Newbie Salsa Music?

[lily]

I've just got back from a dance holiday where I really enjoyed the Salsa classes. The teacher was excellent and the moves she taught us were fun (if not a little, um, well, I didn't know that Salsa involved so much, um, touching :oops: .)

Anyway, I'd love to continue dancing Salsa and improve (although my first love, I know, will always be Swing dancing :ladiesma: ) The thing that keeps me from loving Salsa as much as I do Swing is the music. I am totally addicted to Rock 'n' Roll music and Salsa music just doesn't do it for me (yet). I know that this is personal taste, but I think that it is also lack of experience; I haven't actually heard that many Salsa tunes.

So, could anyone recommend a really good Salsa album or artist for a future Salsa addict? I love fast music with a really good beat to it, but I don't know if there are any Salsa songs like this. Can Salsa sound like Paso Doble or Samba? If so, I'll love it! :oops: :? :D

Thanks!

[Pacion]

There is some really fast salsa music out there, but if you are fairly new to salsa, I suggest you go with the slower stuff so that you can hear the instruments and really get the feeling/footwork - with fast salsa, chances are you will think that it is a lot of instruments just banging away with a 'maddening' stick sound (the clave :oops: ) being made.

Whilst the music is 'slow' does not mean that the body has stopped moving :wink: the shoulders and hips need time to move too :banana:

I am sure the others will chime in but my suggestions, remembering when I first started, are:

DLG
Victor Manuelle
Marc Anthony
Frankie Ruiz
Son by Four

I would say they are at the lighter end of the salsa line. Some of the DLG songs are very groovy, 'laidback' regge type sort of salsa (so laidback, you can see the palm trees :lol: ). :D I don't know but do you have the option of going into a record store and hearing the CDs before you buy?

Otherwise, try listening to an online salsa station. One of my recommendations would be batanga.com because in their popup window they tell you the name of the artist, the song AND the album. Or, perhaps that is not such a good thing as you then end up with a really long shopping list :oops:

(Note to self. Remember to ask Boriken where to go CD shopping in NY :banana: :lol: )

lol Lily. It is not just touching, depending on the guy, he might kiss you on the hand or the cheek too :wink:

[Danoo]

yeah the slowe music is the smooth and romantic part

use it to impress your partner :D :friend:

[borikensalsero]

I agree that if you are new to salsa you should stay with the Popish stuff, that is unless you are musician... soon your body will ask for something more, then you go head first into the classics and you will detest the popish stuff. hehe

But here are some links that talk about salsa songs, there are a few others here in the forum as well if you would like to delve in... BTW... wait a couple of months... you'll forget what rock sounds like.. 8)

http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1808
http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=220
http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=3566
http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=3325

[Pacion]

BTW... wait a couple of months... you'll forget what rock sounds like.. 8)

Boriken :roll: you forgot this :arrow: :twisted:


:lol:

[borikensalsero]

(Note to self. Remember to ask Boriken where to go CD shopping in NY :banana: :lol: )


It's a secret... :tongue:

[Pacion]

I don't remember making it a question :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:





:lol: (and no, you are not seeing double with the rolling eyes :lol: )

[lily]

BTW... wait a couple of months... you'll forget what rock sounds like.. 8)

Boriken :roll: you forgot this :arrow: :twisted:


:lol:

No ... I will not. I will resist the temptation. I will resist ... I must resist. Rock 'n' Roll ... Rock 'n' Roll ... Rock 'n' Roll ... Rock 'n' Soul ... Sock 'n' Roll ... Salsa 'n' Salsa ... nnnnooooooooooooooooooooo

[Pacion]

:wink: You are learning Lily. Soon you will be singing the salsa song/mantra :twisted:

On a serious note, if you haven't already, do keep your eyes open for Valerie and Cliford (Salsabor). Originally from Haiti, they are beautiful people and beautiful dancers. They dance On2 (NY Style) but I think they do On1 classes also.

