DJ EldelaClave
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DJ ELDELACLAVE's
FEATURE
SET
CHECK
OUT:
--> www.UnderGroundMambo.com <--
Intro
Felipe was born and raised
in Colombia, in a small town south of Bogota
called Girardo. He grew up playing
futbol (soccer) for the state team
and eventually for a professional soccer team
before moving to the US. He tells us
that in Colombia, Afro-Caribbean music was played
everywhere—at home, on the radio, on the streets
—and so it was always part of his life.
While in high school, however, he began listening
to artists like Guns & Roses, Metallica,
Nirvana, Alice Cooper, Bon Jovi, and The Rolling
Stones. This inspired him to take guitar
lessons and he soon developed a serious rock
hobby often playing with friends.
In
high school, Felipe and some friends hosted a
two-hour show
called “La Honda del
Rock” on the radio. It featured guest
musicians from the local scene and from
Bogotá. Memorable concerts they covered
include a March 24, 1994 performance by
INXS (with Michael Hutchence as lead singer),
Aterciopelados, Poligamia, Ekhimosis, and Carlos
Vives. Felipe proudly reveals that he got to
meet some well-known artists, like Shakira who was
then an actress and inspiring
singer.
Felipe credits his introduction
into the mambo and to salsa world to his
girlfriend at the time, who gave him his first
salsa CD: Eddie Santiago’s Éxitos.
After
that, he started listening to it all the time,
pestering his uncle to share his extensive
collection, which included greats like Hector
Lavoe, Willie Colon, Larry Harlow, Henry
Fiol, La
Conspiración, Joe
Arroyo, Grupo
Niche, La Ponceña,
Sonora Matancera, and
Conjunto
Nacional. Playing
pro-fútbol also
helped feed his new addiction: Since most
of his team mates were from Cali, a
city known for its distinct style of dancing
salsa, Felipe was
exposed to salsa all the time—on the bus, during
practices, in the locker room—salsa, mambo,
chachacha,
charanga
everyday!
“I guess some
of that stuck to me, hehehe,” says
Felipe.
EG: How did you get started
as a DJ?
DE: I started here in the
States , back around 1999, at a place called Cafe
Caracas, in Berkeley. I remember
taking my first salsa class there with Naomi,
who was a well-known local salsa instructor. I
made friends with everyone that used to go to Cafe
Caracas, from the owners of the restaurant to the
DJ.
One Friday night the DJ called saying
that he was going to be late, so since I used to
carry my CD book in my car all the time, I offered
to play my CDs till the DJ got there. The DJ
never showed up. The crowd really liked the
songs I played and so the owners offered me the
gig. Since then, I went on to DJ the Mambo
Romero socials (formerly at the Beat), Glas Kat,
and SF Salsa Congress, amongst other
venues.
EG: You
are also a very accomplished salsa performer,
having worked with reputable salsa companies like
Mambo Romero and Salsamania. Can you
briefly talk about that experience?
DE: I’m one of the OG
members of Salsamania—I did my first Salsa
Congress in LA with John and Liz. While at
that LA Congress, however, I took classes with
Felipe Polanco from Puerto Rico and that
experience changed my view of dance. So, I
switched to dancing
On2.
With Mambo Romero, I took
my dancing to the next level and performed at many
congresses, from San Francisco, LA to New York and
Puerto Rico.
EG: To
what extent did being a performer/dancer
contribute to your work as a DJ?
DE: It contributed A
LOT.
Traveling from congress to congress
opened my view of the effect of the music on the
dancer.
I saw what dancers dance to and what they
liked: hard salsa and classic salsa, not much
commercial salsa.
EG: You
have a unique DJ name—“EldelaClave”— that many in
the salsa community can easily identify with.
Tell
us about your thought process behind choosing that
name.
DE: After taking classes
with Felipe Polanco and learning to dance on the
clave, I used to practice at home with the
claves: dancing, doing my footwork, and playing
the claves at the same time. So
from that, EldelaClave was
created.
EG: How would
you describe your style and how would you
differentiate your approach from other
DJs?
DE:
Mmmmm, all I can say is that I don’t play
commercial salsa, or reggaeton. I will leave it up
to you all to describe my style.
