Album Reviews

Album Review: Various Artists – Gilles Peterson presents Havana Cultura: Remixed (Brownswood Recordings)

By | Published on Monday 7 June 2010

Gilles Peterson

Following the rather fine original ‘Havana Cultura’ album – which bought us a “new Cuban sound” encompassing everything from standard Latin, to Cuban hip hop and rap, to classical Cuban son rhythms, and even R&B, Gilles has roped in some big names for this remix project, and it lives up to expectations.

Some great remixes have been crafted, from Louis Vega’s sterling Elements Of Life version of ‘Rofofero Fight’ to MJ Cole’s unexpectedly Latin (rather than house) rework of ‘Arroz Con Pollo’. In fact, there are so many highlights its hard to pick favourites, but Rainer Truby’s take on ‘Afrodisia’ stands out, even if it does employ his typical nu-jazz approach, while Carl Cox’s remix of ‘Arroz’ takes the track dark and dubwise and bears only a trace of the original, but is still a quality tune. Meanwhile 4Hero add a charming bossa groove to ‘Think Twice’.

On the slightly negative side, Seiji adds his busted beats to ‘Chekere Son’, but overdoses a little on the sirens, while the Sigoma remix of ‘Revolucion’ is a little on the wrong side of abstract, but not terribly so. All in all, there’s some real class on offer here, and you don’t need to have heard the first album to invest in this one, although it will enhance the experience. PV

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon



READ MORE ABOUT: | |