[lily]

There is some really fast salsa music out there, but if you are fairly new to salsa, I suggest you go with the slower stuff so that you can hear the instruments and really get the feeling/footwork - with fast salsa, chances are you will think that it is a lot of instruments just banging away with a 'maddening' stick sound (the clave :oops: ) being made.

Whilst the music is 'slow' does not mean that the body has stopped moving :wink: the shoulders and hips need time to move too :banana:

I am sure the others will chime in but my suggestions, remembering when I first started, are:

DLG
Victor Manuelle
Marc Anthony
Frankie Ruiz
Son by Four

I would say they are at the lighter end of the salsa line. Some of the DLG songs are very groovy, 'laidback' regge type sort of salsa (so laidback, you can see the palm trees :lol: ). :D I don't know but do you have the option of going into a record store and hearing the CDs before you buy?

Otherwise, try listening to an online salsa station. One of my recommendations would be batanga.com because in their popup window they tell you the name of the artist, the song AND the album. Or, perhaps that is not such a good thing as you then end up with a really long shopping list :oops:

(Note to self. Remember to ask Boriken where to go CD shopping in NY :banana: :lol: )

lol Lily. It is not just touching, depending on the guy, he might kiss you on the hand or the cheek too :wink:

But I don't like Reggae :cry: :cry: :cry:

Seriously, thanks for all the ideas. I think there's a shop here where I can listen to the music before buying it so I'll go check them out if they have them. I know it's sensible to start with something slower but I just prefer fast music. I love watching West Coast Swing as it's so sensual but I just got bored taking the lessons as the music was always so sloooowwww!

I can actually dance Salsa quite well if I am with a strong lead as many of the moves are similar to what I do in Swing dancing. I just have none of the beautiful style that advanced dancers have when dancing Salsa (the style, I think, comes when you're at ease with the steps. At least that's what happened for me in Rock).

[borikensalsero]

But I don't like Reggae :cry: :cry: :cry:

Seriously, thanks for all the ideas. I think there's a shop here where I can listen to the music before buying it so I'll go check them out if they have them. I know it's sensible to start with something slower but I just prefer fast music. I love watching West Coast Swing as it's so sensual but I just got bored taking the lessons as the music was always so sloooowwww!


On that note check out Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri, Tipica 73... when you have a sense what you like in salsa you can ask away, then I can point out what other artists have similar styles to what you like...

[lily]

:wink: You are learning Lily. Soon you will be singing the salsa song/mantra :twisted:

On a serious note, if you haven't already, do keep your eyes open for Valerie and Cliford (Salsabor). Originally from Haiti, they are beautiful people and beautiful dancers. They dance On2 (NY Style) but I think they do On1 classes also.

Thanks! I have learned On1 but if On2 is what is done in NY, then I'll learn On2! (Is it just the name of the style, like Hollywood Style Lindy, or is it really what is danced in NY?)

[Pacion]

Try batanga.com. If you have speakers on your computer at home/work and are allowed to (at work) it is "open all hours" :wink: and you don't even have to go outside to try it :wink:

You don't like reggae :shock: okay, neither do I and perhaps describing DLG similar to reggae might not be wolly accurate. It is 'laidback'? :roll: :D

[borikensalsero]

I don't remember making it a question :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

:lol: (and no, you are not seeing double with the rolling eyes :lol: )

:doh: , did I forget pacion again? oops, there are so many CDs here! :twisted:

[Pacion]

:doh: , did I forget pacion again? oops, there are so many CDs here! :twisted:

No worries :lol: I am an economical packer therefore when I next come over with six suitcases, only one will be half full :wink: :lol:

[borikensalsero]

:doh: , did I forget pacion again? oops, there are so many CDs here! :twisted:

No worries :lol: I am an economical packer therefore when I next come over with six suitcases, only one will be half full :wink: :lol:

lol.... US Customs only allows copies to exit the country.... you might have to leave the originals here. :D I know a very good place to keep them. :wink:

[Pacion]

:shock: Your immigration only allows copies of luggage to leave the country :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol:

