Beats Working - In Cuba

Beats Working in Cuba is the first complete and utterly authentic library of Latin percussion performances recorded entirely in Havana, Cuba, featuring the country's very finest players, and presented in multitrack format to provide the user with complete flexibility in both tempo and the selection of instruments. The styles covered include the 12 prime Afro/Hispanic rhythms of the Cuban music culture, including: Cha Cha Cha, Danzon, Son Montuno, Bolero, Pilon, Son Traditional, Guajira Son, Guaracha, Mambo, Songo, Timba, Conga Habanera (Carnival), and Conga Moderna. There are also additional variations in some of the performances to enable the user to select Modern or Traditional arrangements.

"Extremely flexible. Great amount of variation between the patterns and nice separation of the instruments within the loops. The sound is great and very real. It's like having your own percussion players at the studio"
- Rafa Sardina (who has produced for Macy Gray, Stevie Wonder, Dr Dre, Dru Hill, Jessy Moss, Mariah Carey, Luis Miguel, Sheryl Crow, Soul Coughing, Marc Antoine, Angie Stone and Alejandro Sanz, among others).

The producers, Barry Sage and Gonzalo Lasheras Garcia, are well known in the Latin field, with credits including Jorge Drexler, Luis Edurdo Aute, Silvio Rodreguez, Duncan Dhu, Esclarecidos, La Oreja de Van Gogh, Melon Deisel, Mariela and Solar. They were assisted in Havana by Raphael Santos and Marisol Alfonso Perez. The performances are provided with each instrument separated out.

REVIEWS: The following reviews are of the NI-Powered plugin version of the library (previously available on DVD, now discontinued), which is essentially the same as this download version except that with this download version there is no plugin and you can load the samples into any software (as the library has been separated from the NI Intakt plugin), and you still get the Intakt (Kontakt-compatible) patches:

"These rhythms are just made to dance to, and if this collection doesn't make you want to dance around your studio then, frankly, you should take up stamp-collecting or train-spotting.. There is no doubting the quality or authenticity... Those who want their samples as genuine as possible will find this an essential purchase. Rated: FIVE STARS out of 5"
- SOUND ON SOUND magazine, UK.

"If you are looking for a definitive library of Cuban rhythms, Beats Working in Cuba will blow you away"
- VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS magazine, USA.

"What a brilliant job they've made of it... Vibrant, highly infectious rhythms... Meticulously recorded in 24-bit multitrack format... The musicianship is truly superb... Rated 9/10 - and awarded the MUSIC TECH RECOMMENDED AWARD"
- MUSIC TECH magazine, UK.

"Great grooves and 24-bit recording quality, comprehensive documentation"
- EQ magazine, USA.

"The playing is superb, ridiculously infectious, and the flexibility provided by multitracked instruments and separate microphone feeds is invaluable in conveying realism... I dunno what could possibly beat working in Cuba!"
- REMIX magazine, USA.

"Having each instrument available for independent use allows you to easily create your own rhythms and adapt these sounds to any style of music. Beats Working in Cuba has the potential to inspire a Latin-American flavor that, if adequately used, could add a raw traditional sound to your tracks. I like the fact that they focused on just Cuba for this one product"
- RECORDING magazine, USA.

Beats Working In Cuba is now only available as a download, as soundware in Kontakt (nki) + WAV format.

Purchasers will receive 13 download links as follows:

BOLERO:
Download size (.zip): 489 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 769 MB.

CHA CHA CHA:
Download size (.zip): 263 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 345 MB.

DANZON:
Download size (.zip): 153 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 226 MB.

SON MONTUNO:
Download size (.zip): 339 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 494 MB.

PILON:
Download size (.zip): 204 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 240 MB.

SON TRADITIONAL:
Download size (.zip): 175 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 250 MB.

GUAJIRA SON:
Download size (.zip): 155 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 251 MB.

GUARACHA SON:
Download size (.zip): 202 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 296 MB.

MAMBO:
Download size (.zip): 817 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 1051 MB.

SONGO:
Download size (.zip): 584 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 812 MB.

TIMBA:
Download size (.zip): 527 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 743 MB.

CONGA HABANERA:
Download size (.zip): 519 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 648 MB.

CONGA MODERNA:
Download size (.zip): 288 MB
Size when expanded from zip file: 404 MB.