Latin | Brazil Vinyl 324 Items

Without a pandemic, you’d now be listening to an album wholly recorded in Cuba with local musicians. Back in 2020, everything was organised, so that in May 2021 we could get started. Yet, the sanitary measures proved to be a fierce adversary, so rather than giving up entirely we decamped to Dakar in October the same year – a compromise that ended up being a positive event in itself.
Cuba has a long African history. Under mass enslavement and the Transatlantic trade, Africans were forced from their homelands, against their will, taking their music along with them. Merging throughout the centuries, taking on European influences, led to the birth of a distinctive Afro-Cuban musical tradition. Highly percussive, brass-based, simmering, full of danceable rhythms. The spirit etched into thousands of recordings, forever turning towards Africa. The departure point here is not to keep things the same. Rather, a return to the source enacts a loop – much the same as those providing the foundations for hip-hop beats.
The flame when it’s re-lit illuminates everything. Thanks to the Senegalese musicians in Dakar, the Cubans who crossed the Atlantic to join us and my usual family of musicians, this music – a cross-section of covers and original compositions - exists as a homage to Afro-Cuban music. Made in Africa, in Senegal. Three worlds, three languages, three colours. Recorded over 17 days, non-stop, germinating the seed born in Cuba at the end of 2020 so that the most beautiful fruits might be cultivated in Dakar, 2022.
When the world doesn’t seem big enough, we look up to the sky where even the blackness is lit up, where those I loved who are now gone shine as stars, shining as brightly as all the others. Each time I think I’m not going to make it; I recall the star of my mother. Then the path becomes clear.
Pandemic, visa problems, cultural clashes, bank transfers that didn’t go through, a fractured foot – this project sometimes felt like a series of accumulated challenges. The only thing linking us, a shared love for the music, each of us invoking our personal star and all that we have overcome.
In this way, the music is born as a call to our stars.

Renata Lu is a bit of a mystery figure... She only made a few albums in the 1970s and sang backup on many more such Tim Maia and Nonato Buzar but for whatever reasons never seemed to make it into the MPB upper echelons. Debuted solo in 1971 on her self-titled album for Copacabana Records with a heavyweight fusion of US style soul and funk with added Latin percussion. This features Renata Lu singing over a hybrid samba/boogaloo backing track rich in jaunty bass, rasping horns and jazzy electric piano riffs. Rare LP finally reissued on a deluxe edition. One of the landmarks of Funk Carioca.

The fourth release from Jazz Is Dead records features Azymuth, one of the bands in Brazilian history, redefining Popular Brazilian Music. Having released almost 20 albums in their career, Azymuth proves to be a consistent source for an innovative mix of jazz, pop, MPB, and electronic music.

Composed and produced by Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad and recorded in the Linear Labs analog studio.

The legendary music publisher KPM, famous for its iconic music library catalogue, commissioned a group of musicians in 2018 to write and record an authentic tribute to the early 70’s Latin Soul Boogaloo. Although not intended for commercial release, this vinyl LP is a limited pressing of just 500 copies and features 15 new grooves inspired the greats of the era such as Tito Puente, Ray Barretto and Machito. Ray Lopez and his band recorded the session in the traditional way using the same microphone direct to reel tape. Vamanos!

Straddling the line between new and old, Meridian Brothers’ mischievous blend of Latin rhythms and psychedelic grooves is the creation of Eblis Álvarez, one of the key figures of the experimental music scene in Bogota. As with all of the Meridian Brother’s releases, every instrument on ‘Deseperanza’ was played and recorded by Eblis himself.

A true avant-garde guitar player and composer, Eblis also plays in Mario Galeano’s band Frente Cumbiero and was one of the 42 musicians involved in the recording of Ondatrópica.

Meridian Brothers are at the core of a burgeoning music scene with cumbia, salsa and currulao all being explored by a new generation of Colombian musicians. Last year’s "Meridian Brothers VII" received key recognition from New York’s Names You Can Trust, who combined two of its tracks on a highly collectible special edition 7”.

‘Desesperanza’, Meridian Brothers first fully-fledged worldwide release, is dedicated exclusively to salsa and tropical music, twisting it through a dark and theatrical psychedelic soundscape but never abandoning the traditional aesthetics.

Formed in 1980 by guitar prodigy Leonardo Vela Rodriguez, Sonido Verde de Moyobamba created some of the hardest, craziest Cumbia to emerge from the Peruvian jungle. With distorted, surf-addled guitar facing off against lysergic organ and hyperactive tropical rhythms, Sonido Verde conjured the organic sound of the dense forests surrounding their hometown while riding their dance-party grooves to dizzying psychedelic peaks.

Compiled by Analog Africa, Sonido Verde de Moyobamba presents eight ultra-rare tracks of guitar and organ madness drawn from the band’s five albums recorded for Discos Universal between 1981 and 1987. Pressed on Sun Yellow colored vinyl, housed in a screen-printed jacket and strictly limited to 2000 copies, Sonido Verde is a definitive trip into the heart of the jungle.

One of the all-time greats of Brazilian jazz fusion, Flora Purim, returns with her first studio album in over 15 years, 'If You Will', released on Strut. Conceived as a celebration of her music and collaborations, the album explores new compositions alongside fresh versions of Flora's favourite personal songs and positive lyrics from across her varied career. The album is the latest chapter in Flora's long, illustrious and varied career. As well as her celebrated partnership with Airto and her early days with Quarteto Novo, Flora has worked with Stan Getz, Gil Evans, Miriam Makeba, George Duke, Chick Corea (as an original member of Return To Forever), Dizzy Gillespie's United Nation Orchestra, Uruguayan band Opa and many more. Her solo albums on Milestone remain true jazz fusion classics.

