QUITAPENAS, one word – all caps, four syllables – all claps, gives you a taste of their rhythmic contagion. This tropical Afro-Latin combo was born under the warm California sun in 2011. They borrow aesthetics from the radical 60s, 70s and 80s. Each song echoes a remix of history and invites one to engage in the liberating evenings of Angola, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and beyond. The name means “to remove worries.” Everybody has a "pena" and the mission of QUITAPENAS is simple: to make you dance and leave you without a worry. 

[ Gozar ]
[ Subsuelo ]
[ DJ / Co-Founder / Digital & Business Strategist ]

Gozar started collecting wax and mp3s nearly twenty years ago, after he relocated from LA to the Bay, just before the non-calamity of Y2K.  From Outkast and bay area boom-bap, through a love affair with soul music & roots reggae, he slowly made his way through downtempo and mid-tempo electronic music into his present tastes eccompassing all of the above plus a strong bias towards Global Carribbean-based tropical sounds fused with every kind of electronic beat and tempo. 

As Co-founder of the Calentura and Subsuelo crews out of L.A. (not to forget Tropicali & Carmona!) & tech-liaison for The Lift, he's had the chance to conceive of, produce, execute & perform at a truly diverse and exciting list of events & venues with so many of his musical inspirations. Gozar has played festivals, quincineras, backyard house parties, civic events, countless nights at dingy bars, warehouse parties, Capoeira studios, yoga retreats, ethiopian restaurants and more and featuring genres as diverse as global, soulful, organic funky & tribal house, latin, afrrican & brazilian organic & bass music, midtempo groovy beats, twerk, digi roots reggae, soul & funk, hip-hop and house party throwback fun of all kinds. 

Collaborators include festival organizers, Burning Man camps, party, event promoters, historic music labels, movement & spiritual instructors, non-profit orgs, major city orgs, forward-thinking businesses of all kinds and all the beautiful funk people that have joined him on a dance floor.
[things I love (a work in progress): calentura :: subsuelo :: fania :: l.a. creative technologies ::dancing :: the lift :: cumba mela :: the do lab :: burning man :: learning :: zzk records :: house music :: bass music :: indigenous sounds :: alternative relating :: creativity :: movement ]

Los Angeles Ethio-Jazz ensemble led by trumpeter/arranger Todd Simon featuring:

Kamasi Washington - Tenor Sax
Alan Mark Lightner - Steel Drums/Percussion
Itai Shapira - Guitar
Patrick Bailey - Bass
Dexter Story - Drums
Steve Haney - Percussion

Special Guests:
Randal Fisher
Semere-Ab Etmet Yohannes
Tutu Sweeney
Te'amir Sweeney
Mark de Clive-Lowe
Richi Panta
Tracy Wannomae

Subsuelo, Beats Of All Nations, Wax Works.

Cumbia heavyweights from Oakland, CA. New album available on iTunes:  http://apple.co/2fwyfgM

Booking:
cumbia@lamisanegra.com

The dance orientated sound of British musician, producer and DJ Will “Quantic” Holland has enchanted fans and tastemakers across the world for nearly two decades.

Candelaria seeks to combine long lost cousins cumbia and dub reggae.  By combining the sounds of the old afro Colombian traditions with the dub mixing techniques of the Jamaican masters from the 60's and 70's, Candelaria has created something that is both new and familiar as the same time.     

Ronald Ballesteros is following