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The vinyl is dense with scuffs, marks and scratches. Cover with completely open seam splits, tape and shelf wear. Cuban pressing

In the 80s, Dimas “Sam Dimas” Pedroza was encouraged with two atypical projects. One in partnership with the great Larry Francia, another artist released by El Palmas Music, and titled La salsa es con Dimas y Larry. And the other with an orchestra of great artists of the time that El Palmas also proudly relaunches in 2024: Sam Dimas and La Diferente’s El Tumbao…, with songs by prestigious authors such as Joseíto Fernández and José González Giralt and arrangements by the renowned trombonist Rafael Silva.

It is worth mentioning the great musicians that Dimas Pedroza summoned for this album: Rafael Araujo, Lewis Vargas and Gustavo Aranguren (trumpets), Carlos Espinoza and Rafael Silva (trombones), José Ávila (piano), Rafael Prado (bass), Pedro Viloria (timbales, güiro), Williams (congas), Nene Pacheco (bongo, drum), Leo Pacheco, Rafael Silva and Rafael Prado (choirs). There were also some special guests: Alfredo Pollo Gil and Manuel Icazas (trumpets), Oscar Mendoza (trombone), Joe Santamaría and Chucho Chuchochi (timbal) and Edwin Infante (maracas). Sam Dimas y La Diferente’s El Tumbao… is an album that Dimas - who is 80 years old today and still lives in Caracas - never presented live. One of those hidden gems in the history of salsa that El Palmas is dedicated to rescuing to continue reconstructing the memory of Venezuelan popular music, one of its main objectives. At the time of its appearance it did not receive the attention it deserved, perhaps because at first glance you can only see the surface. “I met Dimas through Roberto Monserrat on Radio Emisora Venezuela. He was from La Pastora, San José, and worked in a hospital - says Federico Betancourt in the book La salsa de Federico Betancourt y su Combo Latino, published by the Editorial Foundation El perro y la rana -. They invited him to one of the Combo Latino rehearsals and he came. Honestly, at first I was very impressed by the timbre and the way he sang, but Monserrat and the other members of Combo Latino thought it was good and they convinced me to leave him in the group. The day of recording our first LP arrived and I listened to Dimas again and then I said to myself: “Damn, this dude really sings well! You should never get carried away by your first impression.”

Jesús Gómez y su Grupo has been a vinyl jewel impossible to find for decades, a musical treasure ahead of its time with a prodigious voice. Jesús Gómez had not even reached the age of majority when he embarked on the adventure of recording and producing his own album, bringing together songs from the main Afro-Latin rhythms of the moment to which he contributed all his fantastic explosion of creativity. Not long ago, he had earned the epithet of "The Child Prodigy of the Song" which led him to explore and gain experiences in the paths of music since his youth, a passion, but also a craft, that his mother had instilled in him since his childhood and that he shared with other members of his family. Different rhythms, styles, and learnings hardened Jesús so that at only 17 years old he could deliver such a fantastic work, a clairvoyant sound of pure “Salsa” even before it became fashionable to call this type of music that way.

Mythical visits by artists and orchestras from the Caribbean were a catalyst for the appearance of national Venezuelan representatives with a higher professional level who had been working on Afro-Caribbean and Venezuelan rhythms since the 1930s, leaving an indelible mark such as Sonora Caracas, among others. Almost 40 years later, in 1967, as a result of this tradition, a modern and fierce work like this album would be possible, a direct, energetic, rhythmic declaration full of flavors of Guaguancó, Bolero, Descarga, Rumba, and even Guaracha. This base is the hyper fertile ground for the even more fantastic voice of Jesús, with high tones and extreme clarity, perfectly tuned and colorful, a characteristic that will accompany him throughout his life, a blessing, one could say.

Typical of the restless spirit that can be glimpsed on this album, he intertwines rhythms within rhythms, as happens in the singular and mythical “Loca ilusión” that goes from Bolero to Salsa Brava, a turn that leaves a reasonably psychedelic feeling. Let's not forget that we are in a period prior to what would be the canonical Salsa, even since then, this young Venezuelan, at the sound level, was already fluttering over the molasses of the trombones. A gem like “False Love” could get any dance floor on fire right now, a hot guaguancó that should be part of the vault of any Latin music DJ along with the greatest classics like “Tirándote Flores”.

Jesús Gómez is not one to fall short, neither in style nor in rhythm, a true artist from the beginning he also includes Surf and Bossanova pieces, taking his work to other territories without fear. Jesús Gómez y su Grupo was perhaps the definitive step that opened all the doors of a brilliant career for this young man, he would go on to collaborate almost from that moment with countless nationally and internationally renowned orchestras and artists, including Sonora Caracas itself, already historic and still standing at the moment.

