Master Sessions 2: Calle 23, Havana

The first volume in this series took me by a storm. UBO combined mellow beats and the trademarks of Bristol with the spirit of Cuba, lending some of the best cubans to put down their work. The second volume in the series follows up where their first one left off. It all starts really tasteful with "Coffee Contamination", featuring laidback trumpetplay combined with those beats we all love UBO for. From there on and in to the final, UBO mixes up traditional Cuban music with the grooviest beats, and the most pleasant, laidback samples this side of the Atlantic. Definitive highlights include: "Desoarga Caramelo", "Sane Men Surround", "Dominoe Boys", "Barrio Beats" and "Rough Plough, Diamond Needle". "Barrio Beats" sounds like the follow-up to their notorious "Hip-Hop Barrio" from volume one. All in all, another excellent effort from UBO. If you like them, and love their first Master Session, be sure to grab this one as well! UBO haven't changed their winning formula from vol. 1 to this new one, but what the heck - we luv 'em! Stars: 4,75.

I would have loved to return it, but I guess you can’t return a cd. I only liked one song in the entire cd. Unfortunately, I had no other choice but to give the one star.

Despite the long title, "Master Sessions, Vol. 2: Calle 23, Havana, Cuba" can be summarized with one word: fantastic. This Up Bustle & Out project hits another home run. One of the surprising aspects of this disc is the balance between those musical ideas that would described as having a distinctively Cuban sound versus those that might simply be thought of as straight techno or dance. Only about 2/3 to 1/2 of the music has a recognizably Latin flavor. If you were expected the Buena Vista Social Club trance remix, you may be disappointed. On the other hand, the project avoids becoming a cliché as "Volume 2" doesn't force the theme. Regardless of genre, all of the music is outstanding. 'Coffee Contamination' is infused with Jazz. The electric bass improvisation is stellar. Not to be improvisationally outdone, 'Descarga Caramelo' plays Latin Jazz while 'Siempre me levanto' is Salsa. Finishing with mysterious dialogue, 'Sane Men Surround' is a tricked out tune featuring melodica. As a return to Jazz, 'Dominoe Boys' is high on the funk factor. Dropping some heavy psychedelia, 'Rough Plough, Diamond Needle' shows off some heavy beats. One of the remarkable elements of this album is the way that it balances digital modernity with live action improvisation. This blends the hipness of turntablism with the energy of real-time musicians. Since "volume 2" is a blend of Cuban and trans-Cuban ideas, it is hard to compare it with musical projects that exclusively focus on a post-modern blending, translating and remixing of Cuban music. That written, this Up Bustle & Out release blows Bill Laswell's " Imaginary Cuba " out of the water. "Master Sessions, Vol. 2: Calle 23, Havana, Cuba" stands as a fantastic journey to Cuba and beyond.

Despite the long title, "Master Sessions, Vol. 2: Calle 23, Havana, Cuba" can be summarized with one word: fantastic. This Up Bustle & Out project hits another home run. One of the surprising aspects of this disc is the balance between those musical ideas that would described as having a distinctively Cuban sound versus those that might simply be thought of as straight techno or dance. Only about 2/3 to 1/2 of the music has a recognizably Latin flavor. If you were expected the Buena Vista Social Club trance remix, you may be disappointed. On the other hand, the project avoids becoming a cliché as "Volume 2" doesn't force the theme. Regardless of genre, all of the music is outstanding. 'Coffee Contamination' is infused with Jazz. The electric bass improvisation is stellar. Not to be improvisationally outdone, 'Descarga Caramelo' plays Latin Jazz while 'Siempre me levanto' is Salsa. Finishing with mysterious dialogue, 'Sane Men Surround' is a tricked out tune featuring melodica. As a return to Jazz, 'Dominoe Boys' is high on the funk factor. Dropping some heavy psychedelia, 'Rough Plough, Diamond Needle' shows off some heavy beats. One of the remarkable elements of this album is the way that it balances digital modernity with live action improvisation. This blends the hipness of turntablism with the energy of real-time musicians. Since "volume 2" is a blend of Cuban and trans-Cuban ideas, it is hard to compare it with musical projects that exclusively focus on a post-modern blending, translating and remixing of Cuban music. That written, this Up Bustle & Out release blows Bill Laswell's " Imaginary Cuba " out of the water. "Master Sessions, Vol. 2: Calle 23, Havana, Cuba" stands as a fantastic journey to Cuba and beyond.

