Havana Mood (1999)

"The smoky ambience of the sixty-year-old Septeto Nacional and friends recorded here is a milestone of Afro-Caribbean culture. These men were among the players to first develop the "son" sound in Cuba. On top of these impeccable historical credentials, their mature voices - deep and dark as polished mahogany - and virtuoso playing really swing, and the seduction of the listener is complete. Furthermore, Laswell's and Touitou's package goes a step further than the Cooder Cuban project. While the first CD is a "straight", untweaked session documenting these seasoned players going flat out and featuring plenty of vocals both male and female, the second CD is a dub translation, very much in the spirit of _Boniche Dub_; once again Bill seems to share the dubbing duties with Jean. In common with that record, this attempt at creating "Rhum and Bass" dub seems a tad unfocused at times, but definitely holds a certain fascination. An interesting project housed in APC's finest package yet." (Discogs)