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Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition)
By
Gerami G. Groover
The Culminating Experience written report
Music Technology Innovation
Masters Program
Examining Committee:
Stephen Webber
Director of
Music Technology Innovation
Liz Teutsch
Assistant Director of
Academic Technology
Gael Hedding
Production Manager for
Berklee College of Music, Valencia
Ian Kaegy
Associate Professor of
Music Technology Innovation
Berklee College of Music
Valencia, Spain
Academic Year: 2013-2014
1
In December of 2011, I created a project called Gerami Groover Presents. This project
consists of musicians, visual artists and dancers whose mission is to reveal the sounds of the
Afro folkloric and contemporary styles of Latin music to the world. With this project, my goal
is to reinvent how artists will compose, produce and perform within this genre of music by
incorporating various applications of technology. The idea of emerging technology with this
traditional style of music will provide more opportunities for the music to be heard, become
more appealing and accessible to the ever-evolving market of consumers. During the academic
year of 2013-2014, I had the honor of producing a new project entitled Gerami Groover
Presents: Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition). This project was produced in the city of
Valencia, Spain. It involved students, faculty, and visiting artists of Berklee College of Music
(Valencia, Spain), as well as a diverse group of local musicians and artist from the Valencia
area. Together we revealed the Afro folkloric, and contemporary music styles of Puerto Rico,
Cuba, Peru, and Spain to the world with the immersion of technology.
Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition) was completed in
four phases, studio recordings of four compositions, one music video to accompany one of the
four studio recordings, an application for IOS devices, and a short documentary that provides a
deeper explanation of how this project was created, as well as provide interviews of all the
musicians and artist involved in the creation of this project.
There are four studio recordings that were created for the Gerami Groover Presents:
Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition). Each composition revealed one of the Afro folkloric or
contemporary music styles of Latin music in the countries of Peru, Cuba, Puerto Rico and
Spain. The four compositions were produced in a variety of digital audio workstations, such as
2
Pro Tools 10 and 11, and had a stronger emphasizes of production in Ableton Live. I chose
Ableton Live as my preferred digital audio workstation for this project for its heavy production
techniques that are generally used in the production of Electronic Dance Music and DJ
performance. My goal was to discover how to apply these same production techniques used in
Ableton for Electronic Dance Music and incorporate these techniques in my productions within
the genre of Latin music. The goal was to effectively implement these production techniques
and still produce music that sonically remains authentic to the various Afro folkloric and
contemporary Latin styles of music.
There were two compositions that I believed helped shape my ideas as a producer, and
really expand the possibilities of how the Afro folkloric, and contemporary music styles of
Latin music can be composed, produced and performed in the future, Llora and Lola. As a
producer, I approached these two pieces of work in two ways. First, my goal was to just
explore, to create music without any boundaries so that I may challenge myself creatively, in
hopes of creating a piece of music that is unique. The second, was to use whatever resources I
might have had access to at that very moment. In both compositions, I used a variety of audio
samples or recordings of which I have had in my music library. I then combined them together
in Ableton Live and produced music in one sitting until the various samples and recordings
organically formed into a composition.
Llora, is an arrangement that I created within the style of Rumba Flamenca. Rumba
Flamenca is one of a variety of Flamenco rhythms from Spain. This particular style is a
combination of two folkloric rhythms that share African influences, the Spanish Tango, and
Afro Cuban Rumba. I collected audio samples that I had personally recorded and audio
recordings of Spanish flamenco percussion, claps, vocal samples and combined them with Afro
3
Cuban Rumba vocal samples, and percussion samples that I had recorded in the past. The goal
of Llora was to successfully dissect the Rumba Flamenca style back to its origins of Spanish
Tango and Afro Cuban Rumba, and once again merge these two folkloric styles together, and
successfully create a piece that sonically best represents the Rumba Flamenca as if a band were
to have record it or play it live.
