of “Passin’ Me By” by the Pharcyde as well. Respect. Despite some technical difficults with the detachable keyboard—there was supposed to be a synth keyboard solo—the show went on and I don’t think the crowd even noticed the rain, the stabbing wet rocks underneath our feet because every minute with Russell was getting better and better. It was clear how much energy the crowd had despite the weather, Russell saying herself, mmmmmmmmmmmm so much energy! Lemme take a drink from the Energy Straw! Mmmmmmmmmm. What a personality! Jajaj I love it. It’s unfortunate that her LP doesn’t capture how ridiculously amazing her voice and aura are live, but they do her some justice. These are my two favorite performances of the night:

MP3: Alice Russell – Let Us Belong

MP3: Alice Russell – Got the Hunger

David Rotundo Band and Enrico Crivellaro encore!!! Their second show was less bluesy and seductive. Much more hard rock, hard jazz. But still a great show. So crazy.

I love this group now. THANK YOU JAZZ FEST!!!

Όταν το 2003 ο Federico Aubele κυκλοφόρησε τον πρώτο δίσκο του, Gran Hotel Buenos Aires, παραλίγο θα διέπραττα ένα από τα μεγαλύτερα λάθη της ζωής μου, με το να μην το αγοράσω. Όταν όμως σε κάθε περιοδικό έβλεπες αυτό το babyface με την αφανά, σκεφτόσουν μήπως παίζει και κάτι παραπάνω. Αν θα έπρεπε να διαλέξω τα 5 καλύτερα albums της δισκοθήκης μου, τότε αυτό θα βρισκόταν σίγουρα μέσα σε αυτά. Άλλωστε, η πρώτη επαφή με τον Aubele, είναι και αυτή που σε σημαδεύει για μια ζωή. Ένας ανεπανάληπτος δίσκος, που ακούγεται από την αρχή μέχρι το τέλος. Δεν θα μπώ στη διαδικασία να εξηγήσω περισσότερα. Trust your gut feeling and check it out… 4,5/5 !

myspace.com/aubele

Sebastian Litmanovich a.k.a. Cineplexx

Cineplexx is Sebastian Litmanovich. He is a graphic artist and musician based out of Barcelona by way of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since 1997, Litmanovitch has been releasing records via Caipirinha, an NYC experimental electronic label. He’s played shows in Argentina, Europe, U.S., Spain, and Japan as his Cineplexx moniker or as his audio-visual side project, Cacahuetes Inc. In 2006, Federico Aubele asked Litmanovich to join his touring band. In 2008, Cineplexx’s released Picnic, a melodic, pop album framed on acoustic-electronic compositions that boasts collaborations with Jaid Fair (Half Japanese), Federico Aubele, Natalia Clavier, and Duglas T. Stewart of BMX Bandits and Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake. Litmanovitch cites the Velvet Underground and ABBA as his biggest influences, but tunes like the ultra-catchy “A Mi Lado” flows on a sunny Beach Boys/Jens Lekman vibe. In May Cineplexx released a compilation record of old, new, and rare tunes called Nuevahola (Cherry Red Records).

As an added Monday bonus, Mí Casa is throwing a wonderful cover of Depeche Mode’s “I Feel You” from an Argentine tribute album Enjoy The Silence via Discos Sordos.

Enjoy.

Cineplexx “A Mi Lado” (MP3)

BONUS! - Cineplexx “I Feel You” (Depeche Mode Cover) (MP3)

Cineplexx “A Mi Lado” (Video)

Federico Aubele on tour

Argentine singer-songwriter, Federico Aubele has embarked on a tour in support of his latest record, Amatoria (out now on ESL Music).  Aubele’s first record, 2003’s Hotel Buenos Aires blended Latin lounge, dub with elements of ambient and hip-hop. That record was the demo that landed him on Thievery Corporation’s label, Eighteen Street Lounge Music. His follow-up, 2007’s Panamericana saw Aubele expanding on the sound of its predecessor and sharing production duties with Thievery Corporation.  Amatoria sees Aubele self producing the record and collaborating with Cibbo Mato’s Miho Hatori on “Riendo Asi”, Brazilian Girls‘ Sabina Scuibba on “Otra Vez”, as well as Panamericana vocalist Natalia Clavier.

Aubele’s Amatoria tour kicked off in Boston on June 13th and takes him to Philly, The Montreal Jazz Festival,The Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) in NYC, Lollapalooza and Ravinia Festivals in Chicago, and two date residency in Scottsdale, AZ (!?) before wrapping up at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on October 3rd.

Check out Federico Aubele’s performance on WNYC’s Soundcheck!

