SAN FRANCISCO, CA. (Top40 Charts/
Santana Official Website) - The free
Santana application for iPhone and iPod touch is a comprehensive mobile gateway into the colorful and inspiring universe of
Carlos Santana. Developed by WebSight Design, Inc. in collaboration with Santana, the multimedia app was released February 25, and requires the iPhone 2.2 software update and second generation touch devices. It is available through the mobile iPhone/Touch App Store and by download through iTunes.
The new Santana app is drawing enthusiastic user reviews for its exclusive content: video lessons in which Carlos Santana demonstrates the guitar technique he used in the classic hits "Black Magic Woman" and "Oye Como Va." The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and 10-time GRAMMY winner also reveals some of the inspirations behind the songs, and describes orchestration and other choice details.
The app's content-rich experience spotlights the music of Santana via a decades-spanning selection of songs, and tracks and albums can be purchased via a direct link to the iTunes store. Other features include a sampling of Santana's most popular videos-plus live clips and behind-the-scenes tour footage-as well as the latest news and tour updates, and a Santana discography.
In iProng Magazine's April 2009 cover story interview with Carlos Santana, Bill Palmer writes, "In addition to being one of the most celebrated, popular and influential artists in the history of recorded music, he's also likely the most famous person to release his own app for iPhone users."
When asked what led him to the iPhone, both as a user and as the subject of an app, Carlos said, "I was the guy who went from the smoke signals and the mirrors...straight into the iPhone, so I have no concept of computers. I was still with cassettes. And so it fascinates me just how much the human imagination has gone into making things accessible...I'm eager to ride that."
In addition to linking to the Santana Band's official website (www.santana.com), the app's "More" section offers insight into other cornerstones of the world of Santana with links to Architects Of A New Dawn (AOAND) and the Milagro Foundation. Launched in 2009, AOAND (www.aoand.com) is a global social network designed to inspire conscious world citizens to become agents of positive change. Established in 1998, the charitable foundation Milagro (www.milagrofoundation.org) has granted more than three million dollars to non-profit programs supporting underserved children in the areas of arts, education and health.
2009 finds Carlos Santana-more than four decades into an extraordinary career as a visionary artist and humanitarian-in a flurry of other new activity as well. On April 23, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at Billboard's 20th anniversary Latin Music Conference and Awards. The event took place at the Eden Roc in Miami Beach, and the awards were broadcast live on the Telemundo network.
On May 27, Santana becomes the first artist in residency at the spectacular new Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas when "Supernatural Santana" debuts. Designed exclusively for the venue, the show celebrates Santana's signature fusion sound, and runs through 2010 (www.supernaturalsantana.com).
For more information, log on to www.santana.com
