LoCura
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LoCura

San Francisco, California, United States | SELF

San Francisco, California, United States | SELF
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"LoCura Debut Album"

On my first listen to LoCura's self-released debut, Animas, I was tempted to compare bilingual vocalist Kathy Miletich to a certain hip-waggling Colombian diva. Like Shakira, Miletich is seductively comfortable in the rich depths of her contralto vocal range. But without the constraints of a strict pop format, her Oakland group patiently lays down its cards as each song unfolds. On "El Campo," guitarist Bob Sanders plants a burning, syncopated guitar hook squarely in the pocket, sending wisps of flamenco-tinged ornamentation curling into the air. LoCura brings the payoff with rippling gypsy-influenced vocals and a groovy, if predictable, bassline. Superbly crafted and confidently grounded, Animas serves up a blend of beats and influences with unusual tastiness. - San Francisco Bay Guardian (Dina Maccabee)


"LoCura en vivo at the New Parish"

The Bay Area Latin Jazz, hip hop, reggae, salsa-fusion band LoCura threw a show that had the whole crowd dancing till 1:30 in the morning. Your body just couldn’t resist dancing to whatever song they were playing.

The opening bands were great too. Quetzal Guerrero, hailing from Los Angeles, had a chill reggae set that made it worth the while going early to a concert on a Friday night.

The next opener was a local dance/singing group, Las Bomberas de la Bahía. This had the whole crowd interested and pushing forward to catch the action. Singers and dancers took turns in every song, with different styles and different dance moves interpreting the songs in Spanish. There were also some new recruits debuting with the band and they managed to hold their own.

LoCura's set was filled with slow groove jams and even some crowd hopping covers of Manu Chao’s "Clandestino." I’ve only been to two shows out of hundreds that got me dancing and this was one of them. They kept on going till 1:30 a.m. with the same energy from the whole band and evened managed to continue the strong bass-lines and intellectually stimulating lyrics as well. All this is a great combination for a perfect eclectic crowd. It was also a great refresher for my fading bilingual skills.

It;s just a perfect setting to see LoCura at the New Parish, a great venue that handles different genres of music and every crowd feels comfortable there. With great live music and great drink specials and even local micro-brews, it's a sure bet for your musical needs.

Update*
LoCura returns to the New Parish June 10, 2011. You can catch them there for $10 cover.

Update**
If you can’t wait until June, LoCura is playing at Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz May 20, also $10.

Check them out at (they are good at updating concert and new music info and they’re always playing free shows in the bay): - Sonic Ambulance by Dennis


"Bay Area Bandwidth"

If you're looking for a crazy but cool evening of Cajón-banging music, an evening with this East Bay Latin folk/reggae group is exactly what the doctor has ordered. " 'Locura' as one word means 'madness' and 'lo cura' as two words means 'it cures it,' " writes singer Kata Miletich of its doctoral thesis on music in an e-mail. "We write our name as one word with a capital C to play on its double meaning and to evoke an idea of a cure being found within the madness." The
earliest incarnation of LoCura dates to the late '90s, when Miletich and flamenco guitarist Bob Sanders began writing songs together. While riding his bike around Berkeley in February 2004, Sanders spotted Cajón player Rachael Bouch loading an Afro-Peruvian drum into a van. He stopped. They talked and soon discovered they were equally crazy for the same kind of music. In the summer of 2006, the three headed to Granada, Spain, to hone their musical craft. "It was a crazy and beautiful summer, filled with Rumba Flamenca sessions," Bouch writes. "The streets of Granada are alive until the wee hours of the morning, and we were swept up into the rhythm of this life." With bassist Joaquin Zamudio and flamenco dancer Stephanie Narvaez on board, LoCura plans to do the same thing Friday at the Great American Music Hall.

Lineup: Kata Miletich, vocals; Rachael Bouch, cajón, drums; Bob Sanders, Flamenco guitar; Joaquin Zamudio, bass; Stephanie Narvaez, flamenco dancing; Ryan Chesire, percussion; Timothy Snider, violin.

1. LoCura's music should be filed between:

Manu Chao and Ojos de Brujo. We reach toward Manu for more of our reggae and ska feel, and to Ojos for the flamenco and compositional influences. Add in some San Francisco spice = LoCura!