Lola, was an original composition that was inspired by the Afro folkloric styles of
Festejo and Lando from Peru. I used the same production approach with this piece as I had
done before with the Rumba Flamenca, which was to just explore, to create music without any
boundaries so that I may challenge myself creatively, in hopes of creating a piece of music that
is unique. Also, I decided to use the resources that I have had access to at that very moment,
such as a variety of audio samples in my music library. This piece was produced entirely in
Ableton Live. I used a variety of percussion audio samples of the Cajon, which is an
instrument that plays a very intricate role sonically in all Afro Peruvian folkloric styles of
music. I used vocal, and guitar samples from “Takiti Taki” by Susana Baca, “Quimba Fa,
Malambo, Neque” by Eva Ayllon. I also recorded a live vocal improvisation of Michael Sean
Harris, a producer from Jamaica, and took samples of his improve to create a melody for the
piece. Lola not only allowed me to grow and expand my talents as a producer in Latin music
but it also introduced me to the area of sound design, an area of production I had not
discovered until the creation of this tune.
Maquinolandera is a song that is in the style of an Afro Puerto Rican rhythm called
Bomba. There are four main rhythms of Bomba: Yubá, Sicá, Cuembé, and Holandé.
Throughout the different areas of Puerto Rico you will hear a different interpretation of how
these four rhythms can be played. Maquinolandera is played in the Bomba rhythm of Sicá.
4
This tune was originally recorded by Ismael Rivera and Rafael Cortijo, and was one of the first
fusions of salsa music with Afro folkloric rhythms from the Caribbean. I created an
arrangement of this tune in Pro Tools 10 and 11. The creation of the arrangement was in two
phases. I used a piano and a few percussion audio samples that I had recorded in a non-related
recording session, and later recorded other musicians to record bass, vocals, and woodwinds
live in the studio. Maquinolandera features Alexey Leon Reyes on vocals, flute, and alto
saxophone.
Buleria, was one of my favorite recordings. It is an original composition that I cowritten with a phenomenal flamenco percussionist by the name of Sergio Martinez. The piece
was composed in the Spanish Flamenco style of Buleria, and incorporated many elements from
American Jazz music, which as a result provided a contemporary interpretation of this folkloric
style. The recording process for Buleria was very traditional, and I engineered the session
using Pro Tools 10 and 11. The piece was recorded in one session, and was recorded live by
the students of the Berklee College of Music Global Jazz Institute, and Berklee alumni from
both Spain and India. The musicians that participated in all of the Gerami Groover Presents:
Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition) studio recordings, were students, faculty and visiting
artist of Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain, as well as local musicians in Valencia,
Spain. All studio recordings were held at the campus of Berklee College of Music in Valencia,
Spain.
It was important for me to provide visual content for the Gerami Groover Presents:
Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition) project. It was truly my desire to not only challenge
myself as a producer sonically with this project but visually as well. I decided to direct a music
video for Lola. This video featured Michael Sean Harris and a variety of archival images of the
5
Afro Peruvian communities in Peru. The video covers a variety of shots such as, establishing,
left, right, mid, and bird eye angles. I hope that the music video will provide the viewers with
more of a cultural context of where this music originated.
I wanted to explore how I can create this archive that can store all of the various Afro
folkloric and contemporary styles of Latin music that Gerami Groover Presents is doing, and
provide access to any one in the world who desires to learn more about the music, dance, and
cultures in Latin America. So I decided to collaborate with Alek Palmersmith, and Sergio
Martinez to create a Gerami Groover Presents app for IOS devices. This app will serve as a
learning tool for anyone interested in learning the Flamenco and Andalucía music from Spain. It
will cover everything from video tutorials, interviews, music, music videos, and much more.
The app will be submitted in the culminating experience project for Alek Palmersmith, and
will be presented in its early prototype stage.
Finally, there will be a short documentary for Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación
Latina (Berklee Edition). The documentary takes the viewers on a journey of the creative
process of the project from my perspective, as the producer. There the viewers will witness
behind the scenes footage of the creation of the project, as well as some history of how the vision
of the project came into existence. In the future, there will be a series of short interviews of all
artist and other collaborators of the Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación Latina (Berklee
Edition).
Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition) is a project that
consists of musicians, whose mission is to reveal the sounds of the Afro folkloric and
contemporary styles of Latin music to the world with the immersion of technology. This project
has reinvented how artists will compose, produce and perform this genre of music by
6
incorporating various applications of technology. This project is innovative in two main ways.
