Venezuelan band Los Amigos Invisibles make a movie

La Casa del Ritmo, A Film About Los Amigos Invisibles - Teaser from Juan Miguel Marin on Vimeo.

To celebrate 20 years making groovy Latin dance tunes, Venezuela's funkiest pop-rock-boogaloo band - Los Amigos Invisibles - have produced a movie called La Casa del Ritmo.

The movie is due to come out in Summer 2012 but a teaser trailer is out now, showing the kind of quality fans have come to expect from the Grammy-winning combo.

Starting out as an indie-underground group playing acid-jazz-inspired funk and boogaloo for a Caracas in-crowd, the six members of Amigos Invisibles were catapulted to international stardom when ex-Talking Head Davis Byrne signed them to his Luaka Bop label in 1996 for the album "The New Sound of the Venezuelan Gozadera".

Since then they have played in over 60 countries, produced seven quality albums, a live concert DVD and are are recognized as one of the best live Latin music acts performing today.

In 2009 their album "Commercial" - featuring the hit single Mentiras - won Best Alternative Music Album at the Latin Grammys.

In 2011, the follow-up album of outtakes "Not So Commercial" was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Latin Rock, Pop or Urban Album, their third Grammy nomination.

Judging by the massive buzz generated by the new movie, it looks set to bring them a whole host of new fans and keep them in business for many years to come.

Los Amigos Invisibles are: Julio Briceño (aka "Chulius", vocals, percussion); José Luis Pardo (aka "Cheo" or "DJ Afro", guitar, songwriting); Armando Figueredo (aka "Odnam", keyboards); Mauricio Arcas (aka "Maurimix", congas, percussion); José Rafael Torres (aka "Catire", bass); and Juan Manuel Roura (aka "Mamel", drums, percussion).

How to dance Venezuelan salsa

A short video showing yours truly trying to dance salsa in a Venezuelan style. The majority of people who go to salsa dance classes in Europe and the USA learn to dance forwards and backwards using a basic Mambo step, but this won't help you in Venezuela where the dancing is on all four beats and the focus is on getting up close to your partner and doing turns in a very small space.

For the ladies this isn't such a problem, as they just follow the lead of the man they're dancing with, but guys will have to ditch the Mambo steps for something looser, going from four steps side to side, into the open step and initiating turns from there.

Salsa music is still massive in Venezuela, with a strong presence of salsa dura or salsa vieja, the classic 1970s tunes produced under the Fania label in New York by artists such as Willie Colon, Hector Lavoe, Ruben Blades and the Fania All Stars.

Homegrown Venezuelan salsa stars include Oscar D'Leon and Federico Betancourt and his Combo Latino.

The video was shot "camera secreta" style by Jorge Franca, a Venezuelan expat and pana mio.

Atkinson - Asi es Como Te Amo

Venezuelan rock group Atkinson have a go at Mariachi chic on "Asi es Como Te Amo", the first single from their debut album "La Banda".

Shot in a hairdressing salon in Caracas, the video was directed by Peter Ponk (Pedro Gonzalez) and features cameos by Julio "Chulius" Briceño, lead singer of Los Amigos Invisibles, Danel Sarmiento, the drummer of Desorden Publico, singer Nana Cadavieco and scenester Ingrid Dreissig, among others.

Los Amigos Invisibles in London - 9 July

London is bracing for a Venezuelan invasion as Los Amigos Invisibles prepare to rock the UK capital to its ultra-funk foundations with a single live show on 9 July at the Clapham Grand (21-25 St John's Hill, Clapham Junction, SW11 1TT). Tickets are on sale through Ticketweb.com at £20.

To get a taste of the full Amigos experience, here's a video of the track 'En Cuatro' taken at a recent LAI concert in Argentina, where the boys blew the place apart with a trawl through their back catalogue.

After 19 years of creating infectious dance music the Invisible Friends show no signs of slowing down. Their latest CD 'Comercial' won them a Latin Grammy.

Video: Los Amigos Invisibles - Mentiras

Video: Los Amigos Invisibles cover of Los Fabulosos Cadillac's "Mal Bicho"

Video: Los Amigos Invisibles - Diablo

Video: Los Amigos Invisibles - Cuchi Cuchi

Video: Los Amigos Invisibles - Playa Azul

Video: Max and Jason have lunch with Los Amigos Invisibles

To buy the new CD 'Commercial' click here:
MP3 tracks from Los Amigos Invisibles:

Bacalao Men - El Comegente (The Cannibal)

"El Comegente" ("The Cannibal") is a song from the Bacalao Men's second album "El Nuevo Bugalu".

It tells the story of Dorangel Vargas, a skinny, softly-spoken tramp with a beard who shocked the country in February 1999 when he was arrested for killing and eating vagrants in the Andean city of San Cristobal, Tachira State.