2. The soundtrack to what movie would LoCura's music best match?

A movie in the vein of "L'Auberge Espagnole," written and directed by Cédric Klapisch. (In this film) the "la locura" of Barcelona gives the main character new experiences and a new lens for life that allows him to come into his own and break away from his family's expectations of returning to a corporate job in Paris. Those themes about love and living with passion, following your heart, all run through our music.

3. If LoCura could collaborate on a song with any person, living or dead, who would that be?

Lila Downs, because we love how she mixes so many genres and collaborates with so many diverse artists, and because of her lyrical storytelling.

4. If your junior high school invited LoCura to perform any cover song at the next talent show, what song would you choose and why?

"Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics. It's a timeless song that stuck. It has a captivating melody and appealed to all age groups - not just middle school kids! Everyone was into that song.

5. What is the meaning of life?

Just living it! Is that too simple?

Written by Delfin Vigil - San Francisco Chronicle (96hrs Entertainment Section)


"LoCura"

If you're looking for a crazy but cool evening of Cajón-banging music, an evening with this East Bay Latin folk/reggae group is exactly what the doctor has ordered. " 'Locura' as one word means 'madness' and 'lo cura' as two words means 'it cures it,' " writes singer Kata Miletich of its doctoral thesis on music in an e-mail. "We write our name as one word with a capital C to play on its double meaning and to evoke an idea of a cure being found within the madness." The earliest incarnation of LoCura dates to the late '90s, when Miletich and flamenco guitarist Bob Sanders began writing songs together. While riding his bike around Berkeley in February 2004, Sanders spotted Cajón player Rachael Bouch loading an Afro-Peruvian drum into a van. He stopped. They talked and soon discovered they were equally crazy for the same kind of music. In the summer of 2006, the three headed to Granada, Spain, to hone their musical craft. "It was a crazy and beautiful summer, filled with Rumba Flamenca sessions," Bouch writes. "The streets of Granada are alive until the wee hours of the morning, and we were swept up into the rhythm of this life." With bassist Joaquin Zamudio and flamenco dancer Stephanie Narvaez on board, LoCura plans to do the same thing Friday at the Great American Music Hall. - SF Gate- By Delfin Vigil


"Around the World in One Night"

LoCura’s Spanish moniker can be interpreted as both “the cure” and “insanity.” The band’s message? Mad revelry is the one true panacea in a wild ’n’ wacky world. Celebrating its ethos through multicultural song and dance, the five-piece Bay Area ensemble crafts an organic fusion of south-of-the-border pop melodies, hot flamenco and rumba rhythms, Cali-baked Rasta grooves, and a spectacular performance style. Last year’s debut, Animas, brims with positive vibrations. LoCura puts its ideas into action this week, combining its unique Latin sensibility with the sounds of Bali and the Middle East via must-see openers Gamelan X and Beats Antique on Friday, Jan. 9, at Great American Music Hall. 9 p.m., $15; 885-0750, www.gamh.com. Written by Sam Prestianni - SF Weekly


"Summer Meltdown 9: The Message Is In The Music"

LoCura took the stage late in the afternoon and lead vocalist Kata Miletich's voice was instantly mesmerizing. She sings from deep inside and delivers lyrics with such passion that the energy and emotion in her words reach right down into your heart, tickling a range of emotions and melodically drawing them out like an Indian snake charmer. LoCura's flamenco and reggae infused Latin style mixes English and Spanish lyrics with Cajon percussion and hand clapping. Their music moves your body and soul with every song, not to mention your hips and feet! - Randomville (September 2nd, 2009 by Eran Afner)


"LoCura at Encuentro Del Canto Popular (Nov 5 2009)"

A lesson in semantics: The word locura means �madness.� Rearranged as lo cura it means �it cures it.� And when it is used as the name of a steamy fusion music group � LoCura � it means �the cure within the madness.�

The band�s name is rooted in the idea that beauty and love can blossom from chaos, bringing dreams to life where another world is possible. Through their music LoCura hopes to provide a catalyst for transformation and healing.

During a 2006 summer spent in southern Spain the members of LoCura fell in love with the regional flamenco styles. The variety within Flamenco is often explained with the expression ida y vuelta (round trip) and has to do with the journey the music embarked upon when it traveled to the New World where it was influenced by the musical legacy of African slaves and local indigenous populations and then returned to the homeland.