This wonderful self-titled album by pianist, singer and composer, Johnny Alf, was first released on vinyl in 1966 by Rozenblit. Here the bossa nova pioneer sings beautiful songs, featuring the legendary musicians Hermeto Paschoal (flute) and Airto Moreira (drums).

Infectious, hypnotic tropical grooves with a ragga kick from Australia’s premier

cumbia orchestra. If you like Ondatrópica, Frente Cumbiero, Ska Cubano and

Lucho Bermúdez, you’ll love Cumbiamuffin.

It was only a matter of time before cumbia hit Australia. After humbly coming to life on

Colombia’s Caribbean coast, this rhythm—and everything it represents: its multiethnicity,

its danceable pulse, its resilience—snaked its way up the mountains to reach

Colombia’s urban capitals, Bogotá and Medellín, who transmitted the signal to Mexico,

Peru, Argentina... Cumbia travelled, and wherever it landed it took hold; Charles Mingus

got his fill in the 70s, Mexicans brought it across the US border in the 80s, Joe

Strummer couldn’t get enough of it in the 90s; and wherever it landed, it has shown its

flexibility, its ability to adapt to new environments.

Cumbiamuffin are the perfect example of what happens when cumbia arrives in a

completely different continent. Since forming in 2010, they have become Australia’s

premier large format cumbia orchestra, offering a twist on the genre that no one saw

coming. They take their inspiration from cumbia’s brass band traditions, when the genre

was adopted by orchestras in the 1940s, the start of its golden age, but they do not stop

there. They also look further afield, to the big bands of Mexico and Peru, and even to

the Caribbean, which is how their name came about. Cumbiamuffin represents the

contraction of two musical styles that the group seamlessly bring together in one big,

vibrant, joyous experience: cumbia and raggamuffin reggae. This is a group that can

inject even more life into a bona fide Colombian classic like Lucho Bermudez’s

“Salsipuedes,” take a Greek club version of a Mexican banda track written by an

Argentine accordionist and come up with the cohesively international “Ritmo de

Sinaloa,” and then there’s that unmistakable ragga skank all over “La Promesa,” with

“La Cabezona” being an instrumental descarga that has no right to rumble so low,

designed with dance halls and sound systems in mind.

Armed with the collective energy of two authentic Colombian vocalists, a seriously

massive brass section, heavy bass, funky guitar, salsa piano and equally authentic

percussion, the 15-piece band combines elements of reggae, dancehall and roots from

the Colombian Caribbean in a deft mix that is both retro and futuristic, authentically

traditional and yet also experimental. Put together by a collective of Colombian and

Australian musicians, the project has the common vision of introducing the purest

sounds of the golden era of orchestrated cumbia to Australian audiences, but with a little

something more added to the formula to keep things fresh.

Having triumphantly conquered their home country’s competitive music scene with sold

out shows at numerous festivals and well-known venues all over Down Under,

Cumbiamuffin are poised to break out to a global audience with their debut self-titled LP.

If the first album from Venezuela’s Los Calvos, despite its greatness, could be considered to have a varied sound, then this second, and lamentably final, album found them creating a signature sound with the musicians given free rein and a stronger push to the dance floor, this is música bailable personified. The drum kit was instrumental to their image and sound; it was an instrumental unusual in salsa at the time. So much so that their own drummer Frank “Pavo” Hernandez had said disparagingly that “salsa with a drum kit is like pasta with avocado”. Kudos then to “Pavo”, along with fellow drummer Alfredo Padilla, who seamlessly integrated the instrument into the line-up, allowing its heavy hits to add energy and power to the group’s sound; just listen to the drum solo in “Suenan Los Cueros” and you will be in no doubt that it was a genius move. Vocal duties throughout are split evenly, five tracks a piece in fact, between Carlos “Carlín” Asicio Rodríguez and Carlos “Calaven” Yanes. It is Calaven who surprises the most, his mischievous delivery and ability to improvise and scat placing him in the higher echelons of vocalists, and not just within salsa. “José”, which is also a showcase for bandleader Ray Perez to free wheel on the piano, is a perfect example of Calaven’s ability to enliven any descarga (jam) with unexpected vocal turns; but then, even on the album’s original single “El Moño De Maria” he shows that with a few variations on the chorus, he can elevate any song. His partner in vocals, Carlín, is no slouch either, leading the driving “Tiene La Razón” with ease and showing that he can get down and dirty on the percussion-heavy “El Tumbeleco”, guiding the song through to its pulsating conclusion. Perez was one of Venezuela’s finest bandleaders, also helming the legendary Los Dementes, Los Kenya and others, and he brings a number of famous friends and allies to the party. Professional lucha fighter turned composer Gustavo “El Chiclayano” Seclén contributes the playful “El Marciano y Yo” (“The Martian and Me”), which allows Calaven plenty of opportunity to improvise, his imitations of intergalactic beings a wonderful thing, with what sounds like the rim of a wine glass being used to create Mars-esque special effects. You can also hear Perucho Torcatt, a regular collaborator of Ray Perez’s in Los Dementes, adding his voice throughout the album. ...Y Que Calvos! is not for the idle, it’s an album which does not allow you to sit down. Powerful, inventive and abundant of rhythm, it’s everything you could want from a salsa album, and a fitting way for Los Calvos to sign off their far-too short career. Perhaps now it will finally get its dues as a lost salsa classic.

