Son

Son on vinyl: the heart of Cuban music

In short: Son emerged around 1900 in eastern Cuba and became popular in Havana in the twenties. The tres (a guitar with three pairs of strings), bongos, maracas and the clave give it its sound; salsa later grew out of son. Mexico has its own son traditions too. The Vinyl Room currently has 12 son records.

What is son?

A rhythm that takes its time and yet never stands still: in the nineties Buena Vista Social Club brought the son of the old masters back to the world – here with the album “Buena Vista Social Club”, the concert “At Carnegie Hall” and “Lost And Found”.

Under the son label we also have records from Mexico, for example by Sonora Santanera, Sonora Veracruz and singer Lucha Villa, plus Conjunto Crema.

What to look for

The Buena Vista records keep coming out in new editions; label, catalogue number and year of release help you tell which edition you have – it’s noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

New in

→ Buena Vista Social Club · Danzón · Salsa · Latin on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained

FAQ

Where does son come from? From eastern Cuba, around 1900; it became popular in Havana in the twenties.

What is a tres? A Cuban guitar with three pairs of strings, typical of son.

What does son have to do with salsa? Salsa builds on son in many ways.

What is Buena Vista Social Club? An album and project of the nineties that brought together great musicians of Cuban son.