Carlos Mena (PR)
Artist
Carlos Mena is a music producer and DJ that has produced music for platinum selling artist Arrested Development, Tre Hardson (The Pharcyde), Osunlade’s Yoruba Records, Vega Records, Got Soul Records, Deeper Soul Records, and Phuture Soul, as well as many local bay area artists, including Zion I. He also lead the popular Bay Area group 10BASS T, to many accolades and opening stints for Counting Crows, The Roots, and Lollapalooza. His Solo debut “Hip-Hop Meditations” fuses Afro-Cuban music with hip-hop and has received wonderful reviews from major hip-hop publications across the country. Carlos recently received an artistic fellowship grant from the City of Oakland for his work on Hip-Hop Meditations. He was also included in URB MAGAZINE’s NEXT 100 (up and coming artists) for 2006.
Carlos is also the founder and president of CASAMENA, an independent music production house, and Ocha Records, a record label, based in Brooklyn, NY, that works with uncompromising artists to produce music that feeds our souls. CASAMENA is currently in production on a new project that further explores the relationship between Afro-Cuban (bata) rhythms and contemporary urban music with partner and award winning, master percussionist Michael Spiro. Also keeping him busy is the launch of Ocha Mzansi a sub-label based in and focused on the house music of South Africa. He has also recently released albums for Tamara Wellons, Ezel and Mzee, and singles by superstar Black Coffee, and remixes by Deetron, Osunlade Atjazz and many more, yielding hit songs like, “Oh Well”, and “Like Rain”, “Flores Blancas”, “In My Lifetime”, “Traveller” and “Mahuwuelele”.
His eclectic DJ sets continue to garner him the label of one of the hottest DJs on the U.S.A. circuit, while his organic approach to remixes have him working with artists such as, Grammy winner Louie Vega, Atjazz, Osunlade, and DJ Spinna.
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