“We are inspired by our own experiences, as well as those of others. The last year was the beginning of a new era for all of us and it has left us with much to analyze and the need to rethink our priorities. There’s been so many changes on this planet: the confinement, the constant looking back at the past, the struggle of many against endless injustices, love, all this leads to the fact that our new songs have very current themes but that also transcend time. They continue the characteristic sound of Acid Coco, with the undeniable influence of the Caribbean.” Acid Coco If we can define folklore as the passing on of traditions from a particular group of people, then there can be no denying that Acid Coco, whether consciously or not, are playing an important role in disseminating the folk culture of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Throughout their music there are links to tradition: the gaita flute typical of rural cumbia, the effervescent guitar licks that are such a big part of the coast’s Afro-diasporic sounds, the teeth-rattling bass indicative of communities brought up on picó sound systems since the 70s, the unmistakable sound of the marimba wooden xylophone (each note like a rain drop on the jungle canopy), and then there are the lyrics. Tradition should not stand still, and in Andrea’s words we find the oral traditions of the last 30 years: on “Hoy Como Siempre” she sings of the need for women to stick up for themselves, to not fall in love too easily; on “Cara Dura” the sentiment is even stronger, its lyrics picking out a male predator on the dance floor who will not be tolerated; and then there’s “Mundo de Mentira” where vulnerability peaks through, the story of a woman whose life has become a “world of lies” since their lover has left – who can she believe now the one she trusted the most has gone? They are stories that could have spilled out of Cali’s salsatecas, Cartagena’s picós or any club the world over, yet through Paulo’s canny production there is no doubt where we are. Dembow, cumbia, reggaeton, even on the spiky Caribbean folk of final track “Por Las Venas” or chiptune melody of “Aquí y Allá”, there is nowhere we can be other than on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. It’s music that comes from lived experiences, from growing up in Colombia’s clubs and through its violence and daily realities. Culture is being passed forward.

The album that you now enjoy has been compiled by El Palmas & El Drágon Criollo an begins with the theme that every afternoon, starting at 6 O´clock, all the youth of Caracas waited anxiously: “Introduction Theme” by Los Supersónicos was the wake-up call to introduce the charge of surfing that that later it would explode in El Club Musical.

And from the same group, another of their greatest hits is included, such as “Rosas Rojas para una Dama Triste”.

The Dangers were in charge of entertaining many youth parties in Venezuelan society. Their great success was “Congratulations”, an obscure Ricky Nelson song, of which they made an excellent cover. And to demonstrate the great influence of the British group The Shadows - present in all the youth bands of the time - here they shine with their recreation of the song “González” The Blonders were by far the possessors of the purest and most crystalline sound among the surf groups in Venezuela. A bold and highly imaginative arrangement of the classic “Lamento Borincano” is enough to justify its inclusion in this compilation.

And although The Impala came to have the most aggressive and rock-and-roll sound, here they show another facet of their music with the songs “Triste” and “Desafinado”.

Impossible Rare 1968 Album By An Enigmatic And Uncredited Studio Group That Brought Together Some Of The Best Artists Of Mag (Melcochita, Coco Lagos, Rafael Rios Of Los Guajiros_) Under The Direction Of Manuel Antonio Guerrero, Owner Of The Peruvian Label.The Record Comprises Cumbias And Guarachas Across 9 Songs And 3 Instrumental Tracks, Most Of Them Previously Recorded By Other Peruvian Artists Such As Los Destellos, Pedro Miguel Y Sus Maracaibos Or Melcochita Y Su Conjunto. Reissued For The First Time. -Details:Cuban And Colombian Rhythms Form "Tropical Guitars" (Mag, 1968), The First Lp Of The Silvestre Montez Y Sus Guantanameros Orchestra, A Group Whose Conductor And Members, Despite Their Name, Have No Direct Relationship With Any Caribbean Country, And Whose Conception Illustrates Us About The Particular Way In Which The Peruvian Record Company Mag Was Managed.Manuel Antonio Guerrero (Founder And Owner Of Mag) Made Significant Profits With The First Albums Published, Mostly Focused On Música Criolla. He Soon Encouraged His Friend Lucho Macedo, Director Of Lima's Favorite Sonora, To Record The Main Hits Of Sonora Matancera, Reinterpretations With Innovative Arrangements That Exceeded Market Demands. Thus, They Continued To Repeat The Formula Of Releasing Songs "In The Style Of", And Soon They Published Hits Of Tango, Cuplé, Pasodobles, Ecuadorian, Argentine And Paraguayan Music, Reinterpreted By Local Musicians.Tropical Music Records Were Always The Label's Favourites, Especially Because Guerrero Knew Cuban Music Well Due To His Visits To The Island When He Was Young. In Addition, The Record Company Had An In-House Orchestra, Called Mag All Stars, Always Ready To Experiment And Improvise On New Recordings. Stars Such As Joe Di Roma, Coco Lagos, Mario Allison And Pablo Villanueva "Melcochita", Among Others, Were At Some Point Part Of This Orchestra, Which Had Different Line-Ups, Who Accompanied, With The Same Skills, Singers Of New Wave, Huayno, Rock, Boleros Or International...

