“Sharing joy with my people, encouraging positive energy, and communicating life's desires: these are the motives behind the music I make," said Alexander Abreu, upon presenting the live recording of a concert dubbed, Haciendo Historia, (Making History) produced by Abdala Studios' Unicornio label.
Twelve tracks from the early days of the group - founded by the composer, singer, and trumpet player in 2008 - were revisited in the recording of a live concert, by producer Ilsis Céspedes and artistic director Lázaro Caballero.
Studio no. 1 at Abdala was converted into a night club, complete with audience, and musicians all over the set performing songs which, beyond getting the crowd dancing, feature new arrangements that merit close attention.
From "Resumen de los noventa" to "Mi música", "Solo para ti" and "Cuando el río suena," Abreu moves between timba and son, with ease and originality.
"I am not a singer, but rather a communicator," said the artist, who rose rapidly into the vanguard of Cuba's popular dance music scene.
"When I organized my band," he said, "this area of Cuban music was a bit dormant among youth. There were other interests. I'm not saying that it's bad to be inclined toward other genres and styles, but our own cannot be lost. There is a very rich tradition that has to do with what we are, and has brought us this far. One day, I went to the National Art School and heard some young men getting into house music. They didn't know anything about son, not even salsa. Now things are changing; within the diversity of what is being created and heard, new values are emerging."
Abreu comes from the band led by Paulo FG, who he invited to the recorded concert, adding, "The 1990s marked a stage in the evolution of dance music and this was my starting point."
Among his greatest satisfactions is the success of his CD La vuelta al mundo (Unicornio), which won the Cubadisco 2015 Grand Prize, and among immediate plans he mentioned, "I want to do a disc of classic Cuban son, from Matamoros, Piñeiro to Arsenio and Formell, in the style of Havana D’ Primera."
