[ aquarius records — International Central South America ]

MIGHTY SPARROWSparrowmania!(Strut)2cd$ 19.98

Born Slinger Francisco in Grenada in 1935, The Mighty Sparrow earned himself the title "calypso king of the world" in the 50's through his superior song writing, beautiful voice and -- most importantly -- his lyrical genious: scathing tomes wrapped in double entendre that hit you like ground glass in your daiquiri. This album, luxuriously produced by Beach Boys co-conspirator Van Dyke Parks in 1972, is blanketed with wonderful horn arrangements with harmonies of a much abused jazz origin, which highlight the Mighty Sparrow's gorgeous melody lines.

MPEG stream: English Diplomacy
MPEG stream: Memories

Juana Molina hails from Argentina where she was once a sitcom television star until she gave it up to pursue music. And we're so happy she did 'cause over the last few years she's made some really beautiful records. With a remarkable seductive voice and sparse interesting instrumentation beneath, she creates a sultry and inciting mood that totally wraps you up in its womblike warmth. With a voice that has the same melting beauty as sonic seductresses like Astrud Gilberto, what's so great about Molina is that while her voice is breathtaking, there is so much more to her music. Evoking much emotion but never hitting the listener over the head with overly maudlin sentiments or romantic drivel. Subtly experimenting with delicate sounds and electronics yet keeping songs strong and in tact. Creating a sound that is both very modern and totally timeless. It would be so easy for someone with a voice as beautiful as Molina's to just push her vocals way out in front of the mix and make polished straightforward pop records, but luckily she chooses to create interesting and textured songs using her voice as another element, no more important that some swoonsome guitar or shuffling rhythm. Another fantastic album. Highly recommended!

MPEG stream: Malherido
MPEG stream: La Verdad

It would be so easy and profitable for Juana Molina to simply streamline her sound, to make things nice and easy and to compete with the likes of Feist and Beth Orton for permanent cafe stereo time, but lucky for us, she keeps pushing and challenging herself, creating original and challenging music while still managing to weave a sensual and seductive spell with her sounds. Her voice is the main instrument, and it's her voice that carries Un Dia, with its seamless mix of organic instrumentation and subtle electronics. It's hard to believe that someone this creative and musically talented was once a bigtime sitcom TV star in Argentina. Makes so much sense how committed she seems to her musical vision as she already enjoyed a kind of mindless popular culture celebrity so she doesn't need to pander to commercial blandness with her music. It's not to say that this is difficult or unpleasant music because its not, quite the contrary but similar to folks like Bjork and Brigitte Fontaine decades earlier, Molina belongs to a strong brigade of visionary women who know how to blend experimentation with melody and pop sensibilities for music that is both rewarding and pleasurable. This might be her finest moment yet!

MPEG stream: Los Hongos De Marosa
MPEG stream: Vive Solo
MPEG stream: No Lllama

Although young enough to be their son, Nico Muhly seems to have a great grasp of the kind of elegance in chamber music that folks like Steve Reich and Philip Glass have developed over the last several decades. The first release on a new label from Iceland, Muhly's name is no upstart in Icelandic music circles as he helped Bjork on Medulla as well as for her score to Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint 9. The company Muhly keeps gives pretty good insight into the majestic and moving music that he creates. As well as Bjork, Muhly has also collaborated with Philip Glass on lots of stage and film works, and Antony of Antony & The Johnsons, who appears on the last track here. Muhly has a sensitive songwriting hand which keeps the songs on Speaks Volumes subtle enough to remain riveting but with enough emotional weight to keep us coming back for more. So very nice!

MPEG stream: Clear Music
MPEG stream: Pillaging Music

Milton Nascimento's North American debut record from 1969 came at the end of the huge wave of the bossa nova movement that had infiltrated the American imagination since Astrud Gilberto's "Girl From Ipanema" with Stan Getz in 1963. A&M records and producer Creed Taylor were behind some of the best records of this period including albums by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendes and Joao Gilberto, and Nascimento's Courage is no exception. Beautifully arranged and sung, this is where many of his most popular Brazilian songs were heard for the first time including "Vera Cruz", "Morro Velho" and "Bridges (Travessia)". Singing in Portuguese, English and sometimes wordlessly, this is a breathtaking record. While it doesn't have the psych flourishes and Tropicalia bent of Cluba Da Esquina, from a few years later (a unanimous store favorite!) it's still an essential record and perfect for lazy and wistful summer evenings.

MPEG stream: Vera Cruz
MPEG stream: Rio Vermelho
MPEG stream: Cancao Do Sol

Hard-rockin' and sometimes jazzy progressive rock from Argentina, recorded in Buenos Aires in 1977. A four piece, guitar/bass/drums and the requisite assortment of keyboard instruments, including mellotron. Includes bonus tracks not on original LP. Lots of emotion and instrumental flash: psych-style guitar heroics, piano jammin', latin percussion, etc.

BBC radio DJ and avid record collector Gilles Peterson has never steered us wrong, especially when it comes to rare jazz and Brazilian music, and this one is a gem. Recorded in 1958, it is one of the rarest Brazilian releases, one that became a touchstone for the evolution of Brazilian music in the sixties from samba and bossa to tropicalia. So rare that Peterson didn't have a copy and was approached by a seller offering it for a staggering $4700, prompting Peterson to put an ad out in Record Collector urging someone to reissue it. Johnny Trunk saw the ad, got in contact with Tim Maia's nephew Ed Motta, who is a record collector and musician who had the lp in his collection, and got to work transferring Motta's copy digitally and remastering it, so we finally have a chance to listen to it, and it's quite fantastic. A part of a global touring show called Brasiliana by Polish producer Miecio Askanasy and arranged by Jose Prates, the cast members cut a couple of records and this is one of them. Its lush orchestration of exotic rhythms, haunting choral passages and old world musical theater charm at turns evoking the soundtrack work of Ennio Morricone and Allesandro Allesandroni, the exoticism of Les Baxter and Yma Sumac and even the choral African mass of Missa Luba by the Troubadours du Roi Baudouin, make for a captivating and hypnotic listen. But one song in particular, "Nana Imboro", turns out to be the inspiration for Jorge Ben's "Mas Que Nada", one of the most popular Brazilian songs ever made. At times, mournful, mysterious, reverent and ecstatic. Highly recommended!

MPEG stream: Nana Imboro
MPEG stream: Nega Zefinha

Are you feeling doomed? Play some Procession and you will! And you'll dig the doomed feeling too, if you're like us. Hailing from South America, Chile to be precise, this obscure trio dish out the ever-lovin' doom metal on this their debut full-length (technically, they call it an ep, 'cause three of its six songs are taken from an earlier demo tape, but it's 48 minutes long and works as one coherent album). The band's logo and the cover art may make this look like a black metal release, and IS quite dark and serious and Satanic, but it's definitely slo-mo true doom in the old school vein of Reverend Bizarre and The Gates Of Slumber and of course Saint Vitus and Black Sabbath, with lyrics about such abysmal subjects as plagues, gravegardens, and dying ancient empires. The inevitability of disease, death and decay, and loss of faith, are what Procession acknowledge and embrace. They do so sincerely, with much grace and majesty - and sheer heaviness, the guitars dragging you down with their lugubrious riffs and insalubrious tones. There's weird atmospheres, occasional uptempo surges, and no lack of morose melody. Freakin' EPIC. The band's guitarist/vocalist Felipe Plaza Kutzbach sings with all the grandiose power of classic Candlemass, but in a lower register, and with more of a rough, anguished edge. He's definitely Procession's biggest draw, both his vocals and guitar playing - not just churning riffage, there's also some really interestingly effected leads heard here, strangely psychedelic and melancholically beautiful, and his doomy talents are ably supported by the solid bass and drums. Procession (great name, by the way, we imagine doomed souls marching into the underworld, or cloaked monks in some ceremonial, uh, procession) prove themselves a force to be reckoned with. We've listed some excellent doom debuts lately, Garden Of Worm, Crowned In Earth, Griftegard, but THIS one is possibly the best. Certainly the troo doom minded here have been listening to this A LOT. And considering how much cool new music (doom and otherwise) we are inundated with here every week at AQ, that's saying something. Can't wait for the new one we hear is in the works...

