“I’m thirsty to dive into the unknown and unpredictability.” —Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana is still on fire, figuratively. On a brief sojourn following the heavier isolation of the previous year, the guitarist is back in New York City, reflecting on how he found more clarity and new music. “Who I was before the pandemic, I am 100 times more,” shares the guitarist, ”because I’m more cognizant, and more present and more lucid and more aware that whatever time I got on this planet, I’m going to burn, burn, burn.”
Holding a press conference around his new single “Move,” Rob Thomas, who wrote and sang the mega-hit “Smooth,” off Santana’s album Supernatural, 22 years earlier, is on hand for the “reunion,” albeit virtually, screened in remotely. “Move” is a continuation of what the pair started more than two decades earlier. “I feel very grateful that Rob and I get to reach the four corners of the world again,” says Santana. “At this particular time, the planet has been infected with fear and darkness. People are thirsty for a spiritual jolt, for some inspiration, and some validation and celebration of your own spirit, so we’re moving molecules, atoms, cells. It’s incredible to see how one song can create many vibrations around the world.”
Thomas is part of a collective of artists and the larger vision around Santana’s latest offering Blessings and Miracles.
“Blessings and Miracles is all rooted in the notion that humans are born with an innate power to create both, utilizing the light, spirit, and soul, which are the three main elements of the album,” says Santana. “For me, this album invites people to heal this infection of fear and separation. We create music to bring you courage and a deep awareness of your own life.”
In a time when Santana says fear pervades, Blessings and Miracles is his mystical medicine music. “This is not show business,” he adds. “This is not entertainment. This is mystical medicine music to lift you into a place where your ego cannot bring you into self-deception. The stories I want to share with people are stories of triumph, victory, glory, redemption, forgiveness, compassion, healing, hearing, correcting, and alleviating.”
“Move” was the first burst of musical light. “Our brand is love,” says Thomas, who had opportunities to work with Santana after “Smooth,” but it never felt natural to them. “The idea that 20 some odd years ago, I could do something with a legend just because I wanted to meet him, and for it to become what it did and take on this life of its own and have this shift that went around the world—and then the opportunity to do it again. It just happened naturally and felt right, and that’s what makes this special for me.”
When New York rockers American Authors shared the song they were working on, “Move,” Thomas heard the chorus and immediately sent it to Santana. “When people listen to it, there’s nothing contrived about this,” says Thomas. “There’s nothing that’s in there that has any end goal of success or of anything that we want to come back to us, other than the energy that we put out to everyone else. I think anytime that you can be a part of something that doesn’t have any cynicism attached to it’s a good thing.”
Listening to the song reminds Santana of his deeper bond to Thomas and something that transcends the music itself. “This song comes in and it makes me realize that energy is very welcomed in our hearts because it makes you feel like you’re 17 years old with a lot of thirst for adventure,” says Santana. “When I heard it, I heard Tito Puente and everybody that I love. It’s Spanish Harlem. It’s so amazing that we play music, and that everyone becomes one. That’s what I loved since the beginning since Woodstock. I love when everybody becomes one like Bob Marley said ‘One Love.’”
Santana adds, “Once that happens, there’s no conflict. There’s no division, separation, and fear and darkness disappear. It’s just joy, and with joy, you can create miracles and blessings.”
Tina Eves 