Santana - Africa Speaks Review and more

Score: 7/10 | Genres: Pop-Rock


Africa Speaks is a latest full-length album by the band Santana set to be released on June 7, 2019, on Concord Records. The album was produced during a 10-day recording session by Rick Rubin at Rubin's Shangri La Studios in Malibu, during which they recorded 49 songs.Rubin and Carlos Santana used an eight-piece band (which included Santana’s wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, on drums). The first track from the album, "Breaking Down the Door", was released on April 19, 2019. In January 2019, Santana released the EP In Search of Mona Lisa, which served as a preamble to the coming LP.

Africa Speaks is inspired by music from the continent of Africa, and has been called a "unique fusion of rock, Latin and jazz". Many of the album's tracks were recorded in one take. The album features vocals from Spanish singer Buika. In January 2019, Carlos Santana spoke with Rolling Stone about his new music, explaining how he said to Rubin, "'I know you've worked with everybody like Johnny Cash and the Chili Peppers and Metallica,' And he goes, 'Well, what are you interested in doing?' I said, 'Nothing but African music.' So can you believe it? We record 49 songs in 10 days. He was very gracious, because it was like a hurricane to record six, seven songs in a day. Rick said, 'With Clive Davis, you had a bunch of guest stars and singers. Who do you want in here?' I said, 'I only want two women: Laura Mvula and Buika.' And he said, 'OK.' So we called them and they said yes.

Track Listing

1.	"Africa Speaks"	4:47
2.	"Batonga"	5:43
3.	"Oye Este Mi Canto"	5:58
4.	"Yo Me Lo Merezco"	6:12
5.	"Blue Skies"	9:08
6.	"Paraísos Quemados"	5:59
7.	"Breaking Down the Door"	4:30
8.	"Los Invisibles"	5:54
9.	"Luna Hechicera"	4:47
10.	"Bambele"	5:51
11.	"Candombe Cumbele"	5:36

(320kbps full download link in comments)