MPEG stream: The Funeral Of An Age
MPEG stream: Down The River Of Corpses
MPEG stream: The Road To The Gravegarden

NOW ON VINYL! Extra nice since the cd version of this great collection has been AWOL of late. We can't deny we've been quite smitten with so many bands in the last couple years who have blasted onto the scene playing inspired, raw, wild and blown out garage rock. But it may take going back to Peru to the years 1964-1966 to find the most riveting and TRUE origins of garage proto-punk, done to perfection. The first time we ever heard Los Saicos we couldn't believe our ears, this was the kind of garage sound we had always imagined in our mind. Gritty, spirited, and filled with charm and soul. And some pretty gnarly vocals for the time. It's not overstating the case to say they make other '60s dirty garage peddlers like The Sonics or The Monks seem kind of tame. This is the kind of blood, guts and charisma that helped create bands latter on like The Cramps, The Mono Men, The Coachwhips, and Davilla 666. With a primitive surf undertone, and an undeniable tough and cool sensibility they really do have a sound so many bands in the decades to follow tried (and continue to try) to emulate. Los Saicos are like the Peruvian version of a gang of bad kids from a Luis Bunuel film, forming a band and creating electric energy together amongst the harsh realities of the streets they roam. We're so so so thankful Munster has given Los Saicos the proper reissue and long overdue respect they so deserve. If you like rock n roll in any form, you NEED THIS!

MPEG stream: Demolici�n
MPEG stream: Te amo
MPEG stream: Come On (Ven aqu�)

We can't deny we've been quite smitten with so many bands in the last couple years who have blasted onto the scene playing inspired, raw, wild and blown out garage rock. But it may take going back to Peru to the years 1964-1966 to find the most riveting and TRUE origins of garage proto-punk, done to perfection. The first time we ever heard Los Saicos we couldn't believe our ears, this was the kind of garage sound we had always imagined in our mind. Gritty, spirited, and filled with charm and soul. And some pretty gnarly vocals for the time. It's not overstating the case to say they make other '60s dirty garage peddlers like The Sonics or The Monks seem kind of tame. This is the kind of blood, guts and charisma that helped create bands latter on like The Cramps, The Mono Men, The Coachwhips, and Davilla 666. With a primitive surf undertone, and an undeniable tough and cool sensibility they really do have a sound so many bands in the decades to follow tried (and continue to try) to emulate. Los Saicos are like the Peruvian version of a gang of bad kids from a Luis Bunuel film, forming a band and creating electric energy together amongst the harsh realities of the streets they roam. We're so so so thankful Munster has given Los Saicos the proper reissue and long overdue respect they so deserve. If you like rock n roll in any form, you NEED THIS!

MPEG stream: Demolici�n
MPEG stream: Te amo
MPEG stream: Come On (Ven aqu�)

Senor Coconut is back with a new set of party favorites. His endearing covers over the years have included everyone from Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Sade. This time out he's on a trip around the globe with each song being a cover of an artist from somewhere different in the world. But his eye is clearly on catchy and mostly familiar pop music (Eurythmics, Daft Punk, Telex, etc). Still totally fun and playful but not quite at the level of pure joy and innovative reinterpreting that his prior releases demonstrated. It kind of feels a little phoned in, but still filled with enough winners to keep us smiling.

MPEG stream: Around the World (Intro)
MPEG stream: Sweet Dreams
MPEG stream: Moscow Discow

Few artists' music can guarantee to brighten your days and nights the way Atom Heart (and his numerous aliases) can. Any new release from this fella is received with a huge aQ grin! If you dug the recent Yellow Magic Fever tribute from the always deliriously delightful Senor Coconut and Los Negritos' Speed-Merengue Mega-Mix, you know what we're talking about and you definitely won't wanna miss these freshly reissued earlier Senor Coconut releases including this, his awesome Kraftwerk tribute! Even if you got 'em the first time around, heck, we're sure you know somebody who'd benefit from this festive treat! Back in 2000, we had this to say about El Baile Aleman: Senor Coconut is actually the guy better known as techno/electronica artist Atom Heart. He's moved to Chile and gone all Latin and groovy on us. However, all the songs on this (high-) concept album are Kraftwerk covers! So this joins a long line of weird and wonderful tributes to Kraftwerk. Soon we'll be able to have a whole bin at Aquarius dedicated to such endeavors: the Balenescu Quartet one, the Terre Thaemlitz one, the one with all the Slovenian acts, the Japanese import one, the Miami Bass one, etc. etc. Anyways, so incredibly executed down to the tiniest detail, this one will sit at the top of the heap! Super duper fun.

MPEG stream: The Robots (Cha-Cha-Cha)
MPEG stream: Neon Lights (Cha-Cha-Cha)

The man behind awesome and bizarre musical adventures like the Thai Elephant Orchestra teaming up with Mayan Indian schoolchildren to create joyous sounds that make us think of some cool mix of El Guincho and Konono No. 1.

MPEG stream: Oracion De La Cruz
MPEG stream: Xan Matin Mix
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2nd time reissued on CD, this was the amazing Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence's second album. Originally recorded in 1964, where this album excels over the first (recorded for Smithsonian Folkways in 1958) is that the producers had the prescience to load up with some great field recording gear. Important given that the dynamic range that Mr. Spence can coax out of his guitar is astounding. Though his repertoire consists almost entirely of traditional hymns and folk tunes that most all of us are familiar with, his renditions are hardly recognizable. Spence has a maniacally insane picking / plucking / slapping guitar style that would make Jaco Pastorius and Pete Seeger bow their heads in awe. To boot, Spence's singing, err... mumbling style is too lovable to resist. It's almost like hearing Captain Beefheart with his mouth wired shut. A cult classic!

RealAudio clip: Bimini Gal
RealAudio clip: How I Love Jesus

Sun soaked tropical dreamy '70s psych-pop from a Latin American musical legend. Pippo Spero grew up in Uruguay where he studied classical guitar at the National Conservatory of Uruguay. As the military dictatorship of Uruguay grew more excessive, that school was shut down and life for artists and musicians became impossible. Spero didn't let that take him away from his love and gift for making such beautiful sounds and he started concentrating on songwriting, and crafted A Buen Puerto, a gorgeous album of breezy, warm and lilting perfection. Brimming with songs that make you melt and take you out of the rigid and cold structure of everyday life. It's so interesting to see how so many folks under the harshest political climate were able to make such beautiful music. Not turning to anger, but instead showing that no matter what, no one could take away their ability to create beauty and experience love. Yet there is still a bittersweet sadness and melancholy that floats through all of A Buen Puerto. There is also a kinship in spirit and sound with Caetano Veloso, which we hear all over this gorgeous album. In fact, after completing this album in 1976, Spero fled from Uruguay and moved to Brazil where he formed close relationships with many like minded musicians and songwriters there like Geraldo Azevedo, Alceu Valenca, and Milton Nascimento. Fans of any of the aforementioned artists, and folks like Lo Borges, Congregacion, and Eduardo Mateo will find a new favorite record in A Buen Puerto.

MPEG stream: Parabola
MPEG stream: A Buen Puerto
MPEG stream: Al Final Es Un Momento

Wow, did you know that the debut record by purported Peruvian princess Yma Sumac (1922-2008), was the biggest selling release of 1950? This isn't that album, Voice Of The Xtabay, though, rather it's her 1971 (yes, once again, 1971 blows the mind) rock-oriented comeback attempt, Miracles, this remastered reissue being the first time officially on cd for this rare record, which didn't stay in print very long originally, due to legal differences between Sumac and her label. So not so many folks heard this one, but now they can, if they dare! While one could perhaps imagine something even more far-out from Sumac in '71, her fabled five octave range offering tantalizing possibilities for Yoko Ono or Brainticket style freakouts, this is definitely NOT your father's lounge music, either! Before titling it Miracles, they almost called it Jungle Rock, and it was definitely an attempt to introduce Yma Sumac to a new generation of fans. In this effort to be hip and happening, the inventive orchestration and contemporary rock band backing (fuzz guitars, swirling organ) come close to being as wild as her voice. Interestingly, this album found the "Queen Of Exotica" once again teamed up with the "King" - Les Baxter, her collaborator on Voice Of The Xtabay! He was brought in to compose and conduct, and is responsible for writing all the tracks here but one (a cover of popular Peruvian folk number "El Condor Pasa"). These songs, with titles like "Medicine Man", "Flame Tree", "Azure Sands", "Zebra", and "Magenta Mountain", certainly showcase Sumac's remarkable voice - soaring altissimo, deep growling, startling squeaking, everything in between - as accompanied by swinging, fuzzed out psych rock grooves and otherworldly arrangements. Downright "lysergic" as some would have it. Others might call the combination corny... some of this sounds like the most unhinged nightclub act ever. Leadoff track "Remember" sets the pace, Sumac's band ready to rumble, guitars crashing in like maybe she's gonna start singing "Jumping Jack Flash" but her vocals are all wordless whoops and warble (like a human Thermin) and ludicrous, Muppet-like grumble. Crazy stuff. This even reminds us a bit of the sort of Third World garage psych now being comped on such recent collections as Thai? Dai! and The Sound Of Siam, an interesting synchronicity. Who was unintentionally inspiring who? It's hard to know what Yma Sumac purists will think about this over the top, modish Incan instro-hipster act. (Are there Yma Sumac purists?) This album's certainly a strange one, all right, utter extreme eccentric exotica. Exotic for the "jungle" themes, and all the more exotic now for its dated psychsploitation angle. Brought to us by one of our favorite reissue labels, Australia's Omni Recording Corporation, who make sure provide extensive, fascinating liner notes (touching on this album's kinship with other albums of "psychedelic opportunism" of the era like Muddy Waters' Electric Mud, Bo Diddley's Black Gladiator, and Chubby Checker's New Revelation) in the colorfully illustrated cd booklet. Also, three previously unreleased bonus tracks have been added to the disc!

