// Gilles Peterson, Louie Vega & Havana Cultura Band @ Electric Brixton //

This is a BIG ONE for us here at Sound Canvas HQ. Two men who have shaped our musical outlook from the very outset. Together for the first time ever in London - Gilles Peterson and Louie Vega, playing a special Nu Yorican Soul set at the Electric Brixton on Saturday November 19th. Also on the bill will be the Havana Cultura Band live, comprising some of Cuba’s best musicians to celebrate the release of the album ‘Gilles Peterson Presents Havana Cultura – The Search Continues’.

Check this wicked WBLS NYC radio show with Louie Vega to get you into the groove >>>

Kevin Hedge & Louie Vega - Special Tribute To Larry Levan & The Paradise Garage, WBLS NYC - 16-07-2010 by R_co

Havana Cultura, the global art initiative from premium Cuban rum, Havana Club, is continuing to provide the world with a window on cutting edge Cuban creativity with the release of a brand new double album of Cuba’s freshest musical talent. It marks the second phase of Havana Cultura’s collaborative project with world-renowned DJ and music producer, Gilles Peterson to find the next generation of Havana-based music artists.

In 2011, Peterson returned to Havana with co-producers Vince Vella and Simbad, in search of more burgeoning Cuban talent. Gilles Peterson Presents Havana Cultura: The Search Continues (CD1) is an original studio recording featuring a string of leading contemporary musicians from Havana. The New Cuban Underground (CD2) is a snapshot of Cuba’s music underground in 2011 and contains tracks from the freshest Cuban talent at work in the artistic hothouses of Havana.

Back in 2009, Peterson teamed up with the award-winning Cuban jazz pianist Roberto Fonseca to create ‘Havana Cultura: New Cuba Sound,’ which featured the work of over 20 musicians and artists from latin, afro jazz and fusion to hip hop, funk, reggaeton and pop. The double album represented the biggest collection of contemporary Cuban musicians in a single musical initiative since the highly acclaimed Buena Vista Social Club project in 1997.

In 2009 and 2010, the project went live across Europe and Canada with widespread critical and popular acclaim. Commenting on the new albums, Gilles Peterson says: “Having spent the last three years travelling regularly to Havana, I've understandably become more attached to this fascinating, almost otherworldly city. The relationship that music has with the people of Havana is incredible - the drum goes deep.

The new collections retain the spontaneity that reverberated through the 2009 sessions but also emanate a maturing Cubanism which has developed from the worldwide appreciation that this wonderful island’s musical talent is receiving.” The latest albums are part of a series of cultural projects from Havana Cultura. In keeping with its long standing tradition for promoting Cuban culture to international audiences, Havana Club launched Havana Cultura in 2007 as a global platform to allow Cuban artists to showcase their work via a sophisticated interactive website www.havana-cultura.com. As well as videos of many of the artists involved in Peterson’s new and existing albums, the website also features wider artistic talent including dancers, writers, visual artists and film directors, lifting them from local notoriety and giving them worldwide exposure.

Saturday 19th November 2011 Havana Club presents Gilles Peterson and the Havana Cultura Band. Special guest Louie Vega Electric Brixton, Town Hall Parade SW2 1RJ £12 Advance/ £15 Door Facebook Tickets: www.wegottickets.com /  www.seetickets.com