Customer Reviews

Sun Gypsy

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

You think Detroit, you think cold, automated factories and if you're music savvy, you think techno. Mention Florida and you think beaches, sun-worshipers and Afro-Latin music. In 2002 John Beltran relocated from cold Lansing, outside Detroit, Michigan to Florida, the Sunshine State. It is said that "Life Imitates Art." John's move confirms the rule.

Sun Gypsy (Ubiquity records) is the seventh album in John Beltran's solid and eclectic career. It completes his transition, which started with Americano (Exceptional, 2002), from strictly electronic, techno and IDM-oriented music to a more lively and worldly sound. The main influences in John's new sound are Brazilian artists Djavan, Jorge Ben and European producers like Jazzanova and Nicola Conte among others. Every track in Sun Gypsy blends house, samba and latin jazz rhythms, layering electronic keyboards and strings with live-sounding latin percussion and samba/bateria instruments such as cuica, apito and agogo.
The result is an album that pulses with lively beats and organic sounds-- an album that will make you feel good and smile, either if you're shaking on a crowded dance floor or relaxing in the tranquility of your home.

Here's the forecast:
You press play. You hear waves and seagulls. No, it is not a new-age relaxation CD-- and you will soon find out when the bossa nova style keyboard and horns kick in. It is "Captiva Con Tigo" ("Captive with You"), which will make you feel like it's early morning and you're watching the sunrise on the beach. From then on the album acquires a more lively, uptempo feel to it, starting with the modern samba "Kiana". "Felicidad Nova" ("New Happiness") is a house tune infused with samba and nu-jazz. Track 4 is "La Nueva," top-quality latin jazz tune which includes a visceral Santana-style guitar solo.
We come to high noon with "Bota Foga", a track named after Rio de Janeiro's district and soccer team Botafogo, which coincidentally or not, depending on John's knowledge of Portuguese, also means "Sets on Fire." It sets the stage for jazz act "Dashiki" which adds house tempo and loungy vibes and horns to incredible drum rolls. Fiery indeed. The following track is a "Fragile" a Sting (!) cover that has little in common with the rest of the album except for the Conga and Cuica that adds a Latin feel to the song: Yes, Latin Sting. And it actually works! After this rather peculiar moment, the Sun Gypsy announces : "Let's go straight to Bahia where the samba was born. Well, where Brazil was born." What you hear is a Berimbau call followed by heavy samba drumming. The track title is "Sun Musica" --which also works as a quick description for the unique style of this album. After a brief "Interlude" the sun sets-- and the album closes-- with chilled-out "Heaven and Earth" the B-side to the album's first single, "Felicidad Nova".

Forecast of the California winter? SUNNY.
Enjoy.

Sun Gypsy is John Beltran's first full length release with Ubiquity records and his first domestic album as John Beltran. His other works include "Earth and Nightfall" (R+S, 1995), Moving Through Here (Apollo, 1997) and the highly acclaimed "Ten Days of Blue" (Peacefrog, 1996). He also produced as Placid Angles (Peacefrog, 1997) and Indio (Transmat, 1999). For more information visit www.johnbeltran.com and/or www.ubiquityrecords.com.

John Beltran delivers more Latin jazz-infused house with SUN GYPSY. "Kiana" has a sunny, romantic haze, while "Felicidad Nova" is a foot-tapping fiesta, complete with guitar, that switches gears halfway through. "La Nueva" is a little self-indulgent, however, and the cover of Sting's "Fragile" seems unnecessary, but "Dashiki" thankfully shakes things up by bringing in some speedy breaks. "Heaven and Earth" closes the album on a more downtempo note, still plenty tropical and no less funky. It's certainly a competent album, though not one that's particularly noteworthy.

For me this is the weakest of Beltrans albums. I enjoy all of his music and own all of his works to date (including Placid Angels and Indio)- but this collection seems generic and stale. The Latin element is hardly unique. The electronic stylings are transparent, which for me is a let down. The standout track is a remake of "Fragile" by Sting. I must say that the song has never sounded better.

I had only heard of John Beltran because of his cuts on Brazilectro IV and a remix of that track on Brazilution 5.2. It was Felicidad Nova, and unfortunately Brazilectro chopped a few minutes off of it (which they did a lot of in version IV). But it had a catchy beat and a really cool feeling in the music. Otherwise, JB was a mystery to me and I wanted to check out his work. From what I've gathered, he's off of the "Ubiquity" label - which is big news! Think of Gilles Peterson, P'Taah, Cuica, Quantic, Greyboy, the Rewind series (which, btw, just released it's 4th volume last week) and a slew of other break-beat and nu-jazz artists - these guys have worked with this label.

And this really is a terrific release; no doubt I was pleasently surprised. The music really is inspired by the sun and the latin/Brazilian night-life and clubs. Throbbing beats, sexy voices in the background and a pleasent vibe that's hot for dancing. The CD starts out great with "Captiva Con Tigo", a gentle beach sounding track with the waves crashing as effects, an indicator that you've arrived at a special place. Then you're immediately taken into the nightlife with "Kiana", a track laced with those sexy vocals and throbbin' bossa beat. That's followed up with the full 8+ edit of "Felicidad Nova". "La Nueva"'s next, which picks the party up again and I swear, if you close your eyes you can see people dancing and twirling. But the cut that caught my attention the most was "Bota Foga". It has that cool latin-house twinge to it with a loop that, well, made me smile while thinking of how great the song could be mixed into a sped up version of Buscemi's "Voodoo Voyage" on the turntables. There are other fantastic tunes too - like a more intense samba for "Sun Musica" and an interesting tropical re-make of "Fragile".

I certainly recommend this cd, I'm enjoying it. Was it flawless? Well, it's tough to say how timeless some of the tracks will be and admittedly it's tough to duplicate such a beautiful song as Sting's version of "Fragile". But it's still a very nice cd that I'm very happy to own. Check it out! And if you do like this, check out JB's "In Full Color" and I think you might dig Racoon's "Universal Vibes" and Ian Pooley's "Since Then" & "Souvenirs". Buscemi too - especially "Our Girl in Havana" and "Camino Real".

First of all, I'd like to say 4-stars is a very good review for me (I used to fall into the trap of handing out 5-star reviews like candy).

I first heard John Beltran on LTJ Bukem's "Earth, volume 4," and thought his two tracks on the compilation, "Aztec Girl" and another one (I forget the title), were the highlights of this CD. So then I got some of his other stuff... I really liked these albums, but they didn't come close to his tracks on the LTJ compilation.

Then along comes "Sun Gypsy," which has some live instrumentation and vocals, very infectious, bossa nova-drenched beats and his trademark organic vibe.... And it's this organic approach to techno and an understanding of space that makes this album such an awesome listen.

Also, this is a perfect soundtrack for knocking boots. Trust me on this one.

John Beltran's name is associated with Carl Craig and LTJ Bukem. But this CD is not the garagey techno of the former not the ambient trip hop of the latter. His name has also been associated with chillout music, but this isn't chillout. I found it at reduced price marked House / Garage in the Electronica section and thought I was getting a bargain. But its not house or garage either or any form of electronica for that matter. Its some sort of Brazilian carnival music, and not very good Brazilian carnival music at that. Call it bossa nova for want of a better name but don't expect it to be of the quality of people who actually specialize in bossa nova. This CD is really really bad. The fact that it was at reduced price should have given me a clue. Its the one CD I regret buying. I'm considering giving it away to a girlfriend who generally has bad taste in music and might like it in some way or I might hock it ... or throw it away.