Check out Will "Quantic" Holland spinning a selection of Colombian 78 gems for My Analog Journal.
Colombia at 78 RPM with Quantic
Caribbean Rhythms From The Jukebox Era
"I spent years searching for records in Colombia, collecting LPs, 45s and especially fragile 78rpm shellac discs, often losing them to breakage along the way. What fascinated me was how Colombia’s jukebox culture kept 78s alive well beyond the 70s, preserving a rich, folkloric sound shaped by labels like Fuentes and Curro and artists such as Andrés Landero. Through digging, compiling The Original Sound of Cumbia, and later projects like Ondatropica, I’ve tried to share these recordings and honour the musicians behind them. Despite the technical challenges of playing and restoring these records, there’s something powerful about how music recorded over seventy years ago can still resonate so deeply today.
"I had a lot of fun compiling these records for My Analog Journal and I'm really proud with how the mix turned out. Live now on Youtube.
Producer/composer and DJ Will "Quantic" Holland's dancefloor ready DJ Kicks set is out Friday with a release party at Phonox UK.
Here's the scoop...
Having worked and lived in the UK, US and Colombia throughout his 20-plus-year career, Quantic is an artist whose reputation has long been forged by his unique engagement and vibrant musical exchange with local scenes and cultures from across the world. His discography of electronic releases is vast, spanning two decades and ranging from solo productions and intimate collaborations to expansive ensemble projects. Under aliases such as Quantic, the Quantic Soul Orchestra, the Limp Twins, Flowering Inferno, Ondatrópica and many more, the multi-instrumentalist, DJ, composer and producer Will Holland has released over twenty studio albums as well as countless EPs and singles.
Now, Quantic pulls from his unparalleled, wide-ranging pool of musical companions for his DJ-Kicks compilation, which fittingly radiates friends and family energy. The mix bursts with unreleased exclusives and places the art of curation at its core, giving the listeners space to go and dig more of the songs and sonics which resonate the most. Will Holland includes a breadth of new material, including new music from Quantic alongside another of his other aliases Sobredosis.
Having made records together as Transgressors, he hails JJ from The Poets of Rhythm. Similarly, the drummer of London band The Heliocentrics, Malcolm Catto, played in the Quantic Soul Orchestra in the early 2000s, and the band’s fuzzy track features early on in the mix. The ties don’t stop there though. Having mixed his album ‘Bring Backs’, Holland welcomes Mist’s jazz instrumentalism onto his Kicks, followed by a whistling dance contribution from JKriv – ft. Gabriel Oliveira – with whom he spent his early days as bassist for New York live house ensemble Tortured Soul. Quantic also brings to the mix his Colombian contemporary Frente Cumbiero, with whom he formed tropical supergroup Ondatrópica.
As a selector often booked to play at sunset, Quantic channeled this energy into the mix’s pacing too. “I love when people suddenly realise they are engulfed in the night… and this mix does put you out into some pretty high tempos of bass music, dub and Cumbia.” Beyond raising profiles, the mix encapsulates Quantic’s tempo-changing DJing style which, over the past decade, has built him a strong community of fans. In regard to the compilation’s sonic journey, which likens the voyage to boarding a boat, he says “you’re going down a river and get off in a different place… it’s also a cool way to encapsulate, stylistically, what I’ve been up to as a DJ over the last few decades, while shining a light on people I admire”.
This DJ-Kicks is the latest instalment in Quantic’s ever-evolving artistic trajectory, an accompaniment to those moments when the gloaming disappears into darkness. An homage to an unparalleled artistic path within the dance music cosmos. Will Holland’s longstanding dedication to a full range of melodic and percussive expression alongside continued musical collaboration is what makes his edition of DJ-Kicks such a rare beauty.
Get a copy of Quantic's DJ Kicks 2LP directly from !K7 Records right here. Check the track listing below followed by a couple of tracks and a clip from an all-vinyl Quantic set at System in London last year.
Quantic DJ Kicks
A1 JJ Whitefield feat. bonnie behave - The Mind Is A Palace
A2 The Heliocentrics - Minimal Engagement
A3 Quantic - Dialect
A4 Alfa Mist - In My Defence
B1 JKriv feat. Gabriel Oliveira - Pifeiro Malandro
B2 Quantic & Sly5thAve - Twang
B3 Frente Cumbiero - Michilero
B4 Quantic - Theme From Selva (Remix)
C1 Quantic - Eko Eko
C2 Quantic - Motivic Retrograde (Live Version)
C3 Eblis Alvarez, Meridian Brothers - Un Grande Nubarrón Se Alza En El Cielo
Will Holland wanted to experiment with new sounds and grooves inspired by the work of Bohannon and Larry Levan.