First with production, by using Ableton Live as one of the digital audio workstation for this
project, I have discovered new ways of how producing music in both the Afro folkloric, and or
the contemporary style of Latin music can be created quickly, effectively, and easily with just
the use of sampling and working on your laptop. This not only allowed me to produce music
that sonically best represents the various Afro folkloric styles of Latin music, but it also
allowed me to see of how producing in Ableton Live in the future will help artist reduce
dramatically the production cost for future projects. Secondly, Ableton Live can be a great
application for not only producing music but to incorporate visual content, and provide viewers
with a thrilling live performance. This will allow musicians, visual artist, and dancers to work
together to create an interactive, and exciting live performance that will provide a new platform
that will reveal the Afro folkloric and contemporary styles of Latin music to the world. The
Gerami Groover Presents apps will become an archive for all future projects, this app will
serve as a library of all Gerami Groover presents projects, music, history, videos, and much
more. This project will create new avenues and possibilities of how the Afro folkloric and
contemporary styles of Latin music can be produced, performed, and preserved in the year
2013 and beyond.
Throughout the entire production of Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación Latina
(Berklee Edition), I truly have witnessed my growth as a producer, engineer, composer, and
artist. As a producer, I was introduced to Ableton Live through this project, and explored areas
of sampling and sound design that were both topics that I had never experienced before. The
academic year of 2013-2014 was the first time in my music education career that I had studied
audio engineering. This project has allowed me gain confidence in what I can do, and become
7
more secure in my approach as an engineer. As a composer, I have explored a new approach as
to how I can use Ableton Live as a new tool for my compositions, instead of composing with
pen and paper first. All of these new skills that I have gained, allowed me to become more
confident as an artist. I am excited about being able to incorporate more use of technology in
my performances, and witness how my art will continue to grow into something innovative and
inspiring.
One challenge that I had faced during the production of Gerami Groover Presents:
Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition) was time management. Throughout the year I found it
difficult at times to find a time that worked for all the artists involved with Gerami Groover
Presents: Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition) to come together and record. I feel that this
affected the quality of the arrangements. This was challenging because it did not allot me time to
provide information to the musicians about the history and cultural context of the various styles
of Afro folkloric and contemporary styles of music that we were recording. In the future, I would
make sure that I find other ways to effectively incorporate the history of the styles of music
before the artist begin recording. This will allow all of us to have a better interpretation of the
music, which will allow the music to be recorded and performed in its correct context.
In the future there will be a series of multiple productions of Gerami Groover Presents
globally, with each project specifically producing Afro folkloric and/or contemporary styles of
Latin music within that particular region. The Gerami Groover Presents app will be released in
the beginning of 2016. This app will serve a promotional device for the Gerami Groover
Presents: Spain, which will begin productions in the year of 2016.
8
In conclusion, my hope is that the Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación Latina
(Berklee Edition) will be a source of inspiration to all who participated in the creation of this
project. My hope is that they will have a desire to want to share their knowledge of any Afro
folkloric or contemporary styles of Latin music to others in their communities and beyond. I look
forward to what the future holds for Gerami Groover Presents. I believe that this project will not
only continue to reveal the Afro folkloric and contemporary styles of Latin music to the world
with the immersion of technology but that the project will provide an opportunity for artists to
collaborate and create a sense of community around the world.
9
Citation
Susana, Baca. Takiti Taki. Susana Baca. Yale Evelev, 2011. MP3.
Ayllon, Eva. Quimba Fa, Malambo, Neque. Eva Ayllon. Rec. 10 Mar. 2009. Juan Morillo, 2009.
MP3.
Rivera, Ismael. Maquinolandera. Ismael Rivera and Rafael Cortijo Y Su Combo. Rafael Cortijo,
Ismael Rivera, N/A. MP3.
