Biography
Essentially the project known as Charanga Cakewalk centers on Michael Ramos, who identifies himself as a Latino Chicano Mexican yet reveals through his recordings an identity as a true citizen of the world. Listeners familiar with mainstream pop will recall Ramos from his earlier sideman and occasional rock performances, during which he contributed multiple instruments both live and in the studio to John Mellencamp, Paul Simon, Patty Griffin, and additional artists. Prior to establishing himself independently as the king of cumbia lounge—a consistently engaging, upbeat fusion that artfully reworks components of tejano, flamenco folklorica, merengue, salsa, garage rock, ska, and reggaeton—he also served briefly with the buoyant 1990s groups the BoDeans and the Rembrandts. Even while working out of Austin as a rocker celebrated for his precision on instruments ranging from accordion to Hammond B-3, Ramos could never set aside his early attachment to the Latino sounds broadcast on his childhood kitchen radio. Pérez Prado, Tito Puente, and Santana ranked among his primary inspirations, and echoes of their styles surface across both Loteria de la Cumbia Lounge, released in 2005, and the even more inventive Chicano Zen, released in 2006. Not every distinctive element of Charanga Cakewalk’s output stems solely from Ramos in his roles as writer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. On each album he enlisted prominent acquaintances for support, with Chicano Zen in particular emerging as a star-studded effort featuring guest appearances by Lila Downs, Ruben Ramos, Griffin, Martha González, and Davíd Garza.
Albums
