Next Wednesday (23rd August) Colectivo Futuro and Olindo Records will be presenting a night of traditional Venezuelan music for the 21st century (Música Infinita: New Venezuelan Music) at London’s Jazz Cafe. Showcasing the sounds of London quintet Telajeta, winners of Best Alternative Act at the UK Latin American awards in 2017; and the Paris-based quartet Insólito Universo, playing for the first time in London. We invited Colectivo Futuro’s Miguel Colmenares to pick some of his favourite Venezuelan records, to give us a taster of what’s to come…
Vytas Brenner – Gavilán from Hermanos (1974):
Vytas is one of the first names that always comes up when you start investigating Venezuelan music from the 70s. He moved from Germany to Venezuela at the age of 2 and contributed immensely to the fusion of traditional Venezuelan music with more contemporary stylings. His output throughout the 70s is truly astounding and most of that output has been sought after by diggers around the world for years.
Sietecuero – Chanchullo from Rojo Sangre (1978):
This one I discovered recently and was produced by Fred Weinberg, who engineered one of my favourite records ever (Eddie Palmieri’s Superimposition). But the biggest surprise to me came when I saw who was in the lineup as it includes one of Venezuela’s most celebrated musicians and songwriters, Giordano Di Marzo. I only knew him as a pop songwriter and as someone who made music for Venezuelan mums. But this is heavy as hell!
Frank Quintero y Los Balzehaguaos – De Lunes A Viernes from Despues De La Tormenta (1976):
This was another surprise find for me for a similar reason to the Sietecuero track. I knew Frank Quintero’s 80s and 90s output as being quite poppy and had no idea he had some heavy bands in the 70s. This is probably one of the heaviest Venezuelan albums top to bottom and I recommend checking out some of his other albums with Los Balzehaguaos.
Monsalve y Los Forajidos – Black N’ Decker from Volumen Dos (2014):
Man I’m so happy and proud to be able to work with this band, this is one of the tracks we released on our 1st 45 on Olindo Records and this video is from the actual recording that made it to the record. This was originally self-released by the band on their Volumen Dos album and was recorded in Venezuela during Raul’s last trip there. They are a talented bunch and we’re looking forward to putting their next album out in the near future.
Ray Perez y Los Kenya – Pa’ Puerto Rico from Los Kenya 2 (1969):
I discovered Ray Perez through a reissue done by Superfly in 2016 and I was floored to discover all of the music he put out in the 60s, 70s and beyond with Los Kenya, Los Dementes, Los Calvos and more. One of the albums I discovered online was Los Kenya 2, which I’ve been geeking over with Raul from Monsalve y Los Forajidos for months now. The drumming on this, by Alberto Naranjo, is insane. There’s so much swing and groove. Ray’s solos are amazing too. This is Salsa brava, but with a twist.
Mango – Dile Que Venga from Mango (1981):
More Venezuela salsa, this time by the hands of Mango from Caracas. This is as jazzy as it gets and I love the vibraphone on this, played by Freddy Roldán who also plays on the Balzehaguaos 2nd album. All of their albums are pretty sought after by salsa diggers and I can recommend all of them.
Un, Dos, Tres Y Fuera – San Juan, Tambor y Fuera from Sin Complicación (1977):
I discovered this one through the Venezuela 70 compilation released by Soul Jazz in 2016. It features the traditional “tambores” rhythms from the coastal region of Barlovento, but it’s also really funky and futuristic in a way. Hard not to stand up and dance when listening to this.
Los Amigos Invisibles – Bruja from The Venezuelan Zinga Son Vol.1 (2002):
These guys are by far the most important Venezuelan band of my generation. It’s certainly the sound of my high school years in the country. This album in particular is absolutely essential, if only for the fact that it was produced by Masters at Work. It’s hard to pick a single track off of it as I love the whole thing, but this track will rock any party, any day.
Aldemaro Romero Y Su Onda Nueva - El Catire from Onda Brava (1972):
Aldemaro is pretty much credited for inventing his own genre, called Onda Nueva after his band and is a mixture of Venezuela Joropo and Bossa Nova. He worked with the likes of Machito, Tito Puente, and Tulio De Piscopo throughout his prolific career. He is to me the essence of Venezuela’s golden age.
Freddy León y Su Nueva Onda – Mis Dos Amores from Con El Burrito Y Otros Exitos (1971):
I can’t confirm this yet, but I’m pretty sure this album was a dedication to Aldemaro Romero by another well regarded Venezuelan composer, Freddy León. This one was a chance discovery while browsing discogs and surprisingly the whole album somehow made it to Spotify as well. It blew me away when I first heard it. It’s quintessentially Venezuelan with a heavy dose of psychedelia. I love the cover too!