J
EG: What
other genres of music inspire you?
DE: All genres except
reggaeton.
EG:
As an
established and popular DJ in the salsa scene,
what is your advice to the young aspiring DJs out
there?
DE: Read, study the music
and its origin and culture, ask lots of questions
and talk to the musicians. There is a
lot more to learn beyond the Fania All-Stars. There is a
great book with tons of history and information
that I always recommend to anyone that asks me
about this: It’s called Cuba and Its
Music, by Ned Subblette.
EG: You have also donned the
hat of producer/director for an exciting video
project related to Latin music and dance. Do you want
to tell the readers about it?
DE: Wow, that’s my
BABY!
TumbaoSF
is a documentary film about the Latin/mambo/salsa
scene here in the Bay told from my point of view
since I have witnessed all the great changes in
the scene over the past eleven years. The salsa scene
has grown so much! Now, we
are lucky to have salsa clubs and salsa socials
all over and live music every night of the
week.
I want to share something with
you.
I was invited to a Santana concert last
year by Karl Perazzo (one of the leaders of
Avance, and Conjunto Karabalí, two local
bands).
Karl is very well-known in the Latin rock
scene, so it took us 30–40 minutes to get back
stage from the main door. In the SF
salsa clubs, however, Karl walks around with no
problems.
What this tells you is that people in the
scene here often do not appreciate and do not
value what we have here in our own backyards.
We have Louie “Timbalito”
Romero, a legend who has recorded with Hector
Lavoe, Willie Colon, Celia Cruz, Ernie Agosto,
amongst others. But when
he is on stage—guess what??!!Everyone is dancing
and not caring much about who is on stage.
Orestes Vilato, another great
musician also lives in the Bay Area and has played
with Santana, Fania All-Stars, and many
others.
When he plays with locals such as Benny
Velarde or the John Santos quintet, almost no one
really stops to appreciate his music. Orestes
maybe the best timbalero alive, in my book, and
I’m sure many would say the
same.
So, my film intends to show this
great music and the dance and friendships we all
have in the Bay Area. I’ve been
filming and recording concerts for almost three
years now. I’m producing it myself and hope to
finish it soon. It is a
project from the Bay Area, about the Bay Area and
for the Bay Area, and I hope the rest of the globe
can see it and appreciate what we have got.
EG: Is
music your full time career or do you have another
vocation that you pursue in addition to your role
as DJ?
DE: Well, I would like to
say that music is my main work and I certainly see
it that way as I take it very seriously and with
much respect. Still, us
DJs and musicians, here in the Bay, are not paid
what we really deserve, so most of us also
have day jobs. You can
see us as lawyers, doctors, payroll managers, and
cashiers during the day but at night and when it
comes to salsa, we all become someone else.
EG: As
you know, Giju has established a new musical
expression within the genre of salsa by crossing
Latin with Indian genres to produce a sound
that reaches beyond borders and
cultures.. What do you think about Giju's
approach to Latin music?
DE: It’s good stuff! He is
definitely on the right track.
Afro-Caribbean music blends well with many
other types of music and rhythms. Keep going
Giju!
Do It!!!
EG: You
have also worked with Giju when he started out in
Salsamania. Any funny
or memorable moments you want to share from those
early days?
DE: Mmmm, well Giju was
always a cool guy. We didn’t
hang out much when he started dancing,
but after some time we became good friends,
and worked hard to get where we are now. We danced
together and always worked side by side
with respect (so if anything
funny and crazy happened, that stays between
us).
;-)
Much love to Giju, keep
going brother.
EG: Anything
else that you want to share with the
readers.
Let’s keep this music, this
feeling,
this sabor,
and this dance alive by going out to support the
music, bands, and clubs. Believe
me, the Bay Area is the place to be.
Oohhh! And check
out www.UnderGroundMambo.com, the mambo salsa
network.
See you all on the dance
floor!
You can
contact DJ EldelaClave at
dj_eldelaclave@yahoo.com
You can
also find DJ El De La Clave on Facebook and
Myspace.
Photographs, Music and links in this
feature provided courtesy of
DJ
EldelaClave
Elena
Gil, Editor (all rights
reserved.)
