El-B’s Mundo Musica Cumbia DJ Mix
© Brian David Stevens
I am very, very proud indeed to present this mix by one of the great pioneers of UK music - who in this case is leaving UK music aside completely.
Lewis Beadle - El-B - occupies a unique position in UK dance music. His productions with Noodles as Groove Chronicles crystallised all the potential of UK garage, and his own Ghost work after that was vital in creating the bass sounds and sinister spaciousness that would define dubstep. He has never sat still, and although operating stealthily since the early 2000s has had a hand in London’s hip hop and latterly UK funky scenes as well as playing “classics” sets in dubstep nights. However his real passion, and what has always given his own productions a unique syncopation, is Colombian music. As Lewis himself says in the interview I did with him for the Wire (incidentally, the interview which inspired me to start this site) “you might not even like it but you can’t help it, you have to move a hip or an elbow or something… it’s infectiously bouncy… just really fucking dancey”. This unique mix is Colombian music pure and uncut, no electronic trickery, just Salsa, Merengue and Cumbia sequenced with El-B’s unique skills and keen ear, with only his own radio jingles and drops for embellishment. If you thought Salsa was for middle-aged people to go to dance classes and try to cop off with the instructors, here is your wake-up call: this is living, vivid, dangerous dance music. Get it now!
