Latin | Brazil 354 Items

A sublime expedition from Brazil to the sky, “Modo Avião” (Airplane Mode) sees São Paulo based trio Caixa Cubo jet further forth from the lineage of Brazilian instrumental music.

Following in the footsteps of heroes like Azymuth, Antonio Adolfo, Cesar Mariano and Marcos Resende, with the tried and tested trifecta of synthesizers, bass and drums, Caixa Cubo have carved out their own idiosyncratic ideal of golden-era Brazilian jazz-funk and samba-jazz.

Encapsulating the vitality and experimentalism synonymous with Sao Paulo’s musical history, Caixa Cubo playfully straddle the elegant and the surreal, with masterful songwriting and the consummate musicianship of longtime friends and bandmates Henrique Gomide (keyboards) Noa Stroeter (bass) João Fideles (drums).

Caixa Cubo have been playing together for over 14 years - and that’s ‘playing’ in the truest sense of the word. As bassist Noa Stroeter explains:

“A story, a joke, images, invented words, people we met on tour, places, fictitious or not, have always been part of our creative process. And they are precious materials beyond the musical work itself. This dynamic has stayed with us to this day, and for me it is the characteristic that guarantees that no matter what, we will have fun working.”

Presenting a contemporary reimagining of Brazilian grooves from the 1970s, Modo Avião marks an evolution for Caixa Cubo’s music which delves deeper into the tradition of Brazilian instrumental music, while continuing to develop its rhythmic and harmonic possibilities. Utilising an extensive understanding of Brazilian music history and Brazilian rhythm in particular, the group explore the seemingly endless possibilities of fusing carnaval marches, frevo and Baião, with jazz, MPB and funk.

Recent Caixa Cubo releases include 2023’s “Agora”, which featured guest vocalists including Xênia França and Zé Leônidas; and 2020’s "Angela," which was hailed by BBC 6 Music, Gilles Peterson, and Bandcamp as one of the best albums of the year.

Caixa Cubo have performed at Jazzahead! in 2022 (Germany), Jazz à Vienne (France), Riverboat Jazz Festival (Denmark), Breda Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Blue Note São Paulo (Brazil) and Jazzkeller Frankfurt (Germany)

Captain Planet has teamed up with 2 long-time collaborators (Zuzuka Poderosa & Raphael Futura) for a new Brazilian disco funk song, "Moqueca." The song harkens back to Brazil's legendary funk parties in the 70's and early 80's - where soundsystems bumped legends like Tim Maia, Sandra Da Sa & Gilberto Gil - while infusing some fresh contemporary energy and extra thump for today's dancefloors. Zuzuka's bright vocals bounce over a bubbly bassline, syncopated percussion and wormy vintage synthesizers, while an additional punch is brought in the form of horn arrangements by the prolific maestro Todd Simon, another frequent Captain Planet collaborator.

"Moqueca" takes inspiration from the Brazilian dish of the same name, a nationally famous fish stew that varies across the regions of Brazil. In her lyrics, Zuzuka talks about the origins and variations of Moqueca, starting with the style from Espirito Santo, her home state, and continuing to Moqueca Baiana, from Bahia, which incorporates African influences and ingredients. The result is a song that is as much an homage to Brazilian music as it is its food, culture and people.

Lendas is the Brazilian guitarist Fabiano do Nascimento’s fifth album for Now-Again Records. Like his previous albums Prelúdio and Ykytu, Lendas features do Nascimento’s compositions, this time with orchestral arrangements by Vittor Santos and also special participation by Arthur Verocai. Vittor Santos is a composer, arranger, trombonist and music producer from Rio de Janeiro, who has worked in Brazilian music for over thirty years. Do Nascimento and Santos met in Rio in 2017 during the recording of Do Nascimento’s hero, and 70s and 80s Brasilian guitar catalyst Carioca Freitas album Aquarelas. The two bonded over a mutual appreciation for Do Nascimento’s uncle Lúcio and the Bossa Nova star Leny Andrade, both of whom largely influenced Do Nascimento’s musical foundation. In Santos, Do Nascimento found an arranger who was sensitive enough in his orchestrations that he could create an orchestral dialogue between stacks of strings and Do Nascimento’s plaintive plucking. It was only natural to invite the highest regarded, now legendary, 1970s Brasilian arranger, Arthur Verocai, to contribute. Verocai, who had worked with Do Nascimento on his forays in Los Angeles, was pleased to participate. In this way, the circle of old and new, so crucial in Do Nascimento’s work, comes together and flows outwards. “Lendas” translates from Portuguese as "legends,” but the literal translation itself doesn’t describe this album. With Lendas, Do Nascimento recalls memories from places that no longer exist; from fever dreams in the Amazon; from parts of the world we might never see or engage, but can imagine through music. Fabiano Do Nascimento’s Brazilian guitar meets a full orchestra arranged by Vittor Santos and with special participation by Arthur Verocai and his string quartet. Lush yet lively, standing alongside Jorge Ben’s work with Verocai, and Tom Jobim and Baden Powell’s work with Vinicius de Moraes.

In 1975, under the oppressive air of military dictatorship in Brazil, brothers Lelo and Zé Eduardo Nazario invited bassist Zeca Assumpção to join their musical experiments in a basement under Sao Paulo’s Teodoro Sampaio Street. As teenagers, the trio had already been playing together in Hermeto Pascoal’s Grupo, alongside guitarist Toninho Horta and saxophonist Nivaldo Ornelas, and it was while working together under Hermeto’s direction that the Paulista rhythm section (as they were then known) began to realise their own potential.

With many nightclubs and venues closed in the mid-70s and government censors dictating the output of radio, TV and art galleries, many Brazilian artists fled during the years of dictatorship. But underground, Grupo Um were fusing avant garde ideals with contemporary jazz and Afro Brazilian rhythm; making phenomenally free and expressive music - in stark contrast to the sterile, conservative conditions being imposed above ground.

