The Buena Vibra Sound System

Sidestepper | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 5, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Palm Pictures (Audio
• ASIN: B001BCCPZO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,327 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

XLR8R, April, 2008

[Sidestepper's Richard Blair] "took Latin music production beyond mere sampling or playing a conga riff and assembled a band featuring musicians from all regions of Colombia....summery Spanish-language vocals and mid-tempo electronic beats perfect for an early evening DJ set or change of direction from downtempo to house."

Product Description

From the heart of downtown Bogota, Sidestepper's new album hits fresh heights of block-rocking euphoria with its unique fusion of electronic dance beats, dub, and vibrant Colombian sounds. A non-stop kaleido-trip through Sidestepper's past, present, and future!

Tracks like the eponymous "Sidestepper" bring back the band's early sound, paying homage to a night out in a salsa club. Inspired by mambo king Peréz Prado, this tongue-in-cheek tune calls out "Sidestepper sabor [flavor]!" Blair explains, "Like a lot of musical traditions from funk to blues, and salsa is no exception, if you are not bigging yourself up nobody else is going to."

On other tracks, Blair invents new beats entirely. On both "Que Sera" and "La Paloma," Blair explores the triangle between Colombia, Jamaica, and Nigeria. "The more I hear from these three places, the more I hear a relationship" Blair explains. "There is some Nigerian music that sounds as if it could easily be Colombian. So I tried to create a Colombian Afro-beat."

"La Bara Ratin" is an unusual beat coming from Blair's one-time obsession with "making beats that don't fall on the obvious beats of the bar." "Deja" is a reprise from 3am, but this time gets a Sly and Robbie-meets-hip hop treatment. The album has more hip hop references than Blair would have planned, but after working on so many complex rhythms, it was time to make things more simple. "It's like a chef trying to make incredibly complex wedding cakes, who goes home and wants to make a simple steak and eggs meal for himself," says Blair. "You need to have gone through these processes to do something simple well. This album has all those things."

Two tracks are by remixers. "Hoy Tenemos" was done by Boyz from Brazil, who later became the Gotan Project. The U.K.'s Lightning Head started from the ground up, preserving only the original vocals on "Mas Papaya."

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hopping for more!!., April 30, 2009

By 

Mister Weird & Sonido Perla "El Demonio de la... (High Cal) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Buena Vibra Sound System (Audio CD)

In this album Richard Bair got together some of the previous material, chop n remix some of it is good and some well not so good to start this disc is Mix meaning all the song are mix together, now the Remix of Mas Papaya i really was expecting more, is a good Remix more electronic than the original less Latin Flava but hey thats why is call a Remix, Que sera more Hip-Hop feel to it is Okey, in the other hand Deja Well done i love it, la Bara not really not so good, Hoy Tenemos [Boyz From Brazil Remix] i found it in other copillation so i already hear this one before i like it, altogether this this is Okey.