One Blood: Una Sangre

by

Lila Downs

Edit

I first heard Lila Downs' sultry, smokey voice in the film "Frida." The movie's entire soundtrack is extraordinary, and I still listen to the CD frequently. Fortunately Ms. Downs has come out with four albums since then, because I love the passion and soul she puts into her music. "Una Sangre" is her latest offering. And it is an eclectic, outstanding mix, based on her multicultural artistic vision!

Lila Downs is a Mexican-American vocalist, with a Scottish-American father, and a Mixteca mother. She grew up in both the Mexican state of Oaxaca and in Minnesota, USA, bi-lingual and bi-cultural. Lila received formal voice training in Mexico and in the States, and performs her own compositions, as well as tapping into the rich indigenous music from the Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya, and Nahautl cultures. Her variegated sound is a real fusion of Mexican folk songs, rich American blues and jazz, along with some pop, mixed in with Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms. I occasionally hear some gospel in there also. It is really difficult to pigeonhole her music and interpretations into a genre. This is a good thing! She is totally original.

"Viborita (Little Snake)," leads off with a fantastic driving Afro-Latino beat sustained by a fleet bass drum, with call-and-response vocals. It is very reminiscent of coastal music from Mexico, Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean - similar influences, right? The poignant "Dignificada," comes right afterward, and really gives the artist an opportunity to show-off her versatility with this slow sensual bolero. "Cielo Rojo," (Red Sky), is an excellent cut, one of my favorites - a sort of Mexican flamenco with 3 very different guitars at work here. It's gypsy-like, with soaring vocals and Lila, at times, trilling a falsetto high in the back of her throat.

"Bamba" is her take on the 200+ year-old song that Ritchie Valens made famous outside of Mexico, and her version of "La Cucaracha" is a fabulous 'cumbia', which some folks mistakenly call reggae. Reggae, which I really like, is totally different. The cumbia is a Colombian folk dance and music, which originated among African slave populations on the country's Atlantic coast. It is popular in areas of Mexico and Latin America. Extremely sensual, the music is often classified as "salsa, played in 4/4 time with a heavy beat one and accentuated beats three and four, giving a loping rolling rhythm similar to 'riding a horse.'" Anyway, this version of "Cucaracha," which usually has political lyrics, is certainly the most unusual I have heard.

"Tiringue Tsitsiki" (Flower of Marigold), is beautiful and sweet. Lila harmonizes with herself with minimal accompaniment here. While Malinche, with Downs' deep-toned voice and powerful delivery is bold, with lots of percussion - snare drums, maracas, and harp. "Paloma Negra" is traditional Mexican, with a fresh touch. "Mother Jones," performed in English, is pure blues. "One Blood," and "Brown Paper People" are also sung in English.

Lila's husband, Paul Cohen, is the musical director and saxophonist. He has brought together an excellent, international group of instrumentalists who come from the US, Mexico (string-multi-instrumentalist, Celso Duarte), Cuba (bassist, Junior Terry Cabrera), Chile (drummer/percussionist, Yayo), and Brazil (guitarist, Guilherme Monteiro). Mexican and American guitarists Ernesto Anaya and Marvin Sewell, make guest appearances, as does the renowned Japanese percussionist Satoshi Takeishi.

This is a wonderful CD! Lila Downs is a unique artist - simply superb! Highly recommended!

JANA

I was sadly disappointed with this CD & I guess with Lila Downs, too. I really liked some of her early albums, but recently she just seems to be recycling the same old things in different songs. As we were listening to La Bamba, I remarked, "I guess it's about time for the 'Hip-Hop" part, & sure enough, a few seconds later it went into the same old 'Hip-Hop' thing she puts in so many songs. She's a great singer, but I get tired of hearing her show off with some of these really low or long sustained notes--I wished she'd just do some really new & different music. The "Cucaracha" is kind of interesting, but seems to much of an attempt to match Manu-Chao or Los de Abajo. I actually can't stand to listen to this CD.