Caminito verde

A tribute.

I'm still struggling with the requinto jarocho, so I decided to try this. I first heard this song with Alejo Durán, great among the greats, and of course, his version is insuperable.

His accordion lines are (roughly) played here with a melodica. It ain't quite the same, but it was better than leaving those parts empty.

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posted by micayetoca (14 comments total)

This is charming and delightful, mica. Well done, my friend!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:11 AM on March 8, 2010

Love those vocals.
Needs the "melodica" tag!
posted by chococat at 9:25 AM on March 8, 2010

I actually had it recorded with my voice like two weeks ago, but no matter how much I try, I really don't like my singing. I asked V and she said she would sing in it. She had been very busy lately and couldn't record until yesterday afternoon. The idea initially was to use her voice with mine, but after she recorded the first voice I asked her if she would do both and she was hesitant, but she did it.

All in all, her recording took like 45 minutes. I could spend 6 hours recording my vocals and wouldn't get it to sound half as good as this, so I decided to go with her voice instead of mine.

And I added the melodica tag. I'm glad you guys liked it.
posted by micayetoca at 9:51 AM on March 8, 2010

This is so nice. I love the 6/8 finger picking over the rollicking beat. I wish I understood Spanish.
posted by dobie at 3:54 PM on March 8, 2010

beeyootiful.
posted by sleepy pete at 4:37 PM on March 8, 2010

Very nice. Your stuff always has such a warm and organic feel to it. The best word I can find to describe it, I think, is human. I think this is among your better recordings just in terms of sound, and the song is a good one as well.
posted by edlundart at 10:39 PM on March 8, 2010

Hey, beautiful, man! I really appreciate you sharing different styles and elements with your songs. Even with youtube, I wouldn't know where to find such great stuff! Bravo!
posted by snsranch at 6:01 PM on March 9, 2010

DUDE that melodica rules.

Man, the -- I don't even know -- atmosphere? Mood? -- is SO VIVID. More than anyone else around here, your stuff just feels like I've fallen into something somewhere and here you guys are playing music. So great.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 4:13 AM on March 11, 2010

Karlos the Jackal, you came back to life. Thanks for the words man. Lately I've had this weird thing where I like the songs when I'm learning/developing them, I like them when I am recording and mixing them and I can't stand them when they are finished, so it's reassuring to hear nice comments about them.

snsranch. Try this guy (Alejo Durán) or Alfredo Gutierrez. You won't believe the things you'll find.

edlundart. Thanks for that. That's definitely a characteristic I'd like people to find in my music.

dobie: I didn't even count it, but now that you mention it, I guess the A part is in 6/8 and the B part is in 4/4 and that's why it was so difficult to fit the melodica in the spaces between verses.

Thanks to all.
posted by micayetoca at 1:24 PM on March 11, 2010

Thanks micayetoca, I will check those guys out.

I've actually been thinking about you and the flavor of your stringed instruments quite a bit lately. While working on a simple corrido, it took me two weeks of practice to get rid of the "gringo accent" on my guitar. So I realize when I listen to your guitar playing that there is a real distinct voice and essence there, much more than just playing guitar.

Gracias, Amigo!
posted by snsranch at 3:42 PM on March 11, 2010

Yeah, that rhythm would have left me stumbling terribly. Has such a rolling sound to it. The vocals are great, and the melodica is super playful. Yay!


could use some vocals from the micayetoca, though ;)
posted by Corduroy at 3:06 PM on March 12, 2010

This is really excellent. I would really like to hear more of the percussion. I can hear like a merengue rhythm on a guiro(?) in the background that would make this track jump if you could hear it better. A good congero would also make this track shine.
posted by dagosto at 5:08 AM on March 15, 2010

This feels like it was recorded in the kitchen or the sitting room next to it (or both), with the windows open, some evening after dinner.
posted by not_on_display at 8:41 PM on February 3, 2017

it came up on my random music library playlist today, and still, it evokes the feeling of sitting in a kitchen with the windows open on a summer night. (And it's 5˚F out tonight.)
posted by not_on_display at 8:21 PM on February 24, 2023