Fat Joe had teamed up with Miami’s superproducer Scott Storch and Cash Money’s Lil’ Wayne to unleash a fury of words, a smooth flow backed by a throbbing bass beat and a reminder that Terror Squad knows the perfect combination for a hit. — Megan Silvera…
Taking a sample from Wayne’s chart-topper “Fireman,” Currency breathes new life into this Runners-produced track. Listen carefully to every rapper’s flow on this one. — Megan Silvera…
The Waterford Landing was voted Best Pop Band in this year’s New Times “Best of Miami” issue. In 2005 it was selected as a Personal Best, won the Readers’ Choice award, and picked up Best Electronic Group. But Alex Caso, keyboardist and singer, remains somewhat mystified about the acclaim. “I’ve…
Metal signifiers prominently figure into the music of Italian duo Ovo: Bruno’s snare ‘n’ tom bash-dash underscoring Stefania Pedretti’s strained (sometimes churlish), demon-possessed vocals bring to mind Linda Blair in The Exorcist and Old Time Relijun’s Arrington de Dionyso alike. Yet metal they aren’t, really. On their latest recording, the…
Putumayo’s reach is truly global. What began as a clothing line has morphed into a world music label that for more than ten years has been producing compilation albums that highlight artists from nearly every continent. Named for a Colombian river valley, the label has enjoyed a hearty serving of…
Continuing to build on his blues-tinged foundation after collaborating on an album with the legendary B.B. King titled Riding with the King and compiling a full-length of Robert Johnson covers, the British guitarist and former frontman for timeless bands such as Cream, the Yardbirds, and Derek and the Dominoes will…
In accordance with the museum’s thematic exploration of the relationship between video and music, Miami Art Central hosts “Images from the Composer’s Eyes: A Concert of Works for Video and Video with Instruments,” a mélange of musical compositions entwined with video from Florida International University’s NODUS Ensemble. Although the title…
Bossacucanova is a premeditated fusion of European electronica and Brazilian bossa nova. The group — DJ Marcelinho DaLua, bassist Márcio Menescal, and keyboardist Alexandre Moreira — offers a wild live performance that includes the beautiful vocals of Brazilian singer Cris Delano. Uma Batida Diferente, the band’s latest album, features guest…
Second-guessing the state of commercial hip-hop could become the next no-budget ESPN thing once Celebrity Poker buggers off. You’d need look no further than Slow V and Retrospect to find a couple of locals eager to expel some froth on cable or anyplace else. “Today’s clubs, to me, are like…
Bebo Valdés, the supremely gifted 87-year-old pianist, master arranger, and star of Miami’s Calle 54 Records, joins the powerful Arturo O’Farrill-directed Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra to perform “Suite Cubana.” Valdés describes his grand, Grammy-winning composition as “the realization of a dream.” Valdés radiates a friendly confidence that carries through to the…
Although Brittany Murphy’s attempt to raise temperatures with her sex-o-licious purring on Paul Oakenfold’s latest single, “Faster Kill Pussycat,” is bound to score with postadolescent Maxim readers, anyone who has ever set foot in a club knows it takes more than heavy breathing to heat up the dance floor. The…
Evoking an aura of tiki huts, toothpick umbrellas in amaretto sours, and red velvet wallpaper, Bossacucanova takes the mondo-cool sounds of 1960s-era bossa nova and re-creates its vibrancy with funk, hip-hop breakbeats, rotating turntables, digital technology, and skillful mixing. The result is a concoction of classic and new bossa nova…
A Cuban star who found his way to Miami via Colombia in 1961, Carlos Oliva jammed with Julio Gutiérrez and Willy Chirino. Oliva’s stealthy fusion of rock, jazz, samba, son, guaracha, and other Cuban rhythms makes each song sound like an original. His newest CD, Yayabo, includes conga songs such…
Raul Ramirez’s one-man electronica show deploys computers, synthesizers, laser beams, keyboards, bass, guitar, and electro-acoustic drums. “Ecomusica tries to bring harmony to the environment and its listeners. So I try to contribute my own little grain of sand in trying to make this world a little better by making music…
Citing musical influences such as Eminem, OutKast, Nirvana, and Bob Marley, JD Natasha is an alt-girl rocker with an international flair. The Kendall native’s album Imperfect/Imperfecta, a mostly Spanish-language album penned by this young star, takes risks and explores a variety of genres. Following in Shakira’s footsteps, JD Natasha plans…
Brazilian-based singer-guitarist Badi Assad lived in Sarasota for a while in the Nineties, but this concert marks her first official one in Florida since she decided to radically change her musical style, switching from a classical/experimental format to a more jazz-inflected pop style. “I started out playing chorinho and then…
Atlantic Records had big plans for Tego Calderón. Upon signing a contract with the popular reggaetonero, the record company hoped its new star would collaborate with well-established American hip-hop celebrities. The idea was to produce a crossover album that would resonate with the English-speaking public. Unfortunately for Atlantic, Calderón had…
Although Neil Tennant — the Penn Jillette of the Pet Shop Boys — embraces the Eighties, he says the duo (whose other member is the mostly silent Chris Lowe) is moving musically forward, yet with more than a nod to the era that saw the hits “West End Girls” and…
Raul Midón spent years building a reputation in the Magic City, performing at spots like the Van Dyke Café and singing backup for Latin pop stars like Jennifer Lopez and Alejandro Sanz. He even landed a contract with BMG US Latin, which issued his Gracias a la Vida. His journey…
What could be more fun than a Saturday-evening show with Humbert, Hialeah’s very best rock band? How about a show with newcomer Pyrojet, debuting its first effort, Living Funeral; and the ever-present the Stop Motion? Humbert blends a certain kind of quirky pop with stick-in-your-craw songwriting skills. Following a successful…
After a couple of quiet years following the success of its sophomore album, Light and Magic, Ladytron has resurfaced in a surprising flurry of activity. First there was the third full-length, Witching Hour, in late 2005, and the band, which rarely appears live, is undertaking a massive world tour (which…
When not obsessively scanning the surfaces of potato chips for holy likenesses of Phace, Cologne-based nuevo-funkers Sebastian and Henrik Wild shake down Black & Deckerized drum ‘n’ bass for every worthwhile nuance it’s got, in this case a boil-and-bubble reverse-thrust groove that keeps time the way MF Doom recites Shakespeare…
