Heart's Desire / Theme De Yoyo

Global Latin-soul pioneers Sunlightsquare reveal a surprise 12 inch vinyl single for summer time 2012! Digging deep into his vinyl collection, BBC acclaimed producer Claudio Passavanti selects and reenacts (in his signature Afro-Cuban key) two of the most iconic rare-groove & avant-garde tracks from the 70's: Heart's Desire (Don Blackman) and Theme De Yoyo (Art Ensemble Of Chicago).

Encompassing an eye-opening span of soulful vocals from English to Spanish all the way through to the Timba Habanera, Heart's Desire (Side A) presents the superb vocals of Tasita D'Mour (Roy Ayers, Copyright, DJ Kawasaky) along with sensational Cuban "ambassador" Rene Alvarez. Travelling on the experimental lane is Vanessa Freeman (Bugz In The Attic, 4 Hero, Kyoto Jazz Massive) as she lends her commanding voice on Theme De Yoyo (Side B) to give a new and unexpected life to this obscure composition from Lester Bowie. The large line-up of musicians on this stunning production includes legendary Cuban drummer Ernesto Simpson (Arturo Sandoval, Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Richard Bona), Bata master Giovanni Imparato (Isaac Delgado, Paco De Lucia, Ray Charles), and top British jazz horn duo Quentin Collins & Brandon Allen (Amy Winehouse, Basement Jaxx, Eric Clapton, Mica Paris).

Sunlightsquare is a London based project created by award winning pianist, producer and DJ, Claudio Passavanti. In 2010 Sunlightsquare's salsa version of I Believe In Miracles (from the CD Havana Central) became a cult success in the Latin circles worldwide, with the support of DJs in the likes of Gilles Peterson, Louie Vega, Jazzie B, Tony Humphries, Joey Negro to name but a few. Claudio's long affair with Afro-Cuban music got him to produce several recordings in Havana, in collaboration with percussionist Giovanni Imparato. Today Sunlightsquare Records release several projects including trumpet player Quentin Collins and saxophonist Brandon Allen, a 10,000-downloads-a-month podcast, as well as producing remixes for record labels worldwide. Sunlightsquare's 5th album Britannia Shing-A-Ling, a 25-piece band live studio recording released in 2011, has been defined by BBC Music as 'A triumph' (www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/zg8r). In April 2012, Brownswood Recordings released a Sunlightsquare remix of Gilles Peterson's Havana Cultura Band's Agita, feat. El Micha & Osdalgia. Today Claudio is also a recognised DJ, performing often at Ronnie Scotts (London), WMC (Miami) and in several venues across the world, as well as contributing as a presenter for Jazz FM (www.jazzfm.com/presenters-and-programmes/claudio-passavanti/).