New Music: Uproot Andy, MAKU Soundsystem, & LPT
02 December, 2019We’ve got new music by two of our favorites, NYC’s Uproot Andy and MAKU Soundsystem, as well as some new heat by a 10-piece orchestra out of Jacksonville, Florida.
NYC/Montreal: Uproot Andy & Pierre Kwenders via Moonshine, ‘Gbadolite’
Montreal’s Moonshine collective is celebrating its 5th anniversary with parties and performances by special guests hailing from all corners of the world. But that’s not all. “Gbadolite,” a song by singer-songwriter Pierre Kwenders and Brooklyn-based DJ and producer Uproot Andy, is their gift to us.
“Gbadolite“ is a reference to the city bearing the same name located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “This is a tribute to Gbadolite. A city full of potential and growth during Mobutu’s reign, but lost everything and had become a bit of a ghost town since Mobutu’s departure,” says Kwenders, who was born in Kinshasa and later made Canada his home.
The festive, rhythmic piece—written in Lingala—has its roots in Congolese rumba. The guitar, is played by none other than Uproot Andy himself.
“‘Gbadolite’ was inspired by our love of Congolese rumba and soukous. We wrote the song at my apartment in New York right after I had come back from carnival in Barranquilla, Colombia, where soukous is cranked out of speakers on street corners at all hours,” he says.
Listen to “Gbadolite” below, or at your favorite streaming platform.
Colombia/NYC: MAKU Soundsystem, ‘Contra Tambor’
One of the original catalysts of Latinx music in New York City, MAKU Soundsystem has been the connective tissue for several creative projects, bands and community roots for over a decade. As a group with a rotating membership, they’ve recorded multiple albums both DIY and for worldwide labels. The inspiring atmosphere has nurtured several notable musicians and acts over the years, including members of Combo Chimbita, Dilemastronauta, Bulla en el Barrio, Leon Brothers and Prince of Queens.
Now down to a core group of three musicians, alongside percussionist Moris Cañate, MAKU and Names You Can Trust have finally teamed up for a vinyl edition after many years of collaborative shows and connections. Perhaps their rawest and darkest recordings to date, this stripped down quartet is an ode to the creative source of their core members, lead singer & bassist Juan Ospina, drummer Andres Jimenez and guitarist Camilo Rodriguez.
The A-side, “Culebra Coral” is a snakebitten taste of la cumbia, played with an experience and restraint that only enhances the end result. It’s a free driven approach born from familiar experimentation, rather than modern day trends — a singular jam, refined from years of playing together. The B-side, “Contra Tambor,” is emblematic of the group’s roots in the traditional sounds of la tambora, a drum-forward percussive arrangement that follows Jimenez and Cañate on a free-driven approach to the ritualistic movements of the drums, this time drowned with an antidote of analog FX, synthesized glitches and atmospheric coros.
Listen to both tracks via the Bandcamp link below and snatch the 45 over at Names You Can Trust.
Jacksonville, Fl: LPT, ‘Sin Parar’
LPT is a fast rising 10-piece orchestra out of Jacksonville, Florida who are quickly becoming the ambassadors of Salsa and Afro-Cuban music in the Southeast. We’ll be able to hear more of their high energy and thought provoking take on salsa dura on their upcoming debut album Sin Parar, due out in the new year.
LPT was formed in 2015. As for what the band name stands for, it’s a bit of a mystery. Some members say it is simply three letters that stand side by side. Others offer more surreptitious and hilarious definitions.
In the meantime, listen to their latest, “Sin Parar,” below.
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