After the trilogy of King Sporty & The Ex-tra's EPs in 2018, Emotional Rescue returns to the music of Noel Williams with this first ever single release of his 1976 reggae disco bomb, Safari, backed with a special discomix by Lexx.
Taken from William's debut album, Deep Reggae Roots, it can be considered a culmination of his career to date, from growing up on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, to his first singles for Studio One and Trojan, his relocation to Miami and the birth of his Konduko label and moves to incorporate the local clubs growing affiliation with funk and disco.
Prescient to the coming wave, Williams enlisted some of Miami's finest in George Perry and Clay Cropper (Chocolate Clay), Ron Smith (KC & The Sunshine Band) and legendary producer Alex Sadkin (Compass Point, Bob Marley, Grace Jones, Talking Heads).
The stand out from the album, Safari, with it's hazy, low slung groove of razor sharp rimshot, guitar licks and funk bass is topped with an incessant chant 'Disco, Safari'. Criminally brief, the choice of Lexx to step in the mix was a simple one. His dubbed rework is perfect, laidback, letting the groove roll and King Sporty's mantra shine.

Music With Soul returns with another genre-defying instant classic, expanding the limits of the Tropical Dance music universe.
Staying true to the label's essence, founder Alex Figueira places a high bet with this new release, introducing a brand new breed of traditional “Hindoestan” (Indian diaspora in Surinam) music and Cumbia. Taking the music of underground Surinam musician and empresario A. Bechan for an explorative excursion into the depths of the Colombian caribbean coast, this explosive combination raises the bar unquestionably. Equally weird, groovy and trippy, this 45 will turn any party upside down, regardless of any factors. The only problem you will encounter is what to play after. The solution is right on the other side. Just flip the record and give them the Instrumental version, featuring electric guitar, an alternative percussion set up and the beloved classic Juno-60 synthesizer in the leading role for another 4 minutes of dancefloor catharsis.

The Caribbean has long been an incubator for the sounds that will animate and shape the culture of the rest of the world for decades to come: From the rhythms of Cuba helping to shape American jazz, blues and rock n’ roll, to Trinidadian calypso introducing a bouncy lightness and gaiety to American party music, to Jamaica’s reggae showing a new way to rebel against convention. But what about the music of Belize, the Caribbean nation that holds the odd position of being a former British colony on the coat of Spanish-speaking Central America? Most people don’t know about the country at all, let alone about the rich sounds it has to offer. Bredda David Obi set out to change that in 1984 with the release of his debut LP No Fear, and the introduction of a new Belizean groove he called kungo or cungo. A mélange of traditional Belizean brukdown music and sprinklings of the rock, funk, calypso and reggae he had played n various bands during his years as a journeyman in the United States. He would further develop this modern tropical sound on subsequent albums, integrating more and more elements from Belizean niche genres like sambai and paranda. Cultures of Soul is proud to take part in documenting Bredda David’s journey into the soul of Belize with an anthology of his early recordings including tracks from No Fear, Cungo Musik 1987 and We No Wa No Kimba Ya 1990 albums. Bredda David’s kungo is hard to describe exactly—its various ingredients make it feel somewhat familiar, but the recipe with which he blends them is slightly strange, fresh and intriguing. But one thing is for certain, it is sure to electrify the dance floor and make everybody jump up and bruk down! Housed in a gatefold jacket with extensive liner notes by Uchenna Ikonne.

Sometimes the best things take time to come into fruition, and here we are, ready to finally unleash Brazil45 number 88 - the missing 7"! Featuring two Mr Bongo favourites that we have been longing to share with the world.

First up is a lesser-known Brazilian Boys track titled 'Super Herois’. This slightly trippy and quirky funk-rock groove is taken off an obscure 7" on CID records and was originally released in 1975. 'Super Herois' is super catchy, addictive and a guaranteed complete earworm. It’s a muti genre, crossover nugget that will branch scenes and tick all sorts of boxes.

On the flip is the driving, jazz-rock-samba dancefloor joint 'Tudo Ai’, a cut taken from Rubinho E Mauro Assumpção's highly sought after 1972 album 'Perfeitamente, Justamente Quando Cheguei’. Originally released on Tapecar Records, this short in stature track packs a real punch!

The city of Belém, in the Northern state of Pará in Brazil, has long been a hotbed of culture and musical innovation. Enveloped by the mystical wonder of the Amazonian forest and overlooking the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean, Belém consists of a diverse culture as vibrant and broad as the Amazon itself. Amerindians, Europeans, Africans - and the myriad combinations between these people - would mingle, and ingeniously pioneer musical genres such as Carimbó, Samba-De-Cacete, Siriá, Bois-Bumbás and bambiá. Although left in the margins of history, these exotic and mysteriously different sounds would thrive in a parallel universe of their own.

I didn’t even know of the existence of that universe until an Australian DJ and producer by the name of Carlo Xavier dragged me deep into this whole new musical world. Ant it all began in Belém do Pará. Perched on a peninsula between the Bay of Guajará and the Guamá river, sculpted by water into ports, small deltas and peripheral areas, Belém had connected city dwellers with those deeper within the forest providing fertile ground for the development of a popular culture mirroring the mighty waters surrounding it. Through the continuous flow of culture, language and tradition, various rhythms were gathered here and transformed into new musical forms that were simultaneously traditional and modern.

Historically marginalized African religions like Umbanda, Candomblé and the Tambor de Mina, which had reached this side of the Atlantic through slaves from West Africa – especially from the Kingdom of Dahomey, currently the Republic of Benin – left an indelible stamp on the identity of Pará´s music. They would give birth to Lundun, Banguê and Carimbó, styles later modernised by Verequete, Orlando Pereira, Mestre Cupijó and Pinduca to great effect. The success of these pioneers would create a solid foundation for a myriad of modern bands in urban areas.