Just like Hermeto Pascoal’s Viajando Com O Som from the following year, Starting Point was recorded over two days at Vice-Versa Studios, by revered engineer Renato Viola. The studio was one of the best in Sao Paulo and musicians communicated with engineers through cameras and a monitor, allowing the group complete immersion in the process. They also made use of the studio’s hemispherical tiled room, which served as an acoustic reverberation chamber.

The album begins with Zé Eduardo Nazario’s thunderous drum solo on “Porão da Teodoro”, before clearing the clouds with the lone Berimbau which opens “Onze Por Oito”. Built around a hypnotic electric bass line, heady Fender Rhodes improvisations, and more rip-roaring drums, it’s a rapturous, electrifying freak-jam in 11/8.

Like some invertebrate deep-sea curiosity, the free-form “Organica” is made up of Lelo Nazario’s playfully eerie prepared piano, with Zé Eduardo’s percussion flurries darting around Assumpçao’s double bass. The equally non-conformist, percussion-only piece “Jardim Candida” features many of Zé Eduardo’s home-made instruments, including a long saw blade played with vibraphone sticks and violin bow. While working with Hermeto, Zé Eduardo famously built his own all-in-one percussion set-up known as the “Barraca de Percussão” (Percussion Tent) - the first of its kind in Brazil, which he would also use on Hermeto Pascoal’s Viajando Com O Som and throughout his career.

“Suite Orquidea Negra'' (Black Orchid Suite) was written by Lelo Nazario as the score for an imaginary movie - the story of a rare, black orchid which produced a substance meant to cure all diseases, but which had mysteriously disappeared from the laboratory… “As a screenplay it’s not very good” reflects Lelo in jest, “but the music ended up being very interesting, the way its parts are chained to one another carries a little of the mystery I imagined for the movie.”

The album closes with the triumphant “Cortejo dos Reis Negros” (Procession of Black Kings) - a groovy variation on the Maracatu rhythm, with a two-note bassline underpinning piano improvisations, exultant wordless vocals, cuicas, slide-whistles and a very special guest appearance from Zé’s dog Bolinha.

Starting Point was to mark the inception of one of Brazil’s most daring instrumental groups. Their debut now sits in the lofty echelon of otherworldly 70s Brazilian music, alongside the likes of Marcos Resende & Index’s self-titled debut, Cesar Mariano & Cia’s Sao Paulo Brasil, Azymuth’s debut and indeed Hermeto Pascoal’s Viajando Com O Som. But just like all of those titles, which were either shelved or largely ignored at the time, Grupo Um - so radically ahead of their time - struggled to find a label to release their debut album. So Lelo kept the tapes safe in his archives, which is where they sat for almost half a century. Finally, almost fifty years later, this mesmerising piece of history is here, and it was only the beginning...

Argentinian artist Chancha Via Circuito (aka Pedro Canale) makes his return to Wonderwheel Recordings with his fifth full length: “La Estrella.” Cutting his teeth early at Buenos Aires’s legendary ZZK digital cumbia parties, the Chancha moniker became known worldwide as the originator of the cumbia-inspired electronic music that takes cues from environmental sounds and South American folkloric traditions. Pedro’s musical progeny include names such as Nicola Cruz, El Búho, Dengue Dengue Dengue, King Coya and many more.

Texturally rich and highly emotive, the album spans 11 songs that meander between lush instrumental soundscapes and upbeat vocal numbers, all tied together by Chancha’s signature production style. “La Estrella” - meaning “the star” in Spanish - opens with “Dandeleon,” which plays like a meditation of fluttering vocalesque pads and sonorous bass; while Pedro is joined by the acclaimed Argentinian trio Fémina on “Cometa,” where his refined beat offers an ideal space for the three singers’ voices to inhabit. “Cometa” (“comet”) also furthers the album’s celestial themes, which also touch on spirituality, love, ephemerality, and nature. Frequent collaborator, (Polaris Prize-winning / Grammy-nominated) Lido Pimienta offers her vocal chops on “Amor en silencio,” which showcases the Colombian-Canadian’s harmonizing prowess over an instrumental of panning percussion and syncopated xylophone chords. Additional features come by way of artists such as the Meridian Brothers (recently acclaimed in a longform New York Times piece) on “El pavo real”, as well as Las Añez (“Ese peso”), Federico Estévez (Moninja) "El árbol y el hacha", Manu Ranks (“Ouh Lord ouh Dios”), and María José Montijo (“Aguacero”), whose various nationalities, backgrounds, and styles help give the album a pan-Latin feel as refracted through Pedro’s mystical, multi-colored lens.

Pedro Canale has been working on Chancha Vía Circuito, a musical project that has allowed him to travel the world and put his mark on what is now known as Latin American electronic music, since 2005. Beginning his explorations in digital cumbia, but soon moving into electro-acoustic experiments inspired by his travels and encounters with Indigineous traditions of the Andes and beyond, the “Chancha sound” has transformed into a notable reference for an entire new generation of artists, in turn birthing a new sound that spans the globe. To date, he’s released 5 albums (including “La Estrella”) which have expanded far outside of Latin America and can be heard playing at the top festivals in Europe and the U.S. such as MUTEK, Roskilde, and Vive Latino. The general public will recognize Chancha’s sound thanks to one of their remixes, “Quimey Neuquén,” being used in an unforgettable scene in “Breaking Bad”.

