C U B A

Just got back from La Havana (via Madrid for a gig, big up Lovemonk, K'Bonus, Barbara, Lefto & Frank) ... Of all the places that i've had the pleasure to discover, Cuba is probably my favorite... Its so uniiiiiiique !!!!! I went there with Gilles Peterson, Mala & Vince Vella to produce the next Havana Cultura album (to be released on Brownswood Rec. in autumn) and to record cuban musicians & singers including Roberto Fonseca & band, Aldeanos, Danay, Doble Filo, Changuito, Ostalgia & many more talented artists...
10 days of full on studio including a few days of discovery, interviews & photoshoots, and a even a craaaaaaazy dj gig where Mala & i played some dubstep, house & all things UK to a young mesmerised cuban crowd (they were hearing this music for the 1st time ever !!). Even the cops who came to shut down da party didnt do it & stayed to check it hahaha...
What a trip i tell ya !!! We were hosted by François from Havana Club who brought us to the best places to eat & coordinated our stay there. Tropical weather (Caribbeans) all the way ... The studio we used was also fabulous... Kinda like the big studios in Philadelphia, with big wooden rooms (you could easily put a full orchestra + strings in the main studio!!) and all analog gear, 70's microphones & big large mixing desks, i was in heaven !!! All recorded on 24 inch tapes too ! Heeeeeaven for sound hahaha :-)
Despite the intense recording schedule i still managed to check out a bit of the town and ooooh my days, all these old cars from the 50's & 60's everywhere !!! You dont see that nowhere else !! There's hardly any internet in Cuba and if you have it, its SUPA slow... And despite the friendly & peaceful atmosphere its still remains a dictature... Cubans can hardly travel outside the island (no boats on the horizon) , express fully their thoughts in arts or even have email access in an easy way... Poverty is kind of omnipresent (if you check out the 'barrios' , and not only in Havana Vieja) but peope are well educated ... Increeeeeeeeedible mix of skin colors that makes it a very beautiful nation (imho), and of course the women are gorgeous there hahaaa !! All in all an amazing experience and hopefully i'll be back to check even more places in Cuba. Cuba es la vida !! Viva Cuba !!! :-D

Massive props to : François & Alice, Gilles & Simon, Oreste, Rebecca, Ornell & Abdalla Studio crew, Edgaro, Jo-Ivan & all the djs, all the singers and musicians that i met, the lovely Eyleen (great guide !), Lea & Ricardo from the film crew, Youri Lenquette the bad ass photographer, the french journalists, Vince, Mala (world premiere LOL !!), all the people that inspired me there...