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songo

Songo

Cuba · 1970s
DancingHappyRomanticSentimentalChill

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Description

Songo is a modern Cuban dance-music style that fuses the charanga ensemble tradition (flute, violins, piano, bass) with drumset-driven Afro‑Cuban percussion and contemporary pop, funk, rock, and jazz elements.

Rhythmically, it is defined by a drumset pattern that interlocks with congas, timbales, bongó/campana, and the 3–2 or 2–3 clave (often rumba clave), creating a buoyant, syncopated groove designed for social dancing. Harmonically, songo leans on cyclical vamp-based progressions and piano montunos, while arrangements feature coro‑pregón call‑and‑response and dynamic textural shifts.

Pioneered by Los Van Van under bandleader Juan Formell with drummer José Luis “Changuito” Quintana, songo embraced electric bass, synthesizers, and studio innovation. It became a cornerstone of post‑revolution Cuban popular music and a direct ancestor of timba, while also informing salsa and Latin jazz rhythm sections.

History

Origins (late 1960s–1970s)

Songo emerged in Cuba at the turn of the 1970s, primarily through Los Van Van, founded by bassist-composer Juan Formell. Seeking a fresh urban dance sound after the son, cha-cha-chá, and charanga eras, Formell modernized instrumentation with electric bass and keyboards, while José Luis “Changuito” Quintana developed a new drumset approach that integrated Afro‑Cuban percussion with funk/rock phrasing. Drawing from son montuno, rumba (especially guaguancó), conga/comparsa traditions, and the charanga format, the band crystallized the hybrid groove that became known as songo.

Expansion and Codification (1970s–1980s)

Other charangas such as Orquesta Ritmo Oriental and Orquesta Revé adopted and adapted songo, spreading the style across Cuban dance floors and radio. The rhythmic language—clave-centered but drumset-forward—codified a new way for bass and kick drum to lock with tumbao, while piano montunos and coro‑pregón remained central. Studio production embraced synthesizers, expanded percussion, and pop-savvy arrangements, which helped songo resonate with younger audiences and influence salsa circles abroad.

Influence and Legacy (1990s–present)

Songo directly seeded timba in the 1990s, as bands pushed songo’s harmonic, rhythmic, and structural innovations into even more explosive, gear‑shifting forms. Its drumset-and-percussion concept reshaped Latin jazz rhythm sections and informed salsa arrangers who incorporated songo grooves. Today, songo remains a core reference in Cuban popular music pedagogy and performance, its hallmark interlocking rhythms and modern charanga palette continuing to inspire bands worldwide.

How to make a track in this genre

Rhythm and Clave
•   Choose a clave orientation (3–2 or 2–3), often rumba clave, and make it the backbone of all parts. •   Create a songo drumset groove: cross-stick or rim accents that converse with the clave, syncopated hi-hat/bell patterns, and a kick drum that locks tightly with the bass tumbao rather than simply marking downbeats. •   Layer congas (marcha with open tones and slaps), timbales (cáscara and bell changes), and bongó/campana to enhance forward motion and call-and-response within the percussion section.
Instrumentation
•   Use a charanga-derived core: flute and violins (unison riffs and countermelodies), piano (montunos), electric bass (syncopated tumbao), and a robust percussion battery plus drumset. •   Add synthesizers or electric keyboards for pads, brass-like stabs, or modern textures that complement the acoustic timbres.
Harmony and Form
•   Write cyclical, vamp-based progressions (I–IV–V variants, modal inflections, or minor-key loops) to support montuno ostinatos. •   Structure songs with verses and choruses that lead to a montuno/coro‑pregón section, where the lead singer improvises over repeating coros and intensified rhythm. •   Use breakdowns and dynamic builds to spotlight percussion or bass/piano riffs, then reassemble the full ensemble for dancefloor impact.
Arrangement Tips
•   Align bass tumbao and kick drum anticipations to amplify groove; avoid cluttering downbeats. •   Orchestrate flute/violin riffs in parallel or call-and-response with the coro; punctuate phrases with short horn or string hits. •   Leave rhythmic space for singers’ pregones; keep coros catchy and rhythmically tight with the clave.
Recording/Mixing
•   Prioritize percussion imaging so each voice (conga, timbales, bells, drumset) is distinct yet cohesive. •   Give the bass a warm, percussive presence to articulate tumbao; ensure piano montunos are bright and rhythmic, not overly sustained.

