As I mentioned last week, Spanish folk/pop artist Bigott made his L.A. debut last week following his trip to SXSW. I was able to meet with him and his impressive facial hair (hence the name Bigott after “bigote” [mustache]) afterwards for a brief interview. He didn’t divulge much (something he’s famous for) but there were plenty of laughs to be had.
Did you swing by L.A. because you were in SXSW a few days ago?
That’s it. We were close by and thought we’d swing by Los Angeles or Charlie or St. Raphael or whatever.
When did you arrive? Saturday?
Yes, Saturday. Well, I’m a little confused as to exactly when but I think it was Saturday.
And what have you done so far here in L.A.? Did you go to the beach?
It was a great week for new music in L.A. as Bigott and Ritmo Machine performed at Eastside Luv in Boyle Heights for some post-SXSW action.
Spanish Folk/Pop artist Bigott made his Los Angeles debut on the 20th with some help from the fine folks at Sol Art Radio and Ku De Ta.
Bigott is the project of singer/songwriter Burjo Laudo, a native of Zaragoza, Spain, who has five albums under his belt in almost as many years. He sings in English with a voice that, amazingly enough, fluctuates somewhere between that of Donovan, Colin Meloy, and Tom Waits.
Bigott was a live wire on stage who swung on bars and hooks reserved for the burlesque dancers who are there on the weekend. He and his band played a long set that covered possibly every track they’ve ever recorded and included an encore of his current hit single, “Cannibal Dinner.”
The following night featured the L.A. debut of Ritmo Machine at Eastside’s most popular night, Subsuelo, the monthly global bass party presented by Gnawledge. The duo features Eric Bobo, of Cypress Hill and son of Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist Willie Bobo, alongside Chilean dj Latin Bitman who released their debut album, Welcome to the Ritmo Machine, last year on Nacional Records.
Machine played their hits, some stuff I didn’t recognize, and Bobo rocked out with a few percussion solos. A few songs in and Bobo introduced a very special, surprise guest: producer/musician Money Mark!
He played guitar on a number of tracks including “Follow Me,” which he also performs on the album. Later on in the night, Bobo introduced their second guest: Sick Jacken of Psycho Realm. He rapped on a few tracks including “La Calle” and “Sabe.”
DJ/producer Mexican Dubwiser poked his head out of the production studio last week long enough to spin some latin, cumbiatronica jams. He was special guest at Subsuelo, a monthly party at L.A.’s Eastside Luv, “the Mecca of beautiful Hispanic women” as one of my friends described it.
Mexican Dubwiser – “Revolution Radio”
Mexican Dubwiser – “Cumbia Of The Great” (2008 version)
Dubwiser hails from Monterrey, Mexico, an area where lots of great music has been and continues to be created. He currently lives in LA so, hopefully, there’ll be more Dubwiser DJ sets in town (residency, anyone?).
Check out the full set of photos on my Flickr account.