:doh: you meant the CDs :lol: I am sure they will be very safe with your Lady Love :wink:

[borikensalsero]

:shock: Your immigration only allows copies of luggage to leave the country :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol:

:doh: you meant the CDs :lol: I am sure they will be very safe with your Lady Love :wink:

:tongue:

:twisted: ... imma steal the CDs from her... she'll never know... i'll leave her the empty cases though... imma have to steal you suit cases too... all 6 of them

[lily]

Try batanga.com. If you have speakers on your computer at home/work and are allowed to (at work) it is "open all hours" :wink: and you don't even have to go outside to try it :wink:

You don't like reggae :shock: okay, neither do I and perhaps describing DLG similar to reggae might not be wolly accurate. It is 'laidback'? :roll: :D

That's a really cool site, thanks! I'm listening right now and I can almost see the dancers swirling round on the dance floor 8)

It's nice to hear that Salsa music also has variations in it (I love the breaks when Swing dancing) but of course they always play slow, regular paced music at beginner classes which is perfectly understandable.

Oh no ... I can feel myself being drawn in ... resistance is futile ...

[Pacion]

That's a really cool site, thanks! I'm listening right now

I am glad :banana:

Oh no ... I can feel myself being drawn in ... resistance is futile ...

Wheew! That was easier than I thought. Boriken, one down, another 99,999,999 to go :twisted: :lol:

[Pacion]

:shock: Your immigration only allows copies of luggage to leave the country :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol:

:doh: you meant the CDs :lol: I am sure they will be very safe with your Lady Love :wink:

:tongue:

:twisted: ... imma steal the CDs from her... she'll never know... i'll leave her the empty cases though... imma have to steal you suit cases too... all 6 of them

:shock: I am going to weave a magic spell over them and if you do, for each CD you steal, you are going to have to buy her a bouquet of flowers. Then she will know :tongue:

[borikensalsero]

Wheew! That was easier than I thought. Boriken, one down, another 99,999,999 to go :twisted: :lol:

:banana: :bouncy: :cheers:

Who's next?

[borikensalsero]

:shock: Your immigration only allows copies of luggage to leave the country :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol:

:doh: you meant the CDs :lol: I am sure they will be very safe with your Lady Love :wink:

:tongue:

:twisted: ... imma steal the CDs from her... she'll never know... i'll leave her the empty cases though... imma have to steal you suit cases too... all 6 of them

:shock: I am going to weave a magic spell over them and if you do, for each CD you steal, you are going to have to buy her a bouquet of flowers. Then she will know :tongue:

I'm sure she'll love that! how about a petal for every CD? 5 suit cases worth of CDs might be a lot of bouquets...

[Pacion]

:shock: I am going to weave a magic spell over them and if you do, for each CD you steal, you are going to have to buy her a bouquet of flowers. Then she will know :tongue:

I'm sure she'll love that! how about a petal for every CD? 5 suit cases worth of CDs might be a lot of bouquets...

:nope: that is not my worry! I am not the one plotting to steal my CDs :roll: :lol:

[Sagitta]

Glad that you are mnaking a stab at salsa Lily (I fall sick and miss out on all the happenings here, sagitta feverishly mumbles!!). Try www.salsastream.com as that also gives artist and song info. I tend to prefer the music played here a little more then batanga.

For starter muisc CDs...Salsa Fresca: Hits of the 90s, Merenghits and Bachatahits series, Latin:the essential album, the 20th anniversary of the NY salsa festival. These are all compilations as I think it helps to get an idea of the variety out there... I actually started out with "Salsa Fresca: Hits of the 90s"

[squirrel]

Try Sonora Caruselles... I don't think they're the greatest band of all times, but they have an obvious unmistakeable beat...
Would you be interested in some of the classics?

[lily]

Glad that you are mnaking a stab at salsa Lily (I fall sick and miss out on all the happenings here, sagitta feverishly mumbles!!). Try www.salsastream.com as that also gives artist and song info. I tend to prefer the music played here a little more then batanga.