Top albums

Grupo Irakere
Grupo Irakere
Irakere
Cubafonía
Cubafonía
Daymé Arocena
Grupo Irakere
Grupo Irakere
Grupo Irakere
Yoyi
Yoyi
Grupo Yoyi
Songo
Songo
Los Van Van
Super Son
Super Son
Grupo Algo Nuevo / Juan Pablo Torres

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Influenced by
Son Cubano
Son cubano is a foundational Cuban genre that fuses Spanish-derived song forms and harmony with Afro-Cuban rhythms and percussion. Born in eastern Cuba (Oriente) and crystallized in Havana in the 1910s–1920s, it became the backbone of much of 20th‑century Latin popular music. Typical ensembles began as sextetos (tres, guitar, bongó, maracas, claves, and bass or marímbula) and later evolved into septetos with trumpet. Conjunto formats in the 1940s added piano, congas, and multiple horns. The music rides a son clave (in 3‑2 or 2‑3 orientation), features interlocking tres guajeos, a walking/tumbao bass that anticipates the downbeat, and call‑and‑response vocals in the montuno section. Harmonically it is rooted in I–IV–V with bluesy dominant sevenths and occasional secondary dominants. Lyrically it balances romance, everyday life, and streetwise wit, always aimed at dancing and social gathering.
Son Montuno
Son montuno is a seminal variant of Cuban son distinguished by its extended montuno section: a vamp-based, call-and-response passage that spotlights coro–pregón vocals, cyclical piano or tres guajeos, and a propulsive rhythm section centered on the son clave. Compared with earlier septeto son, son montuno adopts a fuller conjunto format (trumpets, piano, conga added to bongó, maracas, claves, bass, and tres), thicker horn riffs, and more syncopated tumbaos. It balances a lyrical, narrative verse (canto or verso) with a highly danceable, improvisatory montuno, making it the bridge between rural son traditions and later big-band and urban Afro‑Caribbean dance styles.
Rumba Cubana
Rumba cubana is an Afro‑Cuban secular music and dance tradition born in the working‑class solares and dockyards of Havana and Matanzas in the late 19th century. It is percussion‑driven, sung in call‑and‑response, and danced in a highly interactive way. The genre revolves around the rumba clave (in 3‑2 or 2‑3 orientation), interlocking conga (tumbadora) parts, wooden sticks (palitos) on the drum shell, and often cajones (wooden boxes) and chekeré. Its main substyles are yambú (slow and graceful), guaguancó (medium tempo, playful “vacunao” courtship gesture), and columbia (fast, often in 12/8, originally a solo male competitive dance). Rumba cubana is distinct from the ballroom “rhumba.” It is a community practice that blends Central/West African rhythmic logics with Spanish song poetry, improvisation, and dance theater.
Guaguancó
Guaguancó is a vibrant couple-dance style within the Cuban rumba family that emerged in working‑class Afro‑Cuban neighborhoods, especially in Havana and Matanzas. It features an interlocking percussion ensemble, call‑and‑response vocals, and a flirtatious dance whose central dramatic gesture is the vacunao, a playful, sudden pelvic or hand "tag" that the partner attempts to block. Musically, guaguancó is organized around the rumba clave (in 3‑2 or 2‑3 orientation), with layered patterns on congas (tumbadoras), the lead quinto drum improvising over the groove, and timekeeping on claves and a wooden guagua/cata. The singing typically begins with an improvised diana (vocal fanfare), moves into solo verses (pregón) and a catchy coro (estribillo). The overall effect is communal, earthy, and intensely rhythmic—designed as much for dance and social play as for musical display.
Conga
Conga is a Cuban carnival processional music and dance associated with comparsas (street troupes), most famously from Santiago de Cuba and Havana. It is characterized by a driving 2/4 or 4/4 march-feel, layered Afro-Cuban percussion, call-and-response vocals, and simple, repetitive melodic vamps that can be played for long parades. Distinctive local colors include the corneta china (a piercing double-reed horn) in Santiago’s conga santiaguera and large drum sections that propel massive groups of dancers in a line or serpentine formation.
Charanga
Charanga is a Cuban dance‑music style and ensemble format distinguished by its elegant, salon‑influenced sound led by flute and violins over a light, syncopated Afro‑Cuban rhythm section. Emerging in Havana in the 1910s from the orquesta típica tradition, charanga shifted the danzón repertoire toward a more refined timbre by replacing brass and reeds with strings, wooden (later Boehm) flute, piano, bass, timbales, and güiro. Charanga bands popularized danzón and later became central to the birth and worldwide spread of the chachachá and pachanga. Their arrangements balance European classical phrasing and counterpoint with Cuban rhythmic cells such as the cinquillo and the clave, often expanding into coro–pregón call‑and‑response and montuno sections. The style’s combination of grace, clarity, and danceable groove has influenced multiple Latin genres up to songo, timba, and strands of salsa.
