Music legend Carlos Santana’s new album Africa Speaks, out now via Concord Records, has debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. Santana surpassed the Rolling Stones and, along with Barbara Streisand, is one of only two music acts in Billboard history to score at least one Top Ten album for six consecutive decades from the 1960s on. This is Santana’s third Top Ten release this decade and his highest charting debut since 2005’s All That I Am. Additionally, Africa Speaks debuted #1 on both the Billboard Rock Albums and Billboard Latin Albums charts.
Santana has amassed an iconic body of work by pioneering a unique fusion of rock, Latin and jazz. On Africa Speaks, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist goes deeper and further than ever before to create one of his most groundbreaking albums yet. Inspired by the melodies, sounds and rhythms of Africa, he enlisted legendary producer Rick Rubin, convened with his band at Rubin’s Shangri La Studios in Malibu, and recorded an astonishing number of tracks, many of them in one take. Another dramatic element in the creation of Africa Speaks came in the form of Spanish singer Buika, whose heavenly lead vocals cast a magical spell throughout the album.
Carlos Santana said, “It is an honor to share my heart’s music with the world. This music gives people hope and courage. We call it mystical medicine music for a twisted, crooked world. The incredible synergy between Buika, Cindy Blackman Santana, the magnificent Santana Band, Rick Rubin and Concord Records made this masterpiece of joy come to fruition. Now more than ever, this is the consciousness that the world needs.”
“Fifty years after his ‘Soul Sacrifice’ made hippies’ jaws drop all over Woodstock, Carlos Santana’s guitar playing remains a force of nature…Woodstock was 50 years ago; this is Santana now. The spirit is the same, yet somehow it’s even freer.” – Rolling Stone
“…a Rick Rubin-produced venture that blends his familiar Latin roots and Bay Area psychedelia with the sounds and rhythms from the African continent. Santana’s virtuosic playing is complimented by Spanish jazz singer Buika, who adds her bewitching vocals to a number of the album’s tracks.” – People
“As passionately exciting as anything the classic Carlos catalog, Africa Speaks is an album of highlight after highlight…Encore!” * – MOJO
“Africa Speaks is breathtaking in terms of energy and scope of vision. Here, the Santana band are – more than at any time since the mid-’70s run of Caravanserai, Welcome, Lotus, and Borboletta – a rangy, intense, restless, and musically hungry outfit aware of their potential. Africa Speaks is the surprise of 2019, the album Carlos has been desiring to make for decades but was unable to given contract restrictions – Concord offered complete artistic freedom. He, Buika, and the Santana band made the most of it.” ****
- All Music
“The music on Africa Speaks is raw and powerful…Cindy Blackman Santana’s high-impact drumming drives the whole thing, combined with Perazzo’s percussion and Reitveld’s deep bass lines, and Mathews’ organ and synths, create a swirling sound that’s steeped in the blues, but deeply infused with an African rock sound that could have come straight out of 1970s Nigeria. And Santana himself is playing some of the dirtiest guitar of his career, unleashing one snarling outburst after another.” – Stereogum
“The idea was to make an album that celebrates the sounds and rhythms of the African continent, but any geographic boundaries quickly fall away once you hit play. Working with the powerhouse Spanish singer Buika, who carries both the grit and soul necessary to offset his stadium-sized riffs, Santana delivers a set of songs that swing effortlessly from the surging metal of ‘Yo Me Lo Merezco’ to the sensuously funky ‘Oye Este Mi Canto’…at 71 years old, Santana’s desire for musical adventure remains undiminished.”
- San Francisco Chronicle
Africa Speaks track listing:
- Africa Speaks (4:47)
- Batonga (5:43)
- Oye Este Mi Canto (5:58)
- Yo Me Lo Merezco (6:12)
- Blue Skies (9:08)
- Paraísos Quemados (5:59)
- Breaking Down The Door (4:30)
- Los Invisibles (5:54)
- Luna Hechicera (4:47)
- Bembele (5:51)
- Candombe Cumbele (5:36)
Supernatural Now Tour Dates:
Jun 20 2019 – FivePoint Amphitheatre – Irvine, CA, United States
Jun 22 2019 – Ak-Chin Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ, United States
Jun 23 2019 – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – San Diego (Chula Vista), CA,
Jun 242019 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA
Jun 262019 – Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA
Jun 27 2019 – Toyota Amphitheatre – Wheatland, CA
Jun 29 2019 – White River Amphitheatre – Auburn, WA
Jun 30 2019 – Sunlight Supply Amphitheater – Ridgefield (Portland, OR), WA
Jul 02 2019 – USANA Amphitheatre – Salt Lake City (West Valley City), UT
Jul 03 2019 – Pepsi Center – Denver, CO
Jul 06 2019 – Dos Equis Pavilion – Dallas, TX,
Jul 07 2019 – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Houston, TX,
Jul 09 2019 – Austin360 Amphitheater – Austin, TX,
Jul 11 2019 – Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
Jul 12 2019 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis, MO
Aug 03 2019 – Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, MN
Aug 04 2019 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago (Tinley Park), IL
Aug 06 2019 – Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON, Canada
Aug 07 2019 – Blossom Music Center – Cleveland (Cuyahoga Falls), OH
Aug 09 2019 – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center – Indianapolis (Noblesville), IN
Aug 10 2019 – Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
Aug 11 2019 – DTE Energy Music Theatre – Detroit, MI
Aug 13 2019 – PNC Music Pavilion – Charlotte, NC
Aug 14 2019 – Jiffy Lube Live – Washington, DC
Aug 17 2019 – Bethel Woods Center For The Arts – Bethel, NY
Aug 18 2019 – PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ
Aug 20 2019 – Xfinity Center – Boston (Mansfield), MA
Aug 21 2019 – XFINITY Theatre – Hartford, CT
Aug 23 2019 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center – Saratoga, NY
Aug 24 2019 – BB&T Pavilion – Camden, NJ
Aug 25 2019 – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater – Wantagh, NY
Santana on the web:
Official Site: www.santana.com
