DJ Betto Arcos Spices Up The Accordion
By
NPR Staff |
NPR
Sunday, March 29, 2015
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Betto Arcos, host of Global Village on KPFK in Los Angeles and globetrotting DJ, is a frequent guest on the weekends on All Things Considered, where he discusses the music he's found on his journeys. On this episode, Arcos shares music that utilizes the accordion, with eye towards coaxing new and unexpected sounds out of the instrument. Hear the conversation at the audio link, and check out the music below.
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The Global Village host is back with a stack of music that tests the sonic limits of the squeezebox.
Transcript
ARUN RATH, HOST:
You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR West. I'm Arun Rath. I'm always excited when our friend world music DJ Betto Arcos stops by. He's always got some great music that I've never heard of. He's back with us right now. Hi, Betto.
BETTO ARCOS, BYLINE: Hey, Arun. It's great to be with you.
RATH: So Betto, given your track record, when we get a pitch from you, usually you have me at hello. But I have to say you lost me with this one at accordion.
(LAUGHTER)
RATH: So tell me why - win me back. Why am I wrong to cringe when I think accordion?
ARCOS: Because, you know, the accordion is a very, very rich instrument. And sadly, it's been stereotyped and boxed into this kind of, you know, sort of nerdy - I don't know - ugly kind of concept of an instrument. And frankly, in my world, the accordion has all of these textures and colors. And sometimes it sounds like an organ. Sometimes it sounds like a saxophone. And here is this segment for you to prove that this is a cool instrument.
RATH: What do you have for us first up here?
ARCOS: Well, I want to start off with something completely unusual, which will just blow people away, I think. This is an accordionist from France. His name is Jean-Louis Matinier along with a nyckelharpa, a Swedish instrument played by Marco Ambrosini from Italy. They're together doing this recording called "Inventio." And this is a fantastic tune that gives you the sense of how much you can do with this incredible instrument.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TASTEGGIATA")
RATH: Boy, he's pounding those keys.
ARCOS: Yeah. He's pounding. He's plucking. He's making every possible sound you can make with that instrument. I mean, this is the thing about this instrument that, you know, it has the possibilities of creating sounds that maybe never thought you could bring out of it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TASTEGGIATA")
RATH: So once again, that was Jean-Louis Matinier on accordion.
ARCOS: Jean-Louis Matinier.
RATH: And on this instrument - the nyckelharpa - Marco Ambrosini.
ARCOS: Exactly.
RATH: What is the nyckelharpa?
ARCOS: The nyckelharpa is sort of a violin zither.
RATH: Interesting. OK, what's next?
ARCOS: The next piece is by perhaps the most well-known accordionist from the Basque country in northern Spain. His name is Kepa Junkera, and he plays the accordion called trikitixa.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SORGINAK INFERNUKO HAUSPOTIK IRTETZEN")
RATH: Can you describe this accordion he's playing? Because it's not a standard accordion, right? It sounds kind of big.
ARCOS: It's a small accordion.
RATH: Huh.
ARCOS: It's called the diatonic accordion. But it's specifically a style of accordion that's built and made in this part of the world - in the Basque country. It's played by generations and generations. It became very, very popular in the early 20th century. Then during the Franco regime, of course, music from this region was forbidden, as was a lot of ethnic music from all over Spain. But then it came back again after Franco's death. And this incredible resurgence of popular folk music came about. And he is the most well-known accordionist from the Basque country - Kepa Junkera.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SORGINAK INFERNUKO HAUSPOTIK IRTETZEN")
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing in foreign language).
ARCOS: The title of the song is called "Sorginak Infernuko Hauspotik Irtetzen," which is Basque. But in English, it means witches coming out of the hell's bellows.
RATH: (Laughter) Hell's bellows - that's a nice term for the accordion.
ARCOS: And you know why it's called hell's bellows? Because back when this music was forbidden at the beginning of the 20th century, priests said do not get close to that instrument, because it has witches that come out of that.
RATH: Well, that's Kepa Junkera playing the devil's bellows trying to bring those witches back. I'm speaking with world music DJ Betto Arcos, and he is in the process of convincing me that the accordion is a really worthwhile instrument. You're doing pretty well so far. What's the next piece of evidence you have to submit?
ARCOS: This next one is one of my favorite accordion players in the world bar none. His name is Chango Spasiuk. He is from Argentina. Let's hear it - "Tierra Colorada."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TIERRA COLORADA")
RATH: That swings. You could dance to that.
ARCOS: He is an amazing musician. Here's someone who comes from a small town in this far away, you know, region of Argentina - the land where mate comes from if you know what mate is - the tea. That's where the mate comes from in Argentina. So he's an Ukrainian descent - Chango Spasiuk - the last name Spasiuk. His parents, his grandparents came from the Ukraine. Immigrants, you know, working-poor, working-class family - grew up in the musical community. Within 15, 20 years, he started getting into the world of this music called chamame, which is the traditional music of this region. It's kind of waltz-ey dance music, you know, from small towns. And next thing you know, he's bringing this music to a completely different level. Just like think of it this way - as Tropea - Salvo - did to tango what Chango Spasiuk has done for chamame.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TIERRA COLORADA")
RATH: That's a piece called "Tierra Colorada." And this is a Ukrainian-Argentinian name. Help me out again (laughter).
ARCOS: Chango Spasiuk.
RATH: Time for one more, Betto. What are you going to leave us with?
ARCOS: Well, I want to leave you with something local, because after all, we live in this incredible diverse city - Los Angeles. This is a band called Buyepongo. And here we don't have one of those maestros of the accordion. Here we have a musician that just started playing the accordion about six years ago. He's the guitar player, but he's starting to take this instrument and turn it into his own instrument. Let's take a listen to Buyepongo with a tune called "Maestros," or masters.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAESTROS")
RATH: Yeah, you and I are having a hard time sitting still listening to this music.
(LAUGHTER)
ARCOS: This is cumbia. This is music from Colombia originally. Of course, it's the most popular dance music in the continent bar none. People think salsa is very popular. It's not. Cumbia is the most popular dance music in the Americas.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAESTROS")
BUYEPONGO: (Singing in Spanish).
RATH: What are they singing about?
ARCOS: It's a tribute to the masters - to the masters of music that have helped to inspire them to do music.
RATH: That's the music of Buyepongo - am I saying that right - as played by Betto Arcos. He's the host of Global Village at KPFK here in Los Angeles. Go to our website for a closer listen to all these selections - nprmusic.org. Betto, I was wrong. I'm a jerk. The accordion is awesome. Thank you very much.
ARCOS: My pleasure. And I sure hope people consider this instrument, you know, with a little open heart.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAESTROS")
BUYEPONGO: (Singing in Spanish). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
View this story on npr.org
Jean-Louis Matinier and Marco Ambrosini
"Tasteggiata"
From 'Inventio'
Kepa Junquera
"Sorginak Infernuko Hauspotik Irtetzen"
From 'Una pequeña historia de la Trikitixa'
Chango Spasiuk
"Tierra Colorada (En Vivo en el Teatro Cololn)"
From 'Tierra Colorada en el Teatro Colón: Chango Spasiuk en Concierto (En Vivo)'
Buyepongo
"Maestros"
From 'Maestros'
Learn more about this release on Buyepongo's bandcamp page.
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