Compuesto, grabado y producido por Pedro Ojeda Acosta en los estudios Romperayo, Teusaquillo, Bogota, Colombia. 2024 Arte por Mateo Rivano Romperayo en vivo es: Ivan Medellín, Nicolas Eckardt, Juan Manuel Toro, Pedro Ojeda Sellos discográficos del vinilo: discos elgozo y Girando Discos

Pana is the behind-the-scenes powerhouse shaping the sound of reggae in Hawai‘i today. His productions have backed the likes of Ka‘ikena Scanlan, The Green, Fia, Likkle Jordee and more.

Since its release, Hibiscus has propelled his prominence as a solo artist to unexpected heights. Having released the EP in February 2020 with minimal effort to promote it beyond his immediate fanbase, the response has been overwhelming. Each track pairs a guest vocalist with Pana's production, and some songs have become staples on local radio stations.

Aloha Got Soul is proud to present Pana's Hibiscus on vinyl, with the instrumental versions included on the B-side.

In the story of Los Sanders, many sources can be found to understand the emergence of “chicha”, a style associated with the life of migrants in the city that saw its heyday in the 1980s, but also to understand the connections between youth music, “new ola”, and rock with tropical rhythms.

Los Sanders serve as a bridge between periods and styles, and their ability to adapt to musical genres and reinvent them has given them a unique style. Los Sanders de Ñaña reflect a Lima that was transforming, giving way to a new face and a new urban soundtrack.

In the universe of Peruvian tropical music, one can distinguish a wide variety of styles. One of the most unique is known as the “carretero” style, also referred to as the “Carretera Central” sound, which alludes to the sound developed by a series of musical groups that became known during the 1970s in the areas surrounding this major highway. At that time, this area received a large influx of migrants from the provinces who came to the capital in search of a better future. The initiators of this carretero style were Los Sanders de Ñaña, and following them, other groups emerged, not only creating a unique style but also establishing a circuit.

Joyous, superb music; the real deal. Hotly recommended. Scintillating, masterful, roaring, classic Cubanismo, beautifully recorded in 2017 at the storied Areito Studio in Havana.

Descargas, jazz, boogaloo, son… and some ritual music to bring the curtain down. You’ll find yourself hungry for more.

The musicianship is dazzling in every corner of the orchestra; set on fire by the timbales of Changuito (from Los Van Van), and booted along by a hard-swinging, full brass section led by trumpeter Julito Padron, graduate of the legendary septet Nacional de Igacio Pinero, and later Irakere. The sound is steeped in tradition but by no means stuck in the past.

The vinyl is beautifully presented in a heavyweight, high-gloss gatefold.

Sweet soul and sentimental music has never really gone out of style, and in the particular cases of the innovative wave of 1950's filin era Cuban boleros, or 1960's Nuyorican street soul, they both remain a thriving beacon of timelessness and universality, capturing a particular style of breezy Caribbean romantic music that has stubbornly thrived in the tough concrete landscape of New York City.
Perhaps there is some love in the heart of the city, as the new ensemble La Triunfadora has managed to tap into something of significant substance on their debut recording, Clasicos Sentimentales Para Una Nueva Generación. Co-produced by band leader Benjamin R. Juliá and renowned talent William Holland aka Quantic (recorded and mixed at the latter's Selva Recording studio in Brooklyn), the group has managed to capture the essence of this reemerging style of classic music, while further injecting their own inspired vision of experimental and psychedelic arrangements.
On A-side display for this debut 7-inch release on Names You Can Trust are two canonized Cuban boleros from maestro composer and guitarist Cesar Portillo De La Luz, stacked together in an old school continuous medley, and transformed with lush orchestration that has the talented musicians sparkling behind the duet of lead vocalists Candace Camacho and bandleader Juliá.
The B-side jumps from 1950's filin into Ralfi Pagan's iconic 1969 latin soul masterpiece "Hijo De Mama." Once again La Triunfadora peppers in just enough exquisite arrangements and musicianship to transform the original into something fresh, yet still guided from an analog sensibility, and ultimately performed with a familiar romanticism that these classic lovers' songs have managed to express over the decades to different generations.

Emerging from the Oakland underground and the ever-expanding Bay Area cumbia scene, Ritmos Tropicosmos delivers this debut 8-song LP for Summer 2024 on Econo Jam Records. Song subjects range from the purgatory of the unknown, to love/loss and family with lyrics by lead vocalist Eli Reyes and percussionist/vocalist Lesli Rodriguez. With several hard-hitting instrumentals on tap as well, the groove is ever-present, with a constant ear towards experimental sounds and cosmically drenched psychedelia. Band members have a long history in the Bay Area music scene with players from the cumbia, noise, rock, and electronic music communities. Live shows have been described as “how you might imagine a party in the underworld” (Nastia Voynovskaya, Kqed). This record aims to capture the playful but deep-burning energy of the band’s live performances and maybe to even take it one step beyond.

Here it comes the first tropical Uluru! The A side sees an instant classic from uprising french producer Yeahman! Produced in 2016, this jewel sees the light for the first time on a 7” and featured some “badman” lyrics on a crispy cumbia beat. On the b side we welcome to the label Austrian trio Restless Leg Syndrome with a classic cumbia re-work called Hornrace. Pull up guaranteed! Pressed on high quality black and turquoise vinyl (38 gr.) Edition of 500, coming with “hand stamped” paper sleeves.

The latest Mariposas Del Alma single "La Oaklandesa" a tribute to the Cumbia scene in Oakland/Bay Area. Also features "La Morena Sonidera" with Philthy Dronez & Wilson Posada on vocals y Ivan del Acordeon laying down the melodies. Puro Sabor Sonidero!!