Known as the “Caribbean Port,” Belem had been receiving signal from radio stations from Colombia, Surinam, Guyana and the Caribbean islands - notably Cuba and the Dominican republic - since the 1940s. By the early 1960s, Disc jockeys breathlessly exchanged Caribbean records to add these frenetic, island sounds to liven up revelers. The competition was fierce as to who would be the first to bring unheard hits from these countries. The craze eventually reached local bands’ repertoires, and Belém’s suburbs got overtaken by merengue, leading to the creation of modern sounds such as Lambada and Guitarrada.

To reach a larger audience, the music needed to be broadcast. Radios began targeting the taste of mainstream audiences and played music known as “music for masses.” As the demand for this music grew, it led to the establishment of recording companies. Belém’s infant recording industry began when Rauland Belém Som Ltd was founded in the 1970s. It boosted a radio station, a recording studio, a music label and had a deep roster of popular artists across the carimbó, siriá, bolero and Brega genres.

Another important aspect in understanding how the musical tradition spread in Belém, are the aparelhagem sonora: the sound system culture of Pará. Beginning as simple gramophones connected to loudspeakers tied to light posts or trees, these sound systems livened up neighbourhood parties and family gatherings. The equipment evolved from amateur models into sophisticated versions, perfected over time through the wisdom of handymen. Today’s aparelhagens draw immense crowds, packing clubs with thousands of revelers in Belém’s peripheral neighbourhoods or inland towns in Pará.

The history of "Jambú e Os Míticos Sons Da Amazônia" is the history of an entire city in its full glory. With bustling night clubs providing the best sound systems and erotic live shows, gossip about the whereabouts of legendary bands, singers turned into movie stars, supreme craftiness, and the creativity of a class of musicians that didn’t hesitate to take a gamble, Jambú is an exhilarating, cinematic ride into the beauty and heart of what makes Pará’s little corner of the Amazon tick. The hip swaying, frantic percussion and big band brass of the mixture of carimbó with siriá, the mystical melodies of Amazonian drums, the hypnotizing cadence of the choirs, and the deep, musical reverence to Afro-Brazilian religions, provided the soundtrack for sweltering nights in the city’s club district.

The music and tales found in Jambú are stories of resilience, triumph against all odds, and, most importantly, of a city in the borders of the Amazon who has always known how to throw a damn good party.

“Jambú is a plant widely used in Amazonian and Paraense cuisine. Known for having an appetitestimulating effect, it is added to various dishes and salads but is most famously one of the main ingredients in Tucupi and Tacacá, two delicacies that have been immortalized in countless Carimbó songs. Chewing the leaves of the Jambú plant will leave a strong sensation of tingling on the tongue and lips. Indigenous communities have relied upon its anaesthetic qualities for centuries as an effective remedy against toothaches and as a cure for mouth and throat infections. A decade ago, a distillery from Belém discovered the euphoric effects of the Jambú plant when combined with distilled sugarcane based spirit - known as cachaça - and created the now legendary “Cachaça de Jambú“.

The heaviest, rarest, best Fuzz-Funk-Psych 45s from Brazil. Contains full booklet with liner notes in English and Portuguese plus photos by Brazilian vinyl archaeologist Joel Jones.

A journey to far outlands: this is exactly what one can feel when listening to Béliz. Entitled Mémoires, the album from the band Béliz, explores new territories where the Guadeloupean musical tradition meets the harmonic universe of the harp. Béliz is the dialogue between the world of classical harpist Anne Bacqueyrisse, percussionist Olivier Maurières and multi-instrumentalist and singer Edmony Krater, fervent supporter of the Gwo Ka, the ancestral musical tradition coming from Guadeloupe. Founder of the band Zepiss, once a member of Robert Oumaou's collective Gwakasonné, Edmony Krater has always had the will to open the Ka to other cultures and to incorporate new sounds. Indeed, with Ti Jan Pou Vélo, his tribute album in the memory of Marcel Lollia known as Vélo (one of the greatest drummers of Guadeloupe), released in 1987, Edmony Krater brilliantly mixed jazz-fusion, Occitan folklore, synthesizers with the distinctive Ka rhythms. The meeting of Anne Bacqueyrisse, Olivier Maurières and Edmony Krater at the Music Academy of Montauban, gave birth to Béliz. In 2009 the group of three musicians-teachers, under the impulse of one of their pupils, decided to record in studio their project, Mémoires. Béliz, with its innovative and singular artistic approach, is a true invitation to travel. The title Arawak É Karayib is a vibrant tribute to the native west indian people. Gwadloup - an acoustic version of the song already featured on the album Ti Jan Pou Vélo - is an ode to Edmony’s beloved island. Natibel, an hymn to Nature - another cover from the Zepiss band - makes sense here in a minimalist version. A true fusional object, Béliz moves us to new horizons, both imaginary and poetic.
Limited to 500 copies

Originally released in 2012, the second album by the São Paulo-born composer Rodrigo Campos marks a turning point in both lyrical and aesthetic inspiration. “Bahia Fantástica” is the result of the absorption of a then recent influence of soul music (especially Curtis Mayfield) and is in the middle of this path marked by an unlikely geography in the lyrical part (São Mateus, Bahia, Japan) and by an expansion of sound ( from samba to the indefinable, with a passage through black American music).

