Finally, Jason Joshua visits Barcelona. It's no small thing. This American singer, songwriter, producer, and agitator – known as “The Golden Voice” – is a major name in the current revaluation process of chicano soul, that soul music manufactured by members of Mexican communities in California and Texas in the 60s and 70s, which has its roots in Pachuca culture.
And that's despite Joshua being born in Miami to Puerto Rican parents. But his ability to absorb the lexicons of that slow, harmonious soul, with a ranchera soul, Latin rhythm, and pronounced falsetto, elevates him as a totem of the contemporary low rider scene, alongside Joey Quiñones, Thee Sacred Souls, and Omar Apollo.
A privileged heir to a long tradition that includes Los Lobos, Richie Valens, Lalo Guerrero, Thee Midniters, Sunny Ozuna, and Don Tosti – to name a few from a broad and heterogeneous sum of musical generations – Joshua debuted in 2020 with Alegría y tristeza (Joy and Sadness), an instant classic with songs like Poor boy or Evangeline, which were (are) pure velvet.
His subsequent albums, La voz de oro (The Golden Voice), Sonny, and the recent Terapia (Therapy) have only increased the reputation of an artist capable of creating beautiful songs like Great big bundle of love, Forget it, or his undeniable hit, Language of love, which encompasses everything from the most inspired Motown to feverish boogaloo or deep rancheras. Added to this is his activity at the helm of the very relevant record label Mango Hill.
Anniversary in style
On Thursday, October 22, Joshua takes the stage at the Upload venue in Poble Espanyol. And it is a very well-founded visit, as it is part of the tenth anniversary of Discos Antifaz, a Madrid label promoted by a group of enthusiastic agitators, among whom is the artist Tito Ramírez, author of vibrant Latin soul tunes like El solitario (The Loner), Culpable (guilty was the boogaloop), or Mambo 666.
Joshua regularly collaborates with Discos Antifaz. With this label, he has released a handful of acclaimed singles (most of them instantly sold out). An idyll that the artist will celebrate in style by finally bringing his unmistakable language of love to Barcelona.
The celebration is completed with the screening of the documentary Firme Raza by Drivia Lusila, which explores contemporary expressions of Chicano culture in Mexico and its aesthetic and social influence, and an exhibition of lowrider bicycles by the Barcelowna collective.
There will be no shortage of DJs who will not let anyone stand still before and after the concert: Ese Lacho Tarzanon, Asia Knox, Edu Movin On (Discos Redondos) and Jordi Meri.