If this album reaches your hands, you will have a treasure in it, since it is among the most sought-after in the history of Caribbean music, it has taken El Palmas Music more than 1 year of work to be able to reissue this jewel so that it can finally be accessible to the world while possible, a key piece in the history of salsa in Venezuela and a jewel for the world available maybe for a limited time.

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.

Introducing the next release in Names You Can Trust's long-running collaboration with the prolific and symbiotic musical universe of Bogotá, Colombia. Mau Gatiyo y Los Años Maravillosos formed in 2021, arising from the very same fertile ground of the Teusaquillo neighborhood that has spawned many records and musical mischievousness. At the heart of this experimental movement is what can only be described asTropicanibalismo, where a deep hunger for the roots of Colombian tropical music are only satiated by dissecting it, consuming it and ultimately creating something new again as some kind of untraditional, unholy, and yet referential form of musical sustenance.
Within this concept, there's a clear lineage of inspired and visionary artists that have been featured throughout Nyct's record catalog for the last 15 years that includes luminaries Frente Cumbiero, Meridian Brothers, and Romperayo. Each of these artists' tentacles have touched several parallel projects from their talented neighbors and friends, and whether through production, playing, engineering, or mixing, these collaborations have heavily contributed to a very fruitful and colorful scene that could only exist within Colombia's capital, while also gaining notoriety in the nooks and crannies of northern latitudes like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Mau Gatiyo, a talented accordian player and vocalist, together with his group (translated as The Wonder Years), is precisely one of these projects, a collective that has found their calling in the echoes of thevallenatosandcumbiasthat once populated the nation's airwaves throughout the 20th century. It's a traditional format that has always lent itself to storytelling, whether it be anecdotes about daily life, or using one's voice to raise uncomfortable questions in protest against the system. This is where Mau Gatiyo's poetic, almostnew wavetimbre finds a lane of its own, straddling a 2020s societal landscape under the guise of ostensibly old-time accordion music.
The debut 7-inch from the group, an excerpt from their recently released album Baño Unisex, was recorded at Mambo Negro studios by Ivan Medellin (La Sonora Mazurén) and mixed by Eblis Alvarez of Meridian Brothers, both familiar names and contributors to the Nyct catalog. Alvarez himself, who has emerged in recent years as an international beacon of this new tropical avant-garde, is no stranger to flipping traditional styles on their head, or at least respectfully off-kilter. Mau Gatiyo y sus Años Maravillosos proves to be another great vessel for this veryBogotano expression, draping the classical playing of its group members in a modern day cosmopolitan expression of righteousness, both outwardly in their dashing, performative fashion sense, and lyrically with their cheeky "420, Reloj"ganja-tune promotion – or even their outward dissenter objections to paramilitary and firearm power in "Poder Militar."
Ultimately, these songs lie at the crossroads where two cultural eras connect and become something unique, a protestation one with performance, dance, and artistic expression. This cathartic ritual of protest has a storied history in music, and these two new entries into the Nyct catalog will hopefully find their place amongst a modern day canon, or at the very least, have your feet moving and your head nodding in just approval.

To hear the quintessential synthesized sounds of "El Hombre Orquesta" aka Ricardo Suntaxi is analogous to studying the detailed schematics of your favorite electronic contraption. For the initiated, it's a peek under the proverbial hood, an invitation into the engine of a sound and color that has played a part in powering and defining a treasure trove of modern Latin American sound-system music.

It's often a good sign when one of your favorite musicians steps out from beyond the studio walls and past the stage lights to fulfill their own inspired and creative intent. And Caíto Sánchez is not just a favorite musician, but as his lengthy resume as a sideman shows, he's also one of your favorite musicians' favorite musicians, constantly working without fanfare as an essential ingredient in a larger music feast. Sánchez earned his stripes in the 2000s and beyond as a key session player and an integral touring band member, a quiet standout even among many oversized personalities. A dedicated drummer born in Panama and living in New York, Sánchez is quite capable of keeping time for legends like Charles Bradley, Lee Fields, and Brian Jackson, as well as supporting eclectic outfits like the live groups of Quantic, Chico Mann and Midnight Magic. For all the players who have shared a stage or studio with him it comes as no real surprise, and frankly as a long overdue development, that such a unique artistic force is finally stepping into the spotlight.
With this debut single we get a glimpse into Sánchez's creative and artistic personal space, more precisely a multi-instrumental discipline of not only drums, but also bass, guitar and lead voice. It's an intensely intimate recording debut, a fantastic studio concoction born from the heart of its creator, and later fostered and mixed down by the talented hands of Nyct and Daptone veteran Victor Axelrod. The defining result on this initial 7-inch offering are two heavy psychedelic and moody nuggets of rock enespañol, a decidedly new wave of sounds and style that are quite capable of shining on their own.

