Rhythms del Mundo

Rhythms del Mundo are a band of Afro-Cuban musicians featured on a charity compilation series of the same name that debuted in 2006. The Rhythms del Mundo series is a nonprofit project intended to raise awareness for climate change and disaster relief in conjunction with Artists Project Earth (APE). Produced by music industry veterans Kenny Young and the Berman Brothers, the first album in the series, Rhythms del Mundo: Cuba (2006), finds affiliates of the Afro-Cuban superstar group Buena Vista Social Club reworking a bunch of contemporary pop/rock favorites by Coldplay ("Clocks"), U2 ("I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"), Radiohead ("High and Dry"), and others. Recorded at Abdala Studios in Havana, Cuba, from April 2005 to June 2006, the album features a star-studded lineup of British talent, plus Buena Vista Social Club favorites Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo, and fellow Cuban vocalists Coco Freeman, Vania Borges, Aquila Rose, and El Lele of Los Van Van. Moreover, the Rhythms del Mundo band includes Barbarito Torres, Amadito Valdés, Virgilio Valdes, Angel Terri Domech, Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal, Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez, and Demetrio Muniz. The second album in the series, Rhythms del Mundo: Cubano Alemán (2008), is similar to the first, albeit with contemporary pop/rock oriented toward the German-language market. It features Afro-Cuban versions of recent hits by some of the biggest names in German pop/rock, including Ich + Ich, 2raumwohnung, Xavier Naidoo, Jan Delay, Rosenstolz, and Silbermond. The third album in the series, Rhythms del Mundo: Classics, is a return to English language that finds an international lineup of contemporary pop/rockers covering well-known hits from yesteryear (i.e., "classics"). Unlike the first album, there are only a couple Cuban vocalists features on this one.