The album turns ten years old in 2022 and exudes vitality. The soul reference takes on a different aroma when it passes through the filter of the composer and his band – formed by Kiko Dinucci on guitar, Marcelo Cabral on bass, Maurício Fleury on keyboards, Maurício Takara on drums and Thiago França on sax: it has Brazilian sauce, hints of afrobeat and a very particular seasoning. The lyrics bear the artist's mark: they project scenes in the listener's imagination and design the characters and environments with their own style of subjective chronicle. Bahia is both imaginary and intimate in Rodrigo Campos’s music.

Edizioni Ishtar and Schema Records proudly celebrate the 15th anniversary of one of their most successful releases and artists (more than 30 million streams and 300 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify) with the first ever vinyl edition of Toco’s Outro Lugar. Produced by S-Tone Inc., this record includes fanfavourite tracks “Outro Lugar”, “Samba Noir" and most of all “Guarapiranga”, which was chosen for the soundtrack of “Silver Linings Playbook”, a film that awarded Jennifer Lawrence an Academy Award prize as best actress in a leading role in 2013. The strings at the beginning of the title-track have also been sampled by PinkPantheress for her song “Nineteen”, out of her latest album “To Hell With It”. Outro Lugar hasn’t aged a bit during all these years, for various reasons; first of all it benefits from the outstanding contribution of bossa nova pioneer and inspiration source Roberto Menescal, who played guitar in every track. Most of the album was recorded in Rio De Janeiro at Menescal’s studio, with the participation of some of the best ‘carioca’ musicians, especially double-bass player Adriano Giffoni and pianist Adriano Souza. All these elements gave the album exactly the taste requested by the artist and the producer: inspired from the past yet, through thorough attention, aimed at a sound at the same time fresh and modern, slightly electronic, filled with grooves perfectly blending into acoustic instruments. The second part of the recording was carried out in Milan, with some of the best musicians in the Milanese jazz scene. The album also sees the contribution of Rosalia De Souza, singing in several tracks and standing out in “Bom Motivo” especially. French chanteuse Coralie Clément appears in “Contradição”, her own piece here re-interpreted by Toco. Outro Lugar is an album for any kinds of Brazilian music lovers that showed the world what Toco was capable of: a refined and cultured musician, a gifted performer of a warm and smooth voice able to awaken the emotions of the most sensitive listeners.

Mi Conga es de Akokan is built on the Conga de los Hoyos rhythms from Santiago de Cuba. Saxophones and trombones alternate with vocals imploring the listener to dance over intensely syncopated percussion, leading to a melodic flight by the masterful trumpeter Reinaldo "Molote" Melian. The horns re-enter, and the Orquesta takes off to soaring heights of rhythmic intensity and sophistication. La Guajira is a slow country rhythm told by the tres guitar and percussion onto which horns and strings add slinking, narcotized harmonies. Pepito tells a sensual tale of romance with a girl from the country (la guajira), which slowly builds in intensity over soneos, coros and mambos until all parts interlock in a lugubrious climax.

First ever reissue of "Sabroso bacalao" by Adolfo Echeverría y su Orquesta, released on Colombia's Discos Fuentes in 1977.Recorded with the hit production team of Isaac Villanueva and Hernán Colorado, and with vocal duties shared between Adolfo, Freddy Cruz and Manuel Cassiani, this is a diverse genre-hopping album featuring the fiery piano of Hugo Molinares, who also composed the monster guaguancó track 'Sabroso bacalao'.In addition to hot, driving hardcore salsa tunes, the LP includes some cumbia and porro plus cuts in the Afro-Cuban oriza rhythm and the cumbelé style, which is a variant on the bomba, an Afro-Puerto Rican folkloric drum-based genre.The album yielded the hit 'Fantasía marina', but in recent years 'Noches de cumbia' and the title track have become tropical DJ dance floor standards across the globe, making this record a must-have for collectors, disk jockeys and aficionados of the classic Fuentes sound.Presented in facsimile artwork and pressed on 180g vinyl.Part of Vampisoul's reissue series of classic Fuentes LPs.More details:Born on September 3, 1934 in the barrio of San Roque in Barranquilla, Adolfo Ernesto Echeverría Comas started singing on the radio first as a young man, forming his own conjunto and signing with various labels over the years, becoming one of Colombia's premier band leaders, composers, interpreters and producers of tropical costeño music in the process. Among many other accolades, he is a winner of five Congo de Oro and one El Cacique de Oro awards; his holiday songs 'Las cuatro fiestas' and 'La Inmaculada' are recognized as national treasures. During his long and successful career, he has toured Venezuela, Panamá and Ecuador, and while performing in the United States was befriended by Celia Cruz and Tito Puente. Recognizing his songwriting talents, the pair asked him for a tune and he gave them 'Salsa de tomate', inspired by Tito's hatred of the term, which they recorded for their "Alma con alma" release on Tico Records in 1971....