Originally released in 1992 and heavily sought after since, this 3rd album of brazilian artist Bruno Nunes aka Brunno is now reissued by Notes on a Journey

Manoel Germano Filho (better known as Germannu) was born into a family of cocoa farm owners on January 11th, 1955 in Linhares, Espirito Santo, Brazil. He was the second born of three children, but refusing to buy into the stereotype of the forgotten middle child, it took just a few guitar chords, learnt at the age of 15, to start him on his musical path. (The chords were taught to Manoel by his much-revered older sister, Germana, which she, in turn, had learned playing religious songs at Catholic school).

Manoel started his foray into education by following in his family’s footsteps, earning his agronomy degree at the Federal University of Viçosa in the state of Minas Gerais. Yet it was music rather than soil that held his heart, and after a chance meeting with Milton Nascimento, one of Brazil’s biggest musical icons — both back then and today — he threw himself into the Minas music scene, burgeoned as it was by student movements and local music festivals.

Manoel’s attempts to bring his music to the general public were abruptly derailed by the death of his father. Shortly after graduating, his dreams were put on hold and he found himself back in his hometown of Espirito Santo taking care of the family’s business affairs. It didn’t take long for though for the music to win over, and soon after he invested a considerable sum of his earnings in musical instruments and sound equipment, as well as a mobile trailer which he used as a tour bus, setting out to perform in towns in the region.

Names You Can Trust presents the debut release from Netherlands-based group Lola's Dice, an ensemble born and battle-tested by years of punk and hard rock before fusing into its current form, a consolidated tropical-rock rhythm machine. Fueled in equal parts by the group's South American roots in Venezuela and Chile, and the creative freedom of their long-time home in Amsterdam, the band's evolution has resulted in music that is a pure body-moving delight — a fuzzy blend of guitars, synths and musical sabor that is very much rooted in the percussive sounds of Latin America, yet still comfortable in its punk-ethos vandalization of tradition and status quo. Helping to guide the band in this first studio recording is the talented touch of percussion maestro and engineering wiz Alex Figueira (Fumaça Preta, Conjunto Papa Upa) at his Barracão Sounds studio in Amsterdam. The resulting 4-track EP is a perfect match of genre-defying psychedelic madness and Caribbean cool.

2021 reissue.

Cover and vinyl are close to NM. 2020 reissue. Deluxe edition.

Although perhaps not a household name like Sergio Mendes, Marcos Valle or Flora Purim, Bororó is considered to be one of the most important and talented Brazilian musicians of his time. Taking his moniker from the indigenous people of his country, who live in the state of Mato Grosso, Bororó steadily built his career for well over a quarter of a century, along the way performing live and in the studio with such legends as Gal Costa, Milton Nascimento and Caetano Veloso.

Grupo Rebolu has been a mainstay in the extensive Colombian community of New York City for well over a decade, bringing the quintessential sounds of their home country to countless live shows and events throughout the five boroughs. Musically steeped in the folkloric traditions of the Afro-Caribbean discourse, the band has consistently combined first class musicianship with the echoes of their upbringing. Throughout their four self-produced albums, they have incorporated some of Colombia's most cherished traditions —gaita,cumbia, andbullerenguebeing just a few of the disciplines that Rebolu has infused with the modern songwriting and compositions of band leader Ronald Polo. As a natural step in the band's continued musical evolution, Rebolu has connected with Names You Can Trust for a one-off recording to deliver two original songs and productions that seamlessly fit the preferred format and the label's catalog, while further incorporating the group's sound into the wider NY musical spectrum. Whether it's champeta gone disco, or bullerengue gone reggae, this handy double-sided single packs a fresh take on the roots and traditions of Rebolu's musical lineage.

Although it is hard to explain why, it's unmistakeable that music's potence only parallels that of the fauna as one moves closer to the equatorial latitudes of this planet. Cachapas is a HANDy effort at exploring the dance-floor oriented sounds of the eastern Caribbean triangle formed amongst Colombia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic where rhythms and percussions have clearly taken new life forms in the production methods of Caribbean studios during the 90s. Taking the American ideas of “House” music and adulterating it in the most pleasantly bombastic ways, some producers have shown that Latin house not only exists outside of the US but it flourishes in the most amazing and unimaginable ways. A collection of 3 edits that celebrate Spanish speaking south Caribbean 90's house based productions re-edited and re-mixed in less orthodox manners. For promotional purposes only.