The Discos Reseca Collective is a collective of songwriters and musicians whose sounds are distinctly from the Bay Area: mixing traditional cumbias with hip-hop and oldies, honoring the band members’ roots while providing a solid party soundtrack. Based in the Bay Area (Oakland, East Bay), Mariposas Del Alma are fronted by the Meza-Blanco Sisters. Jasmin, Nathaly, and Marina captivate the audience with their soulful vocals and powerful harmonies. Having grown up in a home with a musician father, and a lineage (Maternal Grandfather) that traces back to the days of the Trios all throughout Latin America—it was only natural that the sisters became the amazing vocalists they are today. "Music by the collective Discos Resaca—Spanish for hangover—leaves listeners feeling anything but zapped. The family of Bay Area musicians specializes in cumbia—the popular, accordion-forward and rhythmically percussive genre of Latin music with variations from Colombia, Peru, Mexico and beyond... Y Te Cuento (And I’ll Tell You) is full of powerful stories, a traditional feature of cumbia. Some songs tell tall tales (“Chupacabra”), others big up their communities throughout the Bay (“Cumbia de San Jose” and “San Juan”) and several tell the history of the area’s cumbia movement (“Movimiento De Cumbia”). The album’s love songs meld boleros, corridos, cumbia and cha-cha with mid-tempo soul, forming a familiar aural history."—KQED

Imagine a Latin remake of Back to the Future. The mad scientist is Arsenio Rodriguez (the godfather of salsa) and the young student who travels through time with him is Eblis Alvarez (Meridian Brothers). This album can only be described as the perfect soundtrack for that movie that never was.

After the massive buzz generated by his first solo album, Mentallogenic, Alex Figueira got back in the studio to work in a more collective fashion this time, carefully assembling the second album of his largest project to date, Conjunto Papa Upa; a team of 6 musicians, spanning 3 generations of some of the best talent in the Latin and avant-garde scenes.

In an era where tropical music is dominated by purely electronic and rhythmically uniform sounds, the ten songs encompassed in “Fruta Madura” (“Ripe Fruit”) wander through the most diverse tempos, rhythms, and motifs effortlessly. A real breath of fresh air that gracefully incorporates soul, funk, jazz, psychedelia, and electronics into a solid tropical, irresistibly polyrhythmic foundation, without ever succumbing to the many genre clichés.

The distinctive production and catchy songwriting of Figueira shine in a very distinctive light on this second full-length. Living up to his reputation (Miles Cleret, founder of Soundway Records, called him “one of the scene's truly authentic and eccentric producers”), he takes the opportunity to show he’s not afraid to keep walking his own path.

Taking the band for a wild ride through the traditions of Africa, America, and the Caribbean; contrasting them with a ridiculously wide plethora of vintage, contemporary, and futuristic sounds, and pivoting on the exuberant musicality displayed by his musicians; the result leaves no doubt: this album is destined to be considered a future classic of the exciting tropical psychedelic music of the 21st century.

Addressing the most diverse themes in this new collection of songs, things take on a much more mature tone, as the title clearly suggests.

The opening track “El segundo es más sabroso” (“The second one is tastier”) sets the tone in the most assertive way imaginable, with the band boldly declaring, through multiple metaphorical references (laid upon a crazy mix of Dominican merengue, Detroit techno, classic and free jazz, dub, and electro), that the bar will be set higher with this second album.

The remaining compositions touch upon the most diverse subjects, with a fair dose of humor, sarcasm, and postmodern “magic realism”. “El Algoritmo” (The Algorithm) is a parranda-cumbia hybrid (for lack of a specific term) about the omnipresence of technology in our lives. The sophisticated Latin soul of the titling track “Fruta Madura” makes a case for the beauty of the maturity process. Some key philosophical teachings of Marcus Aurelius (the role of causality, the impositions of “the logos” and the importance of self-control) get a twisted cumbia treatment on “Reos del Deseo” (Prisoners of Desire). “No le pongas Coca-Cola” (“Don’t put Coca Cola in it”) shows us the most satirical side of the band, accusing those who mix Coca Cola with Rum of committing "sacrilege", on a powerful base of Dem Bow (the grandfather of Reggaeton), intertwined with touches of soul, salsa, and Cuban comparsa.

"Háblame Claro" (“Talk to me clearly”) is a story of heartbreak that evokes in its first part the spirit of the erotic salsa of the 80s (a subgenre deeply despised by purists), and after an unexpected samba interlude, leads to the hardest salsa of the 70s (a subgenre adored by purists), to end up in the surprising form of pure Afro-Cuban ceremonial music.

“Tu mamá tenía razón” ("Your Mom Was Right") is an attempt to exalt the spirit of the Latin American soap opera in the key of “acid bachata”, to recount a real-life case, witnessed by the band on countless occasions: the partying woman who arrives at the show accompanied by her bitter husband, who obviously does not like to dance. A very cheeky song to talk about the very serious and pertinent topic of female empowerment.

“La misma vaina” (“The same thing”) with its indescribable blend of bantú, candomblé, and Mozambique rhythms with abstract synthesizers, is an ode to adventure in favor of the aversion to taking risks and seeking predictability.

“Amigas picadas” (“Salty friends”) is another humorous song recounting another real-life case witnessed by the band on countless occasions: a love encounter sabotaged by the girlfriend's friends, who all happen to fancy the same guy. A jazzy take on the ancient Dominican rhythm of pambiche (grandfather of merengue), with generous psychedelic touches, resembling the classy late 60s releases of Guadeloupe's legendary producer / label owner Henri Debs.

“Vinimos a hablar” (“We came to talk”) takes sarcasm to the highest level, to ridicule the absurdity (also experienced by the band firsthand) seen in live music venues where people pay a ticket to go and have conversations that could be carried out much better on any bar, where no band is playing. The music alternates between a delicate melody with loose, sparse percussion and a full-on, pumping Angolan semba, with a techno kick drum included; bringing things to an apotheotic grooving finale, where the peculiar swing of Venezuelan calypso from the Callao region is thrown on top of all the precedent elements; closing the album in the most uplifting, “end of the carnival parade” feel.

