Music
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Music Pick
L.A. Weekly, July 27-August 2, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Ceci Bastida, Charanga Cakewalk at Getty Center
When the Mexican ska-punks Tijuana No — one of the most thrilling and politically inspiring bands from this region in the past decade — broke up in 2002, it was assumed that, of the band’s three disparate singers, Ceci Bastida had the most pop potential. She sang lead on several of Tijuana No’s most memorable hits, including a charming version of “Spanish Bombs” (which was arguably better than the Clash original), “Sin Tierra,” and “Pobre de Ti,” a deliriously catchy ska-pop anthem that was penned by Julieta Venegas. Instead of embarking on solo stardom, Bastida has been lurking in the shadows, playing keyboards on various Venegas tours. With the release of her first solo EP, Front BC, Bastida finally reveals a glimpse of her own talent. “Ya Me Voy” might evoke Venegas with its swirling accordion, but there is something unique in the way Bastida’s vocals swim so sweetly amid her trip-hop piano accents. “No Te Digan Que No” vaults into a spacy section where her layered harmonies circle like birds, while her charismatic singing bumps up beguilingly against wallowing horns on “Vas Patras.” Don't miss her solo live debut on this bill with simpatico Texas groovers Charanga Cakewalk, 6 p.m. (Falling James) - LA Weekly
Discography
Front BC- EP
yes
Photos
Bio
Unsigned Indie Artist Ceci Bastida was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico. At the age of 15, she joined Tijuana NO as a lead vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter and became one of the first women to rise in the ranks of Latin rock. One of Mexicos most important ska-punk bands of the 1990s, Tijuana NO performed together for 12 years and recorded three albums for BMG: NO, Transgresores de la Ley, and Contra-Revolucion Avenue. In 2000, Ceci joined the band of Mexican alterna-pop icon and top-selling Sony/BMG recording artist Julieta Venegas and has been singing back-up vocals and playing keyboards with her ever since. Ceci is now embarking on her first project as a solo artist, going back and forth between Los Angeles, Austin, and Mexico working with various musicans and producers such as Michael Ramos from Charanga Cakewalk and Jason Roberts (Plastilina Mosh/Control Machete).
As of late Ceci has been getting noticed from mainstream and latin media. Her music has been heard on the new MTV TR3S show Indie 101, influential radio station KCRW (Los Angeles) and Ceci is the latest to receive a feature on the popular social networking site MySpace.com. On the first day of the feature Ceci received thousands of hits and plays on her myspace.com site: www.myspace.com/cecibastida
You can hear her aforementioned collaborations w/ Ramos and Roberts on her myspace page as well.
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