LoCura extends the road trip adding their unique touch with Califas Flamenkito while weaving a seductive mix of reggae, Cuban son and hip-hop carried by the powerful and soulful vocals of lead singer Kathy Miletich. The rest of LoCura is made up of Bob Sanders on guitar and vocals; Rachael Bouch-D on percussion, Isaac Weiser on Bass and Valentino on drums. Percussionist-vocalist-dancer Stephanie Narvaez will join LoCura on the Encuentro Stage.

�Great artists have performed at the Encuentro in the past and we are honored to be a part of this year�s concert and to help raise money for El Tecolote. We support this important community bilingual newspaper,� said Sanders.

Moved by music that crosses borders and takes root in different lands, LoCura intends to evoke our rebel spirit at the 2009 Encuentro. - El Tecolote


"Proveniente de San Francisco el Grupo Musical"

La ciudad de Tijuana, desde que se tiene memoria ha sido visitada por infinidad de artistas y grupos de artistas, de musicos y de cantantes, todos con una personalidad definida, algunos precedidos de fama internacional y nacional, otros con una trayectoria poco mas modesta y local, sin embargo de algunos todavia se guardan memorias de su paso por los escenarios tijuanenses. Ahora, para el proximo sabado 20 de junio, a partir de las 19:00 pm., se presenta en El Lugar del Nopal, proveniente de San Francisco, Ca., el grupo musical "LoCura", el cual interpreta musica original de Rumba Flamenca, Reggae y Son.

Pero, Quien es este grupo musical?. Las noticias que nos han llegado, sumadas a otras que hemos recogido sobre la influencia musical de "LoCura", sabemos que es un grupo originario de San Francisco, CA, el cual es uno de los proyectos musicales mas dinamicos y cautivadores que en cada una de sus presentaciones estremecen al auditorio que vive la fortuna de presenciar su desempenho en la escena, la cual invaden completamente con la cadencia de sus ritmos, mezclados con las melodias que interpretan y que en su frenesi mutante vuelcan en movimientos dancisticos arrebatadores.

"LoCura", es un grupo musical extraordinario compuesto de excelentes musicos, con montajes de melodias de Rumba flamenca, reggae, son cubano y temas de Folk. Norteamericano. Al presentarse en cualquier escenario, este se inunda de misterio y de un mundo apasionado impregnado de flamenco, combinado con la fuerza arrebatadora y tremenda del sonido de una gran banda de salsa.

Para este estupendo grupo musical "LoCura", su original mezcla de irresistible, energica y dinamica conceptuacion musical, traspasa con sus freneticos ritmos todas las fronteras habidas y por haber.

En este correr por el mundo del sonido "LoCura", ha viajado durante los ultimos tres anhos por Espana, Marruecos, ha recorrido la California y la Costa Oeste, se ha presentado en festivales y ha alternado con artistas y grupos de renombre inmaculado tales como: Ojos de Brujo� (Espa�a), �Bunny Wailer� (Jamaica), �Nawal� (Comoros), �Les Nubians� (Francia), �Toots y The Maytals� (Jamaica), �Sean Hayes� y �Rups� (San Francisco), �Carlinhos Brown� (Brasil).

Este grupo, durante sus viajes por Espana, pais en el que vivieron en Granada, "LoCura", se lleno con las Rumbas de los Gitanos, con la excitante musica callejera que tocan en las Cuevas del barrio Sacromonte. Esta experiencia influye profundamente el estilo y el sentimiento de la musica de "LoCura", que experimenta con una mezcla de ritmos cubanos, flamencos, hip-hop, reggae con instrumentos como el Ude de Marruecos, los timbales, el violoncello, el cajon y vocales en ingles y en espanol. Lo anterior es una pequena semblanza del grupo musical "LoCura". - La Prensa San Diego (June 5, 2009 por: Paco Zavala)


"LoCura Brings Ida y Vuelta to the Bay Area"

In flamenco they call it ida y vuelta -- a sound that's traveled through Africa and Latin America before blending with Spanish influences. It's as diverse as the countries of its origins, with an infectious beat and traditional instrumentation that give it roots in both the old and the new.

Ida y vuelta is also a good way to describe the members of the San Francisco band LoCura. They've come from diverse backgrounds to the Bay Area, where they've built a sound that's attracted a loyal following. When LoCura recently didn't have the money to finish its second album, some of the band's fans pitched in to help foot the bill.