From a young age, La Perla, Callao-born guitarist Oswaldo "Mita" Barreto was a fan of Cuban artists like Celina y Reutilio and Los Compadres, whose records were a staple in the port city homes. He soon learned to distinguish the sound of the Cuban tres on these records (the chordophone from rural areas of Cuba). At the age of 18, he had already mastered the instrument, although he had never seen a Cuban musician play one live until that point.At the beginning of 1969 (according to the record company's archives), his fame led him to record his first 45 RPM singles for the MAG label, which were compiled in an LP by the end of the year entitled "Arecibo", after a song dedicated to the Puerto Rican city of the same name. For these recordings he was accompanied by a group of musician friends, all linked to the tropical music scene in Callao, Peru.The album opens with two Cuban guarachas from the 1950s: 'Mango mangüé' by El Gran Fellove, whose compositions were popularized across the Americas thanks to the voice of Celia Cruz and the Sonora Matancera; and 'El yoyo' by Antonio Sánchez Reyes, another international hit performed by Cortijo y su Combo. Both songs were recorded by Mita in May 1969.The album also includes four songs from the repertoire of Puerto Rican musician Joe Cuba: 'Arecibo', 'No coman cuento', 'Oriza Oco' and 'Con mi mambo', where Mita replaced the sound of the vibraphone with the Cuban tres, an innovation that gave the group its distinctive sound.Three songs by Oswaldo Barreto "Mita" were also included on the album: the memorable 'Mita descarga', the incredibly fast 'Descarga en botella y güiro' ("del Perú a Puerto Rico cantamos") and the intimate 'No aguanto más', all with inspired plucking by the tres player from La Perla.The release of the LP at the end of 1969, established Mita's career, and he continued to record on MAG and other labels in the following years, although he never released another album. First time reissue.

Limited Edition for Record Store Day 2022.

Brownout’s legendary status as a “Funk Powerhouse” (Stereogum) is a reputation well deserved. The band of musicians have an impressive resume performing with Prince (RIP), GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, Bernie Worrell (RIP), and accolades from Ozzy Osbourne for their Brownout Presents: Brown Sabbath project. The latter helped grab the attention of Fat Beats Records, who worked with the band to release the critically acclaimed Public Enemy instrumentals project Fear of A Brown Planet in 2018. The Austin 9-piece is back with their first full length album of original music in over 8 years. The album, aptly titled, Berlin Sessions (out March 6, 2020 on Fat Beats) was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos and is the first with lead singer Alex Marrero, whom they originally collaborated with on their wildly successful Brown Sabbath records. Berlin Sessions finds the group merging a multitude of styles, from rock to psych and of course the Latin Funk and Breakbeat on which they have built their sixteen-year career and reputation as Austin's premier party-starters. NPR recently featured the band on their heralded “Tiny Desk Concert” series, performing songs off the new album. NPR described the diversity of the band, stating, “One of the things you need to know about this band is that they can change traditions or genres almost on a dime. The core members dip into soul, Latin funk, a form of Peruvian cumbia called chicha, and funk covers of both Black Sabbath and Public Enemy. What each configuration has in common is the almost telepathic bond the band has developed after 15 years of working stages across the country. As you can see on the video, it's so infectious that Prince once used them for a while as a back-up band.”

Los Guapos Sensibles are back with their first release in over 3 years! The new record delivers a Cuban Son turned sonidero banger on the A-side and a unique cumbia version of Santo and Johnny’s “Sleepwalk” on the flip. This release is destined to find a place in the crates of DJs and the homes of collectors before long.

180g vinyl edition. Recorded between New York, New Orleans, Miami and Costa Rica, After A Thousand Years features legendary multi-instrumentalist Bill Summers, famed for his work with Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones and Eddie Henderson. The album also features Malawian-American guitarist Masauko Chipembere who has worked with the likes of RZA from Wu-Tang Clan and Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets.

“Banana Peel is exactly what we need now. Visionary Jneiro Jerel at his finest channelling healing sounds and rhythms from Mother Earth. A much-anticipated lens through Jneiro’s third eye. Thank you!” King Britt

It's hard to believe we are now up to Volume 5 of our renowned Record Club series. Curating these compilations, where we share our latest musical discoveries and old favourites from the global stage, is always a labour of love. This selection is less dancefloor-driven than our previous volumes, as fewer opportunities for live events drove us to explore other paths and styles in the musical spectrum. But, whether you're DJing for a kitchen or a club, there is still a generous serving of spicy dancefloor magic. For Volume 5, we looked to a broad church - from Brazil to Cuba, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan, Mauritania, South Africa, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, the UK, and the US. We pulled songs from the 70s up to the present day and feature a stellar cast of artists. There’s an exclusive track from Sven Wunder which was recorded solely for this compilation. We also have a track from Admin which was released as a private press 7" at the start of 2021 and one we felt was far too good to only be available for the lucky few. You’ll also discover one of our most treasured Gyedu Blay Ambolley productions, a full-force African disco colossus! We hope you will enjoy this selection of seventeen eclectic songs as much as we do.

First time reissue of one of the essential and most sought-after Venezuelan rock albums, originally released in 1970, along the lines of what other artists such as Santana or El Chicano were doing from the United States in those same years.Grupo Pan was led by Carlos "Nené" Quintero, former member of Los Dementes, Ray Pérez's group, and through this record he aims to retain the rhythmic strength and brass arrangements typical of salsa, but also explore other sounds based on powerful guitars.This reissue includes original artwork, liner notes and exclusive photos. 180g vinylGrupo Pan was formed in 1970 in the popular Caracas neighborhood of Marín at the initiative of Carlos "Nené" Quintero together with his brother Jesús "Chú" Quintero. His experience as a professional musician as part of Los Dementes, Ray Pérez's group, would allow him to retain the rhythmic strength and brass arrangements typical of salsa, but also explore other sounds based on powerful guitars. The band would be completed with Alfredo Padilla (percussion), David Azuaje and Carlos Guerra (trombones), Henry Camba (trumpet) and Rubén "Micho" Correa (electric guitar), already with a solid reputation as a guitarist after years playing in rock bands.Nené Quintero would resume contact with his acquaintance Mario Tepedino, at that time artistic director of 2001 Juvenil, a Venezuelan tv show focused on the promotion of young musical values, who would offer them to appear on said program. Through the popularity provided by their frequent television appearances, they were offered the opportunity to record an album.In December 1970 their first and only LP would release, recorded at the Fidelis studios in Caracas and produced by Mario Tepedino. It was published by Souvenir, a label responsible for the release of many other essential Venezuelan rock albums, such as the highly sought-after records by The Love Depression or Ladies W.C."Pan" successes in overcoming through its grooves the eternal rivalry between the followers...

