Geko Jones and Atropolis present: Palenque Records Remixed. The compilation takes Afro-Colombian roots music from San Basilio de Palenque and re-imagines it in the hands of a host of global remixers.
I was very keen to post this one, because I have followed Atropolis since Cumba Mela went to Colombia and made the whole clash from their Global Bass meets roots.
Years have passed by, and Lucas kept strong ties with him, and adding the fact Geko Jones is a guy who knows and respects the roots this compilation is just the perfect example of how we can actually contribute to preserve original stuff and then shift it to the modern-urban environment without falling in the appropriation or colonialism mentality.
I had to do a whole interview with Geko, asking him a lot about the release, but instead what happened is because I have a strong relationship with Lucas (as we both did a Latino resiste together) he was the one sending me the promo very same day. So I decided to ask what the dudes in Colombia thought about the whole release.
LUCAS SILVA: I decided to do this because it is a great opportunity for people outside Colombia to realize the whole potential of our music. Also the possibilities to contact Palenque Records if they want to keep these things going on. We are the ones who made the recordings and we are the ones who try to represent the artists for a global market.
LS: I feel it is great because I had built a good relationship with both since Cumba Mela trip. and we were constantly exchanging ideas and emails. And their network is unbelievable. The final product and names who collaborated is impressive. I also want to point out that this is Palenque Records remixed. I do not want to generate the idea that Palenque Records does bass music. But certainly we want to break those walls and get together roots and dancefloor scenes.
San Basilio de Palenque is a small autonomous community in Northern Colombia on the outskirts of metropolitan Cartegena. The town was settled by African slaves who escaped bondage from Spanish masters in 1602, and is one of the oldest continually inhabited communities in the Americas. Its strategic geographic location has allowed it to be defended from attacks by outsiders throughout Colombiaʼs history. Its strong and unique local culture has forced subsequent governments to recognize the communityʼs continued contribution to Colombian national identity.
Like many maroon communities scattered throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, the culture of San Basilio de Palenque has a mix of African, European, and Indigenous American influences. However, the strong political identity of the community and its diaspora is unmistakably African. So its no wonder that when contemporary Afropop music started to make its way to the Colombian coast through vinyl LPs in the 1970s, it was the Palenqueros who first took up this music as a mark of community pride. Soon, Palenqueros and other Atlantic coast residents made up their own versions of the Afropop and Afro- Caribbean sounds they were hearing, resulting in the popular music called Champeta Criolla. In recent years, various incarnations of Colombian popular music, like Cumbia or Vallenato, have been well- publicized and celebrated internationally. However, the cultural music of San Basilio de Palenque, with an unbroken 400 year-old history that stretches back to the founding of the settlement, remains more obscured.
For the past decade or so, Palenque Records founder Lucas Silva has done field recordings in the town of San Basilio de Palenque of musicians such as Batata, Son Palenque, and Sexteto Tabala. To introduce this music to a wider club-going audience, Silva teamed up with Dutty Artz ambassadors Atropolis and Geko Jones to curate a compilation of remixed works of Palenquero cultural music. The partnership was initiated when Atropolis met Silva, on a trip he took to San Basilio de Palenque with his New York DJ crew Cumba Mela, and the two of them decided to collaborate on a project. Geko Jones, a regular visitor to the Northern coast of Colombia and staunch advocate for Afro-Colombian music, came on board to help curate the compilation. Together, the two reached out to the Dutty Artz extended family for their remixes, with a host of talented producers such as Captain Planet who turns in a wobbly pop banger, So Shifty who are on a hype German-soca tip, Matt Shadetek on a pensive melodic 6/8 run, and DJs Thornato and Chief Boima highlight the Congolese flavor that so inspires the Palenquero community. Geko Jones and Atropolis also submit their own productions, for an ultimate result that is a reflection of a continued cultural exchange that exists between New York and Colombia.