MPEG stream: Remember
MPEG stream: Medicine Man
MPEG stream: Savage Rock

A few weeks ago, we listed Yma Sumac's last commercial effort, the incredibly awesome and strange lounge-rock hybrid from 1971, Miracles. So we thought this week we should balance that with her first major label release, the stunning proto-exotica of Voice of The Xtabay from 1950. Recorded with Les Baxter a full two years before his Ritual of The Savage album (which is widely considered to be the cornerstone release of the lounge exotica trend with many tiki bars and hula dance lessons to follow in its wake), Voice of the Xtabay still has an air of being somewhat authentic sounding, namely due to the otherworldly quality of Sumac's four and a half octave vocal range and her incredibly striking beauty that made it easily believable that she was actually descended from a true Inca princess (whether that was true or not has always been debated throughout her life and career and still persists after her death). A lush Technicolor fantasy of erupting volcanoes, chanting virgin maidens and jungle animal sounds, gorgeously orchestrated, Voice of The Xtabay is truly a unique record. The cd also features all the tracks from her Inca Taqui record from 1953 with her husband Moises Vivanco taking over the composer duties. Transcendent!

MPEG stream: Virgin of The Sun God
MPEG stream: Chant of The Chosen Maidens
MPEG stream: The Forest Creatures

Inarguably an all-time classic of sixties psych. Peru's Traffic Sound might not be the most famous band from the era, but those in the know, know. At long last we have a cd reissue of their second album, Virgin, a masterpiece recorded in 1969. It's brought to us by the Repsychled label from their homeland, responsible also for that Tarkus reish we raved over a not long ago. And it's about time. Maybe you saw our review last year of the Traffic Sound compilation Yellow Sea Years? It included only one track from this album (the hit single in Peru "Meshkalina") for reasons we can't fathom, except that you'd want the whole thing anyway, and here it is! Psychedelic pop/prog perfection, featuring both dreamy melodies and some freaked out, flutey jazz/krautrock sounding passages, including a dose of backwards weirdness and several tracks of acoustic beauty. They were contemporaneous with better-known American and British acts such as the Beatles, Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, and Love, and influenced by the likes of them no doubt. But on Virgin, Traffic Sound make the case for their own spaced-out, groovy, early-prog creativity. And in fact this was the first album by a Peruvian rock band to feature all-original compositions. As albums of the era from Latin America go, this is one of the essentials, particularily if you've been digging, say, Mexico's La Revolucion De Emiliano Zapata, or any of those awesome psych titles from Brazil that we've seen lately... Repsychled has some interesting packaging notions, this is in a sort of under-sized cardboard digi-folder thing. It seems like each title we get from them is in some different, non-standard sleeve. In any case, for this official reissue they've gone to the master tapes and done a careful remastering job, and the cd booklet is packed with vintage photos and suchlike.

MPEG stream: Virgin
MPEG stream: Yellow Sea Days

The first in what will be an ongoing series of Afro-Cuban collections commissioned by the always trustworthy Soul Jazz records. Tumba Francesca is a totally vibrant combination of African drums and French patois vocals. Tumba Francesca La Caridad de Oriente is a 140-year old tradition in Cuba. Beginning in the 19th century elaborate performances of this music would take place during Carnivale with everyone decked out in 18th century French ballroom costumes while playing African music. It's easy to understand why it's worth it to go to such great lengths to preserve this music and this culture, the sound is a timeless and exhuberant explosion of effervescent rhythms and amazing vocal chants and call & response singing that keeps your body moving and your mind soaring. Such a deep and powerful musical tradition can not be forgotten...

MPEG stream: Mapula Live
MPEG stream: Ven Mi Morena (Tahona)

Discovering new genres of music, especially those involving cross-cultural fertilization of the most unlikely sorts, is always a big turn on for us at AQ. And whether it be go-go beat music from Cambodia, "Anadolu Pop" from Turkey, the Latin-flavored psychedelia of Brazil's Tropicalia movement, the "hillbilly drone" of Henry Flynt, or the black metal jug band dub of Black Ark Oaken Saw (whoops, sorry, that last one doesn't actually exist, yet), we're always fascinated to hear international artists melding their indigenous musical traditions with popular styles from the Western world. So Peru's Uchpa, an electric blues / hard rock band who sing in Quechua, the Native American language of the ancient Incan Empire, is right up our alley. Even Andee, who usually gives Allan a hard time for supposedly liking so much straight-up "blues rock", digs this. The extremely nasal-sounding vocals (which we're not sure is a trait of the singer, or typical of how Quechua normally sounds) give Uchpa a weird enough vibe to fit in here at AQ, no problem. Although in any case we'd probably be tempted to give this the thumbs up just 'cause of the cover picture -- a cud-chewing llama strapped with a double necked acoustic 12 and 6 string guitar! Who doesn't love llamas, and double necks?? Uchpa formed in the mid-'90s and this is their third album, from 2000. They've got a newer one or two but we picked this to import from Peru just 'cause of the aforementioned cover art. Most of the tracks, with titles like "Manakutimusaqchu" and "Yanapaway Yuksimuyta", are kick ass rockers with lots of amped up crunch, and in addition to those frantic, nasal Quechua vocals they've also got some ethnic instrumentation employed alongside the heavy, bluesy, wah-wah laced guitar licks. Basically, you could sum up Uchpa as "Hendrix in the Andes". If you like the Tuvan-rock hybrid of Yat-kha, this might have the same appeal, even though it's from a totally different part of the world. Includes two QuickTime videos, which lets you see Uchpa's singer performing wearing what appears to be a traditional Incan costume, including a quite remarkable piece of headgear.

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MPEG stream: Corazon Contento

MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT!! MISSIS... oh wait. Scratch that. A Orillas Del Magdalena might LOOK like a Mississippi record, and may SOUND like a Mississippi record, but is in fact a new archival release on Domino Sound, the beginning of a new series? We don't know, but we sure hope so. Needless to say, all you Mississippi Records fanatics, might want to grab one of these, sure maybe it doesn't yet have the fetishistic cache that Mississippi has attained, but it is a fantastic collection of lost sounds. Unlike the gospel / blues focus of Mississippi, A Orillas Del Magdalena is a collection of Cumbia music, a mix of African and Spanish sounds from Columbia, that is festive and celebratory, raucous and emotional. The songs here are culled from the archives of recordist Antonio Fuentes, who began recording the music of Columbia in the early 30s and went on to start Columbia's first record label. The tracks here span the several decades between the fifties and the seventies, and are so fantastic, the sound incorporates lots of horns and accordions, call and response vocalizing, wild percussion, fluttery flutes, playful melodies, it's a little bit calypso, a little bit mariachi, all infused with a distinctly African vibe, fans of the Ethiopiques series and all the Sublime Frequencies releases will definitely dig this and yeah, this easily could have found it's way to Mississippi, which means, as if you couldn't have sussed it out already, WAY recommended!

