Santana – Africa Speaks (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Santana – Africa Speaks (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:04:31 minutes | 1,35 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Concord Records

Africa Speaks is the new energy infused full-length album from Santana. It features the soulful vocals of Afro-Latin singer Buika, and was produced by legendary producer Rick Rubin. Santana and his eight-piece band (featuring his wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, on drums), convened at Rubin’s Shangri La Studios in Malibu, and in a joyous and stimulating 10-day period they recorded an astonishing number of tracks, many of them in one take. Inspired by the melodies, sounds and rhythms of Africa, Santana has created a truly memorable and powerful experience that also promises to be one of his most groundbreaking albums yet.

Exactly half a century after his debut, and his brilliant performance at Woodstock festival where he made a name for himself, Santana has once again turned to Africa, the original source of so many music genres. Indeed, let’s not forget that blues originated from slave songs and served as a foundation for jazz, rock and soul, among others. Produced by Rick Rubin, this album was almost entirely recorded in live conditions, without retouching and without a safety net, an exercise he’s particularly fond of. Not to mention the man’s love for improvisation, and his virtuosity allows him a great deal of audacity. Along with singer Buika and his wife Cindy Blackman on the drums, Santana once again blends the jazz he loves with the Latin rhythms and rock reflexes that live in him.

The first track on Africa Speaks serves as a perfect introduction to this celebration of sounds that seem straight out of the mists of time. His voice speaks more than it sings, and he promptly gets a response from his backing singers. Then the album suddenly becomes funkier, with titles like Oy Este Mi Canto or Yo Me Lo Merezco, and outright blazing on the tropical Breaking Down The Door with its blustering brass, reminding the listener that it only takes a few boat-rides to cross over from Africa to South America. If the main idea behind this project is to demonstrate that rock, soul, blues and jazz are but children of African music, the evidence is fairly conclusive. Every song and style blends together so perfectly, and invites us to let ourselves be carried away by the infectious warmth of this opus. – Christian Eudeline

Tracklist:
1. Santana – Africa Speaks (04:47)
2. Santana – Batonga (05:43)
3. Santana – Oye Este Mi Canto (05:58)
4. Santana – Yo Me Lo Merezco (06:12)
5. Santana – Blue Skies (09:08)
6. Santana – Paraísos Quemados (05:59)
7. Santana – Breaking Down The Door (04:30)
8. Santana – Los Invisibles (05:54)
9. Santana – Luna Hechicera (04:47)
10. Santana – Bembele (05:51)
11. Santana – Candombe Cumbele (05:36)

Personnel:
Carlos Santana, guitar, vocals
Buika, vocals
Laura Mvula, vocals
Cindy Blackman Santana, drums
Produced by Rick Rubin, Carlos Santana

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