Jóvenes Músicos Cubanos: Pop Caliente (Egrem)
This album showcases the youthful sound of contemporary Havana via the bands and singers currently rocking the island’s dancefloors, and disproves the notion of Cuba as a quaint cultural backwater that time forgot. Buena Fe resemble a Latin version of Boyzone, while Leticia looks and sounds like Cuba’s answer to Shakira. Triangulo Oscuro are a young rap trio who create an appealingly salsified brand of hip-hop, and Dayany offers a presentable Cuban take on Beyoncé-style R&B. Other names to listen out for are Arnaldo y Talisman, Partes Privadas and Rojitas.
You are going to be hearing a lot more of contemporary Cuba, too. Pop Caliente not only marks the launch of Cuba’s state-owned Egrem record company outside the island for the first time in its 40 year history, but the label has also signed an exclusive deal for its acts to provide the live Cuban music at Terence Conran’s Floridita bar and restaurant, which is due to open in London in October.
Advertisement
Nigel Williamson