There aren't many instruments that we would want to hear a whole record of. But drums are an exception. Drums seem to be the unifying instrument for all music lovers. Whether it's hip-hop, Japanese noise, krautrock, funk, afro-beat, etc. we all love hearing the drummer get wicked! There is something so mystical and powerful about the sound of drums that its no wonder that they have often been used as the main instrument in so many mystical & spiritual settings. Recorded by Soul Jazz in Cuba at the ICAIC studios these recordings demonstrate the African-influence on the drumming used in Cuban religious cults and ceremonies. Much like the amazing Voodoo Drums, and Spirits Of Life comps Soul Jazz put out a few years ago this is another great collection of frenzied drumming for a higher calling.

MPEG stream: Yuka
MPEG stream: Guiro
MPEG stream: Makuta

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Yet another collection of classic 70's afro-funk. Subtitled "Motherload From the Motherland", the 13 tracks here are certainly a goldmine of afro-funk. Some are in the vein of Fela Kuti, some are bizarre interpretations of the James Brown sound, and some are akin to the instrumental tracks you might find in a seventies film score. Featuring cuts by the likes of Manu Dibango, Matata, Dick Khoza, Assagai, and much more. All the tracks were mastered directly from vinyl sources, so along with the usual surface noise anomalies you get a couple songs where the lp's hole was punched off center and the track is a bit warbled. Rather charming, I think. The bad or, to be sure, truly sucky thing about this compilation is its complete lack of liner notes whatsoever -- you get a track listing and that's it. I'm not opposed to quasi-bootleg re-issues, but if someone's going to go through the trouble of archiving the tracks they should at least give a little background info as to their origin, maybe even some bios on the more obscure artists.

RealAudio clip: Afro Funk
RealAudio clip: Cocoa
RealAudio clip: Maku Penda

If no one told us this music was from Angola, we would have guessed it came from somewhere around Central or South America. A lot of this music reminds us of those great Panama compilations on Soundway, and as it turns out, Angola had the same cross-pollination of Latin-based musical influences from neighboring regions that Panama experienced with African-influenced music during the same time period. This compilation focuses on the electric bands, vanguard singers and the two significant recording companies that led to an explosive scene of musical forces in Angola during the late sixties and early seventies. Traditional African music from the Luanda Islands, psychedelic guitar-based music from neighboring Congo, Latin rhythms, the relentless beats of Carnival music and old school Caribbean Merengue, combine for some uplifting and uproariously joyous music. If you need some movement and heat to cure you of the winter blues, this set is for you!

MPEG stream: Comboio
MPEG stream: N'Gui Banza Mama
MPEG stream: Semba Braquez
MPEG stream: Massanga Mama

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. This is a Brazilian garage comp of 1960's 45's. It has covers of the classics that we know so well, if not a bit too well (My Generation, Paint It Black, Time wont let me, Daytripper, I Cant Get No Satisfaction), for the most part sung in Portuguese. In addition to the well known garage/rock n' roll hits, there are some songs I've never heard that were great. I liked them best. Brazilian garage, how rad is that. Oh and the boys on the back cover are foxes.

Oh boy, can the stellar reissue label Strut do no wrong? Doubtful, cos they just keep coming out with amazing compilations and reissues, unearthing the most forgotten genres and movements mostly taken from the seventies. There's the Disco Not Disco comp, Now they've compiled the first ever look back at the best of Black Rio, that movement in the seventies that saw young black Brazilians getting political and turning away from the far-too-commercial samba in favor of James Brown. This is funky soul music, and the tracks here are so fun. There's everything from hard gritty funk to smooth soul to an unlikely instrumental cover of "Rapper's Delight" (the last sample below)! And as with all the Strut releases, there are voluminous liner notes placing the entire musical movement in a clear context, as well as lots of photos. Highly recommended.

RealAudio clip: Cinco Anos
RealAudio clip: Comanche
RealAudio clip: Melo da Tagarela (Rapper's Delight)

Not sure what it was, but for whatever reason, some of us had never gotten that into Bossa Nova. Sure there were the standards, the popular tunes that everyone heard, but it never struck a chord, or maybe just at the time, and maybe it was precisely because it was the popular tunes, the accessible jams that made it into the ears of someone who at the time, was more of a jazz dabbler. But Soul Jazz has been killing it lately, with THREE different Bossa Nova comps, which have totally swayed the non believers, converted the haters, and even impressed the folks who were already big fans. First there was Bossa Nova And The Rise Of Brazilian Music In The 1960's, which was reviewed on a past list and you can check out elsewhere on the aQ list, then there was Bossa Nova And The Story Of Elenco Records, Brazil (which we haven't reviewed yet, but hopefully will soon!), and now there's Bossa Jazz: The Birth Of Hard Bossa, Samba Jazz And The Evolution Of Brazilian Fusion 1962-73, which might just be the best of the bunch. We've been listening to this like crazy non stop since we first got it in, and it continues to blow us away. It's still bossa nova, but it's darker, and more intense, mostly instrumental, hard to explain exactly what it is, but the sound, the soul, the vibe, it's just totally doing it for us. Apparently instrumental music, played by the more popular bands of the bossa nova movement, became known as hard bossa or samba jazz, and as the sixties wound down, there was a huge exodus of Brazilian musicians heading to the US, and many Brazilian based musicians who began to collaborate with US groups, and thus was born Brazilian fusion, and this compilation basically follows that shift, and traces its development musically. But it's the sound, the music, the feel, this comp in some ways feels like a Brazilian version of Ethiopiques 4, our favorite volume in that stellar series, but that one is all instrumental, and in many ways that lets the music do the talking, the emotion oozes from the instruments, and the same is true here, there are some vocal performances, which are incredible, but mostly it's these jazz masters let loose, the drums are wild, there are multiple drum solos, the bass, the piano, the bands are just incredible, and the sounds they conjure up are stunning. And even some more well known names, Sergio Mendes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Airto Moreira, Baden Powell, all offer up darker more progressive fusion-y sounds, and it's just fantastic, much of this collection sounds very cinematic, and like the other Soul Jazz bossa nova comps, not a single track we had ever heard before, but pretty much every single one we LOVE. So much so that this comp has sent us on a serious bossa nova kick that shows no sign of letting up. Which is always the sign of a good comp. Like all Soul Jazz compilations, there's a big booklet with extensive liner notes with lots of photos, the cd version housed in a cool miniature hardcover book.

MPEG stream: Canto Do Ubirantan
MPEG stream: Birimbau
MPEG stream: Anoiteceu
MPEG stream: Batucada
MPEG stream: Das Tardes Mas Sos
MPEG stream: Consolacao

Now on vinyl, split into two volumes... Not sure what it was, but for whatever reason, some of us had never gotten that into Bossa Nova. Sure there were the standards, the popular tunes that everyone heard, but it never struck a chord, or maybe just at the time, and maybe it was precisely because it was the popular tunes, the accessible jams that made it into the ears of someone who at the time, was more of a jazz dabbler. But Soul Jazz has been killing it lately, with THREE different Bossa Nova comps, which have totally swayed the non believers, converted the haters, and even impressed the folks who were already big fans. First there was Bossa Nova And The Rise Of Brazilian Music In The 1960's, which was reviewed on a past list and you can check out elsewhere on the aQ list, then there was Bossa Nova And The Story Of Elenco Records, Brazil (which we haven't reviewed yet, but hopefully will soon!), and now there's Bossa Jazz: The Birth Of Hard Bossa, Samba Jazz And The Evolution Of Brazilian Fusion 1962-73, which might just be the best of the bunch. We've been listening to this like crazy non stop since we first got it in, and it continues to blow us away. It's still bossa nova, but it's darker, and more intense, mostly instrumental, hard to explain exactly what it is, but the sound, the soul, the vibe, it's just totally doing it for us. Apparently instrumental music, played by the more popular bands of the bossa nova movement, became known as hard bossa or samba jazz, and as the sixties wound down, there was a huge exodus of Brazilian musicians heading to the US, and many Brazilian based musicians who began to collaborate with US groups, and thus was born Brazilian fusion, and this compilation basically follows that shift, and traces its development musically. But it's the sound, the music, the feel, this comp in some ways feels like a Brazilian version of Ethiopiques 4, our favorite volume in that stellar series, but that one is all instrumental, and in many ways that lets the music do the talking, the emotion oozes from the instruments, and the same is true here, there are some vocal performances, which are incredible, but mostly it's these jazz masters let loose, the drums are wild, there are multiple drum solos, the bass, the piano, the bands are just incredible, and the sounds they conjure up are stunning. And even some more well known names, Sergio Mendes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Airto Moreira, Baden Powell, all offer up darker more progressive fuison-y sounds, and it's just fantastic, much of this collection sounds very cinematic, and like the other Soul Jazz bossa nova comps, not a single track we had ever heard before, but pretty much every single one we LOVE. So much so that this comp has sent us on a serious bossa nova kick that shows no sign of letting up. Which is always the sign of a good comp. Like all Soul Jazz compilations, there's a big booklet with extensive liner notes with lots of photos, the cd version housed in a cool miniature hardcover book.

