Gilles Peterson's independent label Brownswood Recordings have long been a reliable source when it comes to the two things. Firstly the discovery of the new, but secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the rediscovery of the under-celebrated and under-discussed. This is totally true of the labels latest project. The Havana Club Rumba Sessions is a full album of remixes based on Cuban rumba samples, a corner of Latin American music that Peterson has long championed on his radio shows. Now, the whole purpose of this project is to get people more clued up on what rumba is all about, and what it means for Cuba. You can start this process for yourself by watching this video to get to grips with the basics, but if you feel like finding out more, Brownswood are also behind a feature length documentary on the subject.The remixes then, act as wildly current interpretations of a culture steeped in social significance. To be completely honest, we loved the entire collection, so when Brownwood hit us up to ask if we'd like to premiere one of them, we jumped at the chance. Especially when we knew it was going to be this humdinger from French producer débruit. Listen below, and to find out more about the project, check out a chat we had with Gilles himself.
Gilles: I first heard Irakere at Ronnies when I was around 18. They used to play there every year and there even used to be a Havana / London festival that Ronnies organised back then, but I never got to go.The music of Cuba is largely rumba, but it breaks down into different categories. What are those and how are they defined?
There are three main styles—yambú, guaguancó and columbia. The meaning of each goes way deeper than this, but very quickly, each of them differ in terms of pace and rhythm and have different dynamics between the male and female dancers performing them.In terms of contemporary Cuban music, are traditional Rumba styles still central?
I think so— it's the tapestry of life and the root of the culture, it's just been misunderstood by the rest of the world for yearsDoes Cuban music have a place in the modern nightclub?
Probably not! But it's always interesting to try things out. In fact I released a record called 6/8 drums by Eternal Sun years ago. It was my first foray into rumba for the club scene, the pathless remix is particularly interesting!What's the focus of this project's accompanying documentary?
To get to the bottom of what rumba is. I wanted to find out more for myself as it really is the perfect beat.How did the remix pack come together?
I just wanted to invite some of my favourite producers and artists from around the world to attempt a re-imagining of rumba. There are some serious bits of work here— they really worked out of their comfort zones, and you haven't even heard some of the other versions we've still got up our sleeve!What can you tell us about the débruit remix we are premiering?
He's a quiet, incredible and hugely talented French producer who was really excited to get involved in this— he's worked a lot with Ethiopian and other so-called world music and delivered a gem here.Havana Club Rumba Sessions is released March 11th (Digital) / April 1st (Vinyl). You can pre-order the album here.
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THUMP: When did you first get a taste for the music of Cuba?
Gilles: I first heard Irakere at Ronnies when I was around 18. They used to play there every year and there even used to be a Havana / London festival that Ronnies organised back then, but I never got to go.The music of Cuba is largely rumba, but it breaks down into different categories. What are those and how are they defined?
There are three main styles—yambú, guaguancó and columbia. The meaning of each goes way deeper than this, but very quickly, each of them differ in terms of pace and rhythm and have different dynamics between the male and female dancers performing them.In terms of contemporary Cuban music, are traditional Rumba styles still central?
I think so— it's the tapestry of life and the root of the culture, it's just been misunderstood by the rest of the world for yearsDoes Cuban music have a place in the modern nightclub?
Probably not! But it's always interesting to try things out. In fact I released a record called 6/8 drums by Eternal Sun years ago. It was my first foray into rumba for the club scene, the pathless remix is particularly interesting!What's the focus of this project's accompanying documentary?
To get to the bottom of what rumba is. I wanted to find out more for myself as it really is the perfect beat.How did the remix pack come together?
I just wanted to invite some of my favourite producers and artists from around the world to attempt a re-imagining of rumba. There are some serious bits of work here— they really worked out of their comfort zones, and you haven't even heard some of the other versions we've still got up our sleeve!What can you tell us about the débruit remix we are premiering?
He's a quiet, incredible and hugely talented French producer who was really excited to get involved in this— he's worked a lot with Ethiopian and other so-called world music and delivered a gem here.Havana Club Rumba Sessions is released March 11th (Digital) / April 1st (Vinyl). You can pre-order the album here.