8. SALSA MUSIC TODAY ft. Nic N'taya

Welcome to Episode 8 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast!

In our latest episode, Andres welcomes in Nicolas Martinez to the show. He is the band leader of Endiya, the hottest band in South Florida. Born in Cuba until he was nine, then brought to United States, he’s been writing since he was eleven. He founded his band in 2006, which has just released their second album. Martinez discusses his experiences in working on his band, as well as his short hiatus due to personal problems, and his work on another grammy-nominated band. He discusses his influences, both personal, and the artists he listened to as a child. He wrote his first song in fifth grade, a rap song. He even performs a bit of it on the show!

He also discusses the evolution of his music and his roots in Cuba. He talks about his starts in dance, the techniques, and the styles that he worked on, and the changes that came as he grew up and how they formed his dance and his music. In addition to the creators that changed his life, he discusses how the cultural history of music and dance influenced his growth. It’s a fascinating trip into the history of Salsa and dance.

The discussion also goes into the ideas of how Salsa is now, and how it’s changed. He talks about the increase in aggression and energy in music. A lot of people need something with new energy and Martinez talks about how Salsa needs to evolve so that its music can reach younger people, rather than languishing and becoming ‘old people music’. The only people looking up Salsa are people who are already interested in the Salsa. Martinez hopes his music will reach out to a younger generation, by making the music and the lyrics appeal more to the current generation. People need to connect to music and enjoy it, and learn how to enjoy that.

Martinez also discusses the future of Salsa. With the challenges ahead with the current standards of salsa and continuing to dance, we need to also look to the future. Martinez has some refreshing frankness in saying that he feels the Salsa boom has passed and that it’s more dancers that are keeping Salsa alive rather than musicians. He notes how younger people are moving to urban music, which Martinez says is more humble and more about connecting than Salsa is.

Martinez provides a fresh perspective on the history of salsa, the interactions with potential new dancers, and just the very fascinating life of a brilliant dancer and musician.  For those who wants a fresh perspective on Salsa, this episode will give you a lot of food for thought.

“It’s about connecting with the people, not only musically, but outside of music. They need to know and feel that not are only are you just like them, but also that you’re just something normal. People try and keep it professional, but often people don’t want that. Sometimes people want to have fun.”