Federico Aubele’s Amatoria tour:

Federico Aubele, the Argentinean singer-songwriter and classical guitar payer, is known for blending a variety of genres and styles, including reggae and ambient. On his most recent album Amatoria, he mixes the classic and passionate sounds of the Argentine tango and the Mexican bolero. It is no surprise that Aubele records on the Eighteenth Street Lounge Music label of the master mixers themselves, the Thievery Corporation.

One of Aubele’s inspirations for his third album and its title was the Roman poet Ovid’s Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love), a poem in three books that claims to instruct on matters of the heart. Aubele composed the twelve love songs on Amatoria; sings and plays classical and electric guitars and the electronic beats on all songs; and produced the album.

Luna y Sol (Moon and Sun) and Suena Mi Guitarra (My Guitar Sounds) start things off with a reggae beat. The lyrics are sensual and set the tone of the album. For example, the first song says: En tu boca, el primer beso y todo el amor de tu luna y mi sol (In your mouth, the first kiss, and all the love of your moon and my sun).

To add a sexy female touch to the album, Aubele duets quite nicely with his wife Natalia Clavier, Sabina Sciubba, and Miho Hatori on Este Amor (This Love), Otra Vez (Once More), and Riendo Asi (Laughing Like This) respectively. These compositions standout and add substance to the album.

Even with its electronic aspects, Amatoria has an intimate feel to it. Aubele’s sultry voice and guitar-playing style easily fit into a small club with a dozen people in the audience. Hermosa is a good example of an acoustic performance in this type of setting.

Del Ayer (About Yesterday) and the upbeat Siempre Nuevo (Always New) are this listener’s favorite songs so far, but with more listens of Amatoria that might change.

Federico Aubele is an artist of many talents and proves it on this album. The man, who lived in Buenos Aires, Berlin, Barcelona, now lives in another B locale, Brooklyn, New York, allowing him to better make his mark in America. Whether he continues singing in his native Spanish or tackles English, he’s got a sensual voice that transcends languages and cultures. Amatoria is an outstanding work of art.

Visit Federico Aubele’s MySpace page to hear his music: http://www.myspace.com/aubele

Buenos Aires-born songwriter/guitarist Federico Aubele’s going for a rico suave thing here, sort of like a downtempo Gipsy Kings. At a distance this may sound like generic latin lounge music – it’s kind of formulaic, but it’s a formula that works. This cd offers layers of acoustic and electric guitars with hushed lounge lizard vocals (in Spanish) over a trip-hop beat. Aubele could use a lyricist, and there are places where the drum machine becomes completely claustrophobia-inducing (the album is just out on the well-intentioned but sonically numbing Thievery Corporation’s label). Now for some good things about the cd. Aubele is an excellent, terse guitarist: there aren’t any wasted notes here. And the songs are pretty, most of them in moody minor keys. Plus, he’s dubwise. His reggae touches typically linger and reverberate in the background, lithe guitar accents cleverly and judiciously kicking in at unexpected moments.

Suena Mi Guitarra sways and bounces, trip-hop meets tango with a jangly reggae guitar feel. Te Quiero a Ti is upbeat and evocative of Mexican groups like the Reggae Cowboys. Del Ayer layers phased backward-masked guitars in the background; there’s also a duet with the unlikely choice of Miho Hatori from Cibo Matto, who quite surprisingly acquits herself so well that she really ought to have been given a turn out front. The most bizarre cut here – tropicalia is just full of them, isn’t it? – is the samba-inflected El Sabor with its layers of artificial, bubbling synth, early 80s ELO goes to Brazil. The cd ends with an acoustic guitar instrumental that offers more than a hint of a more stark, purist sensibility lurking here. Piazzolla it’s not, but it’s something you can put on at a party and nobody will complain – in fact, you’ll probably have people asking you who this is – and it’s a good late-night sleepytime cd.

Thinking of doing a little cha-cha-cha before your uh-uh-uh-UH, this Valentine’s Day?

Then I strongly recommend you go and get this man’s CD’s. Federico Aubele hails from Argentina and he obviously knows a thing or two about setting the mood. His blend of electronic, acoustic, and traditional South American music oozes sensuality and will be the perfect background music for your Valentine’s evening festivities.

Watch his video “La Esquina” below

Tango Siglo XXI … esta cancion me sigue a todos lados estos dias …

… y los años van
sin poder soltar
los recuerdos del ayer
asi mirandolos
pasar y volver
esos recuerdos del ayer …

Federico Aubele – La Esquina

Federico Aubele

Montreal ranks up there as one of my favourite cities, and I’ve made three trips to that French Canadian gem so far (got another one planned for next year). On one of these trips, I randomly picked up Federico Aubele’s Gran Hotel Buenos Aires. That’s how I came to learn of this Argentine musician.

