Our Stories, from Us, the “They”

Nick Gold Talks to Lucy Durán about the Making of Buena Vista Social Club

Authors

  • Lucy Durán School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jwpm.v1i1.133

Keywords:

music production, Cuban popular music, Ry Cooder, Nick Gold, Buena Vista Social Club, world music

Abstract

The remarkable success of Buena Vista Social Club, released by UK independent label World Circuit, has made it a focus in much of the academic literature on Cuban popular music of the 1990s. This article responds to some of the assumptions in this literature about the thought processes, strategies and motives behind the production of the album. In particular, one voice is conspicuously absent—that of Nick Gold, owner of World Circuit and the person who made the album happen. Here, in conversation with Lucy Duran, Gold tells the story of Buena Vista in his own words, revealing a tale of collaborative effort, creativity, generosity of spirit and spontaneity.

The article questions the methodology of writers who feel they can speak for the views and attitudes of record producers without consulting or interviewing them directly, and argues for more communication between academics and the creative industries. In addition to giving an insider’s view on how one of the best-selling world music albums of all time was put together, this article is also a contribution to the budding literature on record production as a new academic field.

Author Biography

  • Lucy Durán, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

    Lucy Durán is a Senior Lecturer in African music in the Music Department of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Her principal field of research is Mande music, which she has been researching since 1977. Her recent research project, “Growing into Music” (http://www. growingintomusic.co.uk/), uses the medium of film to document children learning musical skills and knowledge in the oral traditions of India, Azerbaijan, Mali, Cuba and Venezuela. Duran has a long professional involvement with the music industry, working as a music producer, journalist and broadcaster. With two Grammy nominations, she has produced over fifteen albums. Having devoted much of her professional life to balancing her broadcasting, recording and academic work, Duran argues for the need to forge better links and understanding between the creative industries and academia.

References

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Durán, Lucy. 2011. “Music Production as Tool of Research, and Impact”. Ethnomusicology Forum 20/2: 229–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17411912.2011.596653

Fairley, Jan. 2004. “‘Ay Díos, Ampárame’ (O God, Protect Me): Music in Cuba during the 1990s, the ‘Special Period’ ”. In Island Musics, edited by Kevin Dawe, 77–99. Oxford and New York: Berg.

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Frith, Simon, and Simon Zagorski-Thomas, eds. 2012. The Art of Record Production: An Introductory Reader for a New Academic Field. Abingdon: Ashgate.

Hernández, Tanya Katerí. 2002. “The Buena Vista Social Club: The Racial Politics of Nostalgia”. In Latino/a Popular Culture, edited by Michelle Habell-Pallán and Mary Romero, 61–72. New York and London: New York University Press.

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Moore, Robin. 2006. Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba. Berkeley: University of California Press.

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Yaczo, Timothy. 2013. “ ‘Y tú, qué has hecho de mis ritmos’? The Buena Vista Social Club and the Repeating Island”. In Offbeat: Pluralizing Rhythm, edited by Jan Hein Hoogstad and Birgitte Stougaard Pederson, 27–42. Amsterdam: Editions Rodopi.

Published

2014-09-05

Issue

Section

World Music

How to Cite

Durán, L. (2014). Our Stories, from Us, the “They”: Nick Gold Talks to Lucy Durán about the Making of Buena Vista Social Club. Journal of World Popular Music, 1(1), 133-151. https://doi.org/10.1558/jwpm.v1i1.133

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