Music: Four Corner Beatitude
Rhythm Foundation Keeps it Global
Okay, so it’s pronounced be-attitude, rather than beat-itude. And by definition, it would seem to have little to do with rhythm. But don’t think for a moment that beatitude can’t be applied to the great good groovy that is Rhythm Foundation. Why? Because the word really means “supreme blessedness or happiness.” And with Rhythm Foundation, we get both — and then some. Coming to us from all four corners of the wild, wild world.
In fact, to simply count the many ways RF has blessed our town would take an abacus of truly global proportion, and even then the sum wouldn’t represent the whole. The Foundation’s site helpfully tells us they‘ve presented everyone from the swoony Brazilian singer-songwriter Adriana Calcanhotto to the radically-charged Argentinian DJ collective Zizek, but that’s just the tip of a very extensive A-to-Z.
There have been modernists (including France’s AIR, Iceland’s Sugarcubes and D.C.’s Thievery Corporation), masters (Brazil’s Caetano Veloso and Nigeria’s King Sunny Ade), and even a muse (England’s Jane Birkin); islanders (Jamaica’s Toots and the Maytals, Haiti’s Boukman Eksperyans), the out there (Sun Ra and His Arkestra; Yma Sumac), and the innerly aware (Tibetan Monks of Drepung Gomang). There have been the displaced (Refugee All Stars of Sierra Leone), and the irreplaceable (David Byrne, who’s come thrice at their behest). And so very much more.
This season alone RF has brought Philip Glass to New World Center, both Yann Tiersen (France) and Novalima (Peru) to Grand Central, and launched the series Big Night in Little Haiti, which again proved the world really does begin in our very own backyard.
That’s not all. Earlier this month Rhythm Foundation also kicked off another in their highly-acclaimed Heineken Transatlantic Festival, which since 2003 has been wowing Miamians with such spectaculars as Spanish flamenco chill-out stars Chambao, Afropop sensations Amadou and Mariam, Mexican singer Ximena Sariñana and Malian legends Tinariwen.
This year’s line-up began with Colombia’s Bomba Estereo at Grand Central, then segued through Argentine-born Tango Conspiracy at Bardot. And it’ll end this weekend up at the North Beach Bandshell with Brazil’s Ceu and Tijuana’s Nortec Collective (Friday), and the Brooklyn-based Afrobeat revivalists Antibalas (the band from Broadway’s Fela!) and Miami’s most peripatetic troubadour Cleaveland Jones (Saturday).
With all this goin’ on, SunPost decided to get with Rhythm Foundation Director Laura Quinlan, whose grasp of global music is exceeded only by her worldly enthusiasm. Here’s how the Q&A went down:
SunPost: We’re halfway through Transatlantic, what are the highlights thus far?
We had a truly memorable night last week at Grand Central launch party with Bomba Estereo. The opening set featured one of Miami’s most popular groups, The Spam Allstars, and their offshoot Los Rumberos de la 8. The Rumberos were joined onstage by some members from the visiting Cuban legendary rumba group Los Munequitos. It was magic. Spam Allstars always put on a fresh show, but this was like a spark. And then Bomba Estereo came on and continued the fire. What a great night.
There are still two wild and worldly nights to come — care to fill us in some?
The North Beach Bandshell, the home venue for the Festival, has been renovated! We have been sitting on pins waiting for the opening, and our show will be that night. The City of Miami Beach kept all of the original Mimo charm of the oceanfront bandshell, but made some much needed improvements. We have dressing rooms and electricity, a permanent lighting grid, better loading areas. Patrons have new bathrooms, and other amenities.
Of course I am equally excited about what’s on stage! This year, our 9th edition, is kind of a “Best Of” — we have invited back some of our favorite artists from previous TransAtlantics. Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra headlined the first festival in 2003, and we have wanted them back ever since. But they have been working on Broadway the past few years in the hit musical Fela!, recreating the legendary Nigerian nightclub The Shrine. Here is a much awaited break, before the show moves to London, and a chance for us all to dance to afrobeat under the stars.
On Saturday we have Ceu, a very cool young Brazilian singer from Sao Paulo. Her music is kind of a mix of UK triphop, full of chilled-out cool dub, and Brazilian samba. She made her US debut with the Festival in 2007 and has grown so much as an artist in the past 4 years. Nortec Collective: Bostich and Fussible on that double bill is a real treat. Fussible came as a DJ a few years back. Nortec is truly the originator of the Latintronica fusion sound. These modern world music groups build on the foundation they built — a groovy fusion of electronica and old school Latin music.
We’re particularly glad you added Miami’s-own Cleaveland Jones to the Antibalas bill. What made you make that move?
Antibalas is a big band and we wanted something fresh to balance out the heavy beats of the night. But still with the power to fill the Bandshell with music. Cleaveland is a troubadour who has spent a lot of time soaking up the music of Latin America, and I like the fusion of classic American singer-songwriter with Northeastern Brazilian beats.
Any other locals you see walking that kinda worldly line?
The sound of Miami is world music. Some of our bands are as good as any touring internationally — a truly unique sound that mixes AfroLatino music, dub, funk, jazz. This has always been a city full of great musicians, and it is great to watch some of them breaking out on the big stage. We were really glad to feature Spam this year, and also Tango Conspiracy. That’s a group anchored by the very talented Argentine singer-composer-guitarist Jimena Fama. She makes a beautiful mix of tango with electronic beats. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
What makes Miami such a great place for things like Transatlantic anyway?
Think about who lives in Miami! We are on an island in the Atlantic ocean, home to New Yorkers, Europeans, South Americans and Caribbeans. This is truly a TransAtlantic city. What makes the festival meaningful, beyond our geography and demographics, is the mindset of the people who live here. This isn’t a nostalgic place — Miamians want to hear what is happening Right Now in other world capitals. And we bring them that with Heineken TransAtlantic Festival.
See you this weekend!
Category: LOCAL LEVELS, MUSIC, TO DO, TOP PICKS