Morente, Enrique. Yo He Visto Un Niño Llorar. Enrique Morente. Rec. 9 Jan. 2001. Enrique
Morente, N/A. CD. Enrique Morente Selección
10
By
Gerami G. Groover
The Culminating Experience written report
Music Technology Innovation
Masters Program
Examining Committee:
Stephen Webber
Director of
Music Technology Innovation
Liz Teutsch
Assistant Director of
Academic Technology
Gael Hedding
Production Manager for
Berklee College of Music, Valencia
Ian Kaegy
Associate Professor of
Music Technology Innovation
Berklee College of Music
Valencia, Spain
Academic Year: 2013-2014
1
In December of 2011, I created a project called Gerami Groover Presents. This project
consists of musicians, visual artists and dancers whose mission is to reveal the sounds of the
Afro folkloric and contemporary styles of Latin music to the world. With this project, my goal
is to reinvent how artists will compose, produce and perform within this genre of music by
incorporating various applications of technology. The idea of emerging technology with this
traditional style of music will provide more opportunities for the music to be heard, become
more appealing and accessible to the ever-evolving market of consumers. During the academic
year of 2013-2014, I had the honor of producing a new project entitled Gerami Groover
Presents: Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition). This project was produced in the city of
Valencia, Spain. It involved students, faculty, and visiting artists of Berklee College of Music
(Valencia, Spain), as well as a diverse group of local musicians and artist from the Valencia
area. Together we revealed the Afro folkloric, and contemporary music styles of Puerto Rico,
Cuba, Peru, and Spain to the world with the immersion of technology.
Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition) was completed in
four phases, studio recordings of four compositions, one music video to accompany one of the
four studio recordings, an application for IOS devices, and a short documentary that provides a
deeper explanation of how this project was created, as well as provide interviews of all the
musicians and artist involved in the creation of this project.
There are four studio recordings that were created for the Gerami Groover Presents:
Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition). Each composition revealed one of the Afro folkloric or
contemporary music styles of Latin music in the countries of Peru, Cuba, Puerto Rico and
Spain. The four compositions were produced in a variety of digital audio workstations, such as
2
Pro Tools 10 and 11, and had a stronger emphasizes of production in Ableton Live. I chose
Ableton Live as my preferred digital audio workstation for this project for its heavy production
techniques that are generally used in the production of Electronic Dance Music and DJ
performance. My goal was to discover how to apply these same production techniques used in
Ableton for Electronic Dance Music and incorporate these techniques in my productions within
the genre of Latin music. The goal was to effectively implement these production techniques
and still produce music that sonically remains authentic to the various Afro folkloric and
contemporary Latin styles of music.
There were two compositions that I believed helped shape my ideas as a producer, and
really expand the possibilities of how the Afro folkloric, and contemporary music styles of
Latin music can be composed, produced and performed in the future, Llora and Lola. As a
producer, I approached these two pieces of work in two ways. First, my goal was to just
explore, to create music without any boundaries so that I may challenge myself creatively, in
hopes of creating a piece of music that is unique. The second, was to use whatever resources I
might have had access to at that very moment. In both compositions, I used a variety of audio
samples or recordings of which I have had in my music library. I then combined them together
in Ableton Live and produced music in one sitting until the various samples and recordings
organically formed into a composition.
Llora, is an arrangement that I created within the style of Rumba Flamenca. Rumba
Flamenca is one of a variety of Flamenco rhythms from Spain. This particular style is a
combination of two folkloric rhythms that share African influences, the Spanish Tango, and
Afro Cuban Rumba. I collected audio samples that I had personally recorded and audio
recordings of Spanish flamenco percussion, claps, vocal samples and combined them with Afro
3
Cuban Rumba vocal samples, and percussion samples that I had recorded in the past. The goal
of Llora was to successfully dissect the Rumba Flamenca style back to its origins of Spanish
Tango and Afro Cuban Rumba, and once again merge these two folkloric styles together, and
successfully create a piece that sonically best represents the Rumba Flamenca as if a band were
to have record it or play it live.
