Music
Press
The best thing to come out of Cuba in recent times? So asserts Tumi label boss Mo Fini, who waxes long and rapturous about this indisputably vibrant collective in the accompanying DVD. And the Havana-based To’Mezclao are indeed very good: a seven-strong crew of music enthusiasts whose versatility (and danceability) knows no bounds. Cubans, of course, have music in their DNA, and to stand out in a country which currently boasts the likes of Guantanamo rappers Madera Limpia and Havana’s jazz-leaning Interactivo collective is really saying something. Fronted by the doe-eyed and taut-of-torso singer Yoandri “El Conejo” Castro, with project founder DJ Lyng Chang on decks and sisters Yusi and Yonaiky González on flute and keyboards respectively, To’Mezclao spark mass hysteria wherever they perform – as the DVD, which features El Conejo and guest singer Crema pelvic-thrusting in unison – testifies. They’ve also collaborated with symphony orchestras and the likes of Brazilian piano legend João Donato.
As their name – meaning “all mixed up” – suggests, To’Mezclao cast their net over a wide variety of musical styles from Cuba and elsewhere in the Latin diaspora and combine it with influences from the contemporary West. You’ll hear everything from cumbia, meringue and salsa to hip-hop, funk and reggaeton. It never loses sight of the band’s Cuban roots, although it is delivered with a pop sensibility that keeps things catchy and punchy without ever being formulaic. The opening merengue “Aqui Todo Ya Esta Inventao” is a perfectly formed three-minute hit. “Quiero Olividarla” should do for salsa sessions what the beats-heavy “Cuando Pasa El Tiempo” does for club dance floors. Someone get them an international tour, quick.
Jane Cornwell - Songlines, March 2009
Discography
Tumi 156 - Their debut album (Hibrid) and DVD released 2009
Photos
Bio
ToMezclao (All mixed up) - thats a
pretty apt description for this new
Cuban sensation, the Havana-based
band which pulls in musical styles
from across the island and far into
Latin Americas salsa lands. And like
all young Cuban musical cocktail
mixers, they have at their disposal
three decades worth of fantastic dance
music (from Los Van Van and timba
to the current explosion of hiphop
and reggaeton). A vibrant 7-piece,
its fronted by lead singer Yoandri
Castro aka El Conejo, who flaunts his
energetic good looks and flashing eyes
like a young Ricky Martin, sending
tremors through the arm-waving
females fronting every concert.
ToMezclao is great pop, sexy pop,
pop made by stars in the making. But
this being Cuba, its also sophisticated,
well produced and irresistible
danceable music. Just listen to the
solos scattered through the album - the
keyboards player, Yusi González (Yoosi,
croons El Conejo, as she slides
into a sparkling improvsation) and
Yonaiky González breathing silvery
flute riffs into the bands brassy mix.
The catchy La consentida exploits
the topicality of Colombian cumbia
but otherwise the set is dominated by
Cuban rhythms which lure dancers to
the floor. Fleeting appearances by La
Crema, the soulful singer fresh from a
three-year stint with the great Candido
Fabre, mixes perfectly with El Conejos
timba-bounced style. ToMezclao brings
a fresh new energy to the already
vibrant Havana scene.
This production is a melting pot of
musical genres from Cuba and Latin
America (including cumbia from
Colombia, merengue and bachata
from the Dominican Republic, and the
massively popular pan-Latino reggae
fusion called reggaeton) combined with
influences from Western popular music.
All come together in a sound which
blends seamlessly into contemporary
Cuba and beyond.
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