* En anglais uniquement
San Miguel (known in his native Cuba as "El Tresero Moderno") is a U.S.-based singer, songwriter, virtuoso guitarist, and tres player. (The tres is a guitar-like instrument featuring three double steel strings and pedals.) He is also a renowned percussionist, and respected among musical scholars, critics, and older musicians on the island for his knowledge of the roots of Afro-Cuban music. His early sound was based on son, bachata, and cumbia, but has since developed into a contemporary meld of Latin rhythms and harmonies and American -- specifically West Coast -- pop and electronica.
San Miguel was born in Granma, Cuba. He has been playing tres since he was a child, establishing a reputation as a prodigy before he was a teen and playing professionally at 14. He was a member of
Adalberto Alvarez y Su Son,
Jóvenes Clásicos del Son, and
Soneros de Verdad, and is a member of the new generation of
the Buena Vista Social Club. His early EPs include Holy Smoke,
Redamo Papa,
Avalon, and Berlinismus. He has also done extensive remix production for Ali Farahani, KeyBe, and others.
He arrived in the United States as a member of
Adalberto Alvarez y Su Son, but was quickly "kidnapped" by Peruvian singer and producer
Cecilia Noël (of Cecilia & the Wild Clams fame), who is married to former
Men at Work frontman and songwriter
Colin Hay.
Miguel issued several singles and played on the recordings of other Latin and Anglo artists. After signing a solo deal with Compass Records in late 2016, he issued the single and title track of his forthcoming album,
Un Poquito de Amor Everyday, in April of the following year with
Hay as a duet partner. The pair played live to promote the single, and the album was issued in May 2017.
Miguel described his new hybrid sound as "electro-tres." The single "Yayirobe" followed in June, and "Ezequiel" was issued in August. ~ Thom Jurek