The artwork is a delicate and impactful oil painting by Colombian artist Kevin Simón Mancera, who has collaborated many times with the label before (“Maracas, tambourines and other hellish things” tape and the Lola’s Dice LP).

What the experts are saying:

“Alex (Figueira) dove into this work with a brutal cohesion between lyrics and synths. Timbre poetry, sound poetry (you name it). And that, superimposed on his always impeccable percussive base, confirms the title of “avant-garde visionary of our beautiful Latin music”". Eblis Alvarez (meridian Brothers) “Papa Upa's infectious quirkiness is a balm against boredom. A mature album, but without an expiration date”. Gladys Palmera

“Here there is a lot of strength, drum, cadence and psychedelia, lost dance rhythms, united in an intercontinental Latin/African/and Caribbean journey, a unique winning combination that we could consider the new “Ritmo Figueira”. Discodelic

To celebrate 10 years of one of London’s most loved underground club nights, Tangent, Mr Bongo are thrilled to launch this new compilation series. Crafted by its two residents, John Gómez and Nick the Record, it aims to transmit a taste of Tangent’s spirit. A party rooted in inclusivity and open-mindedness, whose name captures the spontaneous switches in musical direction that are a defining element of their nights. For the compilation, the pair have cherry-picked a selection of their prized, rare and dancefloor-ready tracks from around the globe, that have soundtracked the past decade of parties.

Friends for close to 20 years, music lovers, record obsessives and internationally renowned DJs in their own right, John and Nick have two lifetimes worth of musical knowledge to draw from. John a long-standing NTS Radio resident and compiler for Music From Memory. Nick one of the UK’s go-to record dealers, resident DJ since the ‘90s at one of Japan’s pioneering parties, Life Force, and co-captain / co-edit-expert of Record Mission with Dan Tyler (Idjut Boys).

In 2014, the pair decided to bring some of Life Force’s grassroots principles to the UK, whilst channelling underground clubbing institution Plastic People’s meticulous attitude to sound. Tangent grew from being a small gathering of friends, to an established fixture in London’s nightlife, whilst always maintaining a strict no guest DJ policy. “As London’s clubs have become increasingly reliant on international guests, we wanted to emphasize the importance of a club night growing through its residents”, John and Nick reflect. With 10 years of the duo at the helm, an intimate connection between DJ and dancefloor has been built, allowing for freedom of expression on both sides of the decks.

Tangent reaches around the globe and across different eras to make connections that stimulate emotional reverberations in the unfamiliar. Where the blissfully Balearic ‘Laberinto’ by Miguel Perikás, goes hand-in-hand with the Cameroonian hip-house of King B.’s ‘Love is Crazy’. The thundering ‘Amek Amek’ by L'Innovateur Djoe Ahmed et le Zoukabyle, rubs shoulders with the soulful Caribbean-influenced touch of Champagn’s ‘Bel Ti Négress’. And Pellegrin El Kady’s afro-cosmic ‘Seiva de Carnaval’, crosses paths with Kajou’s Kompa disco anthem ‘Tet Chajé’.

Tangent’s longevity is in part down to it having always embraced contemporary sounds. The sub-rattling bass of Srirajah Sound System’s stunning Molam dub stepper ‘Si Phan Don Lovers Rock’ and the slow, woozy mantra of leftfield dancehall explorer Androo’s ‘Lyriso’, are two shining examples.

This compilation represents an ongoing dialogue between past and present, transporting listeners to the heart of a pure musical experience, where open minds and open hearts are eager to follow the tangent.

Progressive quartet Combo Chimbita debut the first release on their own label with a track that combines their psychedelic tendencies with the rootsy elements of dub reggae filtered through the guacharaca and chicha-influenced guitar of cumbia. "Margarita" and its dub companion "Nene" comprise a sonically lush 7-inch single that represents the latest chapter in the ever-evolving Combo's sound. After a multi-year run that saw them grow from a loose improvisational collective into a compact, electrifying act that held enthralled concert halls in their hands, Combo Chimbita has entered a period of introspection and new experimentation. Turning to a producer who has been a guru of sorts to the Brooklyn scene, in late 2023 they entered the studio of Victor Axelrod, aka Ticklah, to record a couple new compositions. In contrast to the outward boundary-pushing of their last album, these new songs see the group burrowing deeply into their interior roots. "We wanted to make a song returning to cumbia, one of those rhythms that has influenced us," says frontwoman Carolina Oliveros. The added ingredient of Ticklah — a musician and producer heavily steeped in the sonic stew of reggae — overseeing the recording added a distinctive flavor to the session, and gave the group room to "play with the nuances between dub reggae and cumbia," as Oliveros puts it. "I like how the band brought in traditional Colombian elements, but never anything outright derivative," Ticklah says. "Margarita" inhabits a middle ground, an in-between area much like that of Abya Yala, an indigenous name for the isthmus that connects South and Central America and, not coincidentally, the namesake of the group's own newly formed label, of which this single is the first release. The metaphor runs deeper, as the group members' lives are lived between their Colombian heritage and their assumed status as immigrants in New York City (and, given their international fame, further beyond), and deeper still as the themes of displacement and mutable identity are threaded thru Oliveros's lyrics. The ambiguity of time, space, and meaning itself coalesce in the combination of those hair-raising, utterly soulful vocalizations — "what I cannot say by speaking," Oliveros explains — and the hypnotic rhythm born of the unspoken communication between Niño Lento, Prince Of Queens, and Dilemastronauta. The vocal version of "Margarita" is backed by a trademark Ticklah dub version of the cut ("Nene Dub"), awash in analog delays and King Tubby-like punch-ins and drop-outs, shot through with Oliveros's plaintive cries to "not worry" ("no te preocupes").

