Ricardo Lemvo

When world-music styles are joined, the fit can feel forced, and even the best-intentioned projects can end up as self-conscious experimentation. But Ricardo Lemvo and his band Makina Loca manage a blend of Cuban and Central African traditions that is seamless and organic--and infectious. Lemvo has a leg up on the competition.

At age 10, Ricardo Lemvo was hooked on the blazing horn arrangements, conga drums and up-tempo sound of Johnny Pacheco and the Orchestra Aragon. It was 1967 in Kinshasa, Congo, and the intoxicating pleasures of Cuban son and rumba were sweeping through Africa. "I still get goose bumps listening to that music," said Lemvo, who's due to perform a free concert at Santa Monica Pier on Thursday as part of the Twilight Dance Series. "It was perfect.

At age 10, Ricardo Lemvo was hooked on the blazing horn arrangements, conga drums and up-tempo sound of Johnny Pacheco and the Orchestra Aragon. It was 1967 in Kinshasa, Congo, and the intoxicating pleasures of Cuban son and rumba were sweeping through Africa. "I still get goose bumps listening to that music," said Lemvo, who's due to perform a free concert at Santa Monica Pier on Thursday as part of the Twilight Dance Series. "It was perfect.

Ricardo Lemvo seamlessly brings together music from Zaire and Cuba in his band MAKINA LOCA, which returns for shows in San Juan Capistrano. See WHAT GOES ON.

Ricardo Lemvo seamlessly brings together music from Zaire and Cuba in his band MAKINA LOCA, which returns for shows in San Juan Capistrano. See WHAT GOES ON.

Fatboy Slim, "On the Floor at the Boutique," Astralwerks. In this London club DJ set, Slim cannibalizes, manipulates and re-contextualizes various clips, keeping the mind engaged along with the feet--something many DJ albums don't manage. Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, "Sa~o Salvador," Putumayo Artists. The Los Angeles salsero's third musical vision is gritty and humid, adding an almost painful melancholy to the most kinetic salsa jams. Trisha Yearwood, "Real Live Woman," MCA Nashville.

Riding a wave of great reviews for her album "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road," singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, right, will be at the Wiltern Theatre on Sept. 29. Tickets go on sale today. . . . Garbage has added a Sept. 28 show at the Hollywood Palladium. Tickets go on sale today. . . . Also available today: Heather Nova, Sept. 15 at the Roxy; Sprung Monkey, Sept. 23 at the Troubadour; Wild Colonials, Sept. 24 at the Troubadour; Transglobal Underground, Oct.

There was a persistent feeling Friday in the Conga Room that Ricardo Lemvo was holding himself back during the first of two sets he performed with his band Makina Loca. Add a beloved classic to the program, however, and the spice quotient is likely to increase--which is what happened when the octet performed a torrid version of Silvestre Mendez's "Yiri Yiri Bon."

When world-music styles are joined, the fit can feel forced, and even the best-intentioned projects can end up as self-conscious experimentation. But Ricardo Lemvo and his band Makina Loca manage a blend of Cuban and Central African traditions that is seamless and organic--and infectious. Lemvo has a leg up on the competition.