Lola, was an original composition that was inspired by the Afro folkloric styles of
Festejo and Lando from Peru. I used the same production approach with this piece as I had
done before with the Rumba Flamenca, which was to just explore, to create music without any
boundaries so that I may challenge myself creatively, in hopes of creating a piece of music that
is unique. Also, I decided to use the resources that I have had access to at that very moment,
such as a variety of audio samples in my music library. This piece was produced entirely in
Ableton Live. I used a variety of percussion audio samples of the Cajon, which is an
instrument that plays a very intricate role sonically in all Afro Peruvian folkloric styles of
music. I used vocal, and guitar samples from “Takiti Taki” by Susana Baca, “Quimba Fa,
Malambo, Neque” by Eva Ayllon. I also recorded a live vocal improvisation of Michael Sean
Harris, a producer from Jamaica, and took samples of his improve to create a melody for the
piece. Lola not only allowed me to grow and expand my talents as a producer in Latin music
but it also introduced me to the area of sound design, an area of production I had not
discovered until the creation of this tune.
Maquinolandera is a song that is in the style of an Afro Puerto Rican rhythm called
Bomba. There are four main rhythms of Bomba: Yubá, Sicá, Cuembé, and Holandé.
Throughout the different areas of Puerto Rico you will hear a different interpretation of how
these four rhythms can be played. Maquinolandera is played in the Bomba rhythm of Sicá.
4
This tune was originally recorded by Ismael Rivera and Rafael Cortijo, and was one of the first
fusions of salsa music with Afro folkloric rhythms from the Caribbean. I created an
arrangement of this tune in Pro Tools 10 and 11. The creation of the arrangement was in two
phases. I used a piano and a few percussion audio samples that I had recorded in a non-related
recording session, and later recorded other musicians to record bass, vocals, and woodwinds
live in the studio. Maquinolandera features Alexey Leon Reyes on vocals, flute, and alto
saxophone.
Buleria, was one of my favorite recordings. It is an original composition that I cowritten with a phenomenal flamenco percussionist by the name of Sergio Martinez. The piece
was composed in the Spanish Flamenco style of Buleria, and incorporated many elements from
American Jazz music, which as a result provided a contemporary interpretation of this folkloric
style. The recording process for Buleria was very traditional, and I engineered the session
using Pro Tools 10 and 11. The piece was recorded in one session, and was recorded live by
the students of the Berklee College of Music Global Jazz Institute, and Berklee alumni from
both Spain and India. The musicians that participated in all of the Gerami Groover Presents:
Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition) studio recordings, were students, faculty and visiting
artist of Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain, as well as local musicians in Valencia,
Spain. All studio recordings were held at the campus of Berklee College of Music in Valencia,
Spain.
It was important for me to provide visual content for the Gerami Groover Presents:
Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition) project. It was truly my desire to not only challenge
myself as a producer sonically with this project but visually as well. I decided to direct a music
video for Lola. This video featured Michael Sean Harris and a variety of archival images of the
5
Afro Peruvian communities in Peru. The video covers a variety of shots such as, establishing,
left, right, mid, and bird eye angles. I hope that the music video will provide the viewers with
more of a cultural context of where this music originated.
I wanted to explore how I can create this archive that can store all of the various Afro
folkloric and contemporary styles of Latin music that Gerami Groover Presents is doing, and
provide access to any one in the world who desires to learn more about the music, dance, and
cultures in Latin America. So I decided to collaborate with Alek Palmersmith, and Sergio
Martinez to create a Gerami Groover Presents app for IOS devices. This app will serve as a
learning tool for anyone interested in learning the Flamenco and Andalucía music from Spain. It
will cover everything from video tutorials, interviews, music, music videos, and much more.
The app will be submitted in the culminating experience project for Alek Palmersmith, and
will be presented in its early prototype stage.
Finally, there will be a short documentary for Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación
Latina (Berklee Edition). The documentary takes the viewers on a journey of the creative
process of the project from my perspective, as the producer. There the viewers will witness
behind the scenes footage of the creation of the project, as well as some history of how the vision
of the project came into existence. In the future, there will be a series of short interviews of all
artist and other collaborators of the Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación Latina (Berklee
Edition).
Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition) is a project that
consists of musicians, whose mission is to reveal the sounds of the Afro folkloric and
contemporary styles of Latin music to the world with the immersion of technology. This project
has reinvented how artists will compose, produce and perform this genre of music by
6
incorporating various applications of technology. This project is innovative in two main ways.
