10:48am Thursday 25th February 2010
By Tim Hughes
Dapper master of rumba-ska fusion, Natty Bo, tells Tim Hughes why for the hottest new music, you have to look to the past.
WITH its pulsating rhythms, rapid tempo and thrilling blasts of brass, Cuban music is among the most exciting sounds on earth.
Hot, steamy and sexy, this mash-up of European and African traditions has given us the rumba, mambo, chachacha, guaracha and the guitar and bongo-fuelled forerunner of salsa, “son”.
But imagine fusing Cuban sounds with the soundtrack of its southern neighbour, Jamaica.
Fascinated by the music of the Caribbean, and the retro styles of the ’30s and ’40s, Londoner Natty Bo was intrigued by the idea – so much so that he pulled together a band featuring some of the finest rumba and ska musicians north of Havana and Kingston.
The band is called, quite reasonably, Ska Cubano. And with Natty Bo as singer-songwriter, it has a reputation as one of the most dynamic live acts on the planet.
“We’ve created a new genre,” says the snappily-dressed musician and producer – who, with his zoot suit, two-tone shoes and fedora, looks like he has stepped straight out of Havana’s El Floridita bar, circa 1940.
“Our starting point is the Cuban revolution and the beginning of ska.
“It’s real swinging music and is completely danceable. But what makes it interesting is Cuban and Jamaican music makes you move in different ways – so we’ve got the twist and spin of Cuban music and the pull and push of ska.”
“It’s an old-fashioned style, but we’ve brought it right up to date.”
Natty Bo first came to our attention as the man behind ska, rocksteady and reggae band Topcats, a band firmly rooted in the sounds of Jamaica. He also had a reputation on the scene as a DJ at influential Soho club night Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues.
But it came as a surprise to learn that Natty Bo has wider talents. “I started off as a visual artist, painting, drawing and sculpting – and busking on the side. But I got more involved in music because I love the interaction between artist and audience.
“I love expressionism and surrealism – and some of the humour of that comes across when we’re on stage.
“I was born in Hackney, which had quite a big Jamaican community. I heard my first James Brown song at the age of three and loved blues and r’n’b. But when I heard ska for the first time I was blown away by the excitement of that whole different tempo. The 2 Tone/ska revival happened in my teens and I realised that all those great songs they were playing were actually covers!”
Moving to south London’s giant Thamesmead estate, he says he found himself seeking “an escape”.
“It’s the place where they filmed A Clockwork Orange, and art and music was a reaction to the grey, dismal, mundane surroundings.”
Ska Cubana came to life with the backing of investment banker Peter Scott, who flew Natty Bo out to the city of Santiago de Cuba – the island’s traditional musical heartland - to record local musicians. They included infamous sweet-voiced and hard-partying singer Beny Billy (Juan Manuel Villy Carbonell).
“It was a real eye-opener,” he recalls. “There were these amazing musicians playing on old and broken instruments, children’s guitars with strings tied in knots, and drums which looked like they had been attacked with hammers. They were incredible, but it was hard for them to leave.”
Confounded by the obstacles of recruiting Cuban nationals, Natty Bo pulled together an international line-up including Beny Billy, Japanese sax player Megumi Mesaku, double bass player Rey Crespo, “tres” guitar player Jesús Cutiño, Oresta Noda on congas, Dr Sleepy on drums, and Eddie “Tan Tan” Thornton and Jay Phelps on trumpet.
They are joined by Cuban singer Carlos El Capone.
Natty Bo likens the process to assembling the Magnificent Seven. And when Beny Billy’s penchant for a tipple and increasingly erratic behaviour forced a rift between him and the band, he took over as lead vocalist.
The band’s reputation as a live spectacle, throwing in elements of calypso, mento and hip-swinging Colombian Cumbia was sealed with appearances at Glastonbury, the WOMAD world music festival and our very own Zodiac club, now the O2 Academy.
Next Saturday the Ska Cubana roadshow returns to the venue, once again invited by promoter and DJ Aidan Larkin, of east Oxford’s Skylarkin Soundsystem. And, says Natty, anyone who ventures down that end of Cowley Road is in for a treat.
“We are very active – visually and musically,” he says. “We seem to have the effect of bringing joy to people.
And if, despite the music, you are still not dancing, there’ll be nowhere to hide. “I can’t bear to see people slacking in the audience,” he laughs.
“I have to have your full attention. But you’ll laugh, you’ll dance. And, I promise, you’ll come out drenched in sweat.”
Ska Cubano play Oxford O2 Academy on Saturday, tickets £15 (advance) from wegottickets.com Support from The Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band, and Action Stations DJs. After-party venue to be announced on the night.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/trade_directory/