Irene Torres presents a set of Peruvian music at the Supermarket after sets from Gigi Marentette, Jane Bunnett & Dánae Olano & Barbra Lica starting at 4pm.
Irene Torres enlisted Toronto DJ/producer Alister Johnson to turn "Madreselva Florecida" into a floor-filler – check it out.
Madreselva Florecida [Remix]
by Irene Torres × Alister Johnson
Written by Peruvian-born vocalist Irene Torres, this remix of Madreselva by Toronto's beloved groove specialist Alister Johnson is a prayer for guidance and resilience, composed during her first year in Canada as she began her immigrant journey.
The song’s mantra, “Guíame, enséñame” (“Guide me, show me”), carries both longing and strength, rooted in Afro-Peruvian tradition and Torres’ personal story.
For this new version, Toronto DJ/producer Alister Johnson reimagines the track with a hypnotic dancefloor pulse, weaving deep house textures around Irene’s soulful delivery. The remix bridges the sacred and the celebratory—transforming a song of survival into a groove of healing and release.
Released on Vesuvius Dance, the new imprint of Vesuvius Music dedicated to global remixes and collaborations. Writes Irene:
"Written after arriving in Canada, this song is my metaphor for resilience and finding roots in new soil. Now it blooms on the dance floor through Alister’s deep house vision. Thank you for listening + sharing."– Irene Torres
You can hear Alister Johnson's deep house remix of "Madreselva Florecida" following a swingin' acoustic performance of song below. Get a digital copy via Bandcamp right here.
Irene Torres plays The Supermarket on Saturday, September 20 at 8:30 pm as part of The Kensington Market Jazz Festival. Get tickets and info right here.
Over the past year, the UK music media and the blogosphere has gone gaga for the oozy-woozy post-dubstep tracks which 23 year-old Brit producer Sam Shepherd has issued under his Floating Points monicker when not working on his Ph.D thesis concerning the neuroscience of pain.
I'll restrain myself from any cheap gags about Shepherd starting up the Eglo label with Rinse FM DJ Alexander Nut as part of his research requirements and simply state that I haven't yet been knocked out by any Floating Points Vangelis-like releases any more than his gently thudding remixes but his Floating Points Ensemble shows definite promise.
Yes, like every other Brit producer with effusive accolades and some cello playing pals, the classically-trained Shepherd has more grandiose orchestral aspirations. Fortunately he also managed to squeeze in some classes in jazz composition at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester and it's starting to pay dividends as can be heard in the three songs he performed with the 13-piece group featuring singer Fatima at BBC's Maida Vale Studios last August which can be found here.
If you try to blot out Gilles Peterson's fawning banter towards the end of the clip, you'll notice that he's got playing in the background Moe Koffman's mighty mellow Days Gone By (Egyptology) – off the cut-out bin classic Museum Pieces (Janus) album of 1978 – with some swank keyboard fills from Don Thompson and tasteful guitar runs courtesy Ed Bickert. Nice.
Days Gone By by Moe Koffman
Those wondering what exactly Shepherd might spin in a Floating Points DJ set at the Supermarket this evening might find some clues in his My Plastic People podcast which Shepherd assembled for XLR8R earlier this year.
Evidently the Ph.D studies and part-time beatmaking don't leave much time for crate-digging but the jazz, fusion and soul numbers selected as a personal tribute to London's famed East End nightspot, Plastic People, make for a pleasant mix.
My Plastic People
01 Flora Purim "Encounters" (Milestone)
02 Deniece Williams "Slip Away" (Columbia)
03 Esther Philips "Home Is Where the Hatred Is" (KUDU)
04 Windy City "(So You Think) Somethin's Missin'" (Chi Sound)
05 James Brown "Mind Power" (Polydor)
06 Gil Scott-Heron "Lady Day and John Coltrane" (Flying Dutchman)
07 Brian Auger & Oblivion Express "Whenever You're Ready" (RCA)
08 Willie Bobo "Sixty-Two Fifty" (Columbia)
09 Chick Corea & Return to Forever "Captain Marvel" (Polydor)
10 Kuniyuki "Precious Hall (Dub)" (Natural Resource)
11 Larry Heard "Missing You" (Track Mode)
12 Herbert "Suddenly" (Studio !K7)
13 Darkstar "Aidy's Girl Is a Computer (Kyle Hall Oats B So Deep Remix)" (Hyperdub)
14 Floating Points "Shark Chase" (Eglo)
15 Pharoah Sanders "Greeting To Saud (Brother McCoy Tyner)" (Impulse)
