La Santa Cecilia, Monica Lionheart, Xenia Rubinos, Alex Anwandter, Martin Buscaglia, Gepe, ArtOfficial
Event on 2012-07-11 18:30:00
La Santa Cecilia
La Santa Cecilia consists of guitarist Gloria Estrada, accordionist and requintero Jose Carlos, bassist Alex Bendana, percussionist Miguel Ramirez, drummer Hugo Vargas and lead vocalist Marisoul, whose captivating voice sings about love, loss and heartbreak. Their influences range from Miles Davis to The Beatles, Zeppelin to Janis Joplin and Mercedes Sosa to Ramon Ayala. Their common love of music and openness to all genres led them to the concept of La Santa Cecilia in 2007 – named after the patron saint of musicians. La Santa Cecilia’s self-titled EP was recorded at Lo-Fi Studios in San Bernardino and the legendary Westlake Recording Studios in Hollywood. Their song “Chicle” was featured on the Emmy award-winning series Weeds, the independent feature Dish, and the documentary Re-Encounters about Oaxacan artist Alejandro Santiago. Their musician also be heard on KPFK’s radio programs ’4 O’clock Tuesday’ with Gustavo Arellano and ‘ Travel Tips For Aztlan’ with Mark Torres. The band made an on-camera appearance on HBO’s Emmy award-winning hit show Entourage; the episode also featured the songs “Chicle” and “El Farol”. The band also held a two- week residence for the L.A. Philharmonic- sponsored children’s show Summer Sounds, where they performed their songs and acted so as to educate the community of Los Angeles on their very own cultural treasures.
Monica Lionheart
Singer-songwriter Monica Lionheart (of internationally acclaimed band Zigmat) has a unique style that is the result of a lifetime of musical influence. Growing up in a musical environment, Monica has always been surrounded by an array of expressive forms, all of which influenced her development in becoming such an eclectic musician where playing the piano, guitar, drums & flute are just the beginning. Monica’ s musical resume includes her work with signed artists such as Nacional Record’s Pacha Massive who she wrote and recorded for on their sophomore release, “If You Want It”. Other groups include, The Bursers, Belle Tropez, The Dizzy Ventilators, iluminada, Nadine Khouri, and Sweet Electra. In addition to her collaborative works, Monica’ s music has also landed placements in several films and television commercials such as General Motors, Audi, VW, John Freida, Le Meridien, and the Gisele Bundchen/Grendene commercial to name a few. Monica is currently signed to Nacional Records. Her debut full-length album “Indian Summer” will be released in the Spring of 2012.
Xenia Rubinos
Brooklyn-based artful chanteuse Xenia Rubinos delivers cheeky spanglish wordplay in a punkish tone. Showcasing an expansive vocal range and colorful timbres, her songs can sound like a drunk hamster racing through a Bustelo can and beer bottle town or a dreamy girl wandering down the rabbit hole. Xenia’s self-realeased 2009 debut EP, “Elephant Songs”, is a window into her imaginative songwriting. In 2010 she began working as a duo with long time drummer and co-producer Marco Buccelli (Glorytellers, Giovanni Truppi). Experimentation with tape looping and playing her own keyboards lead to a new batch of music including the single, “When You Come” , which is a departure from the more acoustic approach of her previous recordings. With European and US tour dates under her belt, including showcases at this year’s SXSW, Xenia is currently working on her debut full length album.
Alex Anwandter
One of the leading names of Chile’s new vibrant pop scene, Alex Anwandter has just released one of South America’s most critically-acclaimed 2011 albums, “Rebeldes” (Rebels). 80′s-influenced pop, current chilean house and emotional songwriting are all conjured up in a very danceable and engaging live performance.
