Bamboleo is a Havana-based Cuban salsa and
timba
Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban ''son'' with ''salsa'', American
Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass dru ...
band formed in 1995, and emblematic of the "timba brava" generation of Cuban bands in the 90s. Their albums also include
bolero
Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...
s and
reggaeton
Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico.
It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American Hip hop m ...
.
The group was founded by Lázaro Valdés, a keyboard player, and initially fronted by two female singers, with a distinctive female "voice" and perspective in the lyrics. This was reflected on the first album cover, ''Te Gusto O Te Caigo Bien?'' (1996) which featured prominently the singing duo
Haila Mompié and Vannia Borges, but Haila Mompié left the band after the first album and Valdés contracted various other singers. Overall the feminine voice element of the band was later pulled back, with Valdes explaining in interview "That was important until the public got used to the sound of our music. The singers are the visual element, but you really have to get people accustomed to your particular sound."
[Eugene Robinson ''Last Dance in Havana'' 2012 "Wasn't this abandoning theidentity that made Bamboleo famous, the dominance of a matched pair of women singers? Wasn't it like serving coffee with no sugar? Lazarito gave another shrug. “That was important until the public got used to the sound of our music. The singers are the visual element, but you really have to get people accustomed to your particular sound. The force of the group is in themusic".... the music executives wanted Bamboleo to play undemanding “salsa romántica,” maybe, or better yet something along the lines of what Carlos Santana ... At a stand still, Bamboleo was doing surpassingly well by Cuban standards — and just fairly well by world standards.]
Discography
*''Te Gusto O Te Caigo Bien?'' (1996, Bis Music )
*''Yo No Me Parezco A Nadie'' (1998, Ahí Namá)
*''
Ya No Hace Falta'' (1999, Ahí Namá)
*''Ñño! Qué Bueno Está'' (2000, Ahí Namá)
*''Quimica De Amor'' (2002)
*''El Virus'' (2005, self-released)
*''Mi Verdad'' (2006, Latin Pulse Music)
*''En Vivo Galiano at la Casa de la Música'' (2007, Latin Pulse Music)
*''Quien Manda?'' (2010, Bis Music)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamboleo (band)
Cuban musical groups