MPEG stream: Canto Do Ubirantan
MPEG stream: Birimbau
MPEG stream: Anoiteceu

Now on vinyl, split into two volumes... Not sure what it was, but for whatever reason, some of us had never gotten that into Bossa Nova. Sure there were the standards, the popular tunes that everyone heard, but it never struck a chord, or maybe just at the time, and maybe it was precisely because it was the popular tunes, the accessible jams that made it into the ears of someone who at the time, was more of a jazz dabbler. But Soul Jazz has been killing it lately, with THREE different Bossa Nova comps, which have totally swayed the non believers, converted the haters, and even impressed the folks who were already big fans. First there was Bossa Nova And The Rise Of Brazilian Music In The 1960's, which was reviewed on a past list and you can check out elsewhere on the aQ list, then there was Bossa Nova And The Story Of Elenco Records, Brazil (which we haven't reviewed yet, but hopefully will soon!), and now there's Bossa Jazz: The Birth Of Hard Bossa, Samba Jazz And The Evolution Of Brazilian Fusion 1962-73, which might just be the best of the bunch. We've been listening to this like crazy non stop since we first got it in, and it continues to blow us away. It's still bossa nova, but it's darker, and more intense, mostly instrumental, hard to explain exactly what it is, but the sound, the soul, the vibe, it's just totally doing it for us. Apparently instrumental music, played by the more popular bands of the bossa nova movement, became known as hard bossa or samba jazz, and as the sixties wound down, there was a huge exodus of Brazilian musicians heading to the US, and many Brazilian based musicians who began to collaborate with US groups, and thus was born Brazilian fusion, and this compilation basically follows that shift, and traces its development musically. But it's the sound, the music, the feel, this comp in some ways feels like a Brazilian version of Ethiopiques 4, our favorite volume in that stellar series, but that one is all instrumental, and in many ways that lets the music do the talking, the emotion oozes from the instruments, and the same is true here, there are some vocal performances, which are incredible, but mostly it's these jazz masters let loose, the drums are wild, there are multiple drum solos, the bass, the piano, the bands are just incredible, and the sounds they conjure up are stunning. And even some more well known names, Sergio Mendes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Airto Moreira, Baden Powell, all offer up darker more progressive fuison-y sounds, and it's just fantastic, much of this collection sounds very cinematic, and like the other Soul Jazz bossa nova comps, not a single track we had ever heard before, but pretty much every single one we LOVE. So much so that this comp has sent us on a serious bossa nova kick that shows no sign of letting up. Which is always the sign of a good comp. Like all Soul Jazz compilations, there's a big booklet with extensive liner notes with lots of photos, the cd version housed in a cool miniature hardcover book.

MPEG stream: Batucada
MPEG stream: Das Tardes Mas Sos
MPEG stream: Consolacao

Blame it on the Bossa Nova! What Americans experienced of Brazil's biggest cultural export in the sixties (think Astrud Gilberto's "Girl From Ipanema" and Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66) was actually a watered down version of a vital cultural renaissance of luxury and prosperity in a country transforming itself from its agrarian roots to a new industrial power on the world's stage. Soul Jazz has released this terrific new compilation to highlight the origins of this tremendous and far-reaching cultural shift, with many of the genre's original innovators: Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Elis Regina, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, Nara Leao, Wanda Sa, Maria Bethannia, Milton Nascimento as well as plenty of others we had never heard before. With its cool vocals, complex but economic melodic structures and sophisticated jazz motifs, Bossa Nova represented a huge shift away from traditional music to a new modern jet-setting sound. What's neat about this compilation is that even though the names may be familiar, many of the tracks are not the typical hits you may have heard before, reflecting the urgent embrace and hopeful optimism of a country stretching into its new identity. Sadly it wouldn't last. By the time, American's were fully seduced by Bossa Nova's warm wave of tropical sophistication in the mid-sixties, Brazil experienced a military takeover and many of the musicians (namely Jobim and Mendes) were forced to flee to the US. They were able to have successful careers (perhaps even more successful than when they were in Brazil) but Bossa Nova in America became something symbolically different, an almost Imperial embrace of laid-back Latin coolness while completely overlooking the political unrest that displaced it. Thankfully another musical and cultural revolution, Tropicalia, was gearing up to take its place. Still, whatever association you might have with Bossa Nova, this compilation is full of surprises and well worth the listen. So freaking good! And as with all Soul Jazz record, the packaging is deluxe and elaborate, a slipcover housing a jewel case and a massive booklet, with tons of photos, and a super extensive history of Bossa Nova, detailing the musicians, and the politics of the era.

MPEG stream: Inverno
MPEG stream: Yemenja
MPEG stream: Lalari-Olala
MPEG stream: Zimbo-Samba
MPEG stream: Jangal
MPEG stream: Ponteio
MPEG stream: Samba Blim
MPEG stream: Hora De Lutar

NOW ON VINYL, spread out over two separate double lps... Blame it on the Bossa Nova! What Americans experienced of Brazil's biggest cultural export in the sixties (think Astrud Gilberto's "Girl From Ipanema" and Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66) was actually a watered down version of a vital cultural renaissance of luxury and prosperity in a country transforming itself from its agrarian roots to a new industrial power on the world's stage. Soul Jazz has released this terrific new compilation to highlight the origins of this tremendous and far-reaching cultural shift, with many of the genre's original innovators: Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Elis Regina, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, Nara Leao, Wanda Sa, Maria Bethannia, Milton Nascimento as well as plenty of others we had never heard before. With its cool vocals, complex but economic melodic structures and sophisticated jazz motifs, Bossa Nova represented a huge shift away from traditional music to a new modern jet-setting sound. What's neat about this compilation is that even though the names may be familiar, many of the tracks are not the typical hits you may have heard before, reflecting the urgent embrace and hopeful optimism of a country stretching into its new identity. Sadly it wouldn't last. By the time, American's were fully seduced by Bossa Nova's warm wave of tropical sophistication in the mid-sixties, Brazil experienced a military takeover and many of the musicians (namely Jobim and Mendes) were forced to flee to the US. They were able to have successful careers (perhaps even more successful than when they were in Brazil) but Bossa Nova in America became something symbolically different, an almost Imperial embrace of laid-back Latin coolness while completely overlooking the political unrest that displaced it. Thankfully another musical and cultural revolution, Tropicalia, was gearing up to take its place. Still, whatever association you might have with Bossa Nova, this compilation is full of surprises and well worth the listen. So freaking good!

MPEG stream: Ponteio
MPEG stream: Samba Blim
MPEG stream: Hora De Lutar

NOW ON VINYL, spread out over two separate double lps... Blame it on the Bossa Nova! What Americans experienced of Brazil's biggest cultural export in the sixties (think Astrud Gilberto's "Girl From Ipanema" and Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66) was actually a watered down version of a vital cultural renaissance of luxury and prosperity in a country transforming itself from its agrarian roots to a new industrial power on the world's stage. Soul Jazz has released this terrific new compilation to highlight the origins of this tremendous and far-reaching cultural shift, with many of the genre's original innovators: Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Elis Regina, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, Nara Leao, Wanda Sa, Maria Bethannia, Milton Nascimento as well as plenty of others we had never heard before. With its cool vocals, complex but economic melodic structures and sophisticated jazz motifs, Bossa Nova represented a huge shift away from traditional music to a new modern jet-setting sound. What's neat about this compilation is that even though the names may be familiar, many of the tracks are not the typical hits you may have heard before, reflecting the urgent embrace and hopeful optimism of a country stretching into its new identity. Sadly it wouldn't last. By the time, American's were fully seduced by Bossa Nova's warm wave of tropical sophistication in the mid-sixties, Brazil experienced a military takeover and many of the musicians (namely Jobim and Mendes) were forced to flee to the US. They were able to have successful careers (perhaps even more successful than when they were in Brazil) but Bossa Nova in America became something symbolically different, an almost Imperial embrace of laid-back Latin coolness while completely overlooking the political unrest that displaced it. Thankfully another musical and cultural revolution, Tropicalia, was gearing up to take its place. Still, whatever association you might have with Bossa Nova, this compilation is full of surprises and well worth the listen. So freaking good!