Don't know what you'd call this except for some kind of smooth salsa/jazz/electro hybrid. Elegant, tasteful and chill - great ambience.

Love UB&O

This Is one Of the best albums ive heard in a while. Out of the laswell genre. The songs have a very electronic organic feel to them lots of real instruments filtered tweeked delayed and sampled comiled together. This is not just another sample happy tecno repetitious looped out electronic garbage, this has a heartbeat with soul for days. Each song is a jazzy, dub, reggae, electronic cuban, latin feel with trumpets galore and percussion galore guitars delays electronic and real drums. Then mixed in almost everyother song is a cuban original song without electr0nics by richard egues awesome. Any fans of bill laswells imaginary cuba and havana mood will love this.

God bless Ninja Tune...they have to be one of the most consistent labels in the game. UBO has a running theme of Cuban culture that keeps getting more authentic. Having lived in Florida for 24 years, particularly in Tampa...I have always been around Cuban culture(many of friends are Cuban Americans). The music on this album shows the great spirit and energy of these people...perfect summer/spring listening. Enjoy...

I was just amazed when I saw that this, unlike three other albums UBO patched for Ninja Tune, got'only'four stars. So please let me push it nearer to overall five-stars reviewers' judgement.Firstly let me tell you UBO have permanently been impressing me since I first heard them and I still see them as something extraordinary and unimitable. Master Sessions Vol 2 was meant to be a natural follow-up to its predecessor, and it surely is, but in my eyes it stands somewhere else than 3 previous plates. It is a bit different.True, UBO rudiments are still here, you can again delve into the sound of heavy and jazzy Bristol trip-hop beats, dirty distorted saxes, necessary electronic embellishments, all coupled with the overall Carribean (here Cuban) feel. Some may demur that oversaturation with pure Cuban folk tunes is out of place but I guess it's not oversaturated at all. The proportion between beats and traditional easy Cuban music is on the contrary well-balanced, I would say. After all, I like both the sides of the coin.What makes this one outstanding for me is one one hand a great cohesion of the whole album, yes, it flows as a Cuban river. On the other hand, Master Sessions Vol 2 contains real jewels, genuine gems which can stand alone at ease and proudly. 'Coffee Contamination' is a downtempo jazz with very muddy saxophone and slow-but-heavy beats. In its entirety it really sounds like a coffee-loaded lorry that carries also something inadvisable. 'Sane Men Surround' is beautiful for its unusual, poetic harmonica patterns and wah-wah guitar together with string arrangements adds whole lot of fiery passion to it. It reminds me of Cuban alluring landscape and has something to do with Graham Greene's famous 'One Man In Havana' novel. 'Mariel Port, Spanish Harlem' is hommage to those Carribeans who moved to North America.Then, you are encompassed by what sounds like folk music of Havana, but I believe in this case it is original creation. Apparently, UBO were propelled by dexterity and resourcefulness of Richard Egües, whom they approached to help them in the studio. They're to musically express qualms, unloading of caramel, some state employee in Bayamo, regular getting up etc.., all cloaked in Cuban flutes, congas, trumpets, Spanish, all fidgety as could be, music itself is pretty all right and very catchy.'Barrio Beats' and 'Dominoe Boys' are UBO as we know them - heavy and uncompromising trip-hop made in Bristol (or Havana). The latter, one of the fastest in their output, is really rough, full of effects, loops and saxes, is probably my favourite UBO composition. The next songs fade slowly out but on no account fall short of the marvellous rest of the album. A very dismal 'Jazz Sepulchre', I actually don't have to expound, is to indicate that jazz may die one day, as well.In the end, it is a brilliant record that again showcases the smokeyness of Bristol and coolness of Havana, but somewhat in a different manner than we were used to. It is an UBO classic and assuredly worth having it in your collection.

Genuinely interpretative world music that treats the source material with respect