For starter muisc CDs...Salsa Fresca: Hits of the 90s, Merenghits and Bachatahits series, Latin:the essential album, the 20th anniversary of the NY salsa festival. These are all compilations as I think it helps to get an idea of the variety out there... I actually started out with "Salsa Fresca: Hits of the 90s"

Thanks Sagitta! (I feel really silly because for months I thought that you were a girl but by reading some of the recent posts I realise that you're actually a guy :oops: :D )

I tried salsastream and the music was really good but it kept cutting out. I don't have a cable connection, only an old modem :cry: so maybe that's why. I'll see if I can find one of the CDs you mentioned in the shops.

[lily]

Try Sonora Caruselles... I don't think they're the greatest band of all times, but they have an obvious unmistakeable beat...
Would you be interested in some of the classics?

I'm interested in hearing as much Salsa music as I can! Only by listening to it can I know what I really like but yes, I'd like to know what is classic and what is modern as I doubt I'd be able to tell just by hearing it!

What kind of Salsa music gets played at clubs? I mean, when I go Swing dancing I can hear anything from Jazz, through Rock 'n' Roll to modern pop music. Do Salsa venues vary that much too?

[squirrel]

Frankie Ruiz... he's the one I'd start with!

[peachexploration]

....What kind of Salsa music gets played at clubs? I mean, when I go Swing dancing I can hear anything from Jazz, through Rock 'n' Roll to modern pop music. Do Salsa venues vary that much too?

Hi Lily. Salsa Music played in clubs? Mostly depends on your area and the venue but for the most part, it's the popish stuff that Boriken indicated and as Squirrel suggested. You will hear Sonora Carruseles, Victor Mannuelle, Marc Anthony, some Gilberto Santa Rosa, Huey Dunbar, etc. Sagitta, mentioned the Salsa Fresca CD. That's a good place to start. Boriken included some links earlier in this thread. Mostly all of them have artists names and song titles. :D

[Lucretia]

Being a newbie in salsa music I have to ask...

Does anyone know if DLG have a website? I’ve search and searched on the web and cannot find anything. Perhaps it’s hidden by the Spanish language (i.e searching in english will not work).

One thing I’ve spend hours figuring out is how many singers there are in La Quiero A Morir?, one of my favorite salsa songs.

The first phrases are sung by a male deep voice. Then there is a shift in the voice. I believe this shift in singing technique could be made by the same person …but I doubt it. Then I heard a rumor - from someone who saw the Latino Music Award ceremony - that there is one male and one female singer. Does anyone know?

I’m also very curious about what they are singing about. Both voice sounds like they suffer from broken hearths. The second one reminds me a bit of the feeling&pain you hear in the voice of Janis Joplin. Very very touching and I just love it.

That song is also a symbol of a very hard time of my life. I can feel my own pain in that voice. But it always makes me want to dance, so I always feel good hearing it. Funny isn't it??

Does anyone have a translation? Or can anyone give me an summary/index of what the text is about.


/Lucretia

[borikensalsero]

DLG is no longer DLG, they split up... now who sings it, is it Hue Dunbar? I don't really remember, I haven't heard the song since it came out... but that might be the man you are looking for...

I don't even remember what the song is about... sorry of being no help there.

[Lucretia]

Thanks anyhow Borikensalsero!

The split probably explaines the lack of website. I must ask one of my latinosalsera friends of a translation.

/Lucretia

[Sagitta]

Thanks Sagitta! (I feel really silly because for months I thought that you were a girl but by reading some of the recent posts I realise that you're actually a guy :oops: :D )


No problem Lily. No problem at all. Now if I could get as much practice as a follower as I wanted to get I think it would be an even tougher job. :twisted: Unfortunately, reality is a little twisted. :(

One of the reasons I chose my avatar name was to cloud the gender of my online personality. For the whole story behind that you can always check out the posting names (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=949) thread.

[Lucretia]

One of the reasons I chose my avatar name was to cloud the gender of my online personality.