After his arrest, the self-confessed "people-eater" (comegente) served up a slew of juicy revelations about his cannibal exploits, like a shy contestant on Masterchef listing his favourite recipes.

Vargas, 42 years old at the time, calmly described to reporters how he killed and cut up his victims and then cooked the parts he liked best in his makeshift shack under a bridge over the Rio Torbes, between San Cristobal and Tariba.

"Sure I eat people," he told reporters, claiming he had eaten ten people in the two years before his capture.

Explaining how he would target vagrants or council workers sent to clear the scrub near his shack, he said he would sneak up on them and spear or club them with a metal pipe.

He even offered advice on how to marinate the meat and which parts of the body to avoid.

"Anyone can eat human flesh," he added, "but you have to wash and garnish it well to avoid diseases."

A fussy eater, he avoided the hands, feet and testicles of his victims because they gave him indigestion and said he would never eat a woman, "because they don't mess with anyone".

"I only eat the parts with muscles, particularly thighs and calves which are my favourite," he told a local newspaper, saying he liked eating skinny men best.

"I make a very tasty stew with the tongue and I use the eyes to make a nutritious and healthy soup," he added.

Dorangel said he had no regrets about the killings. Instead, like some modern Sweeney Todd, he boasted how he had shared his grisly meals with others who "praised the fillings in my empanadas" - although his guests were clearly unaware of the true contents of his fried maize-dough turnovers.

Only two victims were identified by police from the hands and feet found near Dorangel's shack but the bones and skull fragments of six other victims were eventually discovered, confirming "El Comegente" as Venezuela's first proven serial killer.

The bizarre revelations about his eating habits led local newspapers to dub him "the Hannibal Lecter of the Andes".

Nana Cadavieco - No Hay

"No Hay" is the first single from Venezuelan singer-songwriter Nana Cadavieco's debut solo album "Expose".

A small singer with a big voice, Nana has performed in the past with Gaelica and Masseratti 2lts, but her solo effort stands on its own, thanks to Nana's smart, sassy, indie-chick attitude and some great songs.

The album, produced by Erik Aldrey and mastered in London by Richard "Dick" Beetham, also features some tracks in English as the singer felt the musicality of the English words better suited the sentiments she wanted to express.

The video, directed by Hector Orbegoso, shows Nana swinging around Caracas and takes her from a wind-driven Alejandro Otero sculpture to a spinning car wash.

Cadavieco has already presented the album in a series of shows in Spain and plans to come back to Europe in the new year after a tour of major Venezuelan cities. She may even come to London in 2010 if we're lucky.

To purchase a copy of the Nana Cadavieco's CD "Expose" click here:



Track Listing:
1. Rincon
2. No Hay
3. Cancion de Cuna
4. Voy Por Ti
5. Let Me Go
6. Shanti
7. Drive Alone (Part I)
8. Drive Alone (Part II)
9. Posicion Fetal
10. Aqui & Ahora

La Vida Boheme - Radio Capital

The stunning debut video from Caracas rock band La Vida Boheme of their first single: "Radio Capitol".

With the poise and attack of British bands like Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys and the old-school punk swagger of The Clash and The Ramones, La Vida Boheme have brought a new sound and a new aesthetic to the Venezuelan rock scene.

Formed in 2006, La Vida Boheme are Rafael Perez, Daniel De Sousa, Sebastian Ayala and Henry D’Arthenay. The video was directed by Carl Zitelmann.

Gabba gabba hey!

Tres Dueños - Fiera Salvaje

Venezuelan hip-hop trio Tres Dueños keep it light and frothy on "Fiera Salvaje", a track from their 2005 album Grandes Lexicos.

Here's a taste of their lyrical flow:

Mami vamos pa' la playa
Ponte el hilo.
Yo llevo la calle y tengo kilos
Hasta las seis de la mañana
Solos en la orilla
Tomando caipirinha.
Lirica con piña niña
Y mira este tumbao
Que vengo arrecostao
Soy como el cacao
Con mi song… choun
Coca cola y ron
Pa rompe el colchon
Tengo el don
Asi que "Give me, give me"
Me gusta tu bikini mini
Y baila pa tú papi
Que te pone happy
Soy tu triki-traki
Muevete despacio
Morena, sirena
Ahora echate en la arena
Y hazlo asi,
Asi, asi como fiera salvaje
Asi, asi como fiera salvaje

Dame Pa Matala - Venezuela

Gaitas: Maracaibo 15 - La Negra del Tamunangue

No Venezuelan Christmas is complete without "gaitas" - popular folk music from Maracaibo. One of the greatest exponents of the art are Maracaibo 15, shown here in concert at the Poliedro stadium in Caracas on 11 November, 2006. Betulio Medina sings. Feliz Navidad!

More Gaitas: Astolfo Romero - Una Florecita