Pacifika
Pacifika |
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Pacifika is a band from Vancouver, Canada, consisting of three musicians: Peruvian singer-songwriter Silvana Kane, Canadian guitarist Adam Popwitz and bassist from Barbados Toby Peter. To talk about its music style is to talk about the musicians that are members of the band. Singer- songwriter Silvana Kane was born in Lima, Peru and was raised in Canada. Her background is pop with forays into flamenco and electronics. She was also a member of the group West End Girld. The bassist Toby Peter, Canadian, grew up in Barbados and started musically in jazz bands and Caribbean rhythms. Guitarist Adam Popwitz, trained in jazz, new wave, progressive and hard rock, worked on the production of indie rock bands and American folk. More than Latin alternative music, they define themselves as a mixture of everything, a genuine and very particular music that may sound like a mix between the ethnic sound of the Spanish Ojo de Brujo or Chambao and electronic music or American grunge (subgenre of rock).
Discography
Asuncion (album debut)
“Asuncion”, was released by Six Degree Records and Montown / Universal in 2008. It was quickly positioned on the list of the best new artists of iTunes Latino, was named Best Album of ´08 NPR and “Editor Picks” from Amazon, among the best song of 2008. Pacifika has been praised by the Wall Street Journal,[1] New York Post,[2] National Public Radio,[3], Latina Magazine [4] and KCRW [5]. Throughout its eleven tracks, Pacifika offers music influences of Latin, pop rhythms, flamenco dowtempo, electronic intrusions, acoustic guitars and drum loops mixed by the particular voice of Silvana Kane, who plays the songs in her native language (Spanish) to give the production a more spontaneous and fresh feel. Musically, the album has great strengths, from the opening “Sun”, a prayer which is supported by delicate textures and subtle arrangements that contrast with the hectic pace of “Me Caí”, the first single, which is a track dominated by guitar and percussion, composed on acoustic bases, legacy of flamenco , whose video clip received more than 50,000 views on Youtube. It´s the same with tracks like “Libertad” (only performed in English), “Paloma”, “Estrella de Mar” and “Chiquita”, which combine rhythm, intimacy and melody, reflecting the influences of all three members of the band.
Supermagique (second album)
“Supermagique” is their second album and it will be released on August of 2010. Unlike the first, one can see the growth of the band as a unit. Pacifika music presents a multilingual music (English, Spanish and French), lightweight, with soft Latin rhythms, bursts of electric guitar and keyboards. Brazilian percussion adds color to the song performed in French and Spanish, generating a unique result. In turn, the inclusion of exotic sounds like the buzzing of the environment, instruments such as Japanese bamboo flute or guitar in the background of “Little Me”, a ballad accompanied by acoustic guitar and electronic marimba (which sounds like an West African balofón), give it a unique profile that characterizes the band for its innovative musical style. A style that ranges from happy pop with English songs as “Close To Everything” (opening song of the album) and “Le Matin” (In French), to “Chocolate”, which combines elements of hip hop and dub production, begins with a ballad with guitar and then axpands to catchy rhythm ending with a medieval chant. The ballads with inner voices another of the resources used by Pacifika, as in “El Marinero”, performed in English, a ballad sung in whisper, with the unique arrangement of cellist Christiana “Zippy” Zaenker. “Story” is another one of the English courts, emotional and low profile. “Supermagique” contains the first cover of the band, “25 or 6 to 4”, a classic song to which Pacifika gave its personal touch. According to Silvana Kane, " is Pacifika we simply changed the ‘c’ to a ‘k’”. This is a subtle spelling change, but an appropriate one for the band, their name is not in English not Spanish, but somehow international.
References
- ^ [1] As most of Pacifika's songs unfold, a seductive vocal settles above plucked chords of a nylon-string guitar, pulsing percussion and lush synthesized sounds.
- ^ [2] Call it the Obamification of Latin-music - bringing two, sometimes three and four worlds together to create something thrilling, historic and yes, bursting with hope.
- ^ [3] Pacifika's music is infused with many colors — pop sensibilities, a wash of electronic filtering, and the moving pulse of dance, all fused together to form an enchanting soundscape.
- ^ [4]The Best Latin Music You Don't Know: Pacifika.
- ^ [5] KCRW Website