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Staff: Bill Tilford
Reportes: From The St... : Jazz Plaza ...
Fotos: Tom Ehrlich : Irakere 50th Annivers...
Fotos: Tom Ehrlich : Irakere
Resenas: Joey Altruda Presents: El Gran ...
Reportes: From The St... : Cubadisco 2...
Timbapedia: 09. Interviews -... : Carlos del Pino ...
Fotos: Tom Ehrlich : 2023 Monterey Jazz Fe...
Fotos: Tom Ehrlich : 2023 Monterey Jazz Fe...
Fotos: Tom Ehrlich : 2023 Monterey Jazz Fe...
Fotos: Tom Ehrlich : 2023 Monterey Jazz Fe...
Grupos: Tirso Duarte
Grupos: Tirso Duarte : Discography
Grupos: Charanga Habaner... : 8. El bla bla bla
Grupos: Pupy y los que S... : Tirso Duarte

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Cuba based rap duo, Zona Franka, blends traditional rhythms with the grit and swagger of hip-hop and rap vocal phrasings. Their clever shout choruses create instant tropical dance classics using their unique self-titled "changui con flow" style.
Authentic Latin Music Catalog for SYNC - TV & Film Music

SpanishEnglishDiscography - Hey You Loca - 9. Concéntrate en mí

Manolín's second compositional contribution is "Concéntrate en mí". A funky disco intro segues into a piano montuno which begins very much like the cliche riff used for the goofy "Latin" novelty song "Tequila"', but it's only a setup for a much hipper figure -- listen to the displaced rhythm on the second repeat. [audio example 50] The normally rowdy Sombrilla shows his smooth, graceful side, sounding a bit like Vera in his singing of the melodic cuerpo and first coro, "entrégate, y ámame, concéntrate en mí", but at 1:52, that special, euphoric, early-CH groove comes on strong and it's off to the races again. [audio example 51]. As with all Timba, and especially CH, the lyrics are very much based on Cuban culture, not only in the thick slang, but also in the special references to the Havana lifestyle of the 90's. It's not unlike listening to B.B. King in several ways - the slang, and also the humorous exaggerations surrounding the ever-present war of the sexes. For example: "Porque si no, te doy la baja". "Dar la baja" is a reference to the book of rations that each family receives to buy basic food and supplies. When someone dies or moves out of the country, they pass on what's left of their rations, i.e. they "dar la baja". Turned around, it became slang for breaking up, or "giving someone the boot". When Sombrilla says "te doy la baja" he means that, if she doesn't concentrate on him and give him the attention he wants, his reaction will be to give her up and feel about her as if she had simply exited his life or had "dado la baja". Later, the slang becomes more universal - "o te tiro pa' la calle" - "or I'll throw you out in the street!". This may seem a bit insensitive, but it's a touching love song compared to Manolín's other lyric on the album, "Para el Llanto", whose lyrical message can basically be boiled to down to "stop your snivelling and grovelling and get out of my face!" Another interesting and humorous phrase in "Concéntrate" is "Oye, no quiero verte en un zorreo con David Calzado que tiene coche." In this case, "un zorreo", from "zorra", which means "fox", means "foxing around" or "sneaking around" and, even more specific to early-90's Cuba is "que tiene coche" ("who has a car"). Especially in the "Special Period", but even now, to have a car - any car - represents wealth and so the implication is that he doesn't want her flirting with rich guys, and for his example, he playfully teases Calzado, the bandleader - an issue which became less playful later in the tumultuous history of this band! But here in the early 90's the band was still in the honeymoon phase which each other and with the brave new world of music they had created for themselves.

Getting back to that world, "Concéntrate" is another good example of the growing use of the synthesizer (teclado) in Timba.[audio example 52]. At 3:08 it switches from long, sustained tones to the same type of slap bass timbre used on the title track. Listen to the way this irresistibly funky figure blends with the piano montuno. González dubbed this kind of figure a "contratumbao", meaning a figure designed to complement the tumbao or montuno of the piano in the same way the "contracampana" bell pattern blends in with the campana bell to form a composite rhythm.

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Tuesday, 22 March 2011, 07:31 PM