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Afropop's Best of The Latin Alternative Music Conferences, 2004-2007
 The Afropop Worldwide team has covered the Latin Alternative Music Conference for the last two years. Latin Alternative gets hardly any airplay or ink because it falls outside any conventional category—being a mix of Latin roots styles, rock, funk and electronica. But there are some very hip Latin Alternative artists from Los Angeles, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and elsewhere making original music. We’ll dig into our archives for our favorite live recordings from the 2004 and 2005 and 2006 editions of the LAMC and then hear the latest work from the 2007 edition by favorite artists we’ve been following.
Visit the official Latin Alternative Music Conference site at www.latinalternative.com and our friends at Nacional Records (www.nacionalrecords.com) to learn more.
Report compiled by Merry Pool
Photos by Michael Jones
Javier Garcia (Miami)
Javier Garcia is renowned for his multi cultural music. Raised in Spain and Ireland, his style reflects a deep routed appreciation for different regions of the world. He incorporates elements from salsa, reggae, funk and turntablism, on his third album 13.
Artist Site
Javier Garcia MySpace.com
Sara Valenzuela (Mexico)
Sara Valenzuela credits Peter Gabriel, Marvin Gaye, and Billy Holiday, among those who inspired her experimental jazzy style. The former lead singer of the pop punk band La Dosis, brings a mellower sound to her solo album, Lado Este. The musicians Mark Ribot, and Melvin Gibbs add their voices to some of the tracks.
Artist Site
Download Music
Pinker Tones (Spain)
The Pinker Tones have made a name for themselves with their genre blending of jazz, funk, reggae, hip hop, and electronic. The duo that goes by Professor Manso and Mister Furia, sing in French, English, German, and Spanish, creating a synthesis of sounds. Their 2nd album, The Million Color Revolution, fuses elements of pop, rock, disco, and lounge.
Artist Site
The Pinker Tones MySpace.com
Download Music
 Aterciopelados (Colombia)
Aterciopelados are one of the first Colombian rock bands to combine a variety of musical traditions such as mariachi, bolero, flamenco, cumbia, vallenato with a contemporary edge. Their seventh album Oye 2006, focuses on live, native instrumentation combined with a modern sound of rock
Artist Site
Aterciopelados MySpace.com
Download Music
Manu Chao (France)
Manu Chao, a global superstar in the world music scene, blends salsa, reggae, ska, and Algerian rai to create his unique sound. Although he primarily tours in Europe and South America, New York City was fortunate to have him perform twice in 2007 at the “Celebrate Brooklyn” concerts series and the The Latin Alternative Music Conference. Radiolina, his fifth solo album, came out September fourth.
Artist Site.
Manu Chao MySpace.com
Download Music
Other Artists Mentioned on the Program
Circo
Natalia y La Forquetina
Plastilina Mosh
Santos de Los Angeles
Chocquibtown
Radio Malanga
Los Bunkers
Cuarto Poder
Scan through Afropop Worldwide’s coverage of previous LAMC reports:
2006 Latin Alternative Music Conference Report
LAMC 2005 in New York City
Latin Alternative Music Conference Rocks NYC
Contributed by: Michael JonesFirst published: www.afropop.org
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