Los Bajeros de la Montaña New Album, Carmelita Adiós.

Gaiteros Freddy Arrieta y Jorge Luis Aguilar entered a recording studio in Bristol, England, with 4 compañeros and recorded this album Carmelita Adiós. It was in 2001 and these musicians were touring and performing with Totó la Momposina. Some 21 years later it is our pleasure to release these tracks.

For 3 decades Los Bajeros de la Montaña has specialised in representing the traditional music of gaitas and tambores from the Montes de María region on the Caribbean coast of Colombia and more especially from the villages of San Juan Nepomuceno and San Jacinto (Bolivar).

They have taken up the legacy of the old masters ‘Toño’ Fernandez, Manuel Serpa, Manuel de Jesús Mendoza, Juan Lara, José Lara, José Tobías ‘Ñomono’, Federico Luna and Antonio Rodríguez amongst many others and seek faithfully to follow the pathway of this mestizo music.

The group is the fourth generation of professional gaiteros and inspired by Teófilo Mendoza, a legendary gaitero from the town of San Jacinto.

Totó La Momposina Retirement

Totó la Momposina retired from the stage in 2022 at the age of 82, thus closing a wonderfully rich chapter in the history of Colombian music. 

Totó la Momposina

Totó La Momposina

Photo Thierry

Her long artistic career has been carried out with absolute dedication, love and devotion. A towering artist, Totó earned respect and admiration all over the world for the power and spontaneity of her performance. Drawing on the music and dance of the Colombian Caribbean, her work is informed and inspired by a rich cultural mix that combines elements from African, Native Indian and Spanish traditions. Always a restless innovator, Totó broke boundaries and took the music to another level. Her joyful creativity encouraged a new generation to value, explore and respect their roots. 

It was appropriate and important to mark Totó's retirement from the stage with music. In collaboration with Real World Records we released two singles to celebrate her work. These were previously unheard recordings: Illuminan mi Sendero/Acompañala (also featuring Djanka Diabate and Moustapha Gaye) and Echale Salsita (with the Cuban band Asere).

[ cynefin ] Dilyn Afon Album

We’re proud to be releasing today the beautiful debut album by Cynefin, Dilyn Afon (Following a River). A magical journey into the roots of Welsh music and culture with a fresh and soulful groove.

Photo: Simon Jones

Photo: Simon Jones

  • So, so beautiful. Shining new light on Wales’ dusty folk past”- Sam Lee

  • “Absolutely fantastic” – Frank Hennessy, BBC Celtic Heartbeat

  • “Very special” – Georgia Ruth, BBC Radio Cymru

  • “Effortlessly vital and compelling” – From The Margins

 

2020 VISION →

Astar Artes will be bringing you new releases in 2020 from Totó la Momposina to AMJ plus the launch of 3 new projects, kicking off on January 27th with the beautiful Cynefin debut album Dilyn Afon (Following a river) ….

Totó celebrates 25th anniversary of seminal album ‘La Candela Viva’ with new EP

Fuego EP cover.jpg

Totó La Momposina, the original "Queen of Cumbia”, has had a career spanning almost

60 years and continues to perform all around the world at the age of 78. The singer reached international recognition in the early nineties when she released the classic album La Candela Viva on Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records.

Working with legendary pop/rock producer Phil Ramone (Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan), Totó la Momposina y sus Tambores delivered a live performance at Real World Studios as part of Peter Gabriel’s famous Recording Week project, which brought together singers and musicians from all over the world to record and collaborate together. The resulting album, which was completed in 1992 with producers John Hollis, Richard Blair and Marco Vinicio Oyaga, is still heralded as the Colombian singer’s most vital work, including iconic songs such as ‘El Pescador’, ‘La Candela Viva’and ‘Curura’.

Totó’s life has been dedicated to representing the music of Colombia’s Caribbean coastline, where African, Indigenous Indian and Spanish cultures mingle to create a unique musical tradition. Her music, driven by voices, flute and percussion, presents three distinct musical styles — Tambores,Sextetos and Gaitas. Totó’s records have become firm favourites in the hip-hop and EDM scenes, being routinely sampled by heavy-weights such as Timbaland, Michel Kleis, Manu Chao and most recently Jay-Z, who sampled ‘La Verdolaga’ on his 2017 Grammy nominated album

4:44.

The new EP, Fuego, features four previously unreleased songs from the original 1991/1992 sessions, which were discovered in 2015 when the original master tapes were restored and digitally remastered.

“She's a majestic, powerful and versatile singer ...with sturdy Spanish-influenced ballads and dance songs.” THE GUARDIAN

“An ingenious, and justified, remastering project.” ★★★★★ SONGLINES (UK)

Totó la Momposina – Fuego

REAL WORLD RECORDS

CATALOGUE NUMBER: RWS52

AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE DIGITALLY

http://realworldrecords.com/totolamomposina

Toto Releases Oye Manita, the third in her retrospective series of albums.