Since launching in early 2020, Claremont 56’s Claremont Editions series has served up two impeccably curated and lovingly curated compilations of label rarities, unheard archive cuts and brand-new music. Two years on from the release of the second volume, C56 boss Paul Murphy has finally got round to compiling a third instalment, and as you’d expect it’s full of attractive, sun-soaked treats.

The set introduces us to a handful of label debutants. German collective Neumayer Station, a group who emerged from the same musical and social circle as existing Claremont 56 artists Fürstattl, contribute two cuts: ‘Unterführung’, an evocative, low-slung, reverb-laden fusion of krautrock and horizontal psychedelic dream-pop featuring Fürstattl’s Frank Mollena and Patrick Göbel, and the subtly jazz-flecked krautrock hypnotism of ‘Crossings’, a cut whose atmospheric intent and well-placed dub delays make it undeniably Balearic.

Speaking of Balearic, experienced musical daydreamer Mike Salta finally makes his Claremont 56 bow, joining forces with regular collaborator Marty Mortale on the deliciously tactile, warming, electric piano-sporting sunset shuffle of ‘Seashore Redemption’. The final new addition to the C56 family is Taichi Arakawa, the DJ/producer behind Japan’s Café Goofy. His track, ‘Ocean Sunrise’, is a gorgeously dreamy and kaleidoscopic shuffle through drifting synth-sax, slow-motion beats, immersive pads and layered synthesizer melodies.

As with its predecessors, Claremont Editions Volume Three also boasts fresh, unreleased material from label stalwarts. Jpye, whose Samba With You album was one of the label’s highlights of 2021, once again joins forces with regular collaborator Renato – and newcomer Michael T – to deliver a dose of club-ready Balearic samba smothered in glistening jazz guitar licks, lazy synth solos and languid electric piano licks (‘Va Là-Bas).

Ferdi Schuster, who released his sole album to date on the label back in 2019, offers up the pastoral, folksy and hand percussion-heavy brilliance of ‘The Fuzz Version’, while C56’s own in-house trio, Hillside (aka Paul Murphy, Alex Searle and Patrick Dawes) deliver the utterly gorgeous and cinematic ‘Pole Vault’ – a delightful hat-tip to classic library music featuring brilliant brass and string arrangements from Michele Chiavarini.

Rounding off another excellent package are two remixes from the vaults: Bosq’s pitched-up, Latin-tinged Balearic jazz-funk interpretation of Hillside’s deeply personal and emotive ‘For Daniel’ (a revision previously only available digitally) and a previously unheard revision of Paqua’s ‘The Visitor’ from Idjut Boys’ Conrad McDonnell, a long-time friend of the label. His take is predictably magical and dubbed-out to the max, with Quinn Luke’s evocative vocals seemingly drifting above sparse, stripped-back beats, echoing guitars, hissing cymbals and hazy bass.

To complete the package, Claremont Editions Three features a specially commissioned cover painting from Andy Kehoe, an illustrator whose distinctively colourful, detailed and fantastical images are a perfect match for the vividly evocative music contained on the LP.

The b-side wins again! Sampled to fame by Madlib for the mighty Madvillain album!

The next release in the Mr Bongo Cuban Classics series, is one of Juan Pablo Torres' most-known and loved albums, the iconic Super Son from 1977. A wonderful record of tripped-out rumbas, psych-Afro-Latin funk and quirky orchestrated tracks with a big band horn section courtesy of Torres’ band, Algo Nuevo.

As well as being the director of Algo Nuevo and Cuban all-star ensemble Estrellas De Areito, the trombonist, bandleader, arranger and producer also released a wealth of albums under his own name predominately on the state-owned imprint Areito/EGREM.

Post-revolution, there was a contrast in Cuba’s musical world. State censorship was at play, but professional musicians were on the government payroll which gave them an artistic freedom. Experimentation emanated in the ‘70s and ‘80s and Super Son is a prime example of that. ‘Y Que Bien' kicks off the album taking you down a tripped-out, cosmic rabbithole, psych guitars and skat vocals opening up into a joyful funk groove laced with jazzy Afro-Cuban horns stabs. Tracks such as 'Pastel En Descarga' seem to come out of nowhere and are completely unique. Fuzzed-up guitar lines and percussion lay the groundwork, with those jubilant horns adding to the energy of this forever building track.