First with production, by using Ableton Live as one of the digital audio workstation for this
project, I have discovered new ways of how producing music in both the Afro folkloric, and or
the contemporary style of Latin music can be created quickly, effectively, and easily with just
the use of sampling and working on your laptop. This not only allowed me to produce music
that sonically best represents the various Afro folkloric styles of Latin music, but it also
allowed me to see of how producing in Ableton Live in the future will help artist reduce
dramatically the production cost for future projects. Secondly, Ableton Live can be a great
application for not only producing music but to incorporate visual content, and provide viewers
with a thrilling live performance. This will allow musicians, visual artist, and dancers to work
together to create an interactive, and exciting live performance that will provide a new platform
that will reveal the Afro folkloric and contemporary styles of Latin music to the world. The
Gerami Groover Presents apps will become an archive for all future projects, this app will
serve as a library of all Gerami Groover presents projects, music, history, videos, and much
more. This project will create new avenues and possibilities of how the Afro folkloric and
contemporary styles of Latin music can be produced, performed, and preserved in the year
2013 and beyond.
Throughout the entire production of Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación Latina
(Berklee Edition), I truly have witnessed my growth as a producer, engineer, composer, and
artist. As a producer, I was introduced to Ableton Live through this project, and explored areas
of sampling and sound design that were both topics that I had never experienced before. The
academic year of 2013-2014 was the first time in my music education career that I had studied
audio engineering. This project has allowed me gain confidence in what I can do, and become
7
more secure in my approach as an engineer. As a composer, I have explored a new approach as
to how I can use Ableton Live as a new tool for my compositions, instead of composing with
pen and paper first. All of these new skills that I have gained, allowed me to become more
confident as an artist. I am excited about being able to incorporate more use of technology in
my performances, and witness how my art will continue to grow into something innovative and
inspiring.
One challenge that I had faced during the production of Gerami Groover Presents:
Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition) was time management. Throughout the year I found it
difficult at times to find a time that worked for all the artists involved with Gerami Groover
Presents: Revelación Latina (Berklee Edition) to come together and record. I feel that this
affected the quality of the arrangements. This was challenging because it did not allot me time to
provide information to the musicians about the history and cultural context of the various styles
of Afro folkloric and contemporary styles of music that we were recording. In the future, I would
make sure that I find other ways to effectively incorporate the history of the styles of music
before the artist begin recording. This will allow all of us to have a better interpretation of the
music, which will allow the music to be recorded and performed in its correct context.
In the future there will be a series of multiple productions of Gerami Groover Presents
globally, with each project specifically producing Afro folkloric and/or contemporary styles of
Latin music within that particular region. The Gerami Groover Presents app will be released in
the beginning of 2016. This app will serve a promotional device for the Gerami Groover
Presents: Spain, which will begin productions in the year of 2016.
8
In conclusion, my hope is that the Gerami Groover Presents: Revelación Latina
(Berklee Edition) will be a source of inspiration to all who participated in the creation of this
project. My hope is that they will have a desire to want to share their knowledge of any Afro
folkloric or contemporary styles of Latin music to others in their communities and beyond. I look
forward to what the future holds for Gerami Groover Presents. I believe that this project will not
only continue to reveal the Afro folkloric and contemporary styles of Latin music to the world
with the immersion of technology but that the project will provide an opportunity for artists to
collaborate and create a sense of community around the world.
9
Citation
Susana, Baca. Takiti Taki. Susana Baca. Yale Evelev, 2011. MP3.
Ayllon, Eva. Quimba Fa, Malambo, Neque. Eva Ayllon. Rec. 10 Mar. 2009. Juan Morillo, 2009.
MP3.
Rivera, Ismael. Maquinolandera. Ismael Rivera and Rafael Cortijo Y Su Combo. Rafael Cortijo,
Ismael Rivera, N/A. MP3.
Morente, Enrique. Yo He Visto Un Niño Llorar. Enrique Morente. Rec. 9 Jan. 2001. Enrique
Morente, N/A. CD. Enrique Morente Selección
10