"Knowing that we have the money to finish is huge," said guitarist Bob Sanders, 35. "It feels so good that there are enough people out there that believe in what we're doing to donate all that money."
In mid-April the band reached its goal of raising at least $7,000 through Kickstarter.com to pay for the album, titled Semilla Caminante (Travelling Seeds). Kickstarter offers artists and others a platform for raising money from supporters for specific projects.

LoCura hopes to release its album in August. Fans will be able to hear some of the band's latest songs when it performs May 7 at the Whole Earth Festival in Davis, May 29 during the Unity Festival at the Canyon in Rumsey and June 10 at the New Parish in Oakland. For more information visit the band's Facebook page. Semilla Caminante will be the follow-up to the band's 2008 debut Animas, which Sanders describes as a more acoustic album that reflects the band's efforts to define its sound.

Vocalist Kata Miletich, 33, said the growth in diversity of LoCura's sound over the past three years will be evident on Semilla Caminante. The track "Guerrilleras" features a traditional Latin beat accentuated by tropical horns, while the smooth acoustic guitar on "Prendela" helps the song set a jazz mood.
"It's definitely a sound that's not at all fixed. There's so much going on, everyday it's growing, like we are," Miletich said. "There's something about this sound, this effusing of styles, showing how different people, here in the Bay Area especially, are coming together and learning from each other." That concept of musicians coming together and learning from each other is inherent in LoCura's lineup. Miletich was raised in Spain and Italy, where her American father worked as a teacher. Sanders, meanwhile, grew up in the Sierra foothills; he notes that his parents were fans of '50s and '60s rock.
Sanders was introduced to flamenco about 13 years ago, when a man he met at a concert encouraged him to check out the self-described flamenco hip-hop act Ojos de Brujo. The group's diverse sound opened a new musical world for him and encouraged him to study different genres. He began performing in the Sierra foothills with Miletich, who had moved to the U.S. in 1997 and California in 1999. The duo later came to the Bay Area and began working with a percussionist who performed Cuban music. "My voice and lyrics had these new terrains and new traditions that I could experiment with," Miletich said. It led Sanders and Miletich to form LoCura about five years ago. While some members of the band have come and gone since then, Sanders noted that the lineup has been consistent for the past few years. In addition to Sanders and Miletich, LoCura features Isaac Weiser on bass, Danny Cao on trumpet and Ernesto Lopez on drums. - KQED Arts written by Ian Hill


Discography

Semilla Caminante (album 2012)
1. Prendela
2. Guerriller@s
3. Con el Viento
4. Squatter's Song
5. Manzanilla
6. Nuestros Caminos
7. Desde las Entrañas
8. To' Pa' Mi
9. Que Falta
10. Te Sigo
11. Reflections

Guerriller@s official music video (2012)

"Animas" (debut album, 2008)
1.Una Ola
2.El Campo
3.Goza
4.¿Te Va?
5. La Esencia
6. Feelings
7. Vamos
8. Lo Que Soy
9. Animas
10. Break the Walls
11. ïAy!
12. Ven

Photos

Bio

CALIFAS MESTIZO MUSIC: Direct from San Francisco’s fertile music scene, LoCura taps into the diverse sounds that have a rich history in the Bay Area, weaving them together in an uncanny way to reveal their common roots. Mixing Flamenco with Reggae and Cumbia with Ska through contagious rhythms and multiple languages, their music takes you on a ride through a day in the emerging globalized experience where the movement of people and ideas are in constant flux. Reflecting lead vocalist Kata’s own experience of growing up Spanish American in Spain, Italy, and the U.S., LoCura’s music rides the borders of identity and migration piecing together a mosaic of our myriad cultures and experiences. In Spain the expression "Ida y Vuelta" is used to describe certain styles within Flamenco that made a "round-trip" from Spain to Latin America, mixing with music from the African slave and Indigenous populations. With this idea of music traveling and music as creative resistance, LoCura takes the trip back again mixing it up with their own Califas Flamenkito, Reggae, and Cuban Son styles. Moved by the music that crosses borders and takes root in different lands, LoCura draws from this creative 'rebelde' spirit to cultivate the cures passed on from our ancestors.