Efekt Motla

Recorded in Havana's EGREM studios (the birthplace of many a classic Cuban album) and released halfway across the globe in Poland, Efekt Motyla is a fantastic example of the reach of Cuban music's popularity. The album is a collaboration between ex-Afro Cuban All-Stars and BVSC members and Polish jazz singer, Urszula Dudziak.

The arrangements are solid and very old-school in style (as to be expected from the old guard of Cuba's musical exports). I enjoyed ‘Miałam Sen’, which uses the horn section creatively, with far-off, lonesome trumpet lines juxtaposed with close, warm chords from the saxophones. Dudziak just about holds her own vocally. However, I can't help but feel the originality of this album is limited due to the fact that she sings in Polish. While this might be a novelty to begin with – and undoubtedly popular with Polish Cubaphiles – as soon as Spanish-language backing vocals kick in, the groove feels so much more secure and at home.

Music hailing from Cuba has been built for centuries around the Spanish (and sometimes Yoruba) language. As with Stan Getz' English version of bossa nova tune ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ (which is a clave-crossing rhythmic mess) there's just something of about these songs. Mariposa's performance lacks emotional charge – the phrase ‘Lost in Translation’ springs to mind.