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| AfroCubism | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by AfroCubism | |
| Released | 2 November 2010 |
| Recorded | 2010 |
| Studio | Sonoland Studios, Madrid, Spain |
| Genre | Son cubano, Mande music |
| Label | World Circuit |
| Producer | Nick Gold |
AfroCubism is a Grammy-nominated [1] album featuring musical collaborations between musicians from Mali and Cuba. It was released in 2010.
The album was recorded for the World Circuit label by producer Nick Gold and engineer Jerry Boys at Sonoland Studios, Madrid, Spain, in 2010. [2] Mixing and mastering was done at Livingston Studios, London & FB Music and Media, Fareham.[ citation needed ]
The idea behind AfroCubism was the original concept for the Buena Vista Social Club album of 1997, which featured many of the same Cuban musicians. This concept however, was thwarted when the Cuban visas for the Malian musicians were delayed in the post, [3] and producer Nick Gold instead called on the services of Ry Cooder, whom he had recorded with Ali Farka Touré for the 1994 World Circuit release Talking Timbuktu . [4] The album captures the rhythmic and melodic patterns that are common to traditional West African and Afro-Cuban music. [5] The musicians involved in AfroCubism already had successful careers through participation in the Buena Vista Social Club or as solo artists. [6] The project has subsequently toured around the world as a successful live show. [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [8] |
| Uncut | [9] |
The album was praised by AllMusic reviewer James Allen, who described it as "a true musical meeting of minds between the two cultures [Cuban and Malian]". [8]
Ryland Peter Cooder is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.
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Buena Vista Social Club is a studio album by Buena Vista Social Club, an ensemble of Cuban musicians directed by Juan de Marcos González and American guitarist Ry Cooder. Produced by Cooder, it was recorded at Havana's EGREM studios in March 1996 and released on September 16, 1997, through World Circuit internationally and Nonesuch Records in the United States. It is the only standard studio album exclusively credited to the Buena Vista Social Club.
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World Circuit is a British world-music record label, established in London in the mid-1980s, that specializes in Cuban and West African recording artists, among other international music stars. The label's founding principle was to be an artist-led company with all aspects of each release tailored to the artist. This continues to be the label's way of working. World Circuit celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006 by releasing World Circuit Presents..., a 2-disc retrospective compilation album. In 2018, World Circuit was acquired by BMG Rights Management.
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Juan de Marcos González is a Cuban bandleader, musician and actor, best known for his work with the Buena Vista Social Club and in the 2021 Sony Pictures Animation film Vivo as the voice of Vivo's owner, Andrés.
Manuel "Puntillita" Licea was a Cuban popular singer. Puntillita was active in the 1940s and 1950s, and later gained notice when he joined other elderly Cuban musicians to form the Afro-Cuban All Stars and the associated group of singers who recorded the Buena Vista Social Club with American guitarist Ry Cooder.
Manuel Galbán was a Grammy-winning Cuban guitarist, pianist and arranger, most notable for his work with Los Zafiros, Ry Cooder and the Buena Vista Social Club. He died on July 7, 2011, of cardiac arrest at his home in Havana, Cuba.
Ali Ibrahim "Ali Farka" Touré was a Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African continent's most internationally renowned musicians. His music blends traditional Malian music and its derivative, African American blues and is considered a pioneer of African desert blues. Touré was ranked number 76 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and number 37 on Spin magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Lost and Found is a compilation album, and the third under the Buena Vista Social Club name, released on March 25, 2015 on World Circuit Records and Nonesuch Records. It is a mixture of leftover tracks from the Egrem studio sessions, and from a string of dates through the late 1990s and early 2000s, and live performances from the band in the years that followed.
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Nick Gold is a British record producer, multi-instrumentalist and music executive. He is the former CEO of World Circuit Records and the organiser of Buena Vista Social Club, a Cuban musical ensemble which he established in 1996. Gold is a two time Grammy Award winner. In 2006, The New York Times described him as a "Musical Matchmaker".