MPEG stream: Inverno
MPEG stream: Yemenja
MPEG stream: Lalari-Olala
MPEG stream: Zimbo-Samba
MPEG stream: Jangal

From the folks who brought us the recent Cuban compilation packaged in cigar box, comes this stellar Brasilian collection which is separated into 4 cds cataloged by style: Folk & Traditional, Carnaval, Bossa Nova, and MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira). Nope, no contributions by Os Mutantes, but there IS a song by Joyce, who we'd like to find out more about. (Laetitia from Stereolab, in the most recent issue of The Wire's musical taste test, mistakes Joyce for the Mutantes and goes on about how great both artists are.)

A fascinating documentary that will interest drummers, DJ's, record geeks, hip-hop nuts and fans of Brazilian music alike. Following the group Keepintime, a super collective of high profile DJ's (Cut Chemist, Madlib, J. Rocc, Babu, DJ Nuts) and veteran L.A. session drummers (Paul Humphrey, James Gadson, Roy Porter and Earl Palmer) who initially got together as part of a photo-shoot and interview but ended up jamming together, evolving to play out highly popular live improvised sets. Invited to Sao Paolo to play, the group hooks up with some of the most legendary drummers Brazil has produced, including Joao Parahyba who drummed on "Comanche" by Jorge Ben, Ivan "Mamao" Conti of Azymuth and Samba legend, Wilson Das Neves. While the live performances kill, there are also really great tag-along scenes where we get to see the performers in their element of process: the American drummers visiting a local percussion shop; the DJ's record shopping, comparing notes and trying to one up each other on their finds; lots of cool footage of vintage Brazilian records and artists that'll make the headz drool; Madlib creating beats in his hotel room; and even a frustrating "band practice" scene involving the DJ's. Along the way, there are plenty of stony segways where we learn about the religious roots of Samba, the regional origins of classic Brazilian percussive instruments, growing up in the favelas, and the ups and downs of being an in-demand session player in Brazil. It's almost too much, but near impossible to stop watching. Includes a bonus disc of special features, interviews and photos. So Awesome! ----* ----* In Stock, Not Yet Reviewed : ----* If you want to order one of these, just search on thee item you're looking for, then click on the buy button and it will be added to your cart! AFRICAN MUSIC MACHINE "Black Water Gold" (Fuel) cd 10.98 AIR CONDITIONING "Dead Rails" (Load) cd 14.98 AKERCOCKE "Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone" (Earache) cd 15.98 AKIMBO "Navigating The Bronze" (Alternative Tentacles) cd 13.98 ALOG "Amateur" (Rune Grammofon) cd/2lp 16.98/27.00 ANAL CUNT "Defenders Of The Hate" (Menace To Sobriety) cd 14.98 APPELQVIST, HANS "Sifantin Och Morkret" (Hapna) cd 16.98 ARCTIC MONKEYS "Favorite Worst Nightmare" (Domino) cd 14.98 ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB "Neon Pibroch" (Important) cd 14.98 ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB "Super Grease" (Important) lp 16.98 BACHI DA PIETRA "Non Io" (Die Schachtel) cd 19.98 BAD PLUS, THE "Prog" (Heads Up) cd 17.98 BAD RELIGION "New Maps Of Hell" (Epitaph) cd 14.98 BOXCUTTER "Brood VIP" (Abucus) 12" 12.98 BRETSCHNEIDER, FRANK "Rhythm" (Raster-Noton) cd 17.98 BROOM DUSTERS "Sound From The Bottom Of The Tokyo Underground" (Siwa) lp 24.00 BUDOS BAND "II" (Daptone) cd 14.98 BURNING BRIDES "Hang Love" (ModArt) cd 14.98 CALIX, MIRA "Eyes Set Against The Sun" (Warp) cd 25.00 CARIBOU "Andorra" (Merge) cd/lp 13.98/16.98 CHARNEL VALLEY "The Igneous Race" (Paragon) cd 14.98 CHEMICAL BROTHERS "We Are The Night" (Astralwerks) cd 13.98 COMMON "Finding Forever" (Geffen) cd 14.98 CUB "Betti-Cola" (Mint) cd 15.98 CUB "Come Out Come Out" (Mint) cd 15.98 DALEK "A Purge of Dissidents" (Ipecac) book+DVD+CD 31.00 DARKEST HOUR "Deliver Us" (Victory) cd 15.98 DEADBEAT "Journeyman's Annual" (Scape) cd 16.98 DEATH AMBIENT "Drunken Forest" (Tzadik) cd 16.98 DEMBELE, DACUDA "s/t" (Yaala Yaala) cd 14.98 DIMENTIANON / RIGOR SARDONICOUS "split" (Largactyl) cd 14.98 DIZA STAR & THE PINK LADIES "Featuring Mani Neumeier" (Fractal) cd 23.00 DOPPLEREFFEKT "Calabi Yau Space" (Rephlex) cd/2lp 16.98/19.98 ELEGI "Sistereis" (Miasmah) cd 17.98 EMBRYO "Steig Aus" (Revisited) cd 17.98 EVERGREEN TERRACE "Wolfbiker" (Metal Blade) cd 14.98 EVOKEN "Embrace The Emptiness" (Elegy / Solitude) cd 14.98 EX-COCAINE "Keep America Mellow" (Killertree) lp 14.98 EXCEPTER "Streams 01" (Fusetron) cd 15.98 EXIAS-J "Live Document 2003-2005" (PSF) dvd 27.00 EXPO '70 "Audio Archive 001 - Music From Inaudible Depths" (Kill Shaman) cd-r 5.98 EXPO '70 "Audio Archive 002" (Kill Shaman) cd-r 5.98 FAUST "So Far" (Universal) cd 17.98 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS "The Distant Future" (Sub Pop) cd ep 3.98 GOATREIGN "s/t" (Wabana) cd 16.98 HELLA "There's No 666 in Outer Space" (Ipecac) cd 16.98 HORSEFLESH "Journey To The East" (Chambara) cd-r 6.98 JABLADAV "3K Hum" (self released) cd-r/cassette 7.98/5.00 JABLADAV "Black As Pitch" (self released) cd-r/cassette 9.98/4.50 JASPER TX "In A Cool Monsoon" (Pumpkin Seeds In The Sand) cd 11.98 JESUS LIZARD, THE "Live" (MVD Visual) dvd 16.98 KAMMERFLIMMER KOLLEKTIEF "Jinx" (Staubgold) cd/lp 15.98/15.98 KANG, EYVIND "Athlantis" (Ipecac) cd 16.98 LAS MALAS AMISTADES "Patio Bonito" (Honest Jons) cd 25.00 LEXIE MOUNTAIN / LICHENS "Split" (Hoss) lp 14.98 LICHENS "Omns" (Kranky) cd + dvd 16.98 LIFE ON EARTH "Look!! There Is Life On Earth!" (Subliminal Sounds) cd 16.98 LIGHT, THE "Turn On... The Light" (UT Records) cd 13.98 LINDSTROM (V/A) "Late Night Tales" (Azuli) cd 25.00 LIZZIE BORDEN "Master Of Disguise" (Metal Blade) cd 14.98 MANES "How The World Came To An End" (Candlelight) cd 12.98 MANIERISME "s/t" (Nekrokult Nihilism) cd 13.98 MANSON, CHARLES "The Summer Of Hate - The '67 Sessions" (Arte Lupo) cd 15.98 MARDUK "Rom 5:12" (Regain) cd 14.98 MARGINAL CONSORT "s/t" (Improvised Music From Japan) 4cd 79.00 MARTIN, AARON "Almond" (Preservation) cd 15.98 MARTIN, AARON & MACHINEFABRIEK "Cello Recycling / Cello Drowning" (Type) 10" 11.98 MASERATI "Inventions For The New Season" (Temporary Residence) cd 14.98 MAYHEM "Ordo Ad Chao" (Seasons Of Mist) cd 14.98 MCGONIGAL, MIKE "33 1/3 Series: Loveless" (Continuum) book 9.95 MEAT PUPPETS "Rise To Your Knees" (Anodyne) cd 14.98 MEIZTER, K. "Dark Matters" (Old Europa Cafe) cd + 3"cd 23.00 MEKURYA, GETATCHEW & THE EX "Moa Anbessa" (Terp) cd 18.98 MENCHE, DANIEL & KEVIN DRUMM "Gauntlet" (Editions Mego) cd 14.98 MIRAH AND SPECTRATONE INTERNATIONAL "Share This Place" (K) cd 14.98 MODERN