Oye Manita

Totó la Momposina arrived in Paris in 1979 as a refugee with no French, no money and no abode. A theatre company took her under it’s wing and it wasn’t long before she was travelling through Provence with this group of mime artists, street performers and musicians, along with their hot-air balloon, double-decker bus, merry-go-round and mobile cinema. Totó’s formidable voice, charisma and songs were an instant success and France became a launch-pad for her career.

This album tells the story of Totó’s endearing relationship with France that continues to evolve today. The track list features the first recordings Totó made in Paris in the 1980s and cover her career until the present day, including previously unreleased songs. This is a quality package with beautiful artwork, ample sleeve notes and photos from the past and present.

The retrospective series … TAMBOLERO / OYE MANITA / LA VERDOLAGA

These releases are part of a retrospective series telling the (amazing) stories of Totó’s life and travels to date … a way of celebrating her career so far using notes, artwork and photos.

Chapter 1. Tambolero. 2015. Real World. This told the story of Totó’s relationship with England - along with the wider context of her life and career. It recreated the original La Candela Viva album - adding recordings and mixing everything afresh … effectively becoming a new record.

Chapter 2. Oye Manita. 2018. Astar Artes Recordings. This album tells the story of Totó’s relationship with France going back to the 1970s. Again it is a quality package with beautiful artwork, ample sleeve notes and photos from the past and present. The track list features the first recordings Totó made in Paris in the 1980s and cover her career until the present day, including previously unreleased songs.

La Verdolaga. 2018. Astar Artes. The vinyl is a bridge between the two. Here both chapters meet as the collections work in parallel and the stories with France and England inter-relate. On side A tracks from Real World’s Tambolero (inc an unreleased track recorded last year) and side B tracks from Oye Manita.

There is a nod here also to the extraordinary influence Totó’s music has had on dance music over the last decade, especially House and Hip-hop. Producers continue to be inspired by her soulful delivery and the hypnotic groove of her tambores and flutes - La Verdolaga being one of the most popular songs. One of the most recent samples was used by Jay-Z on his last album 4:44.

CYNEFIN Debut single

Musician Owen Shiers delves into his Welsh roots.
We’re happy to be supporting this fine new project Cynefin.
The journey begins with the debut single Cân Dyffryn Clettwr (Song of the Clettwr Valley) released today on Astar …..

 

 

Toto Features On New Jay Z album

A hefty sample of our Totó appears on the physical version of Jay-Z’s 4:44 featuring a loop of vocals from La Verdolaga on the track We Family. As Totó says ‘la musica ancestral’ is irresistible!

AMJ LP for release on Record Store Day in France and the UK April 22nd 2017

BELIEVE_Cover_digital.jpg

“Whenever I see the name AMJ Collective I know I’m going to be in for something special, something different, something unique.” DAVID RODIGAN MBE  BBC 1XTRA

“Un art de dub mix époustouflant!” … “The art of the breathtaking dub mix!"

FREDERIC PEGUILLAN  TELERAMA

This new release continues to showcase the dynamic future-roots sound of AMJ.

Following up on their Sky Blue Love album, the AMJ Collective now deliver an eight track set called 

Believe.

Rob Smith-RSD is at the controls once again delivering a masterful dub-scape. The album features the granddaughters of legendary Colombian artist Totó la Momposina on vocals - Oriana Melissa delivers a soulful lead on the song Believe, recorded when she was just eighteen years old.

AMJ meets RSD new album SKY BLUE LOVE

We are happy to be rolling out the debut album from the AMJ-RSD collaboration. A 15 track journey through chapters of dub quite unlike anything you will have heard before.

The album artwork is pretty special too featuring images from Japanese photographer Ikue Uyama plus fascinating sleeve notes telling the story of dub adventurer Rob Smith.

Already it is picking up some serious airplay including regular plays on David Rodigan's BBC Radio1Xtra show.

Now released in Japan and the UK with France and other European countries to come over the summer and autumn.

“An awesome album ... if you like dub and instrumental music you’re gonna love this! It really is very special.” DAVID RODIGAN BBC1Xtra

“Classic” GILLES PETERSON

AMJ get serious on Oct 12th

AMJ meets RSD will release a new 10" vinyl single on the 12th of October.

1. Serious Signs 2. Second Drop

Mixed by Rob Smith. Produced by John Hollis.

 

 

Masterful work from Rob Smith and two more corkers from the AMJ treasure trove ....

The deep and heavy Serious Signs features soulful performances by Seckou Keita on kora, Michel 'Pata' Salazar on keyboards, Camilo Menjura on guitar and Michel Padron on trumpet.

Feel the ground move and your spirit rise!

The B is Second Drop, a fresh reworking of the first AMJ-RSD single Depth Drop, solid groove graced with fine guitar work from Camilo Menjura and horns from Michel Padron.

www.amjcollective.com

Toto releases "Tambolero"

totobanner We are proud to announce the release of a new album by Toto la Momposina.

Tambolero

Click here to buy the album and find more information on this release.