Elsewhere, there’s the ‘70s TV theme-tune feeling of 'Con Aji Guaguao', a playful funk number that boils and bubbles with blistering trombone playing by Torres. Or ‘Son A Propulsión' and ‘Son Riendo’, two more brilliant examples of psychedelic funk, wrapped up in a blanket of Afro-Cuban rhythms. The former sweeping you up in rushes of wind as trumpets, trombones and distorted guitars trade off, the latter, an intergalactic fiesta of tradition and exploration.

Super Son is up there as one of the funkiest Cuban records around, a playful fusion of ideas from a producer, player and group on fine form and, for us, one of our favourite gems to come out of Cuba in this period. A sheer masterpiece.

Many music fans will remember Jimmy Salcedo due to his wonderful work as arranger and producer with the duo Elia and Elizabeth in the early 70s. Their delicate songwriting acquired, after his treatment, a special Tropical aroma that even included the funk influences received by Salcedo at that time. He released with his band, La Onda Tres, a few LPs and singles that had a limited distribution, mainly in Colombia only. This anthology comprises a selection of songs that celebrate Salcedo's sound signature: a base of coastal funk with vocals and melodic bubblegum-bomb arrangements and hints of light psychedelia. Many of the compiled songs became popular radio hits in Colombia that Jimmy Salcedo and La Onda Tres recorded and arranged at the Zeida studios in Medellín.These recordings include Latin-jazz tracks ('Mira') with stunning percussion solos, songs recorded under a heavy Caribbean-soul influence ('¡Qué linda es Colombia!' and 'Lo mismo de siempre') 'Maranguango', an irresistible mix of Afrolatin percussion and catchy Tropical harmonies spiced up with moog keyboard sounds, fuzz and wah wah guitars and even touches of hammond, in a psychedelic funk style, an exhilarating moog driven instrumental with a heavy Afro-funk rhythm ('Moogambo') and revisited Latin classics ('Moliendo Café').Jimmy Salcedo's big popularity in Colombia is due however to his long career as TV presenter at 'El Show de Jimmy', running for over 20 years, where he would also perform with his band and act as a comedian. His life was tragically cut short and died in 1992, when he was only 48, due to health issues. This compilation celebrates his superb musical legacy and makes most of these songs available again for the first time.

Record Store Day 2020 Release.
Limitation: 1000 copies.

180g vinyl reissue of the mega rare Mexican-only Luiz Eτa album from 1970 in facsimile artwork and remastered sound.The Brazilian pianist and founder member of Tamba Trio is accompanied here by a large group of top-notchBrazilian musicians.

Special reissue of Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound-the self-titled Fania Records debut from one of the greatest salsa artists of all time. Originally released in 1970, the album not only showcased Roena's distinct new style through classic hits like "Tu Loco Loco, y Yo Tranquilo," "El Escapulario" and his popular rendition of "Soñando con Puerto Rico" (plus a handful of English-language covers, including Blood, Sweat & Tears' "Spinning Wheel") but also launched the bandleader, dancer and percussionist's prolific career.

Dionisio Ramon Emilio Valdés Amaro, better known as Bebo Valdés, was born in Cuba in 1918. He is considered one of the pivotal figures in Cuban music. Trained as a pianist, he also became a master arranged and conductor and worked with figures like Olga Guillot, Celia Cruz or Elena Burke. A trip to Haiti in the 1940s arised his interest in African rooted music, and on his return in La Havana, performing at the legendary Tropicana cabaret under the direction of Armando Romeu, he started including these rhythms in his sound becoming a prominent figure in Afro-Cuban jazz. He worked with big names like Joséphine Baker and Nat King Cole. He had been playing for ten years at the Tropicana when a bomb exploded very near his piano in the middle of his performance, he nearly died. He quit the Tropicana and benefited of the rising of television broadcast in the 1950s, getting even more fame in several Cuban TV shows until 1958, when he emigrated to Mexico first to finally set in Sweden, were he has Paramount in establishing a world taste for Afro-Cuban jazz. His career saw a big rebirth when in 1994 he teamed with saxophonist Paquito d’Rivera and, in a more mainstream way, with Fernando Trueba’s Calle 54 movie. He had kept busy since then until his passing in 2013. he is acknowledged as one of the originators of Latin Jazz and Afro-Cuban music.

