Tom Waits - A Husky Bark Of An American Man

Born in the city of Pomona, California, Thomas Alan Waits has one of the most harsh voices of the American musical panorama. In fact, the critic Daniel Durchholz described his voice "like it was soaked in a vat of Bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car". Waits, who recorded the off voice of a Purina ad in 1981, invented his own musical genre, the 'Waitsian', influenced by the other genres he has used: Blues, Jazz, Cabaret, swing and others.

Lucinda (2006)

God´s away on business (2002)

Dhafer Youssef - The Jazzy Sufi Music

The warm sound of the Oud, a string instrument from the Arab region similar to the lute, is the main gift that Dhafer Youssef offers to this flux.  This musician, composer, singer and, of course, Oud player, was born in Tunisia, but has recorded and produced almost all his music in different European countries.  His music, inspired by the Sufi tradition, has a touch of contemporary genres like jazz (which makes it a little bit  irregular) or electronic music. This mix has led him to create melodies with a lot of musical elements from the West and the East equally, so Youssef can’t really be considered a folk musician.

Nafha

Youssef’s mastery of this instrument gives characteristic colors and shades to his songs, and a very pleasant effect of a well executed piece with a clean and atmospheric sound. Youssef, who started singing at the age of 5, sometimes includes vocal effects in his music. He also has a touching depth in his voice and uses it to sing passages with the ancient influence of Islamic chants.

Ysamy

Ukamau Y Ke - Rap With Andean Music

Wow, it’s been so long since our last post. But no, Sound Energy Flux is not dead. Something that has brought so much to our life can’t simply die. Here we go again.

Ukamau y ke has been one of my favorite bands lately. Their lyrics denounce social injustice and economic inequality in Bolivia. Their fusion of hip hop with Andean folk music has, likewise, a social reason behind it, namely, the highlighting of the Bolivian culture and heritage, which is slowly getting lost due to the dominance of foreign interests in the media.

América Latina (2007)

In an unfortunate event, Abraham Bojorquez, Ukamau y ke's founder, recently passed away being only 26 years old in a vehicular accident. Abraham headed the Wayna rap movement, which is, in my opinion, one of the most original things that has happened to Latin American hip hop, featuring rapping in Aymara, a native Bolivian language, dressing with traditional Bolivian clothes (as opposed to the American hip hop clothing) and, of course, mixing traditional folk melodies with rap.

Medios Mentirosos (2007)