Aprietan los cubanos en Francia

Currently #1 on Radio Timba ( http://timba.com.radio ) is a new, auto-biographical  track entitled "Lucharé".  If you listen, Tirso Duarte tells you...

"Sé que muchos se preguntan que me ha pasado, que si me he vuelto loco, que si estoy acabado, que si todavía estoy cantando y con quien ..... (I know many are wondering what happened to me, if I went crazy, if I'm finished, if I'm still singing and with who...)"

Well the answers are all laid out in this new release "Tirso Duarte y la Mecánica Loca" (Agorila).

Recorded in France and released by the French label Agorila, the album is a collaboration between Tirso and an award winning percussionist and band-leader Julien Garin. While we are already very familiar with Tirso, whose previos employers include la Charanga Habanera, Pupy y los que Son Son and the Afro-Cuban All Stars, the story behind this album begins with Julien's visit to Cuba in 2010. Their friendship grows into this musical collaboration, the eventual release and upcoming tour. 

Here's the full track list with some brief commentary:
1- Lucharé - as already discussed, this track is auto-biographical, both an introduction and affirmation of the project

2- Que te vaya bién - don’t be fooled by the light, poppy intro, this hard-hitting track features Tirso’s soaring vocals in the style of Te molesta que sea féliz from Pupy’s Que cosas tiene la vida. This is my favorite track on the record.

3- Vagabundo - cool lyrics with excellent compound coros with intertwined pregones, interesting pedal at 3:36

4- A lo loco titi – nice versos with the bass doubling the vocal melody, catchy piano / bass montuno for the main coro, great in-the-pocket snare / bass drum work 

5- Te lo agradezco pero no – very clever cover of Spanish pop superstar Alejandro Sanz tune, rumba intro and verses, verse harmony (chords) reminiscent of motown, smooth male/female vocal harmonies in the verses, catchy coro=pregón

6- La luna – straight-up timba from Tirso dedicated to the people of the night, excellent kick drum work on the breakdown leading to killer bomba at 3:08, the section after that has that Calle Real style and their influence is palpable there  

7-Los herederos – funky motivo (piano & bass in unison) for the verse, interesting bata-backed folkloric influenced section towards the end, borderline pitch problems with the second male lead voice accompanying Tirso

8- Herido de amor – a lighter timba love song in a happy major key, recalls early Charanga Habanera vibes

9- Soy de allí – an effort at a romantic pop balled, it has to be some kind of “vanity track”, can’t understand why it’s even on the record as it sounds like a half-baked demo, lead vocal takes are ridden with pitch problems, the only disappointing tune on the album, why isn’t Tirso on lead vocal here? 

Musician Credits on "Tirso Duarte y La Mecánica Loca"
Tirso Duarte - lead vocals
Julien Garin - timbales, bongos, bata , percussions
Edouard Bertrnad - piano
Sylvain Cazéres - bass
Jérome Martineau - drumset
Florent Pepino Tisseyre - congas
Nicolas Gardel - trumpet
Benjamin Fernández - trumpet
Jérome Capdepont - trombone
Olivier Sabatier - trombone
Ángel Yos Quiros - vocals, coros 
Martha Martica Galarraga - coros
Yoslando Quintana - coros

** a special congratulations to the rhtythm section on this record
  

Also from France and making the rounds on YouTube is a project from trumpeter / band-leader Alexander Batte called "Cuban Monsters". Based in Paris, their first single "La Rumba La Pongo Yo" features some excellent bass playing and mambos on this blend of traditional son / salsa that leads into a heavy timba coro-pregón. Enjoy! 

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