Recorded at Discos Fuentes, Medellín, Colombia
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1 hese days, when being wary of technology makes you look as though you are slightly stuck in the past, music producers Mario Galeano (Frente Cumbiero, Colombia) Tand William Holland (Quantic, UK), decided to return to old techniques in search of the spirit, texture and sound of a time when music perhaps sounded better. With full conviction, these two producers, who are like graduates in a school of researchers who look for what lies hidden in the grooves of old vinyl LPs, give us Ondatrópica, a master-class of craftsmanship shaped into sound. As a music lover and member of Colombian Public Radio, I consider myself privileged to have witnessed the intense and joyous recording sessions of Ondatrópica in the Discos Fuentes studios during January 2012. Few things in life are as priceless as seeing with your own eyes—and hearing with your own ears—Pedro ‘Ramayá’ Beltran conjuring up modernity in a rap; colourful Michi Sarmiento behind his sax and singing like he did back in the sixties with the Combo Bravo; Markitos Micolta serenading us on why he wants to live to be a hundred years old; or accordionist Aníbal ‘Sensación’ Velásquez paying the respect he deserves to the great Andrés Landero. And there was nothing more satisfying than to see everyone show how our musical heritage is a vehicle for a cross-over of generations, sound traditions, and infl uences. I know that listeners worldwide will gladly embrace this piece of Colombia materialized on an LP, and also this timeless gathering of our nation’s musical talent: Guepajé! Jaime Andrés Monsalve Musical Director, Radio Nacional de Colombia 2 3 AN INTRODUCTION BY WILL HOLLAND & MARIO GALEANO: fter several years of working in and around Colombian tropical music, we were given the opportunity to create a large-scale project involving an iconic selection of Colombian musicians in a classic and mythical studio Asetting, using completely analogue recording equipment and benefi ting from an inter-generational meeting between the new and the old guard. We were looking to re-confi rm the music of old in a progressive setting, to create a space in which to re-interpret the tropical musical heritage of Colombia with new approaches in composition, arrangement and production. In the infancy of our planning for Ondatrópica, we had fi rst to decide where all this music would be recorded, and Discos Fuentes was our number one choice. Jamaica has Studio One, England has Abbey Road and Colombia has Discos Fuentes. Although steeped in history, we visited Fuentes to fi nd that it was being under- exploited and rarely used for recordings with more than three musicians at a time. This was no fault of Fuentes, just a sad phenomenon that is typical of all studios of this age in Colombia. We agreed that there was something magical within the Fuentes rooms, and although several decades on from its original analogue splendour, we were lured in by the spirits of past recordings made within those very walls. The next stage was to prepare a list of the musicians to invite. A concerted effort was made to invite musicians who we felt had made 4 a particularly important contribution to tropical music history in Colombia. To a regular Colombian, some are not exactly household names, or certainly haven’t been for a long time. However, in their own time and in their own way these musicians were some of the most innovative; they took risks, invented new rhythms and approaches to music and were the architects of a sound that has since become recognised worldwide. For us, this was a very emotional experience: this was an opportunity to meet our idols, learn from them; eating, living and recording in the same creative space for three weeks. As important as it was to invite these master musicians, we wanted also to invite a selection of talented young musicians from the new generation who have immersed themselves in tropical Colombian music today; to create an atmosphere of true musical discussion, learning and exchange. 