ANGIE RINCON (Salsa)
Angie is lead singer of Guerrera – the UK’s only 10-piece Latin band made up of entirely women. Previously, Angie sang and played percussion with Son Real with whom she recorded an album in Cali called ‘London Tropical’, and then Salseology, Los Soneros, Kinashow aswell as working with her own 4-piece band.
“I had a very rich childhood. My dad was a musician so I remember rehearsals in our living rooms and going to TV sets with him and one of his many bands.
I always loved salsa. When I was 13 I heard Fuego en el 23 by La Sonora Ponceña which got me into the great Puerto Rican artists such as Papo Lucca and Hector Lavoe. When was age 18, Maria del Carmen Alvarado, who headed a great female Colombian salsa band, visited London and encouraged me to join my father’s band. Her belief in me changed my life.
I have always been passionate about the role of women in music, particularly Latin music. I found the lack of female representation in Latin music… interesting and when I met (co-director) Lili Ahvenainen we found we shared a passion for making music and supporting women in music, which culminated with “Guerrera” – meaning warrier woman.
The women I am surrounded with in Guerrera they are my inspiration. The comraderie that exists in a band, and the energy we are creating is really special.
I love my heritage and the idea of transmitting rhtyhms and stories from another world. I feel like I can just “switch the code” and see things from both perspectives. My perfect combination is the lyrics of Ruben Blades and his ability to reveal human, social issues in his music in a simple way and the killer vocals of Adele and Amy Winehouse.
Our music is an eclectic array of Latin tropical rhythms; we are working on producing original material and building the “Guerrera” musical sound. making our passion for salsa authentic and traditional Latin musical sound socntemporary. In 5 years time, I’d like ti see Guerrera having a couple of albums under our belt.”
@weareguerrera
JAMY (Tropical)
Jamy is a Colombian singer, whose latest critically-acclaimed Tropical album "Cuentos de la Luna" (Moon tales), includnig Bachat and Kizomba - was produced in the Dominican Republic and is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google play and Deezer.
“I lived with my mum in Colombia until I was 13. My dad comes from Jordan. When I was 6, my mum took me to the cinema to watch “Amadeus”, I loved it so much I wanted to learn violin and I asked for one for Christmas. That movie made me listen to music in a whole different way.
When I was 11 I started to duet with my mum, singing traditional Colombian music. We moved to Italy and when I was 15 I began performing joropo llanero in venues around the country.
Now my life revolves around music. I work both as a singer and as a DJ. My last album, Cuentos de la Luna, is a bachata album with some kizomba, which I recorded in Santo Domingo. I love to create a mix that people can dance to. I’m also working with Salseology, a live salsa band from London as well as a tribute to Sonora Ponceña, which will be out soon.
We latinos tend to be very passionate and less pragmatic, and I found British musicians have, let’s say, a calmer approach to their music, it’s a cultural thing, not better or worse, just different.
Most of my favourite artists are Latin, but probably my favourite artist ever is Sting, his music, his fusion, his singing technique, his lyrics, everything... I’m just in love with his work.“
@jamylondon
BALDO (Tropical Rock)
Once described as 'a Latin-swing-coup-d’état by a guy who was clearly out of his mind', this songwriter, guitarist and percussionist hails from one of Venezuela’s most illustrious Afro-folk musical families. Baldo’s long-running residency at Mayfair’s exclusive Coya, earned Baldo a reputation as one of London’s most popular Latin artists with his fusion soulful melodies, Afro-Venezuelan drums, rock, funk and tropicália.
“I have vivid memories of travelling Venezuela with my mum, my brother and my dad, crossing Amazonas to Barlovento (Miranda State) to celebrate San Juan, Christmas and Carnival every year.
My mother gave me the tools to find myself and then develop as an artist, a profesional and, most importantly, a consious and caring human being. She said: "I want you to do whatever makes you happy, no matter what that is or what it takes."
Losing my biggest source of love was devastating, but my mother’s death transformed me from being a lost adolescent to a man, focusing all the energy she gave me towards art, creativity and releationships.
I come from a long line of Venezuelan musicians, members of legendary bands such as Grupo Folklórico Experimental Barlovento and Un Sólo Pueblo, so music was always there, to the point that I took it for granted and studied Film instead. I direct my own muisc videos and I’m making a documentary about Venezuelan music.
I’ve been influenced as much by Jimi Hendrix Nick Cave, James Blake and Ronnie Wood (accounting for my rock side) as Rubén Blades, Draco Rosa, Juan Luis Guerra, Daddy Yankee.
Connecting with the audience is as important as the music. There's no live music without an audience so you have to go out there and make them part of your show.
Being a dreamer is amazing but way more important is to materialise those dreams. I’ve had to overcome my tendancy of being extremely emotional and impulsive to being more disciplined and organised.
My various projects provide different outlets: as a solo artist (Baldo Verdú) I experiment with electronic music, with Tonto Malembe, I channel all my anger about what's happening in Venezuela, while Pintón con Ñema is all about Afro-Venezuelan music, traditions and roots.”
@baldoverdu
CODIGO (Bachata)
Codigo is the UK’s longest running Bachata band, whose latest track ‘Su Final’ featuring Ralphy Dreamz, was produced by wellknown Miami producer Mayinbito (Pitball). The band is recording its 4th single to be released in June.
“just when I thought I was a normal UK teenager, I went to my parents’ native Ecuador for holidays and everything changed.
I saw a live Bachata band performing, and that moment - how the crowd responded, feeding off the adrenalin and energy of the music - left me speechless. From that moment I was determined to create a live Bachata band in London.
I met most of the members of Codigo - Andres, Dario and Jose - in the Air Force military school we attended. We’ve been performing together since 2013 and have learnt some hard lessons along the way.
Once we weren’t paid for an event we performed at, because we trusted a verbal agreement that was never complied. We haven’t repeated that mistake!
We meet up once a week to practice, bring and share ideas for new compositions, and discuss about events and improvements to the group. Create a unique sound by fusing different rhythms in to a Bachata record - Creating new sounds and coming up with innovative techniques on the instruments makes us want to learn more and always come up with innovative ideas.
It’s difficult for new Latin artists to get breaks in the UK, you have to build up your own following which takes time. So we are constantly working on improving our image and marketing to increase our streaming. In 5 years, we want to be performing at International Bachata festivals and have completed our first album.”
@codigo_
