Tag: Havana Cuba

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Indy Fontaine Teams Up With Charlie Cruz on Swooning “Tú Tienes Algo”

Indy Fontaine is a Cuban-born, Miami-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, who can trace the origins of her career to her early childhood: Singing alongside her uncle and his old guitar, she fell in love with music when she was three. By the time she turned six, she was enrolled full-time at a music school in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, where she trained to be professional vocalist and musician. 

Fontaine went on to graduate at the top of her class from Havana‘s prestigious National School of Art. When she graduated, she already had over a decade of experience playing gigs all across her native Cuba, including music festivals, live radio and TV sessions, and more.

Fontaine then joined Sol y Sun, an act that has played sets across the international music festival circuit between the States and Cuba, as well as some of the most popular venues in Havana. The band was also frequently performed on national TV and radio shows.

The Cuban-born artist relocated to Miami, where she stepped out into the spotlight as solo artist. Her debut, 2024’s Moments of My Life ranged across a number of genres and styles, including Adult Contemporary, Easy Listening, Soft Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock and R&B — with songs written and sung in both English and Spanish.

The album featured “El Amor No Alcanza,” Fontaine’s subtly modern take on bolero, a Cuban genre that frequently focuses on affairs of the heart. Since then, Fontaine spent last year releasing a collection of highly successful singles including “Esta Navidad,” “Vacaciones,” “Mariposas En La Lluvia,” “Mejor Sin Ti,” “Que Te Vaya Bien,” and “Después De La Caída.”

Her latest single, the Andrés Castro and Guianko Gómez co-written and co-produced “Tú Tienes Algo,” sees her collaborating with salsa star Charlie Cruz. The new single is a swooning and euphoric declaration of passionate and complete surrender to love — even if it strikes you as being wildly inexplicable.

The song invites lovers to surrender with the same intensity they bring to the dance floor, to declare their love not just with words, but also with movement.

“‘Tú Tienes Algo’ is about that irresistible, mysterious attraction—and I say mysterious because you can’t explain what that other person has, but you know that when you’re with them, they shake your world,” Fontaine explains. “In the song, this person is asking the other to let themselves be loved because there’s resistance to fully surrendering, perhaps out of fear—that’s why they’re asking to surrender completely to love,” she says.

“This collaboration with Charlie is a dream come true,” said Fontaine. “It was a tremendous honor to share the studio and create music with an artist I deeply admire. To me, Charlie is a salsa icon who has kept the tradition alive in such an authentic way,” she adds.

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rafa Tena Teams Up With Sandra Carrasco on Elegant “Gitano soy”

Madrid-born singer/songwriter, composer and music producer Rafa Tena‘s career started behind the scenes as a lyricist and composer, who wrote a number of internationally recognized hits performed by other artists. Tena has also spent time working as a producer, a musical director for TV, and interestingly enough as an apprentice poet. Talk about a renaissance man, right?

Deeply enamored with Cuban music and culture, Tena has spent lengthy stints residing in Havana, where he collaborated with some of the country’s most prominent artists, before stepping out into the spotlight as a ember of Son DOS, with whom he has plans to release an album inspired by Cuba’s beloved son music.

If you were frequenting this site earlier this year, you might recall that I wrote about “Morcilla,” a collaboration with gypsy band Las Negris, a rowdy and raucous party starting tune, which saw the Madrid-born artist and Las Negris meshing elements of flamenco, tango and Cuban guagancó that featured mischievous lyrics referring morcilla (blood sausage), a beloved delicacy across the Spanish speaking world — with some regional differences in ingredients and how its prepared. The song also is peppered with references to Tena’s travels between Spain and Cuba, making a point of how much food

The Madrid-born artist’s latest single “Gitano soy,” is a collaboration with Sandra Carrasco, a highly sought-after flamenco artist, who has worked with musicians across jazz, classical and contemporary music. The song is an elegant and sophisticated blend of flamenco bolero and pop rock with a gorgeous string arrangement that feels simultaneously old world and contemporary, while rooted in earnest, seemingly lived-in lyricism and performances from Tena and Carrasco.

Directed by Lorena Flores, the accompanying video for “Gitano soy,” is a gorgeous and elegantly shot visual that feels a bit like a travel film-meets-pop music video.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Yeisy Rojas Shares Lush and Reverential “A Mis Ancestros”

I’m currently in Philadelphia for the fourth installment of Asian Arts Initiative’s Sound Type Music Festival and Music Writers Workshop. Of course, the show must go on as much as humanly possible. JOVM is very much like the saying engraved on the James Farley Post Office, which now comprises Moynihan Train Hall, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

So let’s get to it.

