Bringing the Santiago music scene to international shores, Bitman enlisted MC Anita Tijoux and Funk Attack and C-Funk from the iconic Latin funk group, Los Tetas. “I like experimenting with artists from different genres,” he says, and he pushed his guests to challenge their own musical boundaries. Francisca Valenzuela is a pop-rock star and performed at his American live debut at 2008’s Central Park SummerStage for the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC). She takes on a reggae flavor on “Someday,” which was the album’s first song with vocals and accelerated Bitman’s recording process. Bitman also worked with her on the first single, “Help Me,” and afterwards the wave of collaborations “flowed with greater clarity,” he beams. Tijoux, he believes to be one of Latin America’s best hip-hop vocalists, is a long-time friend and collaborator, and she rode the wave and surprised him with the speed and clarity of her writing for Colour.
Colour is the follow-up to Bitman’s 2007 self-titled solo debut. Pushing his musicianship further, Bitman incorporated drums and bass, dub-step and trip hop elements, along with a double bass, handclaps, and smooth sounds, which he believes incorporates Latin elements into the music.
Not one hip to applying labels, Bitman explains that his album, Colour, signifies all the “colors” of Latino culture. “In fact,” he says, “I see it as a central point that wraps around all of the other colors that I represent in the various musical styles that I mixed on this record.” Bitman blended jazz, reggae, funk, bossa nova, hip-hop, electronica, pop, and rock on the record. He hopes to engage a larger audience to Latin music by recording songs in Spanish, English, and Portuguese, as well as titling the album in English.
Like surfing, it takes time to develop a unique musical style. “I think I have made a marked development in my own personal style—a sound that can be defined whether it’s instrumentals or tracks with vocals,” he explains. “I’m always getting closer to finding my ‘musical identity.’”
But the days of surfing alone are long behind this one-time international surfing competitor and beatmaster. “A wave is like a song with a beginning, a middle, and an end— where you can either be a hit, or where you can flow like the rest,” he explains. Those waves he so fondly remembers and owes so much inspiration are now recognized in the Rip Curl Pro Search. The big-time surfers respond in awe, much like Bitman’s captivated audience.
Just released video for “Help Me” Feat. Francisca Valenzuela:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCZykYexm2U[/youtube]
Exclusive “I Wanna Wake You Up (Remix) featuring C-Funk & Juan Sativo”
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