MUSIC PREVIEW
The heat is on ~
Colourful, noisy, wild and sexy. No. not The List's annual party. but Edinburgh‘s first Latin Carnival, an overdose of rhythm and dance courtesy of Heartbeat World Music. Assembly Rooms and Club Latino.
All over the Caribbean and Central and South America, this is the time of year for Camival. traditionally the ultimate blowout before the self- imposed strictures of Lent. Even New Orleans‘ Mardis Gras is an expression
continuing theifcumng ofthe same collision of Spain. : . g .
EfogiuZZ‘ge‘thmigmg and Portugal, France andthe other Catholic 3 -I ‘ g .' a g g ' "
imaginative music} European cultures with African ‘ "'“ Mm ‘ "
making from one of polyrhythm. and the druniculture ol Roberto Pla skins the skins at the Latin Carnival Britain’s most anmem Afrlcan'bascd rellglous SCCIS- POiSOHCd b)’ ilCl‘§(‘1'i‘ilSC(i hilllUCinUgL‘n Brazil‘s national sport. Well. it‘s not — adventurous orchestras', In these SOCiCliCS, IhC drum-S C11” UP Closely related to LSD). and like (‘apocira is. This astonishing martial the BBC Scottish . spin'ts. These rhythms were sacred and contemporary rave culture. the urge to alt/dun“, pert-("med m mp 5%.“, l“. tht Symphony orchesua 8W8 powerful. When Cuban perCUSSioniSIS lose oneself in a sea of dancers is deep-- group l’asso a l’asso \vas evolved bv waxigrlodfgggfxfiy The first became involved in modern. . rooted and. obviously. hugel)‘ ' West African slaves. ' William Sweeney. Based American Jazz. through Dizzy Gillespie enjoyable. \\e ie not talking [Northern The music. till 33m. at our own Latin on Sorley Maclean's and O‘herst there were Chfirgcs 0f Hemisphere. highly-structurcd folk Carnival is supplied by locals in the poem ofthe same name. it betrayal and even mysterious deaths. ln dancing. formalised and symbolic. form of Edinburgh Samba school and is a substantial work — at COMCIUPOMF)’ times. 21 WOFId-CILLSS Carnival is the opposite. Explicit, the recorded dance beats of Club
least 35 minutes in length bandleader and pfifCUSSiOUiSI like Tim sensuous. rhythmic and erotic a I Latino, and the bands are led bv
- for orchestra, soprano Puente, who first rose to prominence in celebration of the spirit and the body. Colombian maestro timbales player andpamone' ""5 a the 19505. is a priest of the Santeria If. in the melting pot of Brazil, Al‘ro- Robeito Pitt and his ihtttiontxtseti Zigagvotvmfh‘iggfifyof sect. O . . I Latin music flourishes in its widest dozen strong Latin .laxz Ensemble and. Made-ah himself The unsophisticated. functional musrc sense, Cuba is the epicentre of this in a change to the programme. considers to be one of his at the fiesta, processrons, religious original World Music. The (‘uban ‘son‘ Tumbaito is a hardalriving ten-piece two best poems; explains festivals and carnival was tipico. all form is based on the syncopated salsa band playing music from Pueito Sweeney. ‘The poem, performed on drums and percussion. rhythms ‘claves‘ which give name to Rico, Columbia, Venezuela and Cuba. which like tnost of Sorley Unlike the attitude in the Protestant the two hard“ ood percussion sticks There is Mexican and Spanish food. Maclean's work is in North, relaxed Spanish attitudes which underpin the music. Out of Masks are on sale at the door. giant 038110. 1§ab0Ut39 513.112” allowed the slaves their drums and guyaguanco and son evolved the rumba carnival puppets are being constructed. figfovrssiétcgejl‘laeliggxia dancing, and the music gradually anti mambo. Latcr species like andthe organisers invite you to really the poem for a long time became incorporated into the regular maracata. samba. Conga and salsa (and get into the spirit of it and come in
and had always been Catholic festivals. . . salsa s variants cumbia and mcrengue) costume. (Norman Chalmers)
drawn to it. maybe not As in the outbreaks of daneing frenzy with brass. reeds and layered vocals are
quite understanding it, but in "‘3 Middle Ages (only Partly now popular worldwide. The Latin C'tmtirti/ takes ])/(l('(’ at the knowing that there is explained by blighted rye bread You might expect football to be I Asanlily Rooms. lz't/t'iilnnjeli (m Sat 25.
something important behind it. The sound that it makes through its
variety and colour is reall somethin .‘ . Mzilclean grewgup on the J yf I i‘ island of Raasay, which 0 u ~ - t t . or u at at at - it lies bletnéeeln Siye and the - . ' ’ ‘ u it u "E :- mainan. 00m to I. Skye. the landsca§e is j. ' '. ; i . A: . 1". datainggd by the Cuilling, ' 1 . ‘ ' V t . w i e in t e scattere * ~ i settlements of Ram” Wall, is they is or is they ain’t west coast the young Franco’s answer to The Pogues? Much Maclean's view was of the like the London Irish rabble-rouseis, woods, at that time still in Les legrosses have taken traditional their deliberately planted tunes, beefed them up, spiced the W“? 0f "med WOOdIaHd- brow with contemporary issues and .As a young "V"? ‘1‘ "‘9. inloctcd them into the malnstrean, making a bastardised, loucho form of a tremendous sense of folk palatable for the masses. But foreboding, just waiting to there the similarities and somewhat be. called-up. In the poem, abruptly. thifhictifia Isovgaapped up Where The Pogues’ music was often W! e W Waiting to downbeat and soamy, Les Negrosses’ be ‘3‘" dowm 3° he uses songs are shot through with sunshine = "'. ” ' « thgggtig‘igfggengpd, the and scum," Emomn sparkle, a 0n the up and up: Les Negresses Vertcs Enuch of his chil‘gfiooffor direct result of the influences exerted Their gigs have a reputation for being the melancholy of drunkenness. the focus of what he was by their various places of birth dotted wild, uninhibited affairs, although However, Les Negresses are silk shirt- feeling in his own life" around the Mediterranean. All nine there are ditterences between their wearing groovers rather than barflies. says Sweeney. The wood members of the band bring their own concerts here and those in France as ‘Drunkenness is everywhere,’ wascut down at the divorce Ideas to the melting pot and guitarist Stephane Mellino points out. Stephane concurs, ‘but there is not kgfinnéwozfd‘he w.” for the end product blonds the tram of ‘Thc audienccs’ ways of responding to only alcohol-induced drunkenness. :Splgwgin patdgézr‘g‘r Spanish guitars with big, bright brass the band are quite different. In France, You can be drunk on emotions and Main) ' section and the same sum or the we need to be more energetic than sentiments to the point where you are The BBC 550 Play The accordion. throw in some Latin musical. In Britain we need to be as not yourselt anymore.’ (Jonathan Trow) Woods OfRaamy'a, City Morten mm; and the stage I; set musical as we are energetic.’ Hall. Glasgow on Thurs for a contemporary and stylish A lot of their songs deal with either Les Negresses Vertes play The Garage, 9. W. the joyful delirium of drunkenness or Glasgow on Mon 27.
38 The List 24 Feb-9 Mar 1995