gilles peterson presents: havana cultura

Havana Cultura is back with another release scheduled for June. "¡Súbelo, Cuba!" showcases an extended network of like-minded, forward-thinking musicians driving Cuba’s music forward. "Traketeo", featuring Luz de Cuba, is the first taste of it, and at o sótão we eagerly wait for the rest of it, as the summer nights of long sessions of food, drinks and conversations are coming. "¡Súbelo, Cuba!" has thirteen tracks and was recorded across two weeks in Havana in early 2018.

Previously, this project, brought us a delicious selection of emblematic tracks celebrating musical research and experimentation, featuring Cuba’s musical avant-garde under the curation of Gilles Peterson with the backing of the Havana Cultura project.

In 2008, DJ and globetrotter Gilles Peterson was approached by the melomaniac at the helm of Havana Cultura – an initiative to showcase and support Cuban creativity by Cuban rum maker Havana Club –, inviting him to Cuba to check out Havana’s underground music scene with a view to making an album. While some might associate Cuba simply with salsa or Buena Vista Social Club, there was a new generation of artists teeming with new sounds, waiting for an opportunity to reveal their talent to the world. 

That first trip was the beginning of what has now been a decade long collaboration between Peterson, his Brownswood Recordings label and Havana Club’s cultural platform. It first resulted in the release of "Havana Cultura: New Cuba Sound", an acclaimed double album that included original productions and a compilation of existing tracks across a range of genres reflecting contemporary Cuba’s musical diversity: jazz, hip hop, reggaeton and plenty in between. After that, 2011’s "Havana Cultura: The Search Continues" was the next attempt to dig deep into the different corners of the island’s contemporary music scene.

In the midst of it all, dozens of remixes, exclusive sessions and reinterpretations of the songs previously released have been made and unveiled to us. Influencing us on many levels and musical genres that we listen to, inviting exploration and subsequent warm discoveries. Over the years we vibed with this unstoppable rhythmic movement. "Havana Cultura: ¡Súbelo, Cuba!" is the next chapter. Out on June 15th.

“Mira mi mulata cómo viene con su flor de La Habana,
sé que bajó de la timba como le da la gana.

No, nono, no te me enamores,
que aunque estamos frescas, no estamos en venta
No es como tú piensas,
pero sin violencia,
cubana carencia te trae esta belleza.
Nos reimos los enemigos y abrimos las puertas solo los amigos.”