Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca Downloads

Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca's infectious fusion of Latin and African music has been hailed as the future of Salsa. Ricardo Lemvo was born in the Congo and grew up listening to the Cuban greats -- Orquesta Aragón, Arsenio Rodríguez, Sonora Matancera and Abelardo Barroso. After... Learn More »

Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca's infectious fusion of Latin and African music has been hailed as the future of Salsa. Ricardo Lemvo was born in the Congo and grew up listening to the Cuban greats -- Orquesta Aragón, Arsenio Rodríguez, Sonora Matancera and Abelardo Barroso. After moving to LA, he founded Makina Loca in 1990 to create a new blend of Cuban and Congo music.

Of his new band Ricardo says, "In 1990, I formed Makina Loca in order to combine the two schools of music I adore: Congolese rumba and Cuban son montuno. Through my songs, I have continued to develop the idea of synchronizing the sounds of my Congolese roots with those of Cuba's African diaspora."

Ricardo Lemvo has established himself as a pioneer with his innovative music, combining Latin and African elements from salsa to soukous with an occasional merengue or Afro-Portuguese excursion. This Congo-born artist of Angolan ancestry is the embodiment of the Afro-Latin Diaspora which connects back to Mother Africa via the Cuban clave rhythm. Lemvo is truly multi-cultural and equally at home singing in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Lingala, and Kikongo.

Since forming his Los Angeles-based band Makina Loca in 1990, Lemvo has refined his craft and vision, raising his joyous voice with strength, singing songs that celebrate life, and most importantly, inspiring his audiences to let loose and dance away their worries.

Through the years, Lemvo has performed countless shows and in many prestigious festivals throughout Europe, the Americas, and Australia. Giving him the ultimate form of respect, his songs have been performed and recorded by such Latin luminaries as Colombia's Joe Arroyo, and Orquesta Reve from Cuba.

Lemvo's four CDs, Tata Masamba, Mambo Yo Yo, São Salvador and Ay Valeria! have been enthusiastically acclaimed by both print and broadcast media worldwide. The Beat Magazine named Tata Masamba the CD of the year for 1996. The Miami Herald calls Mambo Yo Yo "a treasure trove for listeners and, especially dancers." São Salvador reached # 2 on the European World Music chart for May 2000, and of Ay Valeria!, The New York Post describes it as "celestial, highly idiosyncratic."

Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca have also been nominated for various awards including the California Music Awards, The Los Angeles Weekly Music Awards. The American World Music Awards voted Lemvo and his band the Emerging Artist of 1998.

Lemvo has been the subject of various national and international radio and television programs including BBC Radio, Radio France International, National Public Radio, CBS Sunday Morning, the NBC Today Show, CNN World Beat.

In film, Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca appeared in the 1998 movie Dance With Me starring Vanessa Williams and Chayanne.

Ricardo Lemvo leaves an indelible impression with any and all who hear his music or see him perform. Why? Because like Lemvo there is no other.
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