Is that the reason why you all talks about leader and follower instead of men and women. Can a woman be called a leader if she dance with a guy? I mean if she tends to lead the dance - perhaps without being aware of it - is she a leader then? Or is a leader a person who "plays" the male role?

/Lucretia

[borikensalsero]

One of the reasons I chose my avatar name was to cloud the gender of my online personality.

Is that the reason why you all talks about leader and follower instead of men and women. Can a woman be called a leader if she dance with a guy? I mean if she tends to lead the dance - perhaps without being aware of it - is she a leader then? Or is a leader a person who "plays" the male role?

/Lucretia

the way I use leader is to mean the person who plays the leader roll (generating lead)... while follow to mean the person who follows the lead...

[Lucretia]

the way I use leader is to mean the person who plays the leader roll (generating lead)... while follow to mean the person who follows the lead...

Yes, but I'm still confused. Where I live men and women mix their roles in the salsa classes/workshops depening what gender that are in minority. But out on the dancefloor I'll never hardly see anything but girl dancing with boy and the boy seems to lead the dance.

Except when I dance with my salsa classmates who mostly runs out of ideas of what to to next :wink: . Then I'll give them a break buy doing one enchuffla and one dile que no, then the are leaders again. Most of them seem happy to have that time to figure something out. Am I impolite or?

But of course...sometimes two girls dance together at the salsa club.

/lucretia

[tj]

On that note check out Ray Barretto,

Of which, "Acid" was a popular song to learn On2 for the group that I was taking classes from in Seattle...

[Sagitta]

I guess it depends on the person. I like and want opportunities to follow, so if I'm leading and a person who is following (guy/gal) starts doing moves I will switch holds so that I am a follower. If what you do is appreciated by the people whom you are dancing with then there is no problem in doing it. Sometimes I just let the follower back lead me in certain ways, such as how they do the basic, to get the follower experience, feeling how different people move.

I don't see any confusion between people taking different roles in different settings. I rarely dance as a follower socially, but do so in more private or class settings based on the reluctance of others. You say girls and guys acts either as leaders/followers in classes depending on how many people of each gender are there. However, when social dancing guys are the leaders and girls are followers. It makes perfect sense to me.

[lily]

No problem Lily. No problem at all. Now if I could get as much practice as a follower as I wanted to get I think it would be an even tougher job. :twisted: Unfortunately, reality is a little twisted. :(

One of the reasons I chose my avatar name was to cloud the gender of my online personality. For the whole story behind that you can always check out the posting names (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=949) thread.

Oh no. And there I go blurting it out to everyone on the Forum :oops: sorry

[Sagitta]

And again it is posted!! :shock: :)

[MacMoto]

Can a woman be called a leader if she dance with a guy? I mean if she tends to lead the dance - perhaps without being aware of it - is she a leader then? Or is a leader a person who "plays" the male role?
If the woman is leading the man in the dance -- i.e., she's the one who initiate moves, then she's the leader and he's the follower.

If the man is supposed to be leading her (initiating moves) but she tends to lead too (i.e., do the things she wants to do instead of what he is trying to make her do) whether she's aware of it or ont, then she's a backleader. This is a very bad habit -- ask any leader, male or female.

[lily]

Well, I went shopping yesterday after having written down all the names of the artists and CDs that you told me about. But, no luck :cry: . Well, that's not entirely true as I did find CDs by Sonia Caruselles and Mark Antony. Couldn't see Frankie Ruiz, DLG, Victor Manuelle or Son by Four anywhere. Celia Cruz was everywhere (but she wasn't on my list!)

I really wanted a compilation album but the only ones they had, had none of the artists I wanted on them... Didn't see Salsa Fresca. I asked the shop assistant but was told that all the Salsa music was on the shelf "over there" (anyone who has been shopping in Paris will understand!)