SHIT "Modern Shit: The Stories Told By Record Covers" (Alga Marghen) book+cd 70.00 MORI, IKUE "Bhima Swarga" (Tzadik) dvd 30.00 MORTUUS "De Contemplanda Morte" (Ajna) cd 13.98 NADJA "Guilted By The Sun" (Elevation) cd 8.98 NARROWS, THE "Benjamin" (Wantage USA) cd 12.98 NATHAMUNI BROTHERS "Madras 1974" (Fire Musem) cd 14.98 NEED MORE SOURCES "Shed" (Moteer) cd 15.98 NEGATIVE PLANE "Et In Saecula Saeculorum" (AJNA) 2lp 27.00 NEMESIS "The Day Of Retribution" (GMR Music) cd 23.00 OS MUNDI "43 Minuten" (Revisited) cd 17.98 PESTE NOIRE "K.P.N. / La Sanie Des Siecles - Panegyrique De La Degenerescence" (De Profundis / Rosenkrantz) cd 13.98 PETIT, CHRISTOPHER "Radio On" (Plexifilm) dvd 22.00 PHAROAHE MONCH "Desire" (Universal / Motown) cd 14.98 PHAZM "Antebellum Death 'N' Roll" (Osmose Productions) cd+dvd 13.98 PHIL MOORE & HIS ORCHESTRA "Polynesian" (EM Records) cd PIAF, EDITH "Chansons De Films 1936 - 1961" (Trema) cd 14.98 PIAZZOLLA, ASTOR "Pulsacion" (Circular Moves) cd 16.98 PIG DESTROYER "Phantom Limb" (Relapse) cd/lp 14.98/16.98 PILIA, STEFANO "The Suncrows Fall and Tree" (Sedimental) cd 14.98 PINEBENDER "Working Nine To Wolf" (Lovitt) cd 12.98 PINK REASON "Cleaning The Mirror" (Siltbreeze) cd 13.98 PJUSK "Start" (12K) cd 14.98 PLACES, THE "Fawns With Fangs: Selections From The Dark Heart Of The Thicket" (High Plains) cd-r 9.98 PRIESTBIRD "In Your Time" (Kemado) cd 13.98 PROFUNDI "The Omega Rising" (Profound Lore) cd 15.98 PULSEFEAR "Perichroresis" (Profound Lore) cd 10.98 QUI "Baby Kisses" (Heart Of A Champion) cd 12.98 RAMESES "Misanthropic Alchemy" (Feto) cd 14.98 ROBBERS ON HIGH STREET "Grand Animals" (New Line) cd 14.98 ROKY ERICKSON "You're Gonna Miss Me" (Palm / Manga) dvd 33.00 RUNEMAGICK / OCEAN CHIEF "The Northern Lights" (Chapter 53) cd 14.98 SAXON "s/t" (EMI) cd 12.98 SAXON "Strong Arm Of The Law" (EMI) cd 12.98 SAXON "Wheels Of Steel" (EMI) cd 12.98 SCHENKER, MICHAEL GROUP "s/t" (EMI) cd 12.98 SCORPIONS "Lonesome Crow" (Brain) cd 17.98 SHAIN'S, LOS "Anthology" (Iempsa) 2cd 21.00 SHEARER, HARRY "Songs Pointed & Pointless" (Courgette) cd 14.98 SHIRE, DAVID "The Hindenberg (OST)" (Intrada) cd 30.00 SHIRE, DAVID "Zodiac (OST)" (Varese Sarabande) cd 16.98 SHITMAT "Grooverider" (Planet Mu) cd 14.98 SIGNAL "Robotron" (Raster-Noton) cd 17.98 SKREAM & CLUEKID "Sandsnake" (Disfigured Dubz) 12" 12.98 SOLSTICE "Halcyon" (Cyclone Empire) cd 16.98 SOLSTICE "Lamentations" (Candlelight) cd 16.98 SONDE "En Concert" (Oral) cd 16.98 SONDE "En Ordes" (Oral) cd 16.98 SOUVENIR'S YOUNG AMERICA "An Ocean Without Water" (Crucial Blast) cd 14.98 SPECTRE, AARON "Say More Fire" (Rag & Bone) 12" 12.98 SPIRITUALAIRES, THE OF HURTSBORO, ALABAMA "Singing Songs Of Praise" (CaseQuarter) cd 14.98 SPOOKY, DJ "System Error. Al-Yamamah Mix" (Horus) cd 17.98 STEVENS, MEIC "Sackcloth and Ashes: The EPs Vol. 2" (Sunbeam) cd 16.98 STINY PLAMENU "Odpadni Galerie" (NAGA) cd 14.98 STORMCROW / SANCTUM "split" (20 Buck Spin) cd 13.98 SUB VERSION "s/t" (Future Dub) 2lp 24.00 SUN RA "Shadows Took Shape" (Transparency) 2cd 15.98 SUN RA "The Creator Of The Universe" (Transparancy) 2cd 16.98 SUPERBAD "OST" (Lakeshore) cd 16.98 TARWATER "Spider Smile" (Morr Music) cd 16.98 TAYLOR, MIKE QUARTET "Pendulum" (Sunbeam) cd 16.98 TERRESTRIAL TONES "Dead Drunk" (Paw Tracks) cd 14.98 THE BEST OF "LONE WOLF AND CUB" "OST" (La-La Land Records) cd 11.98 TINY VIPERS "Hands Across The Void" (Sub Pop) cd 13.98 TODAY IS THE DAY "Willpower" (SuperNova) cd 14.98 TORSO / UNICORN "split" (Divorce) cd 8.98 TORTURIUM "Black Lunatic Chaos" (Aura Mystique) cd 15.98 TOTAL FUCKING DESTRUCTION "Zen And The Art Of Total Fucking Destruction" (Translation Loss) cd 14.98 TRANSMISSION 0 "Memory Of A Dream" (Candlelight) cd 13.98 TULSA DRONE "Songs From A Mean Season" (The Perpetual Motion Machine) cd 10.98 TUSS, THE "Confederation Trough EP" (Rephlex) cd ep 11.98 U-ZIQ "Duntisbourne Abbots Soulmate Devastation Technique" (Planet Mu) cd 14.98 UFO "Force It" (EMI) cd 12.98 UFO "Phenomenon" (EMI) cd 12.98 ULTRALYD "Conditions For A Piece Of Music" (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98 UNDER SATAN'S SUN "s/t" (self released) cd-r 8.98 UNKLE "War Stories" (Surrender All) cd 13.98 UPSILON ACRUX "Galapagos Momentum" (Cuneiform) cd 16.98 V/A "Molam: Thai Country Groove From Isan Vol. 2" (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98 V/A "Phoning It In" (West Main Development) cd 11.98 V/A "Searchin' For Shakes" (Amigo) cd 17.98 V/A "Silver Monk Time: A Tribute To The Monks" (Play Loud) 2cd 21.00 V/A "Some Songs Stuck In My Mind" (Crazy Apple Boutique) cd 21.00 V/A "The Busy Drone" (BVHAAST) cd 17.98 VENETIAN SNARES "Pink + Green" (Sublight) cd 15.98 VEX'D "Degenerate" (Planet Mu) 2cd 14.98 VILE CHERUBS "The Man Who Has No Eats Has No Sweats" (Afterburn) cd 13.98 VILLAINS "Drenched In The Posions" (Aurora Borealis) cd 14.98 VIRUS SYNDICATE "Present: Contagious Vol. 1" (Tyke) cd 17.98 VIRUS SYNDICATE "The Wasted EP" (Tyke / Planet Mu) 12" 12.98 VISITATIONS "s/t" (Time Lag Records) cd 16.98 VXPXC "Porchmass" (Digitalis) cd 11.98 WAGONER, PORTER "The Rubber Room" (Omni Recording Company) cd 21.00 WEEDEATER "God Luck And Good Speed" (Southern Lord) cd 15.98 WHITE STRIPES, THE "Icky Thump" (Warner Bros.) cd 16.98 WIJLEN WIJ "s/t" (Aesthetic Death) cd 15.98 WILDILDLIFE "Peas Feast" (Chicas De Hoy) cd-r 4.98 ZORN, JOHN "From Silence To Sorcery" (Tzadik) cd 16.98 ZWEINSTEIN "Trip / Flip Out / Meditation" (Captain Trip) 3cd 88.00

MPEG stream: Resolucao
MPEG stream: Concolocao
MPEG stream: O Canto De Ossanha
MPEG stream: A Frabrica
MPEG stream: Nana

Once again Soundway continues to unearth amazing tracks from yet another overlooked international scene. This collection digs into the cumbia and descarga sounds out of Columbia in the '60s to early '70s that were being released on the Discos Fuentes label. Jose Maria 'Curro' Fuentes ran the label which would become Columbia's largest. In many ways he was like the Berry Gordy of Columbia, using his immaculate taste to curate an amazing roster of musicians. Sadly most of these artists never had their music heard or even released in other parts of the globe, so this release marks the first time most of these nineteen tracks have been released anywhere outside of Columbia. The raw recordings really serve the music so well as these aren't the kind of tracks you would want overproduced or with a shiny slick veneer. Instead the infectious rhythms within the songs emerge organically with such rich and warm grooves. With sunshine time hitting us in a big way the past week, this is becoming the perfect soundtrack to outdoor get togethers and rooftop afternoons. No denying how damn hot this is!

