OneBeat 2014 Mixtape has Dropped!

Come one come all and listen to the OneBeat 2014 Mixtape, a compilation of our favorite tracks produce at last year’s OneBeat. You’ll hear a beautiful Javanese/Appalachian Butterfly ballad, a rippin’ Russian accordion odyssey, a haunting South Africa Xhosa pastorale, a Mitya Burmistov (aka Masta Mic) electro-artpop remix of a live recording of Zimbabwean songstress Hope Masike, Askat Jetigan’s traditional Kyrgyz mountain tune meets the vocal stylings of Egypt’s Shereen Abdo, and Sandunes-mixed neo-soul house track featuring poet/MC Dhalak, and — need I say more? Stop whatever you’re doing and listen to this:

Butterfly Song

Anna Roberts-Gevalt (USA), Peni Candra Rini (Indonesia), Kyla-Rose Smith (South Africa), Neil Chua (Malaysia), Sara Lucas (USA)

This fluttery song combines the musical imagination of Anna Roberts-Gevalt, a Baltimore-based old-time fiddler/guitarist/vocalist/shadow-puppeteer, and Javanese superstar songstress/composer Peni Chandrarini, as they weave a timeless song of love lost.

Produced & Engineered by Sanaya Ardeshir

Railyards X MITYA (Remix)

Hope Masike (Zimbabwe), Blessing Chamanga (Zimbabwe), Haydée López Peña (Cuba)

Remixed by OneBeat 2013 alumnus Mitya Burmistov (aka MITYA) from a live recording from the Albuquerque Rail Yards, this tune is international digital collaboration at its trippiest.

Remixed by Mitya Burmistrov

Barnes House

Askat Jetigen Uulu (Kyrgyzstan), Shereen Abdo (Egypt), Esteban Copete (Cuba), Haydée López Peña (Cuba), Alexander Shirunov (Russia)

Recorded at Jeremy Barnes’ House in Albuquerque, NM, this track begins with a traditional Kyrgyz song performed by Askat Jetigan, which then gives way to an ensemble piece led by Egypt’s Shereen Abdo.

Produced & Engineered by Griffin Rodriguez

Roses

Sara Lucas (USA), Sanaya Ardeshir (India), Alex Asher (USA), Dahlak Brathwaite (USA), Camilo Rodriguez (USA), Roman Garkavenko (Ukraine)

The “Barnhouse” Ensemble got its start rehearsing in the Barn at Montalvo Art Center, where our producer Griff had set up his studio. This unlikely collective combines a bit of house music, hip hop, and funk, and features Alex Asher on Trombone, Sara Lucas on vocals, and the poetry of Dahlak Brathwaite.

Produced & Engineered by Griffin Rodriguez

Xalid Axa

Fidel Kilic (Turkey), Askat Jetigen Uulu (Kyrgyzstan), Abdellah Hassak (Morocco)

Produced by the adventurous Moroccan producer Abdellah Hassak, this mesmerizing track features the epic vocals of Fidel Kilic and Krygyz flute improvisations by Askat Jetigan.

Produced & Engineered by Abdellah Hassak

Confesión

Maria Fernanda Gonzalez (Venezuela), Sara Lucas (USA), Daniela Serna (Colombia)

This trio features Sara Lucas singing in Spanish, Maria Gonzales on Bandola Llanera (a four-stringed lute from the Venezuela plains), and Daniela Serna on tambor alegre (the happy drum). These three wrote this song together while in residency at the Montalvo Arts Center, and it became a launching-off point for the LaDaMa ensemble, which will be touring the Americas this spring, giving concerts and women’s empowerment workshops (LaDaMa also includes Lara Klaus).

Produced & Engineered by Griffin Rodriguez and Ezra Tenenbaum

Todos Los Dias X Half Waif (Remix)

Esteban Copete (Colombia), Alex Asher (USA), Sanaya Ardeshir (India), Daniela Serna (Colombia), Camilo Rodriguez (USA), Roman Garkavenko (Ukraine), Lara Klaus (Brazil)

Based on a recording from the final performance at the Albuquerque Rail Yards, led by Colombia vocalist/saxophonist/marimba player Esteban Copete, and remixed by OneBeat staff member Nandi Plunkett, frontwoman of the up-and-coming band Half Waif.

Recorded live by Griffin Rodriguez

Remixed by Nandi Plunkett

The Bees

Kyla-Rose Smith (South Africa), Bongeziwe Mabandla (South Africa), Jeremy Thal (USA), Elena Moon Park (USA)

Based on a violin piece written by Kyla-Rose Smith, reflecting on her childhood hikes near Johannesburg, this song includes the haunting Xhosa vocals of fellow South African Bongeziwe Mabandla.

Produced & Engineered by Griffin Rodriguez

Drunken Madness

Produced & Engineered by Sanaya Ardeshir

Anna Roberts-Gevalt (USA), Neil Chua (Malaysia), Maria Fernanda Gonzalez (Venezuela)

A late-night improvisation featuring Anna on fiddle, Neil on Ruan, and Maria on Bandola.

Song For Sri Joko

Peni Candra Rini (USA), Kyla-Rose Smith (South Africa), Sara Lucas (USA), Sanaya Ardeshir (India), Dahlak Brathwaite (USA), Camilo Rodriguez (USA), Ahmed Moorea (Iraq)

This song is an homage to the wonderful Sri Joko Raharjo, who was a OneBeat fellow for the first year of the program in 2012. Sri Joko came from a long line of Dalangs, a Javanese tradional art that combines puppeteering, storytelling, song, dance, and mastering all of the instruments of the gamelan ensemble. Tragically Sri Joko was killed along with his wife and infant son in an automobile accident on June 9th, 2014. His creative spirit, incredible human warmth, and radiant sense of humor will forever be an inspiration to artists around the world. He is survived by his six-year-old daughter Nala. This piece, written by his friend and musical collaborator Peni Chandrarini, pays respect to his brilliant and all-too-short life and eternal spirit.

Produced & Engineered by Griffin Rodriguez

Shirunov Ensemble X Anton Maskeliade (remix)

Alexander Shirunov (Russia), Lara Klaus (Brazil), Maria Fernanda Gonzalez (Venezuela), Daniela Serna (Colombia), Barry Likumahuwa (Indonesia)

Another remix-from-afar, this track is based on a recording of an ensemble led by Russian accordionist Alexander Shirunov, and creatively remixed by his countryman Anton Sergeev (Anton Maskeliade).

Produced & Engineered by Griffin Rodriguez

Remixed by Anton Sergeev

Day Of The Dead

OneBeat 2015 Fellows & Staff

Our final performance in Albuquerque coincided with the traditional festival of the Day of the Dead, which inspired Kyla and Sanaya to create a sound-art piece based on staff and fellows’ reflections on death and the afterlife or the lack thereof, and messages sent to deceased friends and family.

Produced & Engineered by Kyla-Rose SmithSanaya Ardeshir

Mixtape 2014