Chachachá
Chachachá is a Cuban dance‑music genre that emerged in early‑1950s Havana as a dancer‑friendly offshoot of danzón‑mambo. It is typically performed by charanga ensembles—flute and violins over piano, bass, güiro, and timbales—producing a light, elegant sonority distinct from the brass‑heavy mambo big bands. The groove is mid‑tempo with a clear, even pulse that supports the signature “cha‑cha‑chá” triple step heard in the dancers’ feet. Melodies are tuneful and diatonic, harmonies favor simple I–IV–V movements with occasional II–V turnarounds, and arrangements move from a lyrical cuerpo to a montuno section featuring coro‑pregón call‑and‑response, piano tumbao, and tasteful flute improvisations. The name “chachachá” is often traced to the shuffling sound of the dancers’ steps; composer‑violinist Enrique Jorrín simplified mambo syncopations to make the beat more square and intelligible, which helped the style spread worldwide through social and ballroom dance.
Funk
Funk is a rhythm-forward African American popular music style that centers on groove, syncopation, and interlocking parts. Rather than emphasizing complex chord progressions, funk builds tight, repetitive vamps that highlight the rhythm section and create an irresistible dance feel. The genre is marked by syncopated drum patterns, melodic yet percussive bass lines, choppy guitar "chanks," punchy horn stabs, call‑and‑response vocals, and a strong backbeat. Funk’s stripped-down harmony, prominent use of the one (accenting the downbeat), and polyrhythmic layering draw deeply from soul, rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel, and African rhythmic traditions. From James Brown’s late-1960s innovations through the expansive P-Funk universe and the slicker sounds of the 1970s and 1980s, funk has continually evolved while seeding countless other genres, from disco and hip hop to house and modern R&B.
Rock
Rock is a broad family of popular music centered on amplified instruments, a strong backbeat, and song forms that foreground riffs, choruses, and anthemic hooks. Emerging from mid‑20th‑century American styles like rhythm & blues, country, and gospel-inflected rock and roll, rock quickly expanded in scope—absorbing folk, blues, and psychedelic ideas—while shaping global youth culture. Core sonic markers include electric guitar (often overdriven), electric bass, drum kit emphasizing beats 2 and 4, and emotive lead vocals. Rock songs commonly use verse–chorus structures, blues-derived harmony, and memorable melodic motifs, ranging from intimate ballads to high‑energy, stadium‑sized performances.
Jazz
Jazz is an improvisation-centered music tradition that emerged from African American communities in the early 20th century. It blends blues feeling, ragtime syncopation, European harmonic practice, and brass band instrumentation into a flexible, conversational art. Defining features include swing rhythm (a triplet-based pulse), call-and-response phrasing, blue notes, and extended harmonies built on 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths. Jazz is as much a way of making music—spontaneous interaction, variation, and personal sound—as it is a set of forms and tunes. Across its history, jazz has continually hybridized, from New Orleans ensembles and big-band swing to bebop, cool and hard bop, modal and free jazz, fusion, and contemporary cross-genre experiments. Its influence permeates global popular and art music.
Afro-Cuban Jazz
Afro-Cuban jazz (often historically called Cubop) is a fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythmic traditions and North American jazz harmony, melody, and improvisation. It sets jazz writing and soloing inside the matrix of the clave, combining straight-eighth Afro-Cuban grooves (mambo, rumba, son montuno, danzón) with big-band and bebop vocabulary. Hallmarks include piano montunos (guajeos), tumbao bass lines, horn mambos and moñas (syncopated riffs), and a percussion section of congas, bongos, timbales, cowbell, and claves. The result is music that is harmonically sophisticated yet dance-driven, balancing arranged horn passages with open sections for improvisation, and emphasizing call-and-response and layered polyrhythms.
Descarga
