Search - Bill Laswell :: Imaginary Cuba

Laswell at his finest.

10/21/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This ain't no Buena Vista Social Club! This CD is an amazing combination of straight-laced field recordings, dub experiments, drum-n-bass frenzies, and ambient textures--all through the guise of Havana's musical culture. Every bit of music (excepting hip-hop) that Laswell has had his hand in over the past decade is represented and mutated brilliantly. "Deconstructing Havana" indeed!"

Stunning document of modern day Cuba ...

Michael Mut | Hialeah, FL | 09/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"From the run-down streets of Havana, Cuba, from the dilapidated residences of some of the island's best musicians and from the outdated studios run by the communist state comes this fascinating project by world beat performer / producer extraordinaire, Bill Laswell. Imaginary Cuba documents music recently made by musicians still trapped in Fidel Castro's broken-down, farcical revolution, then transformed by Laswell in his studios. Well known for his work with the group Material and various other jazz / fusion projects, Laswell's now brought a wealth of inventive, traditional rhythms over from the island nation and infused them with his inimitable world-music vision and smooth, funky, groove-laden bass playing. Like all traditional Cuban music, the tracks found on Imaginary Cuba are percussion-heavy. They were created in part by groups or individuals, and then received Laswell's production treatment. Los Ibellis, Clave Y Guaguancó, Tata Güines, Frank Emilio, Raul Planas, Guillermo Pompa, Septeto Nacional and others participated in Cuba. The album is at times minimalist ("Los Ibellis", "Guerillero Heroico [El Che Vive!]"), sometimes sweet and delicate ("Dejale la Puntica" and "Madre No Me Pida In Dub"), and still at others intense. "Habana Transmission 3 # / Shango Sound Scan", "Pompa at the House" and "Hombre Lobo No! Hombre Nuevo, Si" fall under this category.It also seems to express in music the very desperation that Cubans living there today must feel. This is Afro-Cuban trance, ladies and gentlemen. Laswell's dub/groove-tinged production technique, featuring loads of ambient reverb and echo effect, is instantly recognizable on every track. "Chacon and Daniel" is built around a conga and bongo riff that was recorded on a street. Laswell leaves in the ambient noises (crickets, cars, etc.), then tweaks them and enters with his bass dub. Near the end a son guitar and a flute-like sound teases the listener.The Cuba pictured within the booklet is very real: disgustingly decaying "soláres" (tenements), where the people live practically on top of each other; the narrow, sullen alleyways between dwellings; the crumbling streets where souls with nothing better to do sulk. An aerial view of the city of Havana graces the insert of the cover.The cover itself is worthy of note. It features a pregnant woman unsurely gazing at the photographer (Daniel Laine) with a wary, "I don't really believe anymore" look in her eye. Behind her, an innocent child at play, unaware of the true implications that the revolution carries; a portrait of the felled hero, Ernesto "Che" Guevarra, hangs on a crumbling wall. The colors red and black, official colors of Fidel Castro's 26th of July movement, figure importantly into the design of the disc.Not entirely gloomy, Imaginary Cuba, is also thought provoking and quite interesting. Paddy Moloney, founder and head of Wicklow records is the executive producer. Downbeat magazine, in its February 2000 edition might have hit it right on the head when they wrote: "Laswell has created a swirling hallucination of Cuban life, a surrealistic aural travelogue." It is a very real portrayal of Cuba - the imaginary, or ideal, one is of the past and the near future."

Unusual mix of sounds, but it works beautifully

Tim Pryor | Montreal, Canada | 01/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While Laswell is often criticized for releasing too many albums of mediocre quality, you certainly can't fault him on this one. Somehow he mixes tradtional cuban rhythms with hip hop, techno, and dub, and make the whole thing sound seamless from beginning to end. This is great headphone music, and as good as any Laswell release, including the brilliant Axiom Ambient collection from '94. It's great to see someone still taking some risks in music, and better yet, succeeding at it."