The compilation ‘Les Belgicains – Na Tango Ya Covadia 1964-1970’ (‘Les Belgicains’ during the time of Covadia 1964-1970) tells the remarkable story of the first Congolese student orchestras in Belgium. During that time Congolese referred to countrymen living in Belgium as ‘Les Belgicains’. The music presented on this compilation blew a new, fresh wind through the musical landscape of Congolese popular music under the supervision of the legendary editor and producer Nikiforos Cavvadias (Ngoma label)

The largest country in Africa is experiencing its early independence. During that period, Belgium invites many Congolese students to take classes at its universities. They are the future executives and ministers of the new republic. Out of a feeling of homesickness for their beautiful country, these students set up music groups. To dance and get carried away by the music the 45 rpm records they brought with them from Congo were too short. That is why they decide to bring live music to the events of the Congolese diaspora. Their own compositions are strongly influenced by their life in Belgium, resulting in a unique sound.

Nikiforos Cavvadias arrives in Belgium around the same time. At that moment he is one of the best-known editors and producers in Congo and he works for the Ngoma label based in Léopoldville. Niki is at the origin of the success of, among others: Antoine Mundanda, Léon Bukasa, Manuel d'Oliveira, Wendo Kolosoy... Due to the political instability in Congo, he permanently moved to Belgium with his wife and two children (1964). The student orchestras, like Los Nickelos and Yéyé National, are quickly noticed by Niki, who is looking for young, talented musicians to house under his new label Covadia.

You can hear the extraordinary result on this compilation!

This album is available in a deluxe vinyl edition with gatefold sleeve (1lp) + insert or a CD with a 24-page booklet. Both editions contain the story of 'Les Belgicains' and the Covadia label, with unique photos of the original orchestras. Renown sound engineer Roger Verbestel made the recordings between 1964 and 1968 in the recording studio Studio Madeleine in Brussels. All music has been remastered from the original master tapes.

Having spent their formative years in São Paulo Brazil, as a teenager, Lau Ro found themself uprooted from their home. Moving with their family to Europe in search of a better quality of life, their story was like that of many immigrants in the same position. Lau Ro’s parents found work in factories and cleaning jobs, for the first few years in the North of Italy and then in Brighton on England’s Southern coast. “We never managed to visit back home, so my connection to Brazil became largely made up of childhood memories and my fascination with all the 60s and 70s music I could find from there.

In Brighton, the young non-binary singer and composer would immerse themself amongst the city's vanguard of free-thinking artists and musicians. Lau Ro formed Wax Machine whose prefigurative, psychedelic community provided a glimmer of countercultural hope amid a backdrop of national political decline. From 2020-23, Wax Machine birthed three cult-favourite albums in as many years; indebted in part to their British psychedelic forebears from progressive folk, rock and jazz yore. But the kernel of Lau’s Brazilian sound was already beginning to blossom across Wax Machine’s releases. Now, taking root deeper still, Lau Ro steps forward with their debut album: Cabana.

Named after the small wood cabin at the bottom of their garden where the album was recorded, Cabana is a deeply personal record of memory, self-discovery and imagination. Melancholy and hope combine across ten tracks of dreamy bossa, ambient folk, fuzzy tropicalia and majestic MPB. The music is swathed in masterful string arrangements and trippy electronics in equal part, while Lau Ro’s delicate, yet quietly confident voice takes acerbic aim (in both English and Portuguese) at polluted city life, while dreaming of a utopia, rich with nature and wildlife.

Like the musical equivalent of semantic drift, Lau Ro’s displacement led to the creation of another Brazil. A mythic place in Lau’s soul, as they put it, “where the sunshine and joy of my childhood remained untapped.” Lau continues: “It’s music that might sound as if it came out of a parallel universe Brazil, rather than its modern day landscape. I am nowadays rediscovering Brazil, going back as often as I can and trying to stay connected to these different parts of the world and myself.”

For the next reissue in Mr Bongo’s Cuban Classics series, we look to Raúl Gómez’s entrancing 1977 Instrumental album. Presenting a unique blend of orchestral disco and jazz-funk, with Afro-Cuban flavours and soundtrack influences, it’s rich with drum breaks, energy and evolving compositions. A record that forever keeps you guessing, powered by an exemplary orchestra at the top of their game.

Cuban composer and singer Raúl Gómez is most known for featuring in the groups Mirtha Y Raul and Los Bucaneros alongside producing the Cuban classic Los Reyes 73 album, amongst a whole host of other incredible productions over the years. Released on Cuba’s state-owned label Areito, Instrumental sees Gómez not only as an instrumentalist and author, but also as a producer and arranger.

It's an album that deftly evades pigeonholing. Floating between instrumental mood music and library/soundtrack mastery, followed by explosions of cosmic-Latin funk, psych guitar workouts and compositions that reflect the orchestrated disco coming out of the US at the time, from greats such as Love Unlimited or Mfsb. Lace that together with a healthy serving of Afro-Cuban magic to underpin the tracks and it’s a recipe for a record that captivates from start to finish.

Predominantly an instrumental album as the title suggests, the record showcases the Orquesta Egrem in full flow, soaring strings and vibrant horns at every turn. Highlights include 'Mi Samba Carnaval' with its breathtaking drum break, bubbling synths and sublime arrangements and the romantic film music impressions of ‘Tema De La Sierra', that have been a sampling source for many a producer. Elsewhere, ‘6 Son’ is a mind-melding psych guitar powerhouse, with 'Dacapo', written by Gilberto Peralta, offering up a slice of atmospheric and energetic Latin shuffle. One of only a handful of tracks where scat vocals compliment the orchestral tones, a Brazilian percussion theme marries with dancefloor sensibilities for a dose of feel-good, brilliance.

