Cumba Mela is an international music collective that encompasses the gathering and soul celebration of a musical journey that unites all four directions of this earth. This sonic global experience is as culturally rich and diverse as the demographic landscape of New York City, the home of Cumba Mela. Cumba Mela blends a colorful array of international genres such as: nueva cumbia, kuduro, samba, afro-latin bass, dubstep, electro, baile funk, balkan-brass, and many more. Their original tracks and remixes range from a selection of intercontinental folk influences mixed with urban bass.
“My exploration into the collaborations with Nabin Shanti goes beyond our first introductions in the Summer of 2009. In my teenage years I have always been fascinated by different languages when it came to international genres. I tend to focus on the voice as an instruments rather than a lyrical element to the music. Every instrument has a timbre that defines its sound. For me, language serves as a distinct timbral characteristic that sets apart an English singer vs. a Bengali singer for example. The mouth serves as a modulator of sound, and every language exercises our oral muscles differently thus creating a distinct timbre. Language itself allows the vocalist to create different articulations and phrasing flow; Bengali to me is a very poetic language, it has a distinct flow to it that attracts my ear. As a producer involved in the global bass scene in New York City, an umbrella term used to describe this international fusion of music combined with contemporary electronic dance forms of music. I was drawn to the idea of collaborating with Nabin as a means to explore the fusion of Bengali with a relatively new style of music known as moombahton.
Moombahton was created a couple years ago around 2010, by Dave Nada. What began as a slowed down version of Dutch House with a emphasis on the reagaton riddim music soon exploded into its own original form of dance music. Through the growth of this genre, producers began mixing dancehall, reaggaton, hip hop, punjabi, dutch house elements, and indigenous Andean forms of music, to name a few, the list goes on. Coming from this background of fusing various styles, Shanti and I decided to experiment with moombahton with a mixture of Bengali, which is not the most popular language known in New York City, when it comes to the Indian music diaspora we’ve experienced with the punjabi culture.
One of the tracks we collaborated on, “Asho”, fuses moombahton elements, hip-hop, indigenous horns from the Maori of New Zealand, and Bengali vocals. The lyrical flow blends well with this mixture, Bengali compliments the heavy reagaton and hip-hop elements to this track. It was an honor as a producer to have had the opportunity to explore this fusion with the Asian diaspora community in the United States.”
- Adam Partridge aka Atropolis
Thornato-Barcelona ft. Brooklyn Shanti (Atropolis RMX) by Atropolis
“My goal with Rani Rani was to get Brooklyn Shanti to think outside of the box. I wanted to produce a track for him that took elements of different styles of music that I had been listening to which at the time was mostly afro-caribbean and reggae. The wonderful thing about Shanti is that he has never been afraid to take on any style of music that comes his way. When I asked if he would sing in Bangla, he immediately agreed. Rani Rani is a perfect example of a musical fusion that appeals not only Bangla speakers but listeners around the world.
The fusion of South Asian music with Western or non-Western music is very important. The message I would like to get across through this fusion of music is to show people that it is important to recognize and learn about where you come from. A lot of children outside of Western countries try to emulate Western pop or hip-hop and neglect their roots. Hopefully the mix of cultures and styles will spark more creativity and awareness of cultures.
We are all connected in the world, especially in this day and age and being that music is the universal language, it makes perfect sense to fuse music of different cultures.”
- Thor Partridge aka Thornato
Brooklyn Shanti – Rani Rani (produced by Thornato) by brooklynshanti