Gepe
Chilean alternative singer/songwriter Gepe, whose versatile style incorporates aspects of both indie pop and indie electronica, emerged to critical acclaim during the mid-2000s in association with the well-regarded independent label Quemasucabeza. Born Daniel Riveros in 1981 in San Miguel, a commune of Santiago, Chile, he cites influences ranging from legendary Chilean singer/songwriter Victor Jara and sunshine pop icon Brian Wilson to alternative rock touchstones such as Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine as well as contemporary indie pop acts such as Animal Collective and Devendra Banhart. Before adopting the Gepe moniker, Riveros collaborated with bassist Javier Cruz in the short-lived duo Taller Dejao, resulting in the independently released full-length album El Brillo Que Tiene Es Lo Humano Que Le Queda (2004). While he continued to collaborate with others in the Chilean indie pop/rock scene such as Javiera Mena, Riveros embarked on a solo career as Gepe, making his recording debut as such in 2004 with 5×5, an EP released in association with the independent label Jacobino Discos. He subsequently switched to another Chilean independent label, Quemasucabeza, on which he made his full-length album debut in 2005 with Gepinto and was concurrently featured on the label sampler Panorama Neutral. Successive Gepe releases on Quemasucabeza include the follow-up album Hungría (2007) and the EP Las Piedras (2008).
ArtOfficial
ArtOfficial thrives on originality. It’s the quiet thrum that runs beneath every track and performance like a current, igniting and electrifying their sound. They tread their own path, eschewing the simple magic of beat machines and samples for the irreplaceable warmth of organic instrumentation, and a meticulous care for crafting music with soul. Formed from the remnants of two very different bands in Miami in 2007, ArtOfficial’s one-of-a-kind sound is as inherently ingrained in the group’s core as a trait buried in genetic code. Since their inception, they’ve been compared to groups like Soulive and The Roots, but theirs is a different brew-a seamless marriage of unyielding, unapologetic urban poetry with an unflinching array of jazz melodies that results in some of the most uniquely crafted and sincere hip-hop you’re likely to find-not just in Miami-anywhere. The six-piece band dropped their indie debut, the Stranger EP, in 2007, and followed it in 2008 with a well-received sophomore effort in Fist Fights & Foot Races, which was released on Goon Trax records in Japan. They made the album available in the U.S. in December of 2010, but by then their fans had already been clamoring for more ArtOfficial. So earlier that year, AO answered the call, giving away their mixtape The Payback online. Both The Payback and Fist Fights were widely shared on the Internet. You’d expect nothing less from a band who has shared the stage with the likes of KRS-One, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, N.E.R.D, Pharoahe Monch and many others. They won the Florida Grammy Showcase and been named Best Band by alternative weekly, and sister paper to the Village Voice, Miami New Times. And from one-offs and stops around the country, this hard-gigging group continues touring tirelessly, sharing stages and crowds with some of the biggest names in the music business. 2011 witnessed the birth of their latest musical creation, Vitamins & Minerals. And on their latest record, they continue to break the mold. They’re not trying to reinvent the wheel; they’re doing exactly what they’ve always done. It’s just that what they’ve always done was so unique to begin with. And they’ve only gotten better each and every step of the way. Perhaps it’s because they are a band that relies on perfect balance. Or maybe it’s their unwavering quest for perfection, so intense, it borders on OCD. Either way, the result is apparent from beginning to end. Take the album’s lead single “Migraine”, for example. Both vintage AO, and cutting-edge, it blends vertigo-inducing lyrical mastery and a hook that rattles in your head like a loose screw, with hauntingly jazzy instrumentals. But it represents much more than just an instant classic for this unique band. In an ongoing effort to push the envelope, they sought new collaborators. So they brought them in. They wanted to record with a 15-piece string orchestra, so they organized one. They wanted to record a marching band, so they assembled it. And by virtue of that attitude, where everything is possible and limits are nonexistent, they achieved their most solid effort yet. It’s a badge of honor for a band so road-tested, to be held in such high regard for their shows. But it is also well deserved, as anyone who’s witnessed the focused frenzy that is ArtOfficial’s live performances can attest. From flawless musicianship to remarkable pacing, to an ease dictating the ebb and flow of the crowd that’s downright uncanny, ArtOfficial has it all. And there’s no question the possibilities are limitless. Miami-based ArtOfficial are a hip-hop ensemble with jazz and funk influences featuring vocalists Newsense and Logics, Danny Perez on keys, Ralf Valencia on bass and Keith Cooper on the saxophone.
at Mercury Lounge
217 East Houston Street
New York, United States
