Inti-Illimani

About

Official Site: http://www.gamisim.com/artist/illimani/

Inti-Illimani (Ayamara dialect: Inti - sun; Illimani - mountain near La Paz, Bolivia and pronounced Inte-E-gee-mane).

For over three decades Inti-Illimani's music has intoxicated audiences around the globe. Wedded in traditional Latin American roots and playing on more than 30 wind, string and percussion instruments, Inti-Illimani's compositions are a treasure for the human spirit. Their mellifluous synthesis of instrumentals and vocals captures sacred places, people's carnivals, daily lives, loves and pains that weave an extraordinary cultural mural.

Known for their open-minded musical approach, the "Intis" had a much different mission in mind when they met in the 60's at Santiago Technical University - to become engineers. Luckily for the world, their love of music encouraged their restless souls to explore the indigenous cultures of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina. In some of the poorest, purest and most ancient cultures they discovered Andean music and in a sense their roots. Inti-Illimani's music became Latin America's visceral link between pueblo and people, vivified in Nueva Canción.

In 1973, Chilean President Salvador Allende was deposed while Inti-Illimani was on tour in Europe. The young musicians found themselves without patria or passport. Italy became their home for the next 14 years. In 1988, they were warmly welcomed back to Chile, moving home permanently in 1990. Inti-Illimani became, and remains, South America's ambassadors of human expression. Their unique sound -- forged with passion and poetry - is a mantra for peace in the world and within ourselves.

They have appeared on Amnesty International stages with Peter Gabriel , Bruce Springsteen, Mercedes Sosa, Sting, and Wynton Marsalis and at benefit concerts for the Victor Jara Foundation (London, Dortmund, Glasgow) with Peter Gabriel, Paco Peña, John Williams, Emma Thompson, Karen Matheson, Maria Farantouri, Salsa Celtica, and the Rambert Dance Company.

Jorge Coulon, the group's remaining founding member, in an interview stated: "We have never been so political that it was propaganda. We are not a political group in that sense, but we have always been politically engaged. We have a concept of society and about the relationships between human beings, and we try to translate our ideas into our sound, not to be part of one political party or another but in the sense to bring about a better world."

With over 30 recordings in it's history, since 2000, Warner Brothers Latin America has released The Best of Inti-Illimani: 1973-1987", Inti-Illimani performs Victor Jara (a selection of works by the late Chilean composer, singer, poet, actor and close friend of the Intis) and Inti-Illimani: Antologia en vivo (live tracks spanning 33 years). Xenophile Records also released The Best Of Inti-Illimani with works from the four titles released with Xenophile during the 90s.

Since 2002, Inti-Illimani has welcomed four new members. "I believe the group at this moment is very modern; I would even say it's in the vanguard," stated Jorge Coulon in a recent interview with AARP Segunda Juventud (http://www.aarpsegundajuventud.org/english/entertainment/2005-DJ/05DJ_inti.html).
"What pleases me about this group today is that the creative risks it is taking are very much in keeping with our history while opening us to many perspectives, many possibilities." Manuel Meriño, musical director since 2002, sees the recording of Lugares Comunes (Common Places), released in 2003, as the point at which the newly configured ensemble came together. As the band's sound continues to embrace new musical sensibilities, the younger Intis are mastering classics like "Lo Que Má Quiero" and "Candidos", which remain in the concert repertoire. But they don't feel constrained by the musical legacy they have inherited. Says Daniel Cantillana, violinist and frequent lead vocalist who has collaborated with Meriño on some of the new material, "rather, these songs establish an intangible aesthetic framework that lets us know whether a song can fit within what we do. It is our identity, and if it determines what we do, it does so very subtly."

In addition to its tours and recordings, in 2004 Inti-Illimani's music was used for the award winning documentary The Devil's Miner, a moving portrait of 14 year old Basilio Vargas and his 12 year old brother Bernardino as they work in the Bolivian silver mines of Cerro Rico. In 2005, Inti-Illimani was commissioned to compose and record the soundtrack for the film My Little World (www.julyfilms.com), the first full length animated feature by independent filmmaker Mike Nguyen (Supervising Animator for Iron Giant).

The group's latest CD, Pequeño Mundo, features Inti-Illimani at its best: daring, creative, and in tune with its past. The original compositions include works by Meriño, the Coulon brothers and Juan Flores. Highlights include the jazz flavored, percussion-driven "Rondombe" and "Buonanotte Fiorellino".

The 2006-2007 season marks the 40th Anniversary of Inti-Illimani. World-wide tours, recordings and special guests are planned as a new decade begins………………

January, 2006

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