Recorded in Santiago de Cuba, at the end of Festival del Caribe 2009, “Roots en Route” is the debut album by Proyecto Evocación, formed in Cuba in 2008 out of the collaboration between UK trumpeter/composer Loz Speyer and master Afrocuban percussionist Rafael Cisneros (of Ballet Folklorico Cutumba).
As Santiago is the prime source of so many strands of Cuban music, so this six-piece band weaves together a number of strands in an innovatory way: Cisneros’ percussion arrangements combine rhythms on the Batá drums from Cuban Yoruba heritage, with rhythms on the congas from Cuban popular music, resulting in a fusion both rooted in tradition and yet something quite new. Speyer, who has been staying periodically in Santiago since 2001, and deconstructing Cuban rhythms with his band Time Zone, brings a Jazz compositional element into the mix, which fires up the band with variations quite new to Cuban ears.
The album consists of an original piece by each of the two leaders, and a range of traditional songs – Bolero, Son, Rumba, Merengue, Carnival and Cuban-Yoruba religious music – playfully combined into a cohesive whole. Add the chemistry of a band recording HOT at the end of five days of concerts in ‘Fiesta del Fuego’ and you have the album “Roots en Route – Raices en Viaje”. ENJOY!
"In a producer-oriented era it sounds as simple as if you had made it yourself touring the town's bars with a recording machine… Yet there's a quiet audacity here. An Afro-Cuban dedication to a Yoruban deity of love segues elegantly into a big band classic, Rico Pilon. A hypnotic klezmer song acquires a rumba rhythm… The music grows on you, and the percussion feel is terrific." John Fordham, The Guardian
See the band live on Youtube! In concert at Teatro Heredia, Festival del Caribe July '09, Santiago de Cuba:
SPHERICAL RECORDS
