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My name is Gilles Peterson, and we are in Havana.
This is the second volume of Havana Cultura.
First volume was two years ago, and it was incredible,
it was my first experience of coming to Havana
to discover all this great new music.
And so we came back here just now...April, 2011
and I brought over... I brought with me Simbad as well
who is a producer that I work with in London,
Vince Vella who worked on our first album of course
and Mala.
I think the first record was very much a case of me
trying to cram into a three or four day session
my history of Cuban music.
Now, two years later, I've had the time to
digest more of new contemporary Cuban music,
and to be more involved in it.
I think it's closer to what's going on here
rather than what I'd like to be going on here.
The great success on a global level of the first album
a new name, was Danay.
One of the songs she appears on actually with Los Aldeanos
who didn't appear on the first album.
They appeared on the compilation,
but not on the actual production,
and that was brilliant thing, to have them here with Silvito.
A rumba song, more traditional,
in which Aldo does this incredible,
slow, spoken words, melodic piece.
I didn't think he had that in him,
I thought he was more Hip-hop, straight up.
Changito is a special guest on this record.
He's a legend,
played with Los Van Van and gave this whole thing a nice,
sort of you know, a little bit elder statesman,
which I think is also being good about this record.
This record is particularly special to me,
because I feel that for the first time,
I could write a song
that would be a "feeling",
a song of that musical genre.
From the beginning, I've been more associated
with hip hop culture
and although I am still part of the hip hop movement,
I really wanted to write a song that was,
I don't know how to explain it, more melodic, moreĆ
and I think I managed to do that with this record,
I'm very happy with how this record turned out.
Edgaro is a heavy weight producer.
I first met him when he was in Doble Filo's first album,
did some songs.
He's a great representation of today's Cuban youths,
and a brilliant producer.
Vida, which I think is the biggest track that
I made for the album,
is a very, very recognizable sample by Benny More,
because I wanted to sample it in a distinctly MPC, hip hop, Cuban style, right?
When I play a sample that a lot of people recognise,
they quickly work out how you're using it.
So I was really careful about this
and I think I've managed to reinterpret it in a way
that no one has done before.
The difference with the previous record
is that I am also producing for other artists,
other artists who I've worked with and made music with.
I even did a little bit of co-production too
with Gilles,
Something which Osdalgia and el Micha were involved in
She's incredible, and she gives us that kind,
I wanted that kind of Chaka Khan,
sort of Jocelyn Brown,
sort of diva, type of area.
And so, she's delivered that brilliantly
In my house, I have all
the music from Havana Cultura and I love it.
Because it's another way of seeing Cuba
Not only traditional Cuba,
but also the Cuba being created by young people.
This is a fusion of music
that is simply alternative Cuban music
combined with many aspects of world music.
It was really good to get Alexey on two songs,
a straight up Hip-hop tune,
and some spoken word poetry stuff here as well.
I've recorded a song called Sobreviviente.
It's in DJ Simbad's really fun style
mixing hip hop with a tres and drums
and it's really fun and I really love all this
because it gives me a challenge.
I mean, you know, what's beautiful with these things
is that a lot of it is spontaneous, improvisation.
Like you meet people and you decide to do something.
So sometimes you really don't know how it's going to end up.
But the energy and you know, the vibe,
so I really didn't have any expectation with it.
You don't have to focus on one way of making music,
in fact you have to be open to listening to everything
and if you can integrate this into what you do,
it will be great, because a lot of people are going to listen to what you do.
That's without losing your ethics,
your respect for the music,
your sense of quality.
That is really important.
This song is a cha cha cha,
and well, it's basically quite classical, right?
The harmony that Roberto Fonseca put in here.
And well, it's been modernised a little by me and Melvis, bringing it *** up to date, right?
It tells a more playful story
and I for one like it more.
Compilation record of this album is strong.
We had...
I really wanted to give a different twist to the next project,
have some other energies involved.