A re-creation and re-imagining of the classic 1993 album ‘La Candela Viva’.

"You don’t normally get the chance to go back in time and recreate an album. Building on a classic project that began 24 years ago is a challenge and a delight!" John Hollis, producer.

An invitation to perform at the WOMAD Festival led to Totó’s participation in the first Real World Recording Week and ultimately to the recording of the songs – with legendary American producer Phil Ramone at the controls in 1991 and English producer John Hollis for the follow-up sessions in 1992 – that would become La Candela Viva. The international success of La Candela Viva, and the following two albums Carmelina 1995 and Pacantó 1999 (MTM/Colombia), would ignite Totó’s career in Colombia and finally see her recognized as a star in her own country. The music has continued to endure, including being routinely sampled by the world of dance and hip-hop (Michel Cleis, Da R3volution and Timbaland, to name but a few).

It was during the search for the original master tapes to find the parts for a Michel Cleis dance track that producer (and now son-in-law of Totó) John Hollis discovered something rather remarkable. Amongst the original 2” master tapes was a treasure trove of material: some 40 takes of 20 different songs. Material all involved had forgotten existed, until then. Not only was there a wealth of recorded material from the La Candela Viva sessions that didn’t make the original album there were also a number of previously unreleased songs too.

To restore the analogue tapes, which would otherwise slowly deteriorate, the first job was to bake them (literally!) to remove any moisture that had accumulated, making them playable again. The recordings could then be digitised to work with modern technology. A process of reassessing all the different versions and new songs, re-editing and over-dubbing began. "At this point it occurred to me that Totó’s granddaughters would add a nice texture to some of the chorus lines,” explains John. Totó happily agreed: “Claro, ellos son mis choristas [of course, they are my backing singers].” Soon after, Maria del Mar and Oriana Melissa entered The Wood Room at Real World Studios, the very same space in which Totó and her band performed their set live 23 years earlier; Maria was present, a toddler at the time, and Oriana hadn’t been born. “It was a surreal moment and they delivered their parts beautifully,” adds John.

The result is Tambolero. More than just a re-release of La Candela Viva it is a genuine re-appraisal and re-imagining of the original. Tambolero is in effect a new album and one in which Totó La Momposina continues to reflect the experience of her native Colombia through her life and music. The two things are intertwined: the story of Totó La Momposina is truly the story of modern Colombia. It has also become a celebration of Totó’s professional career, which will soon reach a landmark 60 years – six decades dedicated to preserving, researching and developing an ancestral tradition, the identity of a people, passed down through the generations. This album is part of the REAL WORLD GOLD series of reissues.

AMJ Release BELIEVE on 15th June

Click to hear a snippet and available now for pre-order.  

 

Due for release on June 15th, Believe features Oriana Melissa on lead vocals. Oriana, the granddaughter of Colombian singer and Latin Grammy Award winner Totó la Momposina, recorded this track at the tender age of 18. Her honeyed vocals gracefully coat the heavyweight rhythm section of Andy Clarke and Mark Spence on drums and bass, propelled along with a superb dub-inflected mix from Rob Smith.

This is the first AMJ release featuring the live band:

  • Drums - Andy Clarke (JA/England)
  • Congas - Paolo Moussa Hollis (Colombia/England)
  • Bass - Mark Spence (JA/England)
  • Trumpet and keyboards - Michel Padron (Cuba)
  • Lead guitar - Owen Shiers (Wales)
  • Rhythm guitar - John Hollis (England)
  • Lead vocal - Oriana Melissa Hollis (Colombia/England)
  • Chorus - Maria del Mar Hollis (Colombia/England)
  • Chorus - Camilo Menjura (Colombia)

www.amjcollective.com

Believe Believe Artwork

Toto la Momposina – Curura Remix Competition

Curura Remix Competition Toto’s music has been sampled in many well known dance and hip hop tracks over the years, including tracks by Michel Cleis and Timbaland. Now, it’s your turn!

In advance of the release of Toto’s new album ‘Tambolero’ we are running a remix competition that allows you download the stems to Toto’s classic track ‘Curura’ so you can do your own remix. The winner will win a pair of Bowers & Wilkins headphones. Competition closes 17 July.

For full details and T&Cs go to www.realworldrecords.com/totoremix. The rest, is up to you! Good luck

Real World release unseen Toto video

Totó La Momposina went to Real World Studios in August 1991 to begin recording what would prove to be her most important album, now being re-released on Real World Records as ‘Tambolero’. In this never before seen footage from the original recording session, Totó delivers an outstanding live performance of El Pescador, surrounded by friends and guests. The soundtrack has been restored and remixed and features as a track on the new album.

Pre order “Tambolero" from iTunes and download 'El Pescador’ instantly: iTunes - http://smarturl.it/Tambolero-iTunes

Also available via: iTunes - http://smarturl.it/Tambolero-iTunes Amazon - http://smarturl.it/Tambolero-Amazon Google Play - http://smarturl.it/Tambolero-Google