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<\/p>\nTwo bands, each led by high-profile fixtures of the Asheville music scene, came together in March to present a unique night of music. Michael Libramento\u2019s band, Coconut Cake, pays homage to the music of 1960s African Congo, while Ram Mandelkorn\u2019s group, Below the Bassline, explores the work of Jamaican guitarist-composer Ernest Ranglin. The two musical aggregations presented a World Music Dance Party at The Mothlight in Asheville, N.C.<\/p>\n
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While the term rumba often connotes Cuban dance music, its usage also describes a sound popular in Africa during the ’60s. The acknowledged originators of the genre \u2014 Orchestre Rock-a-Mambo and Franco Luambo\u2019s OK Jazz \u2014 were hugely popular in the Republic of the Congo. Libramento describes Congolese rumba as featuring \u201clots of percussion, saxophone or clarinet and sometimes additional guitarists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Libramento (also of Floating Action) has long been a keen enthusiast of musical styles that aren\u2019t widely known here in North America. He began independent study of African diasporic music around 2006, by which time he was already playing guitar and leading small groups. \u201cI gradually grew more focused on incorporating Afro-Latin songs, melodies, rhythms and more nuanced aesthetic elements into my performances,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Libramento first discovered Congo music during a trip to Chicago. \u201cI stumbled upon a compilation CD called Souvenir Ya L\u2019independence<\/em>,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThat was my introduction to late ’50s and early ’60s Congolese rumba. I continued to research, and learn tunes, and incorporate them into my set lists.\u201d Working with some of his Floating Action band mates, he launched Coconut Cake with a fluid lineup that at various times has featured local musicians Ami Worthen, Ryan Oslance and Jason Krekel, among others.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2011, I decided to expand the instrumentation and repertoire to more closely match that of the great bands of ’60s Congo,\u201d he says. Coconut Cake gigs are relatively infrequent because most all of the musicians involved are busy with other touring bands; Libramento currently tours with rock outfit Dr. Dog. \u201cTime at home is infrequent and has its own set of priorities for each of us,\u201d he explains. \u201cHowever, the low-profile, word-of-mouth\/rare performance approach seems to work well.\u201d<\/p>\n Mandelkorn calls Coconut Cake \u201cmy favorite band in town\u201d and descries its aesthetic as \u201cCuban music seen through an African lens. I\u2019m not quite sure how that works,\u201d he says with a chuckle, \u201cbut it\u2019s very cool stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Mandelkorn (The Digs) has been working on the musical project named after Ernest Ranglin\u2019s landmark 1996 album for nearly three years. Collaborating with three members of Empire Strikes Brass (horn player JP Furnas, drummer Nik Hope and Lenny Pettinelli on keyboards), he describes Below the Bassline as \u201ca passion project of the four of us. JP and I have both been kind of obsessed; we\u2019ve loved Ernest Ranglin\u2019s style of music for years, and had a vision to do this years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Like Coconut Cake, the members of Below the Bassline rarely have free time outside of their other bands, so gigs have been infrequent. But when the group does manage to schedule a show, Mandelkorn says that the response is very positive. Below the Bassline hosted its first World Music Dance Party last year, sharing the bill with another Asheville-based group, Les Amis.<\/p>\n Mandelkorn first heard Ranglin\u2019s music \u2014 a dance-flavored style related to but different from reggae \u2014while in college, describing the musician as \u201ca pioneer on all sorts of [Jamaican] albums that people don\u2019t even realize. Below the Bassline<\/em> was my entry point; I\u2019ve been listening to that album for the last 15 or 20 years. It\u2019s a good entry point to his stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Though the styles explored by the two groups are quite different, Mandelkorn says that Congolese rumba and Ranglin’s dance music do share some common characteristics. \u201cThere\u2019s a vibe to them,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s a joyful, spiritual depth to both styles of music.\u201d<\/p>\n Below the Bassline doesn\u2019t limit itself strictly to Ranglin\u2019s catalog. \u201cWe also do a bunch of music by his peers from back then, other roots-reggae pioneers,\u201d Mandelkorn says.<\/p>\n The emotional depth of this \u201cworld music\u201d is a big part of the appeal for the musicians involved. And, while The Digs remain very active, Mandelkorn says that the music of Below the Bassline is fulfilling for him in a different way. \u201cIt\u2019s a little more groove- and trance-based; not as many crazy changes going on,\u201d he says with a laugh. \u201cIt\u2019s probably easier to consume for most audiences. It\u2019s more danceable.\u201d<\/p>\n While there\u2019s certainly a cross-cultural study component to appreciation of these styles, ultimately it\u2019s all about experiencing the groove. The upbeat and joyous feel conjured by live performance of these two musical genres is conducive to dancing. And while, so far, the World Music Dance Party has only taken place locally, Mandelkorn and Libramento hope to expand its reach. \u201cWe\u2019re definitely going to keep doing this project,\u201d Mandelkorn promises. \u201cHopefully, we\u2019ll even get it out of Asheville and travel around with it a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two bands, each led by high-profile fixtures of the Asheville music scene, came together in March to present a unique night of music. 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