Underground in the city. In fact, there were some issues whether we should even post about this because it is strictly for the people who like a late and hidden party, and for those who like the good sound of a resident selector and dub plates. In our internationalized world, the reggae style is alive and...
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Alex
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Apr 24, 2012 • I would say reggae is the most internationalized style of popular music. It has captured the imagination of rhythm and song enthusiasts in the most remote lands and most densely populated spots of our world. The joy, uplifting and deep sounds of Jamaican music never fail to move those who like dance and the themes of...
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Alex
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Apr 19, 2012 • Tonight at Lula Lounge Toronto’s musical communities come out in force to support and celebrate Billy Bryans. See event on facebook. Every city has certain special individuals who give a lot of blood sweat and tears toward keeping a cultural scene vibrant. These people work at the grass roots and commercial level, never tiring (well almost)...
Last week I sat down with Jerusa Leão to talk about her work as an artist, musician and DJ. A native Brazilian, she moved to Toronto two years ago and now performs as DJ Jerus Nazdaq, and lead singer of Maria Bonita and the Band. This video, featuring footage from the weekly Fedora Upside Down...
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Alex
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Nov 14, 2011 • With Maria Bonita & The Band playing the Sunday Community Fair at Lula Lounge, we thought we’d explain a little bit about their style of music: forró. Think of a fun evening, a full house and a romantic edge to your step. That is one of the myriad of ways to describe forró! This post is...
Jay, Alex and I have all brought unique musical, creative and organizational strengths to the forming of the Uma Nota event series, but credit is due to Jason “Jay” Sanders, AKA DJ General Eclectic, for acting as the catalyst that brought us to that first raucous affair at the Gladstone back in late June 2007. He...
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Alex
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Dec 12, 2011 • The Music Gallery in Toronto Friday December 16th, 2011. Navideño Reimagined. A show for Christmas, treat someone special to a unique concert. From the incredible musical mind of David Dacks, The Music Gallery’s new Artistic Director, Exclaim writer/editor and host of CIUT’s the Abtract Index, comes Navideño Reimagined. The concept is simple and beautiful, take a...
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Alex
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Dec 13, 2011 • Year end is upon us. Whether your pleasure is Chanukah, Christmas, Winter Solstice, New Year’s Eve or biting heads off baby bats, there is cheer, comfort and joy in this time of year. Yes and cold. Dreaded cold… but… Hark! What do I hear? It is Tio Chorinho and a table full of beer! Hark!...
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Alex
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Dec 16, 2011 • Whatever happened to the emcee?? Well they are around. They are international. Cuba, China, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia… you name it… Many of us know the quality of Cuban musicians who have walked the streets of Toronto, shiiiit, there are lots. However, much less known is the quality of Cuban emcees this town has seen....
The famous, wild and irresistible “clima do Carnaval” has already been heating up all over Brazil for weeks. From Friday until this coming Ash Wednesday, all bets are off, pleasure and hedonism rule and the world’s most famous giant party takes over. One member of the Uma Nota community taking part in this year’s festivities...
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Alex
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Feb 24, 2012 • Carnival is a time and place where people forget their state of being and rejoice in a world that is beyond present reality and where the normal rules of play don’t necessarily apply, yet oddly enough it’s all about play… don’t fret, it’s not over yet … All around the world, and especially in the...
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Jason
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Mar 1, 2012 • Africa has long been regarded as ground zero for the beat and the sole birthplace of rhythm. Without exaggeration, it is the very epicentre from which an endless stream of beat-driven music has flowed since day one. But while the continent itself is as varied musically as anywhere else in the world, we tend to...
There are two heavy afro-electro roots based manifestations on either side of the South Atlantic, oddly enough both from from former Portuguese colonies: Funk Carioca from Brazil and Kuduro from Angola. Each is different but sometimes they like each other and they get together. Baile Funk (Funk Carioca) I’m not going to go on a...
