Cumbancha Signs Afro-Latin Superstar Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca

Cumbancha is pleased to announce that it will be releasing the next album from Afro-Latin superstar Ricardo Lemvo. The new album is entitled La Rumba SoYo and features Lemvo and his band Makina Loca's trademark blend of African and Latin grooves that has earned him a wide global following since he first started filling dance floors in the 1990s. La Rumba SoYo will be released in the United States and Canada on June 24, 2014 and will roll out to other territories around the world shortly thereafter.

Cumbancha Founder and President Jacob Edgar has been a fan and friend of Ricardo's since he first heard him perform in 1992 at nightclubs in Los Angeles, where Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca is based. Edgar, who is also head of A&R at Putumayo World Music, worked closely with the band when Putumayo released their 1998 album Mambo Yo Yo and the follow up São Salvador in 2000. "I've always loved Ricardo's blend of African and Latin styles...apologies to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, his music really is two great tastes that taste great together."

Raised in The Democratic Republic of the Congo (known as Zaire at the time) with Angolan family roots, Lemvo came to the US in the 1980s to pursue a law degree and ended up devoting his life to music. He has recorded numerous international hit songs, which have earned him fame not only in North America and Europe but also in Angola, Colombia, Senegal and many other countries. "I'm always hearing Ricardo's songs in unexpected places," notes Edgar, who travels widely researching music trends, "I've heard Mambo Yo Yo blasting from speakers in Barcelona, Cartagena, Paris, Dakar, Istanbul...I even heard it at a club in Tokyo not long ago. Ricardo is one of those rare artists whose music has universal appeal."

La Rumba SoYo is a multinational undertaking that was recorded in three continents and four countries (US, Canada, France, Angola). It took Lemvo three years to complete and sees him looking back to his Angolan roots for inspiration. Three of the songs were written in collaboration with Angolan artists (Calo Pascoal, Kyaku Kyadaff, Adao Filipe) and the styles featured include Cuban and African rumba and soukous, Angolan kizomba and semba and Cuban son and salsa. The title track offers an upbeat and irresistible tropical hook that will certainly be one of the party anthems of this summer and many years to come.

"I have been an independent producer for 14 years" notes Lemvo, "And it's wonderful to now be part of Cumbancha's select roster of artists and to have the resources of an established and well-regarded label to assist with the publicity, marketing, and the distribution of this album."

Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca will be bringing their infectious music to stages across North America and Europe this summer and fall. For the latest tour updates visitwww.cumbancha.com/events.