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"For his return to the foreground, Carlos Santana draws his inspiration from the roots of African culture."
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4/5
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Carlos Santana is a legend known to almost everyone, but paradoxically it is quite difficult to mention titles beyond the classics 'Europa', 'Oye Como Va', 'Black Magic Woman' or 'Maria Maria'. Yet the Mexican has a rich career of 25 albums that began 50 years ago with "Santana". For musicians, Santana is a recognizable touch and musicality and the one that has made PRS guitars famous. For all of us, Santana is an endearing and friendly character. Although the guitarist has been more discreet in recent years, he has nevertheless produced music at a very steady pace. Between his latest album, "Santana IV" in 2016, and today, it is the meeting with the versatile producer Rick Rubin, capable of advising both Eminem and AC/DC, that will be decisive.
To acknowledge that his career needs a new lease of life would be exaggerated, but that's a bit of that when you turn to Rick Rubin. This collaboration will effectively unleash the Mexican's creative mind who recorded about fifty songs in ten days of studio time. Rubin will not upset the Santana style but rather encourage him to support the rhythmic components of his compositions by recording an original album with Afro-Latin sounds. Percussion is a major dimension of "Africa Speaks" that can be heard from the very beginning, inviting the listener to penetrate deep, mystical and mysterious Africa, with its arabic tonalities and exalted songs. Santana gives a new amplitude to his world music whose anchor could be embodied by a 'Batonga' in his purest Latin-rock-fusion style and his aphelion would be 'Luna Hechicera' with strong blufunk connotations by Keziah Jones.
"Africa Speaks" is also the discovery of a bewitching voice. Buika, The Spanish singer of Equatorial Guinean parents, radiates her vocal colours, inherited from multiple cultures that allow her to express both the expressive romanticism of flamenco ('Paraísos Quemados') and the unalterable African hope ('Oye Este Mi Canto'). Inspiration springs forth and each new composition is an opportunity to explore different modalities of world music. There is the jazzy "Blue Skies" with majestic choirs and wide ranges of guitaristic speeches, the funky "Paraísos Quemados" with retro keyboards or the dark pop-rock "Yo Me Lo Merezco". A brief round trip across the ocean for the haunting samba "Breaking Down The Door" on which Manu Chao comes to sing a few songs before visiting the Maghreb embodied by "Los Invisibles" with the late Rachid Taha.
Santana has not lost any of his musical qualities or his great virtue as a unifier of cultures that gives "Africa Speaks" its great harmonic richness. In "Africa Speaks", perhaps more masterfully than ever, Santana invites cultures to a great ecumenical celebration in which the best of each is sublimated by union.
- Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Africa Speaks - 4:47
02. Batonga - 5:43
03. Oye Este Mi Canto - 5:58
04. Yo Me Lo Merezco - 6:12
05. Blue Skies - 9:08
06. Paraísos Quemados - 5:59
07. Breaking Down the Door - 4:30
08. Los Invisibles - 5:54
09. Luna Hechicera - 4:47
10. Bambele - 5:51
11. Candombe Cumbele - 5:36
12. Mientras Tanto - 5:57
13. Dios Bendiga Tu Interior
LINEUP:
Buika: Chant
Carlos Santana: Chant / Guitares
Cindy Blackman Santana: Batterie
Laura Mvula: Chant
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(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS
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(0) COMMENT(S)
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READERS
2/5 (1 view(s))
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STAFF:
3.5/5 (2 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH CARLOS SANTANA
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OTHER REVIEWS
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