A wide-ranging, multi-dimensional release, Instrumental exhibits musicianship, composition and creativity at its finest and demonstrates another key example of the rich output of music that flowed from the island of Cuba post revolution.

Schema Records presents “Riviera”, the new album by Toco, one of the Milan-based label’s top artists with over 100 million digital streams, is finally released on 19 April 2024. “Riviera” pays tribute to the places where Toco grew up, and is the aesthetic synthesis of Toco’s varied songwriting, able to create true musical mosaics that mix pop lightness, poetic lyricism, desire, joy and pain. Mainly inspired by the tradition of samba and bossa nova, and contaminated with jazz, funk, pop and rock, the album alternates light and shadow in a balanced chiaroscuro enriched by friend and musical partner Stefano “S-Tone Inc.” Tirone’s production.

Anticipated by a series of singles that outlined its various facets and musical influences, Toco’s new album “Riviera” is finally released on 19 April 2024; ten years have passed since “Memoria”, filled with various collaborations and dedicated to this record itself, carefully curated in production and arrangements down to the smallest detail; this has been made possible thanks also to the presence of a large lineup of guests, including Toco’s labelmate Gianluca Petrella for the first time ever. The album’s title is a tribute to two places very dear to Toco: Riviera is the neighborhood in São Paulo where he spent his childhood, while Riviera Ligure is where he lived for a long time in Italy: two opposite shores and cultures that turned out to be fundamental in the artist’s formation. “Riviera” is the aesthetic synthesis of Toco’s varied songwriting, able to create true musical mosaics that mix pop lightness, poetic lyricism, desire, joy and pain. Mainly inspired by the tradition of samba and bossa nova, and contaminated with jazz, funk, pop and rock, the al¬bum alternates light and shadow in a balanced chiaroscuro enriched by friend and musical partner Stefano “S-Tone Inc.” Tirone’s production. This collaboration further consolidates the duo’s fellowship that brush¬es magical sonorities on the different themes delivered. An excellent comeback!

Irresistible Brazilian blues reggae from the heart of the Amazon rainforest. A psychedelic guarana induced trip and ode to the fading indigenous cultures and shifting hegemony in Brazil. This one-off release by Manaus native Natacha Fink was originally written in 1986 as the lead track on Nossa Musica - a compilation celebrating regional music from the Amazon. Emerging out of the dictatorship, Natacha and her fellow artists rejected the aesthetic standards driven by internal colonialism and sought out new ways to express themselves away from the styles of the dominant Rio-São Paulo axis. What surfaced was a melodic blend of genres, with Natacha’s haunting vocals and playful lyrics gliding over an arrangement of guitars and double bass. Vocal backing is led by Torrinho, well known for his layered composition style, whose song ‘Porto de Lenha’ is recognised throughout Amazonas as an unofficial anthem. Hidden within the Amazon, Pirarublue lies in that wonderful space between innocence and honesty. Proudly exploring cultural and ecological spaces through a refreshing, ghostly infectious groove. For fans of Gal Costa, Elis Regina, Chico César, Jorge Ben Jor and Joni Mitchell.

Accompanying Natacha’s beguiling single is the field recording “Unseen Songlines” by artist and academic Nimalan Yoganathan. The composition immerses the listener in the soundscapes of Mamori Lake, a remote village inside the Brazilian Amazon. Nimalan explores the ambiguous perception of sounds emanating from the dense rainforest and deep beneath the Amazon River, where we hear the sounds but cannot see their sources: an acousmatic concert performed by the rainforest itself. Processed field recordings of birds and frogs, as well as underwater hydrophone recordings of dolphins and fish subtly weave throughout electroacoustic textures and beats. The listener is invited to hone in on the musical subtleties hidden throughout the environment. The compositional methods employed in this piece draw on the concepts of sonic rupture, presence, absence and memory found in the dub music tradition.

This limited edition 7” by Sticky Buttons puts these two outlying works together for a unique listening experience, combining the human and more-than-human experience of life at the heart of Brazil. Both uniquely Amazonian but with a universal appeal.

I am Álvaro Sosa, a bassist musician originally from Cd. Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico, where I grew up and which remains my home to this day. Since my childhood, I have felt a great passion for music, exploring various rhythms and genres. However, Latin rhythms have always been a fundamental part of my life, thanks to the influence of my family. Although I didn't admit it at first, I understood that these rhythms were part of my identity and were rooted in my roots. Approximately 10 years ago, the idea of a Jamaican music project arose in my mind, an inspiration that grew up since I discovered these rhythms that I fell in love with. This music fueled my desire to play an instrument, consolidating my dedication to this beautiful profession. However, due to my development as a musician and resource limitations at the time, I was unable to shape the project. My love for Jamaican music persisted, and accepting that I could not replicate its authentic sound, I decided to fuse the Latin rhythms I have known since my childhood, with Jamaican music. This is how the project was born, impregnated with that Latin essence, evident in each song and in the session format that gives me the freedom to collaborate with musicians I admire. The challenge for this year is to bring the project to live stages, an idea that was not initially in my plans, but given the demand of those who appreciate the project, I am willing to make it a reality. The new album follows the same concept as the first, a journey through Latin American Ska with some Reggae and Rocksteady as well, maintaining the essence of The Jamming Sessions. It includes new collaborations, more solid arrangements and an improvement in recording quality, because a work done with love and respect deserves the best. I’m sure that those who enjoyed Vol.1 will fall in love with Vol.2. Featuring 11 flavored songs, this album represents my musical passion evolution.

