Latin | Brazil Vinyl 548 Items

A musical selection of alternative and modern Latin music with the label Gladys Palmera via Andy Grey. Gladys Palmera compiled by Andy Grey is an energizing mix of Latin rhythms and peripheral sounds. Ten songs which symbolize the strenghts of the new times in the Latin music. A box of tropical sounds linked by Andy Grey, resident DJ of Gladys Palmera and one of the producers that is already glimpsing how the night clubs will be in the future.

Rumba, Flamenco, Soul, Funk, Jazz, Disco, House,.

Sixth record by the Achilifunk Sound System "Super Soul Gitano". Txarly Brown, invents accidental Rumba Jazz Dance. Using as the starting point a collaboration with Jonatan Ximenis, the singer from Arrels de Gràcia, old soul, funk and jazz classics are revisited from the rumba point of view. From Bill Withers to Gino Paoli, everything is thrown on the beater. There are also some original compositions on B side.

The Achilifunk Sound System gives us their best record yet. Lalo López, Jack Chakataga and Txarly Brown have recreated all these classics, with the occasional help from Mr.Freak Ska and Voodoocuts.

El Palmas Music are back with a third instalment of rare Venezuelan sounds from the 60s and 70s, a wild trip through salsa, boogaloo, garage rock, jazz and delinquent pop. Venezuelan music was moving at such a pace through the 60s and 70s that almost as soon as a new craze was born, another was preparing to eclipse it. In barely 10 years, musicians latched on to the sound of the Latin big bands of Cuba, New York and Colombia, turned to the 60s pop and rock ‘n’ roll of England and the US, before heading back to salsa as it took root across Latin American, before forays into jazz, psych rock and Afro-Venezuelan rhythms took hold in the 70s. This fertile musical period, coming at a time when Venezuela was economically abundant and culturally as relevant as any other developed country, has always been the focus of the Color de Trópico series, and continues to be the case on this third instalment, though it should also be noted that the tracks are getting rarer and rarer, indicative of the curatorship of DJ El Palmas and El Drágon Criollo and their constant search for new sounds that reflect Venezuela’s musical treasures at this time. Color de Trópico Vol. 3 starts with Un, Dos, Tres Y ... Fuera’s “Aquella Noche”, a song that’s fully indicative of Venezuela’s coastline with the much-loved Un, Dos, Tres Y ... Fuera giving a llanero rhythm (normally played on a harp and other stringed instruments in its rural incarnation) a fully Afro-Caribbean makeover with pulsating bass and an electric keyboard that teases and energises the groove. It possesses some of that same mid-70s vitality and need to experiment as Grupo Vaquedanus, the band of sax maestro Santiago Baquedano, and their cover of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five”, here fashioned as “Toma Cinco”. This version strips away all the niceties of the original, turning it in to a psych-fuzz jazz romp with Baquedano’s raspy sax leading the way. Step back 10 years and the energy remains even if the musical terrain was different. Girl group Los Pájaros hit hard with a boogaloo whose instruction is simple enough: “shake it baby, kiss for you, take the rhythm, and do the boogaloo”. Los Pájaros were one of a number of groups who were taking inspiration from the 60s sounds of the US and Britain but repackaging it for Venezuelan youth. Pop stars Geminis 5 were at it too with a fuzzy ballad “Tus 16 Años”, and Junior Squad even injected a bit of San Francisco hippy charm into affairs with their loose adaptation of The Turtles “She’d Rather Be With Me”, retitled as “Siempre Para Ti” and sounding as rough, ready and full of youthful vim as anything made north of Mexico. On the farthest end of the pop spectrum is The Pets with their cult hit “El Entierro de un hombre rico que murió de hambre” (“The Burial of a Rich Man Who Died of Starvation”), a true countercultural anthem that even dips into “The Funeral March” for a minute, and which is much desired by record collectors. Finally, we must mention the salsa ensembles and their big band predecessors, always an important element of any Color de Trópico compilation. On Volume 3, we find one of the earliest salsa groups in Venezuela, Los Megatones De Lucho, who recorded a pachanga, “Yo Se Que Tu”, long before salsa was even a thing. Influenced by Venezuela’s very own Los Dementes and Joe Cuba’s sextet, Principe Y Su Sexteto were one of Venezuela’s most prominent salsa ensembles. On their 1969 track “San De Manique” we get a different vibe altogether, it’s a creeping son with just vocals, bass and congas for its opening minute, before really kicking into action with a twisted guitar line and wild percussion, while always retaining a raw, Afro-Latin feel. Last, but not least by any means, is one of Venezuela’s most beloved salseros, Johnny Sede, who pipes up with a classic salsa, “Guararé”, showing how the style had developed in just a few short years. You could accuse El Palmas and El Dragón Criollo, the curators of this collection, as getting some sort of a sick thrill at throwing such a weird and unwieldy bunch of tracks together, and that may be true, but there is logic too. These are songs full of life and creativity that signalled an era of boundless optimism. Listen to them now, and you’ll find yourself feeling those emotions once again.

Far from the twin epicenters of New York and Miami, Carlos Ruiz and his Ebirac label were both feeling and generating the aftershocks of the mid-'70s salsa boom. Holed up in their own bustling Puerto Rican community center on Chicago's west side, these third coast salseros plied their trade outside the hot lights, cutting their teeth in city parks, VFW halls, and Holiday Inn rec rooms. Nearly 50 records survive in the wake of orquestas La Justicia, La Solucion, and Tipica Leal '79, the most impassioned, singular moments of which are compiled here.

“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.

Olindo Records is proud to present the 7th full length release in its expanding catalogue by Venezuelan singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Isaac Sasson. The intimately titled, ‘Canciones de Isaac’, summons the sounds of the wind, birds, crickets, fallen leaves and the atmosphere of both Caracas by night, and daytime walks through the meadows of the Pyrenees, to create a parallel universe between his home country of Venezuela, and his current place of residence in Barcelona, Spain. Throughout the LP, Isaac’s gentle voice is accompanied by the traditional bandola llanera, charango and cuatro; various percussion and wind instruments; and carefully arranged strings. The 13 songs on the album develop a narrative built around personal stories that touch upon human emotions, family ties and friendships, to craft a collection of sonic postcards that evoke memories, places, travels and moments spent with loved ones during the musician’s journey between two continents. Lead single “La canción de mi abuelo” is an ode to Isaac’s two grandparents, but also to other elders that have greatly influenced Sasson’s life, such as the poet Francisco Massiani and sound archivist Oswaldo Lares. The rhythm is a merengue caraqueño, accompanied by cuatro, acoustic guitar and charango, all played by Isaac, and violin by frequent collaborator María Betania Hernandez. “Manyanet” is a sonic postcard dedicated to the small town of the same name in the Catalan Pyrenees, which inspired Isaac through its landscapes and sounds. It was one of the first songs on the LP to be written and recorded in Barcelona, Spain following the composer's move from Venezuela, and contains a mixture of field recordings captured during his visit, juxtaposed with the sounds of Caracas during a rainy afternoon. Recorded between Caracas and Barcelona the results carry hues of the Venezuelan Caribbean, with hints of the Mediterranean. Mastered and cut by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, the music is beautifully complemented by illustrations from Andreína Vallés, with additional design by Brunella Giannangeli. ‘Canciones de Isaac’ follows Isaac Sasson’s ‘Cantos Campesinos’ EP on Olindo, which included a remix by Hector Plimmer, and was featured on BBC 6 Music with Gideon Coe, The Vinyl Factory, Worldwide FM, Stamp The Wax, and NTS with Patrick Forge, Zakia Sewell and Mafalda.