Grupo Casabe can lay claim to being Ray Pérez’s last great group. Fresh from the successes of Los Dementes and Los Kenya, Pérez was at the forefront of salsa in the mid-70s, and still experimenting with música bailable and all the danceable hornblazing styles that were beginning to be known collectively as salsa. The finest tracks of this short-lived combo, active from 1974 until 1975, are now being celebrated by El Palmas Music on a new compilation simply titled Ray Pérez y El Grupo Casabe. Pérez was bandleader for an astonishing number of groups, which was partly due to his in-demand status, with each move to a new label meaning he needed a new band name. Such was the case with Ray Pérez y El Grupo Casabe, formed when CBS came calling. Their line-up built on his previous groups, with both a drum kit and percussion for additional power, with Pérez himself belting out those trusty piano montuños, however there was one significant change, with Pérez using saxophones for the first time, alongside his usual brass section of trumpets and trombones. With him for the ride were vocalists including Rodrigo Perdomo (brother of “El Negrito Calavén”, from Pérez’s earlier group, Los Calvos) and Rafael Morillo. The compilation begins with “María Antonia”, the first 7” Grupo Casabe released in 1974. Instantly, it’s clear why Pérez is so loved in salsa circles, for this is salsa of the highest order, the focus switching between piano, vocals and brass effortlessly, while the drums restlessly inject the song with energy; then there’s the breakdown, Rodrigo Perdomo stretching his vocals to a rasp and throwing the brass into an extended passage; suddenly, they stop and Ray, El Loco as he was affectionately known, lets loose with a piano solo that’s elegant in its efficiency, before the band return for one more trip round the salsateca. 1974 and 1975 were important years in the trajectory of salsa. It was this period when salsa became a collective name for urban orchestras playing Latin music styles like son, guaganco, mambo, cha-cha-cha and rumba. Though undoubtedly salsa – Ray was a “rey de salseros” after all – there is so much nuance in the music. “Campesino Nuestro” is a slow-building rural son, taking the Cuban countryside to the dancefloor; “Santa” and “Oye Nena” are twisting guaguancos, the former possessing one of Perdomo’s finest vocal performances, and the latter the finest showcase for the band, with percussion, brass and piano on fire. “La Reina”, a danzón, show that the band can do the slow numbers too, and then there’s “Sábado En La Tarde”, Perez’s take on surf with a melody seemingly taken from the finest Steve McQueen crime caper. There are few that come close to Ray Pérez for musical inventiveness and a sheer ability to keep dance floors moving. If Ray had been born and raised in New York then no doubt he’d be regarded as one of salsa’s pioneers. He’s had to work harder for his reputation, but there can be no doubt, he deserves to be one of the greats, and his work with Grupo Casabe is even more proof.

Rare Salsa/Soul gem produced by Joe Bataan, which has been out of print for 50 years. Vocals by Papo Felix. Remastered off original analog tapes. Limited to 500 units - splatter vinyl. Released on Ghetto Records in 1971, long out of print.

Record Store Day 2021 Release.

First ever reissue of the sixth album by Michi Sarmiento y sus Bravos, originally
released by Discos Fuentes in 1973. The LP includes several brilliant original songs
plus a number of excellent cover tunes, and a dizzyingly diverse mix of genres:
guanguancó, cumbelé, calypso, cumbión, rumba, paseo, gaita, merengue_ A tropical
Latin dance party! Presented in facsimile artwork and pressed on 180g vinyl.

Japanese pressing with OBI and insert. Cover and vinyl are close to NM.

Japanese pressing. With OBI and insert. Cover is close to NM.

Japanese pressing with OBI.

Japanese pressing with obi. close to NM

No obi.
Writing on cover.

The next release in the Mr Bongo Cuban Classics series, is one of Juan Pablo Torres' most-known and loved albums, the iconic Super Son from 1977. A wonderful record of tripped-out rumbas, psych-Afro-Latin funk and quirky orchestrated tracks with a big band horn section courtesy of Torres’ band, Algo Nuevo.

As well as being the director of Algo Nuevo and Cuban all-star ensemble Estrellas De Areito, the trombonist, bandleader, arranger and producer also released a wealth of albums under his own name predominately on the state-owned imprint Areito/EGREM.

Post-revolution, there was a contrast in Cuba’s musical world. State censorship was at play, but professional musicians were on the government payroll which gave them an artistic freedom. Experimentation emanated in the ‘70s and ‘80s and Super Son is a prime example of that. ‘Y Que Bien' kicks off the album taking you down a tripped-out, cosmic rabbithole, psych guitars and skat vocals opening up into a joyful funk groove laced with jazzy Afro-Cuban horns stabs. Tracks such as 'Pastel En Descarga' seem to come out of nowhere and are completely unique. Fuzzed-up guitar lines and percussion lay the groundwork, with those jubilant horns adding to the energy of this forever building track.