Here's the scoop...
The new album by Quantic aka multi instrumentalist, DJ, composer and producer Will Holland is in many ways an evolution. Now 20 years into his career, ‘Dancing While Falling’ is the British born New York based artist’s most live sounding, euphoric and, in his own words, grown up release to date.
Predominantly recorded at his own Brooklyn studio, Selva, Quantic’s initial idea for his new album was to experiment sonically. However, after a while, he changed direction and realised that the record needed to also relate to the human condition not just his “singular pandemic wormhole”. The demos, then, started off as symphonic, loosely disco era dance music a departure from his previous Latin and Spanish instrumental releases. Influenced by legendary artists in the scene like Bohannon and Larry Levan, Quantic wanted to make a disco leaning album at first. “I’m really interested in Latin music and Afro Caribbean rhythms and I think there's a really amazing point in history where the emergence of those rhythms and its combination with American soul sparked what we now know as disco,” he says.
Get a copy of Dancing While Falling via Bandcamp right here. Listen to "Run" feat. Andreya Triana, "Unconditional" feat. Rationale and the instrumental "Tikurin" below. Check out a recent Juno Daily interview with Quantic talking about the new album right here.
Will Holland and his partner Aziza Ali at their Selva studio space in Brooklyn.
Listen to "Macumba de Marea" and "Balada Borracha" off Quantic's forthcoming Nidia Góngora collaboration Almas Conectadas.
Here's the scoop...
Almas Conectadas (Connected Souls) is the sophomore album from renowned British producer Will “Quantic” Holland and Colombian singer/songwriter Nidia Góngora slated for release October 22.
Bubbling with symphonic flourishes, the release explores the unique, rich, and mystical musical traditions of the Colombian Pacific Coast while being recorded at Quantic’s Brooklyn-based studio and creative powerhouse Selva. Delving into the concept of the album, Nidia explains: “Almas Conectadas refers to the interrelation of cosmic energies, the aura and the way they manifest from the abstract; we are more than body and flesh and there are countless elements that connect us as beings that interact in the universe, physical contact does not always exist to be connected.”
Nidia sings of soul’s lost at sea found by fishermen on “Macumba de Marea,” while Quantic’s orchestral layered instrumentation crescendos and flows, weaving between Nidia’s storytelling.
“This song speaks of the importance of the rituals to say goodbye to our dead, through actions, charged with mysticism, spirituality and beliefs that define our cultural identity,” she explains.
“Balada Borracha” (Drunken Ballad), a cumbia-rock fusion melding Quantic’s cyclical guitar rhythms with Nidia’s celebratory vocals. The song is an ode to “all the drinkers and drunkards” in Góngora’s remote river hometown and Afro-Colombian community of Timbiqui, “especially my cousin Jairo Hernández (R.I.P.) and my brother Harold Angulo,” she adds.
Almas Conectadas explores the nostalgia of impossible love, celebrates eternal bachelors, mourns souls lost at sea, and tells stories of dwellers from Timbiqui (whose location and cultural contrasts provides endless inspiration). Protecting the essence of the region’s rich songbook, and treating the cultural traditions of the Pacific coast with the utmost reverence, ‘Almas Conectadas’ is the perfect marriage of musical diversity, collective creation and intercultural dialogue. Nidia Góngora’s magnetic voice and captivating songwriting is matched to the unparalleled musicianship and pioneering production of Quantic, across eleven flawless tracks.
Listen to "Macumba de Marea" and "Balada Borracha" below. Pre-order a copy of Quantic & Nidia Góngora's forthcoming album Almas Conectadas via Bandcamp right here.
Here's some cumbia heat courtesy of the reliable Will "Quantic" Holland – check the tracklist below.
Tracklist: Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlan - Cumbia Arabe
Quantic & Nidia Góngora - Maria No Me Llevo (RELEASE
Pedro Miguel y los Maracaibos - Sorongo
Ondatropica - Linda Mañana
La Pesada - Cumbia y Tambo
Quantic - Sol Clap
Ondatropica - Lazalypso
ID - ID
Tito Cortes - Yolanda
The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band - Mor Rhythm Mor Khaen
Faustino Oramas - Mujeres de Bayamo
Nicola Cruz - Tzantza
Los Reales De Cajamarca - Si Te Vas De Mi
ID - Mi panecillo querido
Quantic Y Su Conjunto Los Miticos Del Ritmo - Nothin But A G Thang (Vocal Dr Dree & Snoop Dogg)
Quantic & Nidia Góngora - Amor En Francia
DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn - Meet Tshetsha Boys
Quantic & Flowering Inferno - Cumbia Sobre el Mar
La Lupe - Fever
Calixto Ochoa - Corazon enamorado
Papa Brandao y su Conjunto Aires Tableños - La Murga de Panama
Ondatropica - Hummingbird
Quantic and his Combo Barbaro - Un Canto A Mi Tierra
Nicola Cruz - Mantis
Expect a career-spanning Quantic selection including new tracks Curuba & Creation (below).