Yeisy Rojas is a Cuban-born, Oslo-based, classically trained, jazz violinist, singer/songwriter and composer. Back in her native Cuba, Rojas received a classical education and performed as a violinist with the National Opera Orchestra in Havana. Her passion for jazz led her to relocate to Norway, where she pursued her Masters studies in jazz violin at Kristiansand‘s University of Agder‘s Conservatory.  The cross-cultural experience allowed Rojas to deepen her understanding of the African influences in Cuban music.

As a solo artist, Rojas’ work frequently sees her blending Cuban music, Latin jazz, funk and more with powerful social messages — in particular, she boldly speaks up against racism in her homeland and elsewhere. Her full-length debut, last year’s Gaston Joya-produced A Mis Ancestros featured the previously released “Mama Ines,” an adaptation of Nicolás Guillén’s 1930 poem “Ayer Me Dijeron Negro” (Yesterday They Called Me Black) that pairs the poet’s words with a breezy and soulful arrangement that meshes elements of Latin soul, funk and jazz in a way that reminds me very fondly of the sounds of parties in the South Bronx, Lower East Side, Corona, East Elmhurst and so on.

Rojas has picked up work as a freelance violinist to support her career, playing events across Norway, Sweden and Denmark while earning multiple invitations to perform on Norwegian national radio. Back in 2022, she opened the International Jazz Day Gala at Oslo’s Nasjonal Jazz Scene, playing in front of a full house. The success of that performance inspired the Cuban-born, Oslo-based artist to create her own international jazz celebration, A Vision for Unity which aims to bring together artists from diverse nationalities to promote unity and peace through music. “We all are a family, and no matter where we come from, the only thing we want to do is to live in peace,” the Cuban-born, Oslo-based artist says. “Not because someone came from a dictatorship means that person is the enemy.”

In just its second edition, Rojas’ Vision for Unity has become a highly-anticipated event on the music calendar for local audiences while garnering increased attention from artists’ organizations across the country.

Earlier this year, the Cuban-born, Norwegian artist was highlighted by Billboard as an emerging start and by Rolling Stone en Español as an artist you need to know. Building upon a growing profile within the international Latin music scene, Rojas shares A Mis Ancestros‘ latest single, album title track “A Mis Ancestros” is a gorgeous and soulful synthesis of bebop-era jazz, salsa, son cubano that not only showcases Rojas’ prodigious talent, but proudly and unabashedly displays a deep, reverential pride for her homeland and her ancestry. The song is a fairly autobiographical story that will be familiar for countless immigrants across the world. The nostalgia for the homeland — the language, the dear ones, the smells, the food — not only sparks memories and comparisons, it also sparks a much deeper appreciation for their culture.

Directed by Marcus Støren, the accompanying video for “A Mis Ancestros” follows a young woman, who has bravely made the journey from her homeland to Norway to make a new life for herself. While looking at an old photo of her mother, she manages to travel back in time to reunite with her mother, who reminds her that she’s beautiful and should be proud of herself; that her skin coloring and her curly hair come from the Motherland; that Black is always beautiful. Through his journey, she meets her ancestors, who welcome and guide her.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Indy Fontaine Share Gorgeous Ballad “El Amor No Alcanza”

Indy Fontaine is a Cuban-born, Miami-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, who can trace the origins of her career to her early childhood: Singing alongside her uncle and his old guitar, she fell in love with music when she as three. And by the time she turned six, she was enrolled full-time at music school in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, where she trained to be professional vocalist and musician.

Fontaine went on to graduate at the top of her class from Havana‘s prestigious National School of Art. By the time she graduated, she already had over a decade experience playing gigs all across Cuba, including music festivals, live radio and TV sessions and more.

Upon graduation, she joined Sol y Sun, an act that has played sets across the international music festival circuit between the States and Cuba, including some of the most popular venues in Havana. Sol y Sun also frequented national TV and radio shows.

The Cuban-born singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer relocated to the States, where she steps out into the spotlight as a solo artist. Her forthcoming 11-song, full-length debut reportedly ranges across a number of genres and styles Adult Contemporary, Easy Listening, Soft Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock and R&B — with songs in English and Spanish. The album’s material is rooted in the song-as-story tradition, inspired by love and real life situations.

Fontaine’s latest single “El Amor No Alcanza,” which translates into English as “Love Is Not Enough” is the Cuban-born artist’s subtly modern take on bolero, a genre that originated from Eastern Cuba that frequently focuses on affairs of the heart in a sophisticated fashion. Built around arrangement that features twinkling keys, electric guitar, a gorgeous flute line, along with bongo-driven percussion and serves as a lush bed for Fontaine’s yearning and heartbroken delivery, “El Amor No Alcanza” details the emotional drama of a tumultuous relationship with a seemingly lived-in experience — although it’s informed by a friend’s relationship.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Yeisy Rojays Teams Up with Julito Padrón on Breezy, Soulful and Politically Charged “Mama Ines”

Yeisy Rojas is a Cuban-born, Norwegian-based, classically trained, jazz violinist, singer/songwriter and composer, who played with the National Opera Orchestra in Havana before relocating to Norway back in 2016 to get her master’s degree in jazz violin.

