(Prensa Latina) Havana, Cuba – One of the top Cuban rock bands, Tendencia, presented here its
latest album. Rebeldes, produced by the major Cuban music recording company EGREM. Compared to Latin metal premiers such as Brazilian band Sepultura or Puerto Rican Latin-metal punch Puya, the Cuban band recorded its first album Re-evolución in summer 2000 with the German independent company SPB.Their sophomore album includes 12 tracks, most of them composed by pianist and guitarist Sergio Ernesto Puente, who stated for Prensa Latina that his main interest is fusion metal, inserting elements of guaguanco, rumba, traditional Son and other Cuban rhythms. "Despite coming from a very strong movement, follower of the English-spoken metal, we devoted ourselves to researching on the roots of our culture to come to a crossbred sound and prove Cuba has a different music, the other
Cuban music," he highlighted.
From the westernmost Cuban province of Pinar del Rio, the average age in Tendencia does not exceed 26 years old. It started as a four-piece band in February 1994, and since 1996, it hosts two national rock festivals sponsored by the Hermanos Saiz Association, the artistic vanguard of the youth in Cuba.
The band"s style could be labeled as ethnic rock, a branding also used for a worldwide-spread movement defined by the musical symbiosis of rock with native genres, the band leader stated.
The new album’s cover art is an installation by famous Pinar del Rio-based painter Pedro Pablo Oliva. The inner sleeve photography alludes to the combatants of the Sierra Maestra (eastern Cuba), the designers of thevictorious Revolution in 1959.
Some of the songs feature popular Cuban musicians, including the singers of NG La Banda, flamenco guitarist Reynier Mariño and Orlando Valle’s (Maraca) orchestra trumpeter. The Cuban label EGREM produced its first rock album in the early 1990’s, presenting the first volume of the compilation Rockeros Saliendo a Flote, including songs by Extraño Corazón, Cetros and Luz Verde.
However, the indispensable album for Cuban metal was released on the occasion of the First International Festival Caiman Rock in 2003. Besides Tendencia, this compilation titled Territorio Libre included premier bands
such as Zeus, Agonizer, Tribal, Escape, Rice and Beans and Elevense.
Two new rock productions are expected to hit the stores before March: the debut albums by the heavy/trash band Hipnosis and the hardcore/nu metal band Chlover. They will be joined by other popular dance music outfits such as Warapo, Vieja Trova Santiaguera and Puppy y los que son, son.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