Thanks for the advice anyway. Soon I'll be living in NY and I'm sure I'll be able to find what I'm looking for there :D 8)

[lily]

P.S. To be fair, although the shop assistant was less than helpful this time, I have to admit that on my last visit to that shop I bought the wrong CD by mistake (long story) and although I had opened it and listened to it, the shop assistant exchanged it for me which is definitely not usually done.

[Sagitta]

That's too bad lily. Where I am I rarely bother to go to the stores. Probably because they have nothing. I just go online and buy what I want.

So the shopkeeper was a little helpful in some respects. Thanks for setting the record straight!!

[MacMoto]

Well, I went shopping yesterday after having written down all the names of the artists and CDs that you told me about. But, no luck :cry: .
UK highstreet music shops are hopeless as far as latin music is concerned, and I suspect the situation is similar in France. I buy my salsa music mostly from Amazon (both UK and US), including my copy of Salsa Fresca.

Considering your geographical lcoation, I wonder if might be easier to get hold of CDs from the likes of MamboMania (from France), Africando (Senegal) and Salsa Celtica (UK) there... I like them. If you can get them, do try. Also, did the shop you tried have UK-made compilations like "I Love Salsa" and "Beginners Guide to Salsa"? They aren't bad.

[borikensalsero]

Thanks for the advice anyway. Soon I'll be living in NY and I'm sure I'll be able to find what I'm looking for there :D 8)


Well, when you get here, contact me and I'll take you where you can buy all the CDs you want... This guy even has the fluff stuff if you are into that...

It is amazing, if you are a salsa junky and walk into his store, you'll go nuts! You should know your salsa though, because if you don’t then his price-less collection won’t mean a thing! That said I was so over-whelmed by the selection and the ON YOUR FACE presentation the first time I went that I didn’t know what to do with myself. I left stunned, I couldn’t possibly get a good look at everything, 2 years after I still haven’t had the necessary time to get a good look a the selection. I stared at the walls for about an hour before I bought anything my first time there, then walked out with about 15 CDs.

The shop is in the South Bronx, small, something like 3 meters by 9 meters by 5 meters, about the size of a very small pre-world-war II building flat. The outside looks like you don’t want to be anywhere near there when sunset waves us goodbye. But once inside, heaven becomes the present, the walls are covered in almost every imaginable salsa classic CD. The old speaker outside the store always playing some hot tune, with some old guy banging on his seat as if he was playing bongos, he only uses his fingers to hit the seat, hence why I say bongo not congas. If you happen to ask for something he doesn't have, he will get it for you. They guy is a salsa junkie too, so he can answer just about any question you can possibly come up with... Don't ask him about the pop/tropical salsa stuff either, he'll laugh and say he doesn’t know anything about that crap, to speak to him about real salsa... hehe

To me the place is priceless!! I leave sad every time I go for I haven’t the money to buy them all at once! Guys, if you know your salsa, history, and musicians then there will be no prettier sight than dusty CDs covers hanging on his wall!!!

His even got Impacto Crea, Saoco, Pachapo, the entire alegre collection, now who the heck has heard those names before! Damn, I'm in love!

[lily]

Well, I went shopping yesterday after having written down all the names of the artists and CDs that you told me about. But, no luck :cry: .
UK highstreet music shops are hopeless as far as latin music is concerned, and I suspect the situation is similar in France. I buy my salsa music mostly from Amazon (both UK and US), including my copy of Salsa Fresca.

Considering your geographical lcoation, I wonder if might be easier to get hold of CDs from the likes of MamboMania (from France), Africando (Senegal) and Salsa Celtica (UK) there... I like them. If you can get them, do try. Also, did the shop you tried have UK-made compilations like "I Love Salsa" and "Beginners Guide to Salsa"? They aren't bad.

I think I remember seeing a CD called "I love Salsa" but as it didn't feature any of the artists I was looking for, I didn't get it. If it's a good one though, I'll go and get it. I'll try another shop too and see what I can find, otherwise I'll just wait until I can come and visit the Salsa Paradise BorikenSalsaro wrote about! That place sounds amazing :bouncy: