By Russell Maddicks
Here's a summery tune about the Venezuelan beach town of Choroni by Grammy-Award winning songwriter and producer Aureliano Mendez, who records and performs under the monickers Panasuyo and Sr. Mendez.
Aureliano's exciting mix of traditional Venezuelan folk music, dance, electronica, drum n bass and ragga brought him chart success in Venezuela with his first album "Monte y Culebra" (Scrubland and Snakes"), which included tracks like "Tierra Querida".
Born in Guanare, Portuguesa State, where the influence of Llanero music is strong, he incorporates traditional instruments such as cuatro (four-string guitar) and maracas into tracks made up of live performances, loops and samples.
In 2006 he contributed to a landmark album of remixes of famous tracks by Venezuelan folk legend Simon Diaz.
His biggest triumph so far was winning two Latin Grammys in 2007. One for producing the album "Residente o Visitante" for the Puerto Rican hip-hop group Calle 13 and another for penning "Pa'l Norte" - the hit song from that album (he also sang on the track "Tango del Pecado" performed with Gustavo Santoalalla and Bajofondo).
In 2008, "Residente o Visitante" won the Grammy for best Latin Urban Album.
"Choroni" is a collaboration with the Colombian group Palenke Soultribe and comes from Aureliano's excellent second album "Papa del Panasuyo". The video was produced by Venezuelan director Otto Scheuren.
To listen to audio clips from Papa del Panasuyo visit the Soundcloud page for Sr. Mendez.
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