Elsewhere, there’s the ‘70s TV theme-tune feeling of 'Con Aji Guaguao', a playful funk number that boils and bubbles with blistering trombone playing by Torres. Or ‘Son A Propulsión' and ‘Son Riendo’, two more brilliant examples of psychedelic funk, wrapped up in a blanket of Afro-Cuban rhythms. The former sweeping you up in rushes of wind as trumpets, trombones and distorted guitars trade off, the latter, an intergalactic fiesta of tradition and exploration.

Super Son is up there as one of the funkiest Cuban records around, a playful fusion of ideas from a producer, player and group on fine form and, for us, one of our favourite gems to come out of Cuba in this period. A sheer masterpiece.

close to NM. Limited edition. Direct Disk. OBI is missing.

Som Imaginário are the stuff of MPB mythos. Integral to Brazil’s Clube Da Esquina movement in the early 1970s, a heady blend of progressive rock, folk, psychedelia, jazz and traditional Brazilian rhythm flows through the three studio albums the band recorded between ‘70 and ‘73. Flying the countercultural freak-flag amid the context of military dictatorship, the Brazilian prog lords shared much of the sense of experimentation and bountiful fuzz bequeathed by their tropicalismo forbearers. But armed with genius composers, arrangers and stupendously high-level musicianship, Som Imaginário introduced a potent harmonic complexity to Brazilian popular music, which would inspire generations of artists to come.



On 4th October 1976, having finished a spell of recording and touring with Milton Nascimento, Som Imaginário performed a concert in celebration of Nature Day in Brasília. The recordings of the show would become “Banda Da Capital”, which, for the past half century, has laid dormant, waiting for its mystical power to be untapped.



In the band that day were original members Wagner Tiso and Fredera, joined by Nivaldo Ornelas, Paulinho Braga and Jamil Joanes. Operating within such a hugely creative and free-spirited scene meant line-up fluctuations were inevitable and former Som Imaginário members also include Laudir de Oliveira (who left to join Chicago), Nana Vasconcelos (who also moved to work in the US), Zé Rodrix, Robertinho Silva, Novelli and Toninho Horta.



Titled after the Belo Horizonte radio station where they would practice during their youth, the show opens with “Rádio Guarany”, an improvisation led by Paulinho Braga and Nivaldo Ornelas. The track morphs into Nivaldo Ornelas’ composition “Xa Mate”, which also opens Milton Nascimento’s Milagre dos Peixes ao Vivo album, featuring Som Imaginário and a 32 piece orchestra.



Having grown up together in Minas Gerais, composer, arranger and keyboard player Wagner Tiso had been another close musical partner of Milton Nascimento’s. Some of their work together includes many of Bituca’s most beloved albums, including Clube Da Esquina, Milton Nascimento (1970) and Maria Maria / Ultimo Trem, as well as Native Dancer: Nascimento’s album with Wayne Shorter.



Explaining the inspiration behind two of the tracks on Banda Da Capital “Igreja Majestosa” (written with Nivaldo Ornelas) and “Os Cafezais sem fim”, Tiso remincies:



“On Sundays I used to watch the coffee plantation workers entering the church. I´d see them working all week, in their humble, dirty clothes. But I was always enchanted by their immaculate dress on Sundays. Taken from a line in a poem by my father, which became the hymn of the city of Três Pontas, the song “the majestic church and the endless coffee plantations ” became sacred for me, because it came from something joyful, from the workers.”

One of the album's most tender moments is a beautiful rendition of the post-tropicalista folk-rock classic “Sabado”, written by Fredera for Som Imaginiaro’s debut album. The lyrics are typical of the “desbunde”: those on the Brazilian left whose response to authoritarianism was a politics of pacifist, often psychedelic, non-conformity (similar to that of “dropping out” in the US)...



“Eu quero o céu e vou com guizos nos sapatos / Minha roupa em farrapos coloridos vou rasgar / E vou dançar entre os cristais azuis do tempo e esquecer”

“I want the sky and will go with bells on my shoes / I will tear my clothes into colourful rags / And I will dance among the blue crystals of time to forget”.

Jamil Joanes, best known as a member of Banda Black Rio, is another Minas Gerais native. His composition for the album is “Imaginados”, a stunning unplugged guitar and vocal performance, highlighting Som Imaginário’s south-eastern home state’s influence on their sound.

