Customer Reviews

Una Forma Mas

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Que musicos increibles!!! Toda la musica es cantada, no usan mas instrumentos que sus voces y manos para reproducir todos los sonidos de una orquesta de salsa. Es impresionante. Por supuesto, se oyen mucho mejor en vivo, y en disco se pierde un poco de la calidad del espectaculo, sin embargo el disco vale la pena. Excelente compra!!

I enjoy all types of music and I have heard some wonderful interpretations of latin music. In this case it is focused on Cuban Music. Vocal Sampling has trully surprised me with this album. Their interpretation of Beny More's titles are the most original I have heard in a while and if you love this music, expect to get goosebumps once you listen to it. Enjoy it best with headphones.

Several years ago I heard a review of the album Cambio de Tiempo on All Things Considered (PBS). I was intrigued and I bought it. I was enthralled! As a middle aged man who mostly loves classical voice and now opera, I was so happy to hear the rhythms of latin america that were basically indigenous, and popular, without the ridiculous electronic exaggerations of most modern popular latino/world music. I bought that album for a number of other people. Well the years went by and I could not find it. Eventually, I bought another and then realized how rich the group is that I went on line and bought De Vacaciones. Una forma mas was a little bit less satisying in the lyrics, but it is so great in the rhythms and melody that I love it so much in it's own right. On the surface, the music has of course similarities, but each album and song are truly gems. To dance with them is divine!

If you love Afro-Cuban music you _must_ have this CD. Vocal Samplings reproduce the sounds of a latin big band, a conjunto de son, a merengue ensemble, and a religious bata bateria with just their voices. Absolutely incredible. These guys are not just premier vocalists, they are top-notch instrumentalists as well and it shines through on every track.

The word virtuosi just doesn't do them justice.

After repeated intense listening, my favorite track is still their tribute to the great track by Los Munequitos de Matanzas, "Congo Yambumba" from the album of the same name. Listen to the "quinto" solos along with the vocal riffing by the lead singer. These guys are tight, wide and deep all at the same time.

Cuban music features the interplay of voice and rhythm like no other musical tradition in the world. Vocal Samplings have added to this legacy in a way that is true to the roots but also adds on in the finest Cuban fashion, in ways that are playful, artful and masterful.

Words aren't enough really. Just buy the album, OK? I promise you won't regret it.

This a capella group (Vocal Sampling) out of Cuba first came to my attention when the United States (shamefully) would not grant them a visa to come and accept a Grammy for their album. Politics has no place in the arts!

These guys are amazing (think of Take 6 or other male a capella groups). The songs are beautiful and haunting. The rhythms are, well, Cuban :-). Put it together and there you go!

Back when slavery took place in Cuba, there was a point in time when drums were outlawed. Obviously, the oppressive slave masters did not want the Africans to communicate with drums as was the tradition. Vocal Sampling revives the response to this oppression with the debut CD "Una Forma Mas". It is beautiful and soulful Cuban music without instruments. I like to think of it as Hispanic Beat Box Music. Making music with their mouths brings forth incredible songs that are stunning and reviving. Beny More was like the Frank Sinatra of Cuba and Vocal Sampling revolutionizes a couple of his songs, immortalizing them in our hearts and ears. Make sure you get this CD before you buy their sophomore attempt because strangely, the group was whitened (for reasons unknown to me!). To history buffs, this should be nothing strange. At the turn of the century, Cuba encouraged mass European immigration to "whiten" its society to avoid the same fate of the slavers of Haiti. However, "Una Forma Mas" is free music. It expresses the liberation that is Cuban music. Even though most Cubans today cannot have everyday things that we 'estadounidenses' take for granted. Cubans do live freely through their music. Watch out for the Santeria, but enjoy the rhythms, vocals, and beats.