Orquesta Nova

As a Chilean-born composer and pianist living in Australia, I have nurtured a penchant for bringing Latin American vernacular music into the classical concert hall. Both of these musical traditions are widespread and possess an immense canon fashioned by many an inspired composer. Just as significant, both have been greatly impacted by a myriad of interactions with vernacular music over several centuries. A brief survey of the Western tradition may identify composers such as Mozart and Beethoven engaging with Turkish music, Bartók with Eastern European folk music, or Bizet and Debussy with Spain.

A few years later of “Vamos A Comer” EP (2010 © Lovemonk) and the “Unexpected Tapas” (2011 © Lovemonk) album releases, the Basque-German DJ & music maker, Mikel Makala, and the producer and director of the Gasteiz Big Band, Jimmy Bidaurreta, join forces again to create a new album called “Descarga Libre” (2019 © Orrua Diskak). Now the Basque duo strikes with the same purpose to rescue those Latin, Jazz, Funk and Descarga to Nuyorican Salsa sounds of labels like Fania, in combination with club & dancefloor rhythms. In the beginning of 2019 they’re back with a new album containing 7 originals songs, giving continuity to that brilliant sound they have signed together & have already obtained remarkable admiration from some international reputed DJs, producers and radio hosts.