AN UNTOLD MUSICAL HISTORY
Volk Inc.,a multi-faceted production company, has completed a five-year project about San Francisco’s Latin rock music revolution.
Volk Inc’s., first release “Voices of Latin Rock” traces the evolution of Santana, Malo plus the other San Francisco bands and musicians that created the feel, vibe and the sound that made Latin rock a piece of American musical history – the “Spanglish” version of Motown.
Voices of Latin Rock: The People and Events that Created this Sound is a dazzling document of modern American history. In the 1970s, Santana and Malo roared out of San Francisco’s Mission District barrio with a hot new sound, combining burning acid guitar wedded to a base of boiling Latin percussion. Their recordings are hailed as pioneering classics of the new sound known as Latin rock.
Santana spearheaded a cultural wave, which represented a totally new art form known as Latin Rock. At one stage Santana were the biggest selling act in the world, outselling even The Beatles. Other Mission based acts such as Malo, Azteca, Dakila, Sapo and Abel & the Prophets also emerged out of that first wave. It was this same talent pool, which fed the ranks of Sly & The Family Stone, Graham Central Station, Tower of Power, Cold Blood and many others.
This unparalleled explosion of sound was born of a psychedelic era, fused to new graphic art forms and to a rising social and political awareness. In Voices of Latin Rock: The People and Events that Created this Sound, you’ll discover the San Francisco Mission District scene of the 1960’s and 70’s, the personalities and the music of the Latin rock explosion, revealed and examined for the first time in this in-depth history. Includes many photographs and archival materials never seen before.
Author Jim McCarthy, along with Ron Sansoe interviewed more than one hundred influential people who were part of the birth of this musical and cultural revolution from San Francisco’s Mission District. The book illustrates the role played by political and social organisations such as the United Farm Workers union, the Black Panthers and even lowrider clubs in this fascinating tale of success and its aftermath.
After reading an initial draft, Carlos Santana was enthralled by the detail, the memories, and the level of research devoted to capturing this story in which he played such a large role. Eager to contribute, he took time out from his busy schedule to conduct an extensive interview with the author and to pen a forward to the book.