5 6 7 t was in the early part of January 2012 that the logistics of transplanting a good ton of recording equipment, organizing an extensive original repertoire, and making arrangements for getting thirty-fi ve musicians to Medellín, were fi nally complete. IIt became a pilgrimage of creative energy. On arrival in MedellÍn, we were met by Mario Rincón and his son Luis, long-time engineers at Studio Fuentes and integral to the recording. First we unpacked the crated tape machines and equipment sent ahead from Will’s Sonido del Valle studio. We then had two days to prepare the studio space, plug in the equipment, fi ght with patch-bays and buzzing cables, perform some last minute soldering and collectively scratch our heads. From that day on we entered the roller-coaster schedule of recording, with several musicians entering and exiting Medellín every couple of days. Our initial desire to keep the variety of the record moving along meant that we recorded by day and then composed last-minute material by night. In turn, there were new musicians entering the room each day, entailing new microphone layouts and additional equipment changes. We had intended to record a dozen songs and then return to Bogotá but we actually ended up with three times that amount of material. This whole process resulted in more than we had hoped for, as we had made new friends amid an atmosphere of mutual respect, and by the end of the three weeks everyone left with a sense that something very special had occurred. This kind of common creative spirit was once an everyday occurrence under the roofs of the Discos Fuentes headquarters and the many other recording houses of the day, so it felt immensely fulfi lling to be resurrecting this sense of musical union and prosperity. The recording that you hold in your hands is the sum effort and devotion of forty-two musicians sharing a unique creative journey: a portrait of an exceptional musical encounter that will stay with us forever. Mario Galeano and Will Holland 8 9 10 ARTISTS Mario Galeano Will Holland Michi Sarmiento Fruko Anibal Velásquez Pedro Ramayá Born in Bogotá, Mario has been involved Will is a British multi-instrumentalist and The crowned godfather of Ondatrópica, his Fruko, the brain-child of the Fuentes Studio, The infamous Costeño accordion-playing At eighty-two, Pedro Ramayá was the oldest in Colombian tropical music projects since producer who moved to Colombia in 2006 spirit really came out during our days at the was one of the top progressive minds of don and singer joined us for two days of of our guests and the one who brought all the late nineties. Under the name Frente from the UK. Known for his prolifi c work studio. Unique melodic phrasing and a strong the seventies with projects such as Fruko y recording adventures. Barranquilla-born and the ancestral, indigenous sound of the caña Cumbiero he has collaborated with many of under the Quantic productions umbrella he tone are just a few of his aces. A true musical sus Tesos, Afrosound and Wganda Kenya. one of the most prolifi c musicians of all time de millo. Besides his masterful millo playing, the key fi gures of the transnational cumbia was taught accordion by Anibal Velasquez esoteric, he could feel the vibe of such tunes Fortunately, we got him so interested in our to come out of Latin America, he is known we got him to do the fi rst rap of his life. scene. The band is regarded nowadays as amongst others after settling in Cali and now as ‘Iron Man’ (which, of course, he had project that he joined us for much longer for his fast guarachas, unique style and for Pedro was one of the fi rst Atlantic Folkloric one of the most forward thinking new cumbia Bogotá. His Los Miticos del Ritmo, Flowering never heard before), stating: “that melody than originally planned, treating us, between literally hundreds of 78s, LPs and 45s that he musicians to record for Philips Colombia, ensembles ever to come out of Colombia. Inferno and Combo Barbaro projects have has message”. Michi is the son of the late sessions, with fruit salads and papayuela recorded over a fi fty-year career. Fuentes & Felito Records. As a composer, researcher, vinyl collector, all met with recent critical acclaim. Climaco Sarmiento (1960s Discos Fuentes in- desserts prepared with his own hands. university teacher, bassist and guacharaquero house arranger and clarinetist/saxophonist he keeps very busy. in the Orchestras of both Pacho Galan and Lucho Bermudez) Mario Rincón Markitos Micolta Wilson Viveros Nidia Góngora Freddy Colorado Eblis Álvarez He is an engineer, producer, vinyl-mastering Known as ‘The fi rst voice of the Pacifi c Wilson has been a key member of the Nidia, from the river village of Timbiquí Freddy is a reveared percusionist born and One of the key fi gures of the experimental engineer, studio-don and also Fruko´s uncle. coast’, he has recorded and performed with Colombian music scene since the sixties. He in Cauca, has been a key collaborator for bred in Cali, Valle del Cauca. His fi rst outing music scene of Bogotá, he has twice won the The super-heavy sound he gave to Discos the pioneering band Peregoyo y su Combo started as a young drummer in his father’s Quantic projects, as well as having her own was with ‘Renacer Antillano’ a nineties salsa Colombian National Award of Composition Fuentes recordings during the seventies Vacana since the sixties.