Two insanely funky dancefloor bangers recorded in the late '60s in Peru by the long time Coco Lagos associate and top percussionist Mario Allison. Astonishingly hard-to-find boogaloo and descarga tunes from the vaults of MAG records.First time reissue on 7" vinyl.Peruvian artist Mario Allison was born into a family of musicians. One of his brothers was part of groups like Los Golden Boys, others were percussionists and singers. His North American ancestry familiarized him with the use of English from an early age.He met Coco Lagos through a mutual friend, César González, and the three of them soon became regulars at the recording sessions taking place at MAG studios. The connection between them was formidable to the point of coordinating without the need for prior rehearsals.Mario Allison was a self-taught timbalero and his performances are said to have been full of energy and passion. At concerts it was not uncommon for female audiences to react by screaming and freaking out every time Allison performed a solo.After years working at MAG's studio as session player, in the late '60s he was offered the opportunity of recording his own stuff under his name. Mario Allison then worked on a repertoire focused on boogaloo, descarga and, mainly, pompo.This single comprises two insanely funky dancefloor bangers recorded in that period; hard-to-find boogaloo and descarga tunes from the vaults of MAG records.First time reissue on 7" vinyl.

In 2010, I had asked Eamon Ore-Giron - aka DJ Lengua - if he would be interested in compiling a Latin project for Analog Africa, and if so, if he had a theme in mind. He replied, “Have you ever heard of rebajada?“ The question mark above my head, together with the wall of China, must have been the only other object visible from out of space because Eamon, probably noticing I got paralysed, continued, “Rebajada in Spanish means “to reduce, to lower”. It’s basically Mexican sonideros (sound-system operators) slowing down the beat of a Cumbia to create a much more tangible music to dance to. I’ll send you a mix I made last year and let me know what you think.“ And so he did.

That mix was called Rebajada Mota Mix and I began listening to it on a loop. Although I was not immediately hooked it was intriguing from the get-go, and so I kept listening until magic began unfolding. Slowed down music allows you enough time to hear right through it, revealing itself in ways I had rarely experienced before. Everything became more transparent and I was noticing sounds normally only perceptible by bats. A near psychedelic experience. That mysterious mix included a few Ecuadorian songs by Junior y su Equipo - aka Polibio Mayorga (a cult figure in the sonidero scene), a couple of Mexican tunes, one Colombian, and various Peruvian songs, undoubtedly the driving force behind this project.

The sonidero who brought Peruvian and Ecuadorian music to Mexico was the legendary Pablo Perea from Sonido Arco-Iris, and although his fingerprints are all over the compilation Saturno 2000, this selection of songs in rebajada is exclusive to DJ Lengua. With the exception of a few classics from Polibio Mayorga and La Sampuesana – the queen of all rebajadas – most of these songs were probably never performed as such before, let alone released.

So how did rebajada come to be? In a nutshell; Rebajada started with two families of brothers – the Pereas and the Ortegas – who travelled all over Latin America and returned to Mexico with heavy loads of records which they would sell to the various sonideros always on the lookout for new tunes. Colombian beats especially seemed to fit almost perfectly with the Mexican dance steps – but they were just a bit too fast. As a result some sonideros began experimenting with equipment, and Marco Antonio Cedillo of Sonido Imperial created a revolutionary pitching system that could slow records down to an extent other players could only dream about. And so rebajada was born . . . or so we thought.

At the same time in north of the country, in Monterrey, sonidero Gabriel Dueñez almost got electrocuted by a short circuit that nearly set his record player on fire. As a result the platter started spinning in slow motion for the rest of the party, turning Cumbia into a different affair altogether. The youngsters went crazy for it and started harassing the sonidero with requests to record cassettes for them. Reluctant at first, Dueñez finally began recording a series of pirated cassettes called “Rebajada” which included mainly Colombian cumbia and porro in slow-mo exclusively. Those tapes took the city by storm and turned rebajada into a celebrated and defiant movement of the youth.

Of course it would not be a Mexican urban legend if it didn’t include dramaturgical elements, and so for nearly 30 years, until this day and probably for ever, both cities have been arguing and claiming ownership the creation of rebajada for themselves. But sonidera Joyce Musicolor, who never has time for such trivial arguments, got straight to the point: “Rebajada, and the equipment to perform it, is from here [Mexico City] but it was Monterrey that popularised it.“

Recorded in Brazil after spending the late 70s in the US, Marcos Valle brought together his innate talent and diverse influences on this irresistible record bursting with groove. Among a selection of top musicians, the line-up features Lincoln Olivetti & Robson Jorge and Leon Ware. Includes the Brazilian boogie anthem ›Estrelar‹, Marcos Valle's biggest hit from the 80s and one of the most celebrated songs in his entire career.

The album is full of soaring disco tracks, killer vocal boogie numbers and blissing instrumentals over a well-balanced tracklist that satisfies both the listening pleasure and the dancefloor needs. Essential! Presented in facsimile artwork.