Discodelic presents his new sub label EL Eclypse focus in undocumented obscure Mexican groups. On this first two 45, we presents: Los Eliceos with Los Sabios and Grupo Caverna with Vivi Hernandez y su Conjunto. Four Obscure monster Latin Funk Psych tracks recorded in Mexico in the mid 70s. All four tracks reissued for the first time and quality mastered by Michael Graves @osirisstudio This is serious rare killer Funky Latino power with psychedelic Fuzz! If you are a DJ looking for Funky breaks you Need this! Limited edition!

Brazilian mid tempo boogie double header. We’ve been playing these two out for the last couple of years and they are firm favourites.
‘E Novamente Mas Que Nada’ is the opening track from Reseda’s 1979 album on Som Livre. An ultra catchy vocal hook, boogie guitars and synths lead into a piano and cuica breakdown and horns to finish. One of the finest in the genre in our opinion.
‘Ginga’ is taken from Robson Jorge & Lincoln Olivetti’s self-titled masterpiece, reissued on Mr Bongo. Arguably the most immediate and club friendly track from the album, it always turns heads. Another premium example of Brazilian boogie from the masters of the sound and producers for the likes of Rita Lee, Erasmo Carlos, Don Beto, Marcos Valle, Tim Maia, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Sandra Sa, Painel de Controle and many more.

First time reissue of a legendary and undeservedly obscure salsa collector's album from 1969.Led by rebel accordionist Alfredo Gutiérrez and featuring singer Lucho Pérez of Sonora Dinamita fame, "Así es_ Con salsa!" is just that: raw, heavy duty NYC salsa performed through a Colombian "Costeño" tropical filter, with trombone, accordion and deep bass.Contains three hot bonus tracks in the same style and insert with liner notes."¡Así es_ Con salsa!", by Colombia's Alfredo Gutiérrez y Los Caporales del Magdalena, is a legendary collector's album, yet still undeservedly obscure (and perhaps sonically surprising) for the uninitiated. It's an experimental mash-up of seemingly disparate genres from different origins that on paper would seem to be at cross purposes. Yet at the same time the release is a masterpiece of raw pan-Latin fusion from the dawn of Colombian salsa that holds its own as a bonafide heavy duty pioneering record of the genre, despite its outsider status.Probably the most shocking musical element is Alfredo Gutiérrez's fiery accordion, an unexpected instrument in the idiom of salsa, as it's usually associated with the tropical music of Gutiérrez's Caribbean home region of Sucre. Gutiérrez has always been a provocateur, never shying away from the controversial or outlandish, which has earned him the richly deserved sobriquet, "El Rebelde Del Acordeón" (The Rebel of The Accordion).Gutiérrez started Los Caporales in 1968 as a rival to Discos Fuentes supergroup Los Corraleros de Majagual, and the band had made three popular albums prior to "¡Así es_ Con salsa!", yet most of the repertoire on those records consisted of typical Colombian tropical and coastal rhythms and genres, none were purposely devoted to the newly minted genre of salsa.For this edition of the album, its first reissue on vinyl, we have added several tracks from other Caporales albums that fit in perfectly with the heavy salsa sound of the original LP, including "Sonia quiere un son", another remake...

Recorded in 2003, 2009, 2012 and 2013 by Alfredo Bello in little communities, beaches, friends' houses and studios.
Edited between 2009 and 2013 by Alfredo Bello in trains, boats, planes, hotels rooms, waiting rooms and other spaces.
Mixed by Maira Martucci at Studio Itamundo and Banzai Studio - São Paulo, Brasil.
Produced by DJ Tudo vs. Mad Professor vs. Dr. Das.

The joyful and melancholy songs of the soul that have been sung on Tumaco, a small island in the Pacific Gulf of Colombia that has been exposed to violence, abandoned, and isolated, are now echoing across the world's dance floors. The world's first recording of Alba Maria Valencia and her group Cantoras DE Yerbabuena, the bearers of a little-known local tradition, who were born and raised on the small island of Tumaco, also known as "the pearl of the Pacific," and have been singing the songs they learned from their parents for over 65 years! The artwork for the sleeve is by Yukie Monnai. The semicircular arch in the background, which was a symbol of Tumaco, collapsed earlier this year and is no longer there. Alba Maria Valencia and the members of Cantoras de Yerba Buena are very happy to have this arch painted on the sleeve.

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...

A Espetacular Charanga do França is Sao Paulo's most hyped carnival collective and brass band led by Thiago França - best known as a founding member of Afro-punk explorers Metá Metá. The collective combines retro horns with cumbia, baile funk, jazz and features Brazilian vocal legends such as Lucas Santtana, Tulipa + Jucara Marcal.