Descarga is the Cuban tradition of extended, largely improvised jam sessions built on Afro‑Cuban dance grooves and montuno vamps. Emerging in 1950s Havana and later flourishing in New York, it brought the spontaneity of jazz to Cuban popular forms such as son, mambo, and chachachá. Typically recorded by all‑star studio ensembles, descargas feature rotating solos over repeating guajeos (ostinatos), anchored by the clave and a driving percussion section. They are celebratory, high‑energy gatherings where arrangers set up simple harmonic frameworks and horn "moñas" (riffs), then let the players stretch out.
Rumba
Rumba is an Afro‑Cuban, percussion‑driven song‑and‑dance genre that arose in the port neighborhoods and solares of Havana and Matanzas. It features complex interlocking rhythms played on congas (tumbadora, segundo, quinto), claves, and palitos, with the quinto drum improvising over cyclical patterns. The music is built around the rumba clave (in 3‑2 or 2‑3 orientation), call‑and‑response vocals, and a lead singer who declaims verses followed by catchy coros. Three principal styles exist: yambú (slow, playful), guaguancó (medium, flirtatious, with the iconic "vacunao" gesture in the dance), and columbia (fast, virtuosic, traditionally for solo male dancers). Historically performed with cajones (wooden boxes) when drums were restricted, rumba is a secular, community practice whose poetry, dance, and rhythm encode Afro‑Cuban history and identity. It is distinct from ballroom "rhumba" and from Congolese rumba, both of which were influenced by Cuban music rather than being the same style.
Pilón
Pilón is a Cuban dance rhythm and song style created in Oriente province at the end of the 1950s. Its name comes from the rhythmic, circular motion used to grind coffee in a mortar (pilón), which the dance playfully imitates. Musically it sits in the charanga tradition (flute and violins over a rhythm section) but with a distinctly driving percussion feel: a prominent cowbell pattern locks with conga and timbales over son clave, while bass tumbaos and piano/tres guajeos create a propulsive montuno. Medium‑fast tempos, catchy coros (call‑and‑response refrains), and light, witty lyrics make the style festive and highly danceable.
Guaracha
Guaracha is a fast‑paced Cuban song–dance genre known for witty, satirical, and often picaresque lyrics delivered over a driving Afro‑Cuban groove. It typically uses the son clave (in 2–3 or 3–2 orientation), call‑and‑response coros, and a lively montuno section that invites dance and audience participation. Originally tied to popular and comic theater, guaracha later became a staple of Cuban conjuntos and charangas, and it survives in the salsa repertoire as a label for brisk, upbeat numbers. Instrumentation commonly includes voice(s), guitar or tres, bass, bongó, maracas, claves, and often trumpets or charanga flute/violins. Harmonies are straightforward and bright (major keys, I–IV–V with frequent secondary dominants), while the rhythmic feel is relentlessly syncopated and festive. The term should not be confused with modern "guaracha edm" (a separate, contemporary club style); historical Cuban guaracha is a distinct traditional genre with roots in 19th‑century Havana and theatrical culture.
Changüí
Changüí is a rural Afro-Cuban genre that emerged in the eastern province of Guantánamo. It is a lively, dance-driven music that predates and directly informs son cubano. Typical ensembles feature the Cuban tres (providing guajeos/montunos), marímbula (a plucked lamellophone acting as the bass), bongó de monte (a rustic bongo with driving martillo patterns), and the guayo (a metal scraper whose steady, sparkling texture locks the groove). Vocals are organized around call-and-response between an improvising lead singer (pregón) and a chorus (coro), often using witty, topical, or improvised verses. Rhythmically, changüí leans on syncopations related to the tresillo and cinquillo, creating a forward-leaning, propulsive feel in duple meter. Harmonically it favors simple, vamp-like I–V or I–IV–V loops in major or mixolydian modalities, leaving space for percussive interplay and vocal improvisation. The overall effect is raw, communal, and celebratory, with strong ties to agricultural dances and local festivities.
Danzón
Danzón is a refined Cuban dance-music genre that emerged in the late 19th century and became the island’s national dance. It is characterized by an elegant, measured tempo, a promenading introduction called the paseo, and a succession of graceful, melodically rich themes. Rhythmically, danzón is anchored by Afro-Cuban syncopations such as the tresillo and the cinquillo, articulated by güiro and timbales (paila) over a steady bass. Traditionally performed by charanga ensembles—featuring wooden flute, violins, piano, string bass, güiro, and timbales—the style epitomizes salon sophistication while retaining a distinctly Afro-Caribbean rhythmic identity.
Musica Tradicional Cubana
