The members of Interactivo during the filming of Interactivo La Película

If you are already familiar with Interactivo, just skip down to the trailer for the documentary below. If you are not yet familiar with Interactivo, allow me to take this opportunity to introduce you. Interactivo is best described as an open project or collective of young musicians under the direction of pianist Roberto Carcassés. They have released two CDs: “Goza Pepillo” (2005) winner of Cubadisco 2006 in the categories Opera Prima, Fusion and Gran Premio and “Cubanos por el mundo” (2010), the subject of a documentary by Cuban filmmaker Tané Martínez. 

Many of the names of musicians that have worked with Interactivo will be familiar to you, such as Roberto Carcassés, Yusa, Telmary, Rodney Barreto, Yaroldi Abreu, Carlos Rios, Raul Verdecia, Julito Padrón, Francis del Río, Oliver Valdés and, Melvis Santa among others. Whereas turnover of musicians is generally a negative thing for timba bands, which are better able to consolidate their sound when the same musicians have been working together for years, it has actually been a strength of Interactivo. The experimental, fusion nature of their music benefits from the constant flow of new ideas as older members leave to do their own projects and new members enter with their own unique influences and visions. Roberto describes their music as “timba funk”.  It really seems to be a fusion of whatever the bandmembers find interesting, building on the musical heritage of everything from  Afro-Cuban traditional music to timba to jazz, funk, soul and hip-hop.

Thanks to Facebook, I stumbled across a link to “Interactivo La Película”, which is available at Vimeo. The documentary is about the release concert for “Cubanos por el mundo” and follows the band from rehearsals through the final show, including interviews with key members as well as cameos by guest artists such as X Alfonso and Rodney Barreto. I contacted Tané Martínez and asked her how the documentary came about.

The project of making “INTERACTIVO La Película” arose when Roberto Carcasses saw my documentary TENGO (2008) on the NYC-based Cuban singer Xiomara Laugart. From there, Roberto proposed that I document the release of their 2nd album "Cubanos por el Mundo" and I immediately started working with them. The social presence that I found in the lyrics of the songs really caught my attention. I wanted to make a movie about Interactivo and the release of the album, but also as a filmmaker I wanted to tell a story of migration, freedom and Cuban music.
Tané Martinez

You can check out the trailer below. The full 70-minute documentary is found at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/ilp/20517029

Note: the trailer is subtitled, but the full documentary is not.

Interactivo La Pelicula Teaser 1.40m from colorbox on Vimeo.

SYNOPSIS
Interactivo, is a Cuban band directed by Roberto Carcasses. The release of their 2nd CD, “Cubanos por el Mundo”, leads us to a deep analysis of migration, freedom and Cuban music. 

CAST
Roberto Carcassés, Melvis Santa, Julio Padrón, Francis del Río, Oliver Valdés + Interactivo. 

TECHNICAL DATA
HD 720, NTSC, Color, 70min
CUBA/USA 2011 

A Colorbox Productions Inc. Production
Director: Tanè Martìnez
Producer: Ivonne Cotorruelo
Script: Zulema Clares, Tanè Martìnez
Música: Roberto Carcassès & Interactivo
Director of Photography: Sveinung Bokn
Audio: Abel Calderòn
Editing: Tanè Martìnez
Post-production of Audio & Mixing: Rocio Garcia Pazos
Post-production of Images: Inti Martìnez
Still Photography: Denise Guerra
Graphic Design: Idania del Rìo

BIOGRAPHY
Tané Martínez (1981, Cuba) 
Director, Producer and Editor.
Studied “Performing Arts” at the Cuban National School of the Arts (ENA) and later studied "Film Direction” at the Training Center  of Cinematography of Mexico (CCC). 
Directed the fictional short  “Malos días mi amor” (2005) and the documentaries "Paquete Familiar" (2004), “Tengo lo que tenia que tener” (2008), “Interactivo La Película” (2011) and “Caminando Aragón” (2012). She is a partner and founder of Colorbox Productions Inc.

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continue reading Timbera Mayor

Tom Ehrlich's gallery and mini-review from Mezcla's June 26 Oakland show is here, and Bill Tilford has more about the group (including video) , the tour and Saturday's show  in Chicago here.

Meanwhile, back in the Bay Area, Mayimbe plays Cócomo on Sat. 6-29, preceded by Rueda con Ritmo's classes on Mayimbe's unique approach and RcR's unique approach to dancing to it.

And in book news - the Tirso Duarte volume of Beyond Salsa Piano is now available in hard-copy - coming soon to eBook and audio download formats.

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continue reading La Última

Aquí Andrés "El Paisa" Fernández -- director del Grupo CONTRABANDO de Bélgica -- y el bajista y productor del grupo Dennis Nicles Cobas  hablan sobre el desarollo de los dos nuevos sencillos, "Fe con bendiciones", cantado por Fernando Blanco Moya (uno de los fundadores del grupo), y "No te precupes", cantado por Victor Pedroso. Además podemos ver parte de los dos videos en progreso.

In this interview Andrés "El Paisa" Fernández - director of the Belgian timba band CONTRABANDO - and their bassist and producer Dennis Nicles Cobas discuss the development of their two new singles, "Fe con bendiciones" (Faith with blessings), featuring the lead vocal of Fernando Blanco Moya (one of the founders of the group), and "No te precupes" (Don't worry), with lead vocal by Victor Pedroso. We also get a sneal peek at the new videos (for the singles) in progress. 

Fe con bendiciones - Sencillo 2013 - Canta: Fernando Blanco Moya
No te preocupes - Sencillo 2013 - Canta: Victor Pedroso

Letra y Música: Andrés Fernández Ordoñez "El Paisa"
Arreglo: Contrabando
Grabación y Mezcla: Dennis Nicles Cobas
Masterización: Michael Lazarus de http://latinmusicmastering.com

Twitter - http://twitter.com/Contrabandomus1
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/elpaisatrombon
Website - http://www.grupo-contrabando.com

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continue reading Pa' Ponerte en Talla

Mezcla , which is performing in Oakland California June 26  and Chicago June 29, has just launched a Kickstarter campaign which includes some premiums for those of you who sign on as backers. The video (click "play" above) explains more with some live footage of band members here and some of Mezcla's music.   

Click here for the link to Mezcla's Kickstarter page. 

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continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na