What I am glad about ... DYM - News

Dear friends of Latinamerican music and culture!

Positive reactions on our work are something I extremely enjoy. This does not mean, that I cannot deal with critical remarks - quite the converse. But from time to time it is marvellous to get some acknowledgements. In the last two days, I received two comments, which I really liked.

There was a big compliment for our 10 - CD - “Vamos!” - Box:

www.danzaymovimiento.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=67861009900

She positioned herself on the first place of the genre “Sampler” in this month’s German Salsa charts (www.salsa-charts.com). The corresponding review rewards the “Vamos!” - Box with the maximum qualification. At the end of this mail, you encounter excerpts of the commentary of DJ Zorro Rob Lücking, who tested the box intensively in the clubs of Chicago. By the way: Three more positions of the Top 10 of the charts are occupied by CDs of the “Vamos!” - series... By having a look at the Salsa Charts, you will get valuable recommendations and suggestions!

There was also an encouraging commentary regarding Tango by Fredric Koeppel from Memphis / Tennessee, published in the magazine “The Commercial Appeal”, which I do not want to withhold from you. Fredric Köppel reviews the CD DZ003008, Que Bonboncito, Tangos Instrumentales Vol. 2 with the Sexteto Julio De Caro, Orquesta Pedro Maffia, Orquesta Tipica Brunswick:

“Danza y Movimiento, a recording company in Hamburg, Germany, offers an astonishing 800 albums devoted to the tango. One could safely say to tangoistas everywhere that if Danza y Movimiento doesn’t have it, they don't need it.

The album in question is Que Bonboncito, Tangos Instrumentales, Vol. 2, a compilation of 18 tangos recorded in Buenos Aires between 1929 and 1932. In the album notes, Klaus Johns tells us briefly about the history of the tango in that era and about the groups presented here: Sexteto Julio De Caro, Orquesta Pedro Maffia and Orquesta Tipica Brunswick, the last so named because it served as the tango band for the Brunswick record label.

We'll leave it to aficionados to elucidate the subtleties among these groups and their approaches to the tango. Suffice to say that one does not have to be fleet of feet and soulful of glance to be swept away by these tunes and arrangements. The sound is a little tinny but gracefully so, the syncopated rhythm peculiar to the tango is infectious, and the energy is irresistible.

These are not the smoky, passionate, death-in-desire latter-day tangos of Astor Piazzolla; the mood here is more clubby, more formally organized and upbeat, but tremendous fun. I don't know that I would listen to 799 other tango albums immediately, but I'm glad I heard this one.”

If you shouldn’t have listened to the CD already, you can do it now:

www.danzaymovimiento.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=90681003008

I happily announce the winners of our raffle of April. Please write us a short mail telling us if you prefer a Salsa or a Tango CD:

Ernst Bogenrieder from Schierling (Germany) Jean - Philippe Soulie from Annemasse (France) Ernst Hampel from Hamburg (Germany)

Every subscriber of our newsletter can win if he has registered in our shop. There is no commitment to purchase anything.

Have a nice week! Matthias Möbius

This is the commentary referring to the “Vamos!”- Box, taken from the current page of the German Salsa-charts http://www.salsa-charts.com:

Various: VAMOS! SALSA, MERENGUE AND MORE (ViaCancun / Yoyo 2002) 10 CD-Set (135 titles, Duration 9:54 hrs.)

DJ Zorro alias Rob Luecking: “Almost simultaneously with the birth of our charts more than two years ago, the VAMOS!-series came into being produced by Danza Y Movimiento (DYM) in cooperation with Viamas (Hamburg) and Yoyo- Music (Colombia). From that day on, the various samplers (there have been 12 so far!) keep turning up in the charts more or less successfully and hardly noticed. Originally, the concept was to create collections of generic cover versions of well-known Latin hits (signifying, that the song is played by a studio band with a fantasy name, so that the production turns out much cheaper) - but in the meantime, VAMOS! has established itself as a serious trademark for DYM. In fact, the last three releases (Vol. 10-12) only present original titles of famous Colombian and Cuban artists. A most convincing reason for buying the CDs is, of course, the price of 9.99 Euro per CD. I have to admit though, that my experience with generic cover versions is rather negative - this is why VAMOS! did not attract my attention right from the start. But it is never too late, thus, I took the occasion of the release of the anniversary box (Vol. 1-10 for the price of 59.99 Euro!) in order to check the VAMOS! concept in detail and without prejudice.

What shall I say? I am completely flabbergasted and gave the maximum evaluation of 5 stars for the VAMOS!-box without hesitating! Congratulations! DYM, Viamas and Yoyo-music did an excellent job. (...) In the end, it does not matter if cover versions are used in order to render hommage to the original or in order to produce an economic CD. Only the result counts (...). Don’t get confused by names like "Karibean", "Grupo Bemba", "Orquesta Latinos Band", "Grupo Mango Dulce" or "La Super Banda", but turn on the stereo system, relax, or start dancing! The compilations which at the beginning seems to be Pseudo-Latino-Bacardi-Samplers offer in fact excellent music, and loads of it. And this is the opinion of somebody who practically owns every original version of the cover songs.

Besides, VAMOS! does not only offer cover versions, but - starting from Vol. 6 - there are more and more original artists of the Colombian partner label Yoyo-music. And they have signed jewels like the Ex-Niche- reservoir Las Estrellas Del Ayer or Ex-Guayacan-singer John Lozano. Eduardo & Jose Ware are famous Vallenato artists, and Sol Barniz is an refreshing, multi-talented experimental band, which feels at home in almost any genre of Latin American music. (...)

The sentence "The cover versions you find on this CD have been produced with a maximum respect to the original artists!" written on the CD is no eyewash, but the truth. (...) All the original songs are interesting, and my favourites are: Carnaval (Las Estrellas Del Ayer), Vete Ya (John Lozano) and most of all Que Me Embriaga (Sol Barniz). (...)

All in all, the VAMOS!-package offers about 80 good or excellent salsa, merengue and cumbia tracks for the price of 59,99 Euro! (...) The VAMOS!-box is not only a starting package for beginners, a dead sure party set, and an ideal teaching programme for dance instructors (...), but also a quite sibstantial piece of work for confirmed Salseros and professional DJs. (...)

Keep up the good work!!!”