Photo: Uma Nota / Dopealot.com
Some of today’s most earnestly danceable rhythms take cues from global musical traditions. In Ottawa, A Tribe Called Red edit indigenous pow-wow music together with dubstep and electro, while Lisbon’s >Buraka Som Sistema brings Angolan kuduro to the rave. The Uma Nota Festival is where organic traditionalism collides with contemporary digitized sound, with one aim: to make you dance.
Six times a year, at the Gladstone Hotel, Uma Nota throws a heady party highlighting Caribbean, Latin, Afro-Brazilian, funk and soul music. After five years of curating diverse rhythms and artists, it only made sense for organizers to throw a three-day festival in the middle of November—when we’re mourning the shortened days—to celebrate the new tropical urban expression.
“There’s a really cozy and cool atmosphere at tropical bass parties,” says Montrealer Boogat who raps over (what he terms) “weird beats” and headlines Saturday night’s party at El Mocambo. “People dance like crazy; they just react to the energy of the songs and DJs. It’s a scene that’s really grounded on the quality of the music.”
New tropical music isn’t what you might expect. “In the global imagination there’s something corny about Latin music because of cheesy salsa romntica, and the clich of this shaggy guy with his shirt open, gold necklaces—and when you turn your back he’s trying to get your girlfriend,” laughs Boogat. “A lot of people are not into the idea, but bring them to a party without telling them and within five minutes they’re really excited about it.”
For a city that smugly revels in its multiculturalism, Uma Nota has filled a huge void. “Montreal is really eclectic. There is French music, Haitian, dancehall, Latin, bhangra, and of course electro and dubstep too,” explains Boogat, who recently performed on Quebec TV with a full band and DJ/producer Poirier. “People here aren’t rich, but there are lots of free shows in the summer and all year long that cost next to nothing.”
More than just a showcase or feel-good party, Uma Nota Festival is also a reference point for Canadian artists making tropical urban music. Featured acts include percussion troupe Samba Elgua with David Arcus of the Aline Morales Band, the Kensington Horns featuring Richard Underhill, Boogat, CIUT’s Dos Mundos DJs eLman and Linterna, Rio de Janeiro-born singer Luanda Jones, Footprints DJs Jason Palma and General Eclectic, ’70s samba psych-rock-referencing Tropicalia, forr troupe Maria Bonita and The Band, and Afro-Brazilian percussion crew Maracatu Mar Aberto.
For full Uma Nota programming, including the AluCine Festival of Latin Film and Media Arts and Community Cultural Fair (featuring caipirinhas!), visit umanota.ca.
