Barcelona

For quite some time DJ Txarly Brown has been enjoying immense success remixing Catalan Rumba-Funk of the seventies. This inspired the group Ai Ai Ai, who set the tone in their day, to put together a reunion. Asférico & Reparto Caribe mix Laptop-Clicks with Latin-Jazz, while Bradien completes the program with „summery folk ease“(„De:Bug“).

Barcelona can almost challenge Berlin as a Mecca for the global electronic scene. At the same time, the Catalan metropolis is known for softer, dreamier pop sounds. The shining example is the group Bradien. But there is also another movement which is based on the city’s almost forgotten, yet highly interesting, musical past. In the mid-twentieth century, it was the birthplace of the Catalan Rumba, which drew on various Latin, Funk and Soul influences, but above all, from elements of Gypsy music and became one of the most popular musical directions in Spain in the 60s and 70s. The success of the compilation series “Achilifunk“, which has been dedicated to this music for some years now, not only spawned a range of remixes and digitally modernized versions of this style, it also prompted some of its old protagonists to resume their professional careers. If ever proof were needed of Barcelona’s vocal diversity, the project Asférico & Reparto Caribe delivers it: a unique experiment, in which laptop sounds meet Latin Jazz.

AiAiAi

The resurrection of one of the defining Rumba-Catalana combos, digitally reinvented: and featuring Gypsy guitarist Rafaelito Salazar, whi toiured with the Rumba legend Gato Perez. David Torras also plucks the strings in the typical “Ventilador“ style, combining rhythm and melody with hand movements that fan the air. Pep Lladó is responsible for equally extreme beats and samples. Their fiesta motto sums them up: “We are scurrilous, not politically correct and a danger to the bar“.

Website of AiAiAi | Ai Ai Ai on Facebook

DJ Txarly Brown

He was the one whose albums triggered the “Latin Ska Fever“ in Spain. And it was his “Achilifunk Gypsy Soul“ compilation that launched the revival of the Rumba Catalana. Txarly Brown – note that the Catalan Tx is pronounced like the English Ch – mixes the classics of the genre with Dub basses and HipHop beats – live.

Txarly Brown on Facebook | Soundcloud

Asférico + Reparto Caribe

Can abstract Clicks & Cuts and juicy Latin Jazz go together? This project has the answer. Percussionist Fran Palomo and pianist Cristian Torres project's "Reparto Caribe", which is made up of more renowned Latin Jazz musicians, join forces with Álex Gámez. Gámez alias Asférico is well-known as the front man of “Störung“ (“Malfunction”), a musical ensemble and festival for “Música electrónica minimalista y experimental“.

Website of Asférico

Reparto Caribe on YouTube

Bradien

This experimental and tropicalistic trio – just back from the first Sonár event in Chicago – deconstructs its own idea of pop with a kind of tangled yet seductive Origami technqiue. De:Bug recently hailed the “summery folk lightness“ of the organ-dominated sound collages.

Bradien on Facebook| Vimeo| Soundcloud

Chosen by Detlef Diederichsen

In Cooperation with the In-Edit Festival and www.catalanarts.cat