Rojas’ work sees her blending Cuban music, Latin jazz and funk with powerful social messages — in particularly, she speaks up against racism in her homeland. Her latest single “Mama Ines,” which features Julito Padrón is an adaptation of Nicolás Guillén’s 1930 poem “Ayer Me Dijeron Negro” that pairs the poet’s words with a breezy and soulful arrangement that meshes elements of Latin soul, funk and jazz — and reminds me very fondly of the sounds of parties in the South Bronx, Lower East Side, Corona, East Elmhurst and so on.

Music is a weapon and as Rojas explains “My message is specifically for my land Cuba, where I hope there will be more equality and rights for our Afro community.”

The accompanying, gorgeously shot video for “Mama Ines” is shot in what appears to be Havana and features a collection of beautiful dancers, who are represent almost every skin complexion you’d come across in Cuba, revealing the country’s soul, heart and decency.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Italian Percussionist Gabriele Poso Releases a French West Indies Inspired Banger

Gabriele Poso is an acclaimed Italian multi-instrumentalist, master percussionist, Worldwide FM presenter and director of the Yoruba Soul Orchestra. Poso’s musical passion has taken him around the world, Initially to Rome, then to Puerto Rico, Cuba and most recently, Berlin. Between 1998 and 2001. Poso delved deeply into the study of Afro-Cuban percussion — first at Rome’s Timba School of Music, under the guidance of Roberto “Mamey” Evangelista, one of the country’s most important representatives of Afro-Cuban culture and music. In late 2001, Poso relocated to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he attended the Universidad Interamerica de Puerto Rico and continued his studies, which culminated with a masterclass at Havana’s Escuela Nacional de Arte.

Poso’s solo debut 2008’s From The Genuine World was released through Osunlade’s Yoruba Records, which de supported with tours across Europe and elsewhere. His sophomore effort, 2012’s Roots of Soul was released through German label INFRACom! Poso’s third album, 2014’s Invocation was released through German label Agogo Records. 2018’s Awakening was released through British label Barely Breaking Even. 2019’s Batik was released through British label Soundway Records. Interestingly, each album found the Italian percussion looking east, across the Atlantic for inspiration and rhythms.

n October 1, 2021 release through Wonderwheel Recordings. Recorded in Leece, Italy, almost entirely by the Italian master percussionist, the stars of the show are drum and percussion. And much like its predecessors, the album’s material finds Poso continuing to look across the Atlantic for inspiration and rhythms — this time the French West Indies, in particular Guadeloupe and Martinique. “I’m in love with everything about the sound of their drums, it’s very unique warm and deep sound,” Poso explains.

“I put a lot of attention to the sound on this record, exploring new ways for me to record, through analog tape and different analog tools, such as analog delay,” Poso says of the forthcoming 10-song album. “That’s very much present in the whole album and gives a new direction to my sound with a psychedelic touch and a dancefloor attitude that is stronger than the previous album.”

“La Bola,” Tamburo Infinito’s second and latest single features a dancehall and soca friendly bass line, the sort of spaced-out reverb that the late, great Lee “Scratch” Perry would love, exultant horns drenched in reverb, and seemingly infinite layers of Afro Caribbean percussion. The end result is a euphoric, club banger that’s soulful and lovingly crafted.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Atmospheric Sounds and Visuals of Dia’s “Gambling Girl”

Writing and recording under the moniker Dia, Birrittella has began to receive attention for “Gambling Girl,” the latest single off her debut EP Tiny Oceans and as you’ll hear from the new single, Birrittella’s specializes in a moody and lushly orchestral baroque pop-leaning sound in which Birrittella’s ethereal vocals are paired with a subtly droning melody consisting of electric guitar, ukulele, cello and swirling electronics. Thematically speaking the material is inspired by a 12th century Romantic poem written by Kafiristan, in which the poet confesses to his love “since you love me and I love you, the rest matters not.” According to Birrittella, the message of complete surrender and martyrdom for love was a powerful one and it gives “Gambling Girl” a swooning urgency just underneath the surface, while sounding as though it drew from Mazzy Star and Kate Bush.

Directed by Robert Condol, the video is shot in a sort of dreamy series of flashbacks of a desperately and passionately in love couple on a ranch in sunset, riding horses and being romantic in front of a cinematically shot desert vista.