|
Pedro Luis Ferrer
| |
|
Discography · Similar Music
| |
| Biography: | |
|
A celebrated Cuban trovador and composer, Pedro Luis Ferrer is a master of
the guaracha musical form. Ferrer's work spans the classical as well as popular
genres of Cuban music with fully charged lyrics reflecting the psychological and
spiritual nuances of Cuban society today. A veritable vox populi, Ferrer
cleverly uses satire as he brilliantly expresses the daily trials of everyday
life. For nearly three decades Ferrer has gathered a loyal following, filling a
much needed void and becoming the voice within the silence. Born in Yanguaji, a small town in the old Cuban province of Las Villas, Ferrer's strong traditional family atmosphere and exposure to the indigenous music, helped provide the solid foundation that would eventually become the cornerstone of his artistic expression. "I always try to achieve an aesthetic form without compromising the integrity of my expression...I strive to make it transcend the circumstances with which it deals." Although his instrument of choice is the guitar, he also plays the tres, a six string guitar like instrument, and studies the lute for which he has composed several symphonic pieces. A maverick at heart, Ferrer abandoned the orthodox route of a musical school or conservatory. "I am a self-taught musician," clarifies Ferrer. "I must admit, though, that I've had friends - musicians, teachers, professors - who imparted some teachings and advised me, but never in an academic situation." With a lifetime of first hand experiences, live shows, and collaboration, his musical training is the sum total of his direct encounters with the intricacies of the various Cuban seminal rhythms. Arriving in Havana as an amateur musician in 1965, Ferrer joined several bands where he met fellow musicians who have since become celebrated figures in the Cuban musical movement. Jamming with the likes of Carlos Alfonso (founder and leader of Grupo S?ntesis - in a quartet that collaborated with the Cuban Institute of Arts and Cinematography's (ICAIC) experimental sound group). Later, he and fellow troubadour Mike Porcell - a Cuban expatriate now living in Miami - became members of Los Dada, an experimental group in search of a fusion of national musical elements and modern rock. This fortuitous liaison, according to Ferrer, caused him to reconciliate with his own forgotten country roots. In 1974 he traveled to Europe, for the first time, to appear on radio and television in Poland. Since then, he has visited Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. He also has performed in Mexico, Peru and the USA. "I consider my performances in Miami to be a very significant achievement, in light of the existing political climate," says Ferrer,"...and I am honored and feel greatly rewarded when the likes of figures such as Papo Luca, Danny Rivera, Willy Chirino and especially Celia Cruz, include my compositions in their respective productions." On his 2005 album, R?stico, Ferrer draws upon his country?s rich musical traditions and transforms them to create new meaning. So transformed is his music on R?stico, that he invented a new word?chang?isa?to describe the style. Ferrer takes chang???from the mountains of Guant?namo, in Cuba?s East?and mixes it with related genres that have not received much attention, such as trova espirituana (from Santi Spiritus) and coros de claves, two styles from Central Cuba where Ferrer was born. By transforming the word itself from masculine to feminine, Ferrer simultaneously creates a musical concept that is more receptive and which can integrate more diverse elements, and pokes fun at the macho way in which music from the Eastern part of Cuba is often played. ?In Western Cuba, they sometimes play in a mocking way,? explains Ferrer. ?They play the son?from which salsa originated?with a special beat, with a ?female touch.? I am trying to recreate that in my word. This new term I use frees me from any kind of conventions, in terms of the chang?? per se, and allows me a lot of freedom in creating music.? This freedom is further emphasized since Ferrer gave up on having a band, instead forming what he calls a bunga, an old word from the countryside that refers to a small, improvised music group. ?A bunga is simply people getting together in small groups playing for the sake of playing,? Ferrer explains. ?It didn?t have an established format. Anyone could bring any instrument: an accordion; a drum; you could have a bottle with a clink-clink sound! And that?s how we play: we rotate instruments, bring in new elements if we want.? These new elements range from almost-lost Cuban traditions, instruments from elsewhere, and techniques from modern songwriting conventions. ?I?m trying to get away from a nationalistic concept of music,? says Ferrer. ?That?s why you hear different elements.? On ?C?mo Vivir? Mi Cholita,? a song about the struggle of a man that lives in the Andes, Ferrer uses vocal harmonies with Andean musical traces. On this song and four others, his daughter Lena Ferrer?whose voice is featured throughout?uses the Peruvian caj?n, rather than the more-Cuban rumba box. ?The Peruvian box has a sympathetic sound with the guitar and better capacity for subtleties?it has a hole in the back giving it more tonality and a loose plank that creates a snare-like sound; whereas the Cuban version is closed and sturdy. That doesn?t mean I won?t use the rumba box one day.? Percussionist Basilio Perod?n uses the marimbula, a large thumb piano of African origins, which was the first Cuban bass used in 19th century son. Whereas the early Cuban marimbula was not tuned, here it is re-created so Perod?n?who simultaneously plays clave, cow bell, and bongos?produces musical notes to sound like a regular upright bass. The group uses an African clave rather than the more typical son clave. Even with these references to African origins in Cuba, Ferrer has a unique take on the subject. ?Music critics often refer to the African elements that originate from slaves,? says Ferrer. ?But the African element also arrived from Spain thanks to years of Moorish domination! There are elements from Moorish culture that still survive in Cuban music. In chang??, the tres guitar sings along with the singer, without the use of the concept of harmony.? The music on R?stico creates dialogue. Sometimes it is a conversation between Cuban instruments and those from elsewhere. Sometimes it is a discourse between tradition and innovation. And on ?Fundamento,? the lyrics argue with the music. The song uses the son tradition of commenting about everyday life. It tells about going to a vegetable market and finding that a papaya or a mango costs almost your entire monthly salary. The lyrics are a sharp critique of Cuban reality today. Ferrer ironically teams the words up with music in the spirit of Carlos Puebla, a central singer of The Revolution. ?The original songs were not meant to critique The Revolution,? explains Ferrer. ?But in this song you have a social criticism and reflection.? Irony and word play is a Cuban tradition that Ferrer embraces. ?Conga Vegetariana? is dedicated to two Norwegian, vegetarian friends. Ferrer found irony in their advocacy of a meatless lifestyle in the context of Cubans who go weeks without eating meat because of scarcity. Once again, two worlds collide in Ferrer?s dulcet yet profound music and lyrics. ?Traditionalists in Cuba might tell you my music is not as traditional as it might sound,? says Ferrer. ?I use tradition, to reinvent it, to join pieces that were separated. To bring forward elements that were left behind. People use tradition as a means of communication. But after a while their traditions just get repeated and they get bored with it. By reinventing these traditions for an audience, the tradition becomes alive again.? |
|
|
| |
| Discography: | |
|
Pedro Luis Ferrer (Havana Caliente, 1999) R?stico (Escondida, 2005) |
|
|
| |
| Similar Music: | |
| Trova, Chang? | |
|
| |
Deutsch
Français
Español
Italiano
Portuguese
Japanese
Korean
Chinese
You will be logged out if you use Google Translation