Quantic Mixes Caja y Guacharacha: Cumbia, Puya & Porro link Cali Cartel: Smokin' Colombian tipica joints link Lost and Longing: Cape Verdian Mornas & Coladeras link Vacilon: Boogaloo vs Guajira link
Quantic presents The Western Transient: A New Constellation is out July 31. Ondatrópica hits T.O. July 13.
Quantic Presents The Western Transient is the latest project from Will “Quantic” Holland, bringing together a handpicked band of some of his favourite musicians – namely Todd Simon (trumpet, flugelhorn), Wilson Viveros (drums), Sylvester Onyejiaka (flute, tenor saxophone), Brandon Coleman (piano, Moog), Gabe Boel (bass), Alan Lightner (steel pans, percussion) – to record a set of new compositions in Los Angeles paying homage to the rich, lively and intimate quality of the classic soul and jazz recordings. The resulting album, A New Constellation finds Holland following up his disappointingly over-egged solo album, Magnetica, with a suite of traditionally recorded pieces that capture the spontaneous beauty in making music with serious musicians playing real instruments.
“A transient is a burst of energy that hits and falls off, leaving nothing behind. It is temporary, momentary in its action, like an ink drop on a page that fades almost as soon as it’s dry,” offers Holland in a philosophical moment. “Music is a muddle of transients or rather, a meeting place for them, where the short lived can become eternal.”
The vinyl version of A New Constellation comes housed in a deluxe handmade hardback gatefold sleeve designed by Steven Serrato with photographs taken by B+ (see video clip below).
In other Will Holland news, his Colombian's cumbia crew Ondatrópica will be performing as part of Toronto's Panamania festival at Nathan Phillips Square on July 13. If you'd like to contribute to the recording of Ondatrópica Vol. 2, check out their crowd funding campaign right here.
Quantic explains his appreciation of Colombian music extends to Fruko's bizarre sleeve designs.
Magnetica Live Tour Dates: 6/11: Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall 6/12: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer 6/13: New York, NY @ Drom 6/14: Chicago, IL @ Taste of Randolph Festival 6/15: Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry 6/17: Winnipeg, MB @ Winnipeg Jazz Festival 6/19: Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West at King Plow 6/20: Austin, TX @ Empire (Control Room) 6/22: South Park, CO @ Sonic Bloom Festival 6/25: Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy 6/27: Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge 6/28: Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Jazz Festival 6/29: Montreal, QC @ Montreal Jazz Festival
The Munich-based Jazz & Milk label is launching a new compilation series of previously unavailable recordings with the 6-song various artist Footprints 12" EP (and digital download). After a quasi Afro-funk joint by Bad Jazz Troupe remixed by Jazz & Milk founder Dusty and some MPC-based bedroom house trickery from Vienna's Sam Irl, comes the compilation's real standout track – the hard-swingin' Ethio-Colombian hybrid "Sidama De Cali" by Todd Simon and the Angel City All Star Brass Band.
Inspired by the custom coffee blends which Simon brews, "Sidama De Cali" essentially just horns and percussion but thanks to Simon's tight arrangement the 21-piece ACASBB's debut release comes together seamlessly. And yes, the rumour that the guacharaca scraping comes courtesy of Will "Quantic" Holland is true.
No doubt some fans of the Poets of Rhythm and Whitefield Brothers will want to grab this limited-run 12" for the JJ Whitefield-penned "Who's Foolin' Who?" pounded out with pan-African finess by Karl Hector & The Malcouns but "Sidama De Cali" by the ACASBB is the real gem as you can hear below.
Todd Simon & The Angel City All Star Brass Band - Sidama De Cali
To mark the highly-anticipated Toronto return of Quantic, who'll be joining A Man Called Warwick for a Tropical Dancefloor throwdown at The Garrison (1197 Queen West) on Saturday evening, we've got a crazy hot new mix of Will Holland's most-prized scratchy old Angolan singles straight from his trusty 45s box. Here's what our man had to say:
"This is a selection of a handful of Angolan 45s that have proven their
spirit & longevity in my record collection. Here's to the slap-echo
guitars, scratchy dikanza, hope, aspiration and musical beauty that
flowered from Luanda. This sound has long informed the systems of
Barranquilla and parallels cumbia, samba & compas in sonic ancestral
synchronicity."