Música tradicional cubana is the umbrella term for the island’s foundational popular and folk styles—son, trova/bolero, danzón, rumba, guajira, punto, and related forms—that crystallized from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. It fuses Spanish poetic song traditions and salon dances with West and Central African rhythmic systems and performance practices. Hallmark features include the clave (in 3–2 or 2–3 orientation), call-and-response coros, the syncopated habanera and cinquillo cells, and cyclical montuno vamps that open space for improvisation. Typical timbres come from the tres, Spanish guitar, laúd, bongó, maracas, claves, güiro, double bass or marímbula, and later trumpet or full charanga (flute and violins). Harmony often centers on diatonic I–IV–V motion with colorful secondary dominants and guajeo-based ostinati. Beyond dance and social function, the tradition carries Cuba’s oral poetry (like décima), neighborhood identity, and Afro-Cuban spirituality, forming the bedrock that later enabled mambo, cha-cha-chá, salsa, and Latin jazz.
Has influenced
Timba
Timba is a high-energy Cuban dance-music genre that emerged in the 1990s, characterized by explosive rhythmic drive, complex arrangements, and a modern, urban attitude. It extends the lineage of son cubano and salsa by integrating songo’s drumset-driven groove, rumba’s rhythmic vocabulary, and jazz/funk harmony and horn writing. Hallmarks include gear changes (sudden shifts in groove and orchestration), tightly synchronized bloques (arranged hits and breaks), virtuosic piano tumbaos, aggressive bass lines that “gear up” and release tension, and call-and-response coros with streetwise soneos/rap interjections. Percussion sections typically blend congas, timbales, bongó, and a full drum kit, creating a polyrhythmic engine built around the clave while allowing dramatic rhythmic modulation.
Salsa
Salsa is a pan–Latin dance music forged primarily in New York City by Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Caribbean diasporas. It synthesizes Afro‑Cuban rhythmic blueprints, Puerto Rican bomba and plena, jazz harmony, big‑band horn writing, and Nuyorican street culture into a tightly arranged yet improvisation‑friendly style. The music lives on the clave (either 2‑3 or 3‑2), with layered percussion (congas, bongó, timbales, cowbell, güiro, maracas), a tumbao bass that anticipates the beat, and piano montuno guajeos that interlock with the rhythm section. Call‑and‑response vocals (coro/pregón), punchy horn mambos and moñas, and instrumental solos energize the montuno section. Tempos range from medium to fast in 4/4, optimized for social dancing (commonly “on1” or “on2”). Across decades, salsa has branched into harder, percussion‑forward “salsa dura,” smoother “salsa romántica,” and regional scenes in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Colombia, while continuing to influence—and be influenced by—neighboring tropical and jazz idioms.
Latin Jazz
Latin jazz is a fusion of jazz harmony and improvisation with Afro–Latin American rhythms, song forms, and percussion. It combines the swing, bebop, and big-band traditions with clave-based grooves such as son, rumba, danzón, and mambo, and later integrates Brazilian feels like samba and bossa nova. Typical features include the use of the clave (2–3 or 3–2), piano montunos (guajeos), bass tumbao patterns, timbales cáscara, conga marcha, and call-and-response horn "mambo" figures. While the rhythm section locks into cyclical patterns, soloists improvise using the vocabulary of jazz, creating music that is both danceable and harmonically rich.
Salsa Dura
Salsa dura ("hard salsa") is a gritty, high-energy branch of salsa built for dancers and live band firepower rather than pop polish. It foregrounds intense rhythmic drive, brassy horn mambos, extended montuno vamps, and instrumental solos, keeping the spotlight on the groove. Developed in New York City by Afro-Caribbean musicians, salsa dura draws directly from Cuban son and mambo, Puerto Rican bomba/plena, and Latin jazz jam traditions (descargas). Arrangements emphasize heavy trombone lines, call-and-response coros, and vigorous percussion that stays locked to the clave. Compared with later salsa romántica, salsa dura sounds tougher, faster, and more streetwise.
Cubatón
Cubatón is the Cuban take on reggaeton, fusing the dembow pulse with Cuba’s deep dance-music traditions such as timba, son cubano, and songo. It keeps reggaeton’s club-ready tempo and MC-driven hooks, but adds montuno-style piano vamps, clave-aligned phrasing, horn riffs, and coro–pregón call-and-response rooted in Cuban popular music. Lyrically it is streetwise and party-focused, packed with Cuban slang, humor, and double entendre, and designed for high-energy social dancing.
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