Reunion's major musical genre, Maloya, becomes "gazé" (crazy) through the sounds composed by Grèn Sémé for this new EP. A gassed maloya that combines direct inspiration from the purest line of this traditional réunionese music with the highly contemporary evolution that is the Grèn Sémé group's signature. Composed during the studio sessions for their latest album, "Zamroza", the first three tracks on this new EP reveal the sunny side of the Creole band. You can taste their love of lyrics and their thirst for discovery. And the right mix of compositions. Inspired by the tradition of the greatest song/percussion pieces in the island's history, Grèn Sémé offers three anthems that lend themselves perfectly to the remix exercise.

Deluxe bonus: the 3 Remixes of Voilaaa + La Dame + Guiss Guiss Bou bess Voilaaa and the fabulous Bruno Patchworks take on "Siko" to create a Cape Verdean ballroom hit. funana with its heady melodies, it's ultra danceable! La Dame, producer and DJ from Belgium, remixes the eponymous track into an effective batida for the dancefloor, DJs and dancers alike.

Guiss Guiss Bou Bess take remixing a step further, adding Senegalese sabars and the vocals of group leader Mara Seck to Carlo de Sacco's Alkol.

Bruno Berle, the young songwriter and poet originally hailing from Maceió, the capital of Brazil’s Alagoas state, crafts songs that are simple, direct, and full of tender nuance. With his first album No Reino Dos Afetos (which translates to "In the Realm of Affections” and was released in 2022), Berle firmly established himself as a unique and important voice in the burgeoning scene of new Brazilian artists making a global impact, including peers like Ana Frango Elétrico, Tim Bernardes, Bala Desejo, Sessa and more. Now back with his second album, No Reino Dos Afetos 2, he stretches that further.

Bruno Berle’s music lives between two worlds – a traditional Brazilian folk talent steeped in history, and a contemporary, dreamy electronic pop; the result is songwriting that’s genre-bending, intentional, iconoclastic and consuming, spacious and sinewy and singular, a striking reflection of its composer while leaving space for the listener to settle in. The album follows Bruno’s relocation to São Paulo, and the songs are a reflection of his past and present. A rebuke of former categorizations of his work in Brazilian music scenes, and an idea of where his music can move, unfettered.

Berle’s music is purposeful in being a true portrait of himself, and a reflection of the music, art, and fashion scenes he personally moves through. Berle aims to provide an entrypoint for Black queer joy in his music, in his storytelling, in his presence and vision as a creative. For him, it feels subversive to be playing MPB laced with dubstep and lo-fi, a sort of intentional sacrilege, capturing a dialogue of modernity in traditional music.

Berle wrote most of the arrangements and co-produced his new album, Reino Dos Afetos 2 with longtime friend and musical partner Batata Boy, who is also from Maceió; the album was recorded in Rio de Janeiro, Maceió, and São Paulo, his new home, and picks up the conversation begun in 2022 on Berle’s debut album No Reino dos Afetos. Both records are the result of a nonlinear but coherent seven-year music creation process culminating in these albums, holding hands across space and time.

“Tirolirole,” the first single from the record, was released at the end of 2023; sun-soaked rhythms and soft voice coat the song, the lilting refrain of “Tirolirole” throughout – hushed, gentle, but somehow almost tactile, a golden-hour moment unlocked in the mind. “Tirolirole” is a triumphant future classic about the temporality of a blossoming love, with Bruno’s stunning vocal soaring over melodies which ebb and flow like the waters on the Atlantic shore. Of the track, Berle explains: “Despite ‘Tirolirole’ being an expression that evokes my childhood, just like the light words about nature, the harmony, and the poetry are epic, carrying a great hope for love.”

In fact, the guiding theme of No Reino dos Afetos 2 is a relationship, unfolding in the arc of a weekend. It traverses the innocence of an early young love, how that can be formative, can stretch on to take new shapes, or shape you. The album happens at the genesis of meeting someone and falling for them, before the relationship is thrown into overdrive – set in a big city, against a backdrop of major life changes, rising energy, the sound of São Paulo.

Something transcendental emerges in “Dizer Adeus,” with an arrangement that echoes a gospel atmosphere (evangelical and Catholic environments were pivotal to Berle’s upbringing). On “É Só Você Chegar,” piano and flute gracefully intertwine, a dance, while “Quando Penso” skews sparser, the voice-and-guitar minimalism somehow cultivating an entirely different shape – somehow both cozy and melancholy, with the background sound of a rainy day. Coupled with the lo-fi aspects that shape much of the album’s personality in the vocals and the production, No Reino Dos Afetos 2 is meticulously elaborated by Berle’s sonic alchemy, like on the mid-album instrumental “Sonho,” which feels like floating. “It’s the apex. It’s when lovers are sleeping together,” Berle explains of the feeling he wanted to encapsulate in the song.

On “Love Comes Back” Berle interprets Arthur Russell, the late Iowa musician who only reached greater visibility after he died in 1992. “His way of making music is similar to mine,” Berle explains. “He sings in a more fragile way, has more of an experimental way of recording, letting ‘chance’ appear in the final work.”

Even so, Berle doesn’t want his music to be buried in sentimentality – and the purposefulness of his craft serves as a sort of north star. The production, the arrangements, his restraint and intentionality in crafting his songs feel just as vital as their emotional cores. His songwriting is amorphous, fluid, an encompassing genre-bending movement in-and-of-itself, quietly daring. The songs are often in conversation with other works – drinking in fountains as diverse as the filmmaking of Ingmar Bergman, the poetry of Walt Whitman, the rhythm of Djavan, and the painting of Maxwell Alexandre. Musically he weaves together a rich tapestry of Brazilian folk, UK 2-step garage/dub, trip hop and sun soaked west coast songwriters; something akin to the worlds of Milton Nascimento, Arthur Russell, James Blake, Feist, and Sade colliding into one. But even then No Reino Dos Afetos 2 floats separately, a romanticism driven by a simplicity and intimacy, an open-ended possibility, Berle’s singularity as an artist at the helm of the ship.