Some music is best enjoyed with happy strangers at open-air festivals, some are great travel companions on long solitary drives, and others come alive while heard on iPods at the gym. And then there is music that can colour a space, filling it with mood and atmosphere. For me, Aubele’s chilled out Latin sounds fit this latter category, so I often have his CD playing the background. I was curious to find out whether I would enjoy it as much live.

Friends of mine who are more music-savvy than I (I’m not music-savvy by any standards) said they’d never heard of him, so I was looking forward to an intimate performance at Richards on Richards. Surrey’s Christina Maria opened the show with a few sweet tunes. Natalia Clavier (Aubele’s wife, who also sings on his album) performed some songs from her solo album before her husband came out to entertain us and complete the evening. And yes, even chillout music is better live.

It was a nice evening – something different – even if the air conditioning was a little excessive and the golf carts a little weak.

DOWNLOAD here.
via motel de moka’s chilling nightcap (the halfway point between “the dancefloor and the futon”) playlist. I need to go to bed.

Thievery Corporation will be performing live with Seu Jorge and special guests Bebel Gilberto and Federico Aubele at SummerStage in Central Park on Thursday June 26, 2008 from 6:00-10:00pm.Tickets are $59.50 if purchased in advance or $65.00 on the day of the show.

This show is a benefit concert for Central Park SummerStage presented by LiveNation.

Central Park SummerStage is located at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. Enter the park at 69th Street and 5th Avenue on the east side or at 72nd Street and Central Park West on the west side.

If you are unfamiliar with Thievery Corporation, here is a review of their latest CD called  The Cosmic Game.

Thievery Corporation: The Cosmic Game

From the first note of Thievery Corporation’s fourth album, The Cosmic Game, it takes the listener a matter of moments to realize that they are listening to the leaders of the down-tempo beats and chill-out sounds genre. Transported back to a time when stars didn’t beat you over the head with choruses and catchy hooks, The Cosmic Game soothes the soul with a melodious utopia of musical harmonies and is a gem that once again vaults this soulful duo to the elite status as one of the top U.S electronica acts.

            Rob Garza and Eric Hilton have once again managed to surpass their previous efforts with their latest release. Departing from the emotionally-charged “The Richest Man in Babylon,” the beautiful intellectualism of “The Mirror Conspiracy,” and the hypnotic minimalist “Sounds From the Thievery Hi-fi”, Thievery Corporation treads new ground with their new sonic masterpiece.

After achieving international success with their hit “Lebanese Blond,” (Mirror Conspiracy), Thievery Corporation definitely felt pressure to find a new way to expand their distinct sound and were forced to expand their musical boundaries. If this album’s successful debut at number two on the BBC’s UK Dance Chart is any indication, they have managed to once again strike gold and what makes this an especially amazing feat, is that they are on an independent label, ESL, and have no major corporate sponsors backing them.

             Unlike previous albums, The Cosmic Game, boasts an impressive line-up of collaborating artists. The Flaming Lips helped to create the CD’s first track, the hauntingly beautiful, Pink Floyd-esque Marching The Hate Machines (Into the Sun), while Indy-Alternative rocker Perry Farrell, takes a slightly different turn with his rastified-vocals on Revolution Solution. In addition to Farrell, Thievery Corporation got another famous lead singer in Talking Heads’ front-man David Byrne, to lends his vocals and quasi-paranoia to the funky horns of The Heart’s A Lonely Hunter.

            Although this impressive line-up of guests might overshadow other artists, Thievery Corporation holds its own by weaving a psychedelic tapestry of sounds that incorporates these stars and other not-so-well-known collaborating artists. This fusion of different sounds is what vaults Thievery Corporation light-years ahead of their imitators.  Each song is crafted to highlight the instrumental magic that Garza and Hilton infuse throughout the album, while still giving their collaborators the freedom to have their own sounds.

            Formed in Washington D.C., Thievery Corporation’s stateside style has transcended international boundaries and garnered the group fans from around the globe. Although their beats manage to cross international culture barriers with ease, the group continues to remain rooted to certain influences like the rhythmic drums of Brazil. The album’s musical ride sets listeners on a soulful journey and makes stops at majestic locations where the listener can almost feel the Jamaican influence of Notch (Amerimacka) as he blows a soothing West Indies breeze or they can enjoy the mind-melting vocals of eastern superstar Gunjan as he brings new meaning to the words hypnotic.

If you let them, Thievery Corporation will give you a dose of their hypnotic medicine and leave you wanting more. Be prepared for feel the hallucinogenic effects of traveling through what might be the musical equivalent of the solar system. The Cosmic Game is more than just listening pleasure. It is a journey that that invites listeners to open the doors of perception and the more willing you are to let go and allow yourself to become enveloped by the sounds, the more likely you are to get caught up in Thievery Corporation’s solid sounds.