Still Skanking - Desorden Publico "Los Dados de La Muerte"

Venezuela's top ska band Desorden Publico have been making music for more than 25 years and they just get better with each new album.

Their latest video for Los Dados de La Muerte, from the EP "Los Contrarios" shows a re-energized Desorden Publico in blistering form.

After the Colombian-influenced cumbia-ska of their last hit single Cristo Navaja, Los Dados de la Muerte is a return to the classic 80s ska of Madness and The Specials that first inspired them to start a band in 1985.

It features a cameo by Kanikazu Tanaka of Japanese ska band Dad Mom God.

Cristo Navaja - Cumbia-Ska from Venezuela

Filmed in the picturesque mountain towns of Altos de Paramillo, Peribeca and El Topón around San Cristobal on the Venezuelan-Colombian border, Venezuelan ska band Desorden Publico's latest release is a whimsical confection of folk tradition and magical realism.

Models, folk dancers and men in Colombian hats with machetes make this the most colourful video the Desordenados have done for a long while and comes from their latest album Los Contrarios.

So what are you waiting for? Wave your machete in the air like you just don't care and sing!

Cristo Navaja


Caminaba por un mercado de esos muy improvisados
y en la mitad de la calle una vendedora ambulante
que tenia un ojo de vidrio me mostró un curioso artículo...
era un pequeño llavero con forma de crucificado Cristo


Fue así como compré esa potente cruz de metal
que tenía escrita la inscripción made in Taiwan
resulta ser que esa cruz dentro de sí oculta una navaja
que como una pico 'e loro - fuiss
despliega punzante el arma


Cristo navaja, Cristo Navaja
defiende mi billetera mientras da cobijo a mi alma


Cristo navaja, Cristo Navaja
defiende mi billetera mientras da cobijo a mi alma


Vamos to' el mundo!
Cristo Navaja, Cristo Navaja
Chumba la candela, maquinolandera
Dale cobijo a mi alma!

Venezuela ska band Desorden Publico launch new CD

By Russell Maddicks


Venezuelan ska veterans Desorden Publico are marking 25 years in the music business with their long-awaited new album called Los Contrarios.

The new CD sees the Caracas-based nutty boys return with the kind of irreverent black humour, social comment, and high energy that made them so popular in the late 1980s, when they were inspired by British ska bands like The Specials, Madness and The Selector.

Melding ska, salsa and cumbia rhythms into joyous dance numbers, Desorden Publico have long mastered the art of getting huge stadium crowds across the world to stand up and skank, earning them the title the Latin Kings of Ska.

The new album promises more of the same with tracks like "Musica de Fiesta" throwing Balkan gypsy stomping into the ska mix, and "Llora por un Dolar" providing a lilting reggae beat to accompany a sarcastic sing-a-long vocal.

There are two covers on the album, a version of Venezuelan folk singer Ali Primera's "Dispersos" and "City of the Dead" by punk legends The Clash, another key influence on Desorden's sound and attitude.

Listen out for a very special guest appearance by Ruben Albarran from the Mexican rock band Cafe Tacuba on the track "El Poder Emborracha".

"Cristo Navaja", the first single from the album will be formally launched on 8 June in the Venezuela-Colombia border city of San Cristobal de Tachira, where the video for the cumbia-ska track was shot.

To see a video of Desorden Publico performing "Monkey Ska" on a double decker bus in London click here.

To see a video of Desorden Publico rehearsing new tracks with BBC presenter Jonathan Dimbleby click here.

To see a video of Desorden Publico rehearsing tracks from the new CD click here.

Blanquito Man and Celso Piña - El Tren

After a long hiatus that has seen him working on solo projects with Mexican band Control Machete, Puerto Rican rappers Calle 13 and Los Amigos Invisibles (on a cover version of the Fabulosos Cadilacs' "Mal Bicho"), Jose Andres Blanco, AKA Blanquito Man is back with a new King Chango album in the works called "The Return of King Chango".

The rapscalious Venezuelan rude boy also has a new moniker: "Zuzuko, the Generous Giver of Uku Uku".

As a taste of what's to come, here's a cumbia-tastic collaboration Blanquito Man did with Mexican accordion legend Celso Piña from the album "Mundo Colombia".

Babylon Motorhome: ComoCumbia

The very excellent Venezuelan collective known as Babylon Motorhome have taken Colombian cumbia, electronica, drum and bass and some hot ska brass and made it all dubtastically nice and funky in their latest project. The group, which combines music with cutting-edge graphic design and audiovisuals, have created several versions of the track, available on an album of the same name on Pilla Records. The album cover features a "pabellon criollo", Venezuela's national dish, a plate of black beans, fried plantains, rice and shredded beef. Tasty.

ComoCumbia tracklist:
1. RadioEdit, Feat. MC Cotufa (BMH-Aldo)
2. Bucare Dub (Ortega&Cassette)
3. Drum&bass Mix (Emmerson+Turtled)
4. ILoveMyMotorhome Mix (Jimmy Flamante)
5. Cumbia Nuclear Mix (Club Nuclear)
6. Perro Campeón Mix (Los Domingues)
7. Buenas Tardes Hiphop Mix (BMH)
8. Cariaquito Hiphop Mix (BMH)
9. Raíces Mix (BMH)

Video: Babylon Motorhome remix Simon Diaz - "Angustia"