New to Latin music

Hi
I just listened to La Quinta Estacion – ‘Sin Frenos’ and went out and
bought the CD right away.
Great music. Can you recommend any other artists similar to that music?
I like latin music, but not as “pop-oriented” as E. Iglesias – but on
the other hand I like it more uptempo than regular salsa.
Please help me in the right direction – links or samples would also be
very welcome, as I’m pretty new to latin music.

Hi Isteen and welcome to the world of Latin Music. As you may have noticed our site is focused on Cuban music, but of cousre there is so much to choose form because each country has something unique to offer. I had to go listen to La Quinta Estación at YouTube because I wasn’t familiar with them. They seem very pop/slightly rock oriented.

You said you like music that isn’t as pop as E. Iglesias but more uptempo than regular salsa. Timba definitely fits that bill. Like salsa it is based around the syncopation of the clave, but it tends to be faster (although there can be some slow songs as well), and more funky and modern. At the same time it incorporates more of the old afro-cuban rhythms such as rumba, which gives it a very distinct swing. Some of the more recent CDs have had a pop feel to them. So for that you could try some Charanga Habanera, El Clan, Paulo FGs new stuff (Paulo’s old stuff is also some of the great classic timba).

The groups I always find at the top of my playlist both their old and new stuff are: Los Van Van, Pupy y los que son son, Manolito y su trabuco, Orquesta Revé,

For classic timba I love old NG La Banda, old Charanga Habanera, Charanga Forever, Old Paulo FG, Danny Lozada, Old Bamboleo, Old Azúcar Negra, Old Issac Delgado, Manolín “El Médico de La salsa”.

For new bands I love Havana D’ Primera, Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor, Calle Real, La tremenda, Tumbao Habana (not exactly new but less known)

To start you off with timba check out the timba.com video section. There is a list of the artists that we have videos of. You can try them out and get a little familiar with the different groups.

link

Some groups that I like that are more pop/rock (i.e not salsa or timba) c are listed below. You can go to YouTube and search for people such as

Moneda Dura (Cuba)
link

Buena fe (Cuba – a little more deep meaningful songs but I love the harmonies). the A guitarra limpia is an unplugged concert so you might want to look at the other videos first to hear the original versions. I love the guitarra limpia show.
link

Alejandro Sanz (Spain)
Maná (Mexico)
Myriam Hernández (Chile)
Malú (Spain)

I also really liked Shakira’s stuff before she went to the US and also Juanes before he went to the US. They got a little caught up in the Miami Money Machine IMO and lost their originality.

Also from Colombia I like Carlos Vives who does a modernized rock-vallenato style of music with very good lyrics.

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on some of the groups after you have watched some of the videos. This is my favorite subject so anything you want to talk about I’m up for it :-)

Hello.
Thank you so much for the long and explanatory reply.
I will definitely check out the links and the artists you mentioned.
I actually also like the early Shakira stuff…until she started to record her albums in english.

I am not spanish-speaking, so I don’t understand a word, but I like the rhytm and the sound of latin music.

I’ll dig right in the stuff you mentioned, thanks a lot for the help.

Cheers

Steen

At the end of the 60s and beginnings of the 70s, Los Van Van renewed the genre mixing the Son with electronic music. Juan Formell introduced a drum kit, the electronic bass, three lead singers and the trombones of the Cuban brass bands.

Jazz Festival/I