CUMBANCHA PRESENTS
“Lemvo and his band, Makina Loca, manage a blend of Cuban and Central African traditions that is seamless and organic - and infectious.” - The Los Angeles Times
ARTIST: Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca TITLE: La Rumba SoYo FILE UNDER: Africa/World CAT. NO.: CMB-CD-31 890846 00131 2
Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca’s new album, La Rumba SoYo, is a multinational undertaking that was recorded on three continents and in four countries (US, Canada, France and Angola). It took Lemvo three years to complete and sees him diving even deeper into his Angolan roots for inspiration. La Rumba SoYo, retains the band’s appealing salsa meets soukous grooves and blends them with Angolan rhythms and styles.
www.makinaloca.com www.cumbancha.com La Rumba SoYo, the new album from Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, as a tribute to the daughter of one of Lemvo’s Angolan friends. In is a multinational undertaking that was recorded on three conti- this kizomba, a popular Angolan rhythm similar to Caribbean zouk, nents and in four countries (US, Canada, France and Angola). It took Lemvo sings “Oh, beautiful Simone. Lock me out of the house. Make Lemvo three years to complete and sees him diving even deeper me sleep on the sofa. I will still love you.” into his Angolan roots for inspiration. While Lemvo explores Angolan styles on La Rumba SoYo, he does With his band Makina Loca, the Los Angeles-based singer produces not abandon the salsa, soukous and son that has long defined the an appealing blend of African and Cuban music that has earned him Makina Loca sound. “Santo António do Zaire” (Saint Anthony of a worldwide following. Lemvo’s early recordings drew mainly from Zaire) kickstarts the album with a smooth mix of Cuban son mon- Congolese rumba and soukous mixed with Cuban son and salsa. His tuno and Congolese rumba. It is based on a traditional song that 1998 hit “Mambo Yo Yo,” which appeared on the first of two albums tells of a young woman who prays for a child and a better life. She he released on Putumayo, can be heard to this day pouring out of calls on Saint Anthony of Zaire to help her improve her situation. taxicabs and on salsa club dance floors in Cartagena, New York, To- kyo, Paris and beyond. Some of the songs on La Rumba SoYo may have heady themes, but that’s certainly not the case of the album’s title track, which is a Lemvo hails from M’Banza-Kongo, Zaire in Northern Angola. He straight-up party song designed to get people moving. The infec- grew up in Congo-Kinshasa where he was introduced to Cuban mu- tious mix of Caribbean merengue and Congolese soukous is des- sic by a cousin who owned a large collection of vintage Cuban LPs. tined to make “Rumba SoYo” one of the feel-good anthems of the Lemvo came to the US more than 30 years ago to pursue a law de- year. “I am the rumba king. Come with me and we’ll dance the night gree but ended up devoting his life to music. Since forming his band away.” Makina Loca in 1990, Lemvo has toured extensively in Europe, Aus- tralia, Latin America, and Africa and released six previous albums. “Kari Kuyéyé” is a son montuno that Lemvo co-wrote with long time arranger and collaborator Jesús “El Niño” Pérez, who also sings and While Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca made their name with a blend plays piano on the track. On the upbeat salsa track “El Caburnacho” of Cuban and Congolese music, Lemvo eventually decided to ex- Lemvo sings in Portuñol, a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish, plore the Angolan styles and languages he also heard while grow- about a man trying to convince a high-class woman that she’s not ing up in the Congo. He began singing in Portuguese and indig- out of his league. “Tudia Tunua” is based on an old Congolese song enous Angolan languages, and adding Angolan rhythms such as that is often sung at funerals, but this soukous version is likely to semba and kizomba to his mix. With a number of successful albums raise the dead. Lemvo sings “Let’s eat, let’s drink, but there’s a time to his name, and having performed on some of the world’s greatest and place for everything.” stages, his musical career took an unexpected turn about a decade ago when he suddenly became a household name in Angola. What La Rumba SoYo also features the mutuashi beats of “E Moyo,” which began as a personal artistic journey led him to be embraced by the was originally recorded by the legendary Congolese singer Tabu Angolan public and his life in music began a surprising new chapter. Ley Rochereau in 1967. The romantic “Bolero Medley VF” is a fu- sion of classic ballads by Cuban legend Vicentico Valdez and Con- Today Angola has become one of the world’s fastest-growing golese icon Franco Luambo. La Rumba SoYo ends with a bang as economies. Music is an essential part of the country’s cultural life. Lemvo reprises one of his most popular songs. On this version of Interestingly, Angola’s recording industry still has thriving record “Samba Luku Samba (Rumba Remix)” Lemvo adds a new bass line stores and is one of the few African countries where legal CDs are and arrangement that completes a song he never felt was as well- still prevalent in spite of the rampant piracy. Local musicians have produced as he wanted it to be. This version is now up to Lemvo’s developed a unique sales strategy to beat piracy; every weekend, exacting standards. musicians en masse bring their CDs to a series of outdoor markets, where they perform to backing tracks nonstop from morning until With La Rumba SoYo, Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca have created an evening. Some artists can sell up to 2,000 CDs a day to the throngs exciting new album that retains their appealing salsa meets soukous of music fans that show up to the many such markets. Lemvo’s mu- grooves and blends them with the Angolan rhythms and styles that sic is now in high demand in Angola, and he is invited there to per- have been such an inspiration to Lemvo in recent years. form numerous times a year.
Three songs from the new album, “Dikulusu,” “Padre George,” and La Rumba SoYo Track Listing “Simone CM,” were written in collaboration with Angolan songwrit- ers. With his increasing fame, Lemvo has built strong relationships 1 Santo António do Zaire 4:08 with revered Angolan musicians and composers. Songwriter Adão 2 4:49 Filipe is the director of the National Radio of Angola. A fan of Filipe’s Dikulusu work, Lemvo asked him for some lyrics and the result was “Dikulusu” 3 Rumba SoYo 4:52 (A Heavy Cross). Fellow Angolan Ndulo Kituxi, who is well known in local music circles, composed the music. It is a humorous song 4 Kari Kuyéyé 4:55 in three languages (Portuguese, Kikongo and Kimbundu) about a man who complains to his ex-wife about the alimony he pays her 5 E Moyo 4:50 ending up in her new husband’s pocket, “Dikulusu” begins with an accordion-led Angolan semba rhythm then shifts effortlessly into a 6 Padre George 4:45 Congolese rumba. 7 Bolero Medley VF 5:52 Lemvo co-wrote “Padre George” (Father George) with the renowned 4:30 Angolan artist Kyaku Kyadaff. The laid-back rumba, which features 8 El Caburnacho the nimble guitar work of Huit Kilos Nseka from the Congo, tells of a 9 Simone CM 4:45 man who seeks the advice of a priest to help him turn his life around. “Tell me, tell me, Padre George, what sin have I committed? Please 10 Tudia Tunua 4:37 tell me, what shall I do to get out of this mess?” The third Angolan-in- fluenced track is Simone“ CM,” which was written with Caló Pascoal 11 Samba Luku Samba (RUMBA REMIX) 4:20