MPEG stream: Santa Marta Cumbia
MPEG stream: Puerto Rico Zumbando
MPEG stream: Patuleco
MPEG stream: Cumbia Del Monte

An exciting anthology of clasic cuts from the Disco Fuentes label which was essentially the Motown records of Columbia. Hot and rare dance, soul and salsa tunes from the sixties and seventies will keep you burning that midnight oil for a good long time.

Wow. In the span of a couple years, the Numero Group label has become the most exciting reissue label around. From the haunting electronic samba Young Marble Giants worship of Antena, to the long lost soul of the Capsoul label, the missing funk of the Bandit label, the creepy country beauty of Fern Jones to the amazing Yellow Pills power pop combination. Makes us dizzy just thinking about it. So here we have what might possibly be the first collection of funk-soul-calypso-reggae from Belize. And it's a rollicking joyous non stop party. The influence of American R&B and soul is everywhere, and of course, so is Jamaican reggae. But with any comp like this, it's not the influences, it's what you do with them. So the tracks here run the gamut from, super emotive soulful crooning over warm warbly organs and wavery horns, full on dubbed out reggae rave ups, down and dirty gritty funky workouts, reverb drenched fifties sounding rock and roll, total Shaft / theme from some seventies sitcom slap bass disco funk and on and on. All infused with the spirt of the city and the era in which they were created. Joyful and hopeful, fun and spirited and lively and just a total blast. We've been listening to this nonstop, and everytime we play it in the store, somebody buys one!

MPEG stream: Disco Connection
MPEG stream: Can't Go Halfway
MPEG stream: Guajida

The Numero Group strike gold again with another great lost soul collection. This time it's the second in their Cult Cargo series. The first one, Belize Boil Up quickly became an AQ favorite. This time out they have extracted the sounds of Bahaman soul mostly around the early-mid '70s. Much Goombay music as it was called, captured the sound of the island with touches of Caribbean influence as well as the equally sun soaked golden Miami sound. All the tracks here are killers, with backbeats that would sound at home on Studio One and breaks that still sound so damn fresh now. Some of these bands were playing hotels and poolsides and backyards and that undeniable charm resonates throughout the collection. Some nods to the past for sure, soaking up the sweetness and warmth of doo-wop, but at the same time, these tunes begin to walk in funkier shoes, capturing that raw beautiful essence of how soul should sound. Dripping with warmth and sparkling with color, somewhere between doo-wop and funk, with the island's tropical warm wind keeping everything flowing and fresh!

MPEG stream: Gonna Build A Nation
MPEG stream: Don't Touch That Thing
MPEG stream: People Won't Change

Holy cow! The Analog Africa label does it again, another amazing archival collection, even more notable this time around for the fact that it's not really even a collection of African music, instead, it's a sampling of sixties, seventies and eighties Colombian music, which as we discovered via this comp, was in fact hugely influenced by African music, and within seconds of pushing play, it's definitely obvious, the hybrid of Latin and African music so perfect, Afrobeat and Afrofunk, psychedelic fuzz funk, the drums and vocal chants of African music perfectly fused to classic Latin rhythms, even the folks around here who aren't always into this kind of stuff, have been digging this big time, and at least one of us has been listening to nothing else. As with all Analog Africa releases, there's a massive booklet, with extensive liner notes, on the history of Colombian music, theories on how African music made it to Colombia (a single mysterious man called Boquebaba? Seafaring traders?), ideas on what drove this fusion that seemed utterly ubiquitous in Colombia at the time (roaming mobile sound systems, innovative and forward looking producers), there's also the story of how this comp came to be, which tells the tale of the curator's repeated visits to Colombia, which involved bringing African records to trade for Colombian records, and which ultimately resulted in threats on his life, as apparently, many of those records existed in Colombia already, but without anyone knowing the artists or the names of the songs, and various DJs and sound systems had been playing those records for years, and now that folks knew what they were, and more copies had been brought to Colombia, they felt threatened. It's all super fascinating, and there's so much more, multiple essays on the evolution of the Colombian sound, of Colombian psychedelic Afrobeat and more more more. But it's really it's all about the music, and the music here is incredible, wild and fuzzy and funky, groovy and psychedelic, crazy percussion, chaotic drumming, wah wah guitars, soulful horns, and check out the vox on opener "El Caterete" by Wganda Kenya, which starts off sounding impossibly African, in fact, had we not known it was from THIS comp, we would have assumed it WAS African, and then when the lead vocals come in, a soaring near operatic croon, that is at the same time totally over the top and almost comical, and one of the coolest vocalists we've ever hear, all over call and response chanting, driving rhythms, psychedelic guitar jangle, groovy loping funk bass, it's KILLER. And it never lets up, the first disc focusing specifically on the Afrobeat and Afrofunk rhythms that worked their way into Colombian music at the time, while disc two, is more oriented toward more danceable tropical Latin rhythms, although both discs seem to offer a bit of both. The beginning of disc two is awesome as well, the vibe a little bit dark and brooding, the first few tracks sounding alternately like the swampy slithery blues of Screamin' Jay Hawkins (right down to some maniacal, echo drenched sinister laughter, wooooohahahahah), sultry and some seriously fuzzed out psychedelic Latin Afro-funk, and at times almost like Klezmer! And this disc two, never lets up, every song a stone cold killer, which will have you nodding your head, tapping your toes, and fighting the urge to get up and dance. Easily our reissue of the year, hands down, coming in just under the wire, to leave all other reissues in its dust. And another strange thing, you don't often find on collections like this, a hidden track tucked away at the end. After a few minutes of silence, what sounds like a call in radio program, and then one final jam, all groovy percussion, whoops and hollers, acoustic guitar strum, and some serious accordion shredding! Fantastically packaged, in a miniature hardcover book, a huge almost sixty page booklet, tons of liner notes and essays, rare photos and more!!

MPEG stream: El Caterete
MPEG stream: Enyere Kumbara
MPEG stream: Amampondo
MPEG stream: Eco En Stereo
MPEG stream: La Veterana
MPEG stream: Lluvia

NOW ON VINYL!!! Yay! Always cool to get a new comp of crazy, colorful, psychedelic pop rock treats from way back when (and way far off too, internationally speaking).�The comic bookish cartoony cover art gets the swinging '60s (and early '70s) concept across, plus we were already fans of a couple previous comps on the same label, Neurotic Reactions and Some Songs Stuck In My Mind. So we were curious to hear this, and quite pleased with what we heard! 15 cuts full of fuzzy guitars, funky drum breaks, exuberant vocals, Hammond organ orgies, and other facets of freaky, garagey goodness, all from rare 45s by bands straight outta Argentina circa '69-'75, part of something called the "Rioplatense scene". The lineup: Bosques, Dynamita, Los Fantasmas, Gipsys, Caballo Vapor, Kon-Tiki, Brujos, Wooky Toky, Los Barbaros, Victoria, Them (no, not that Them), Asfalto, Jarabe De Menta, and Little Green Men. Lots of great stuff. We love the backwards effects on Kon-Tiki's "Viaja Al Ayer (Turn Back Time)" which sounds like something by Peru's We All Together, old AQ faves. It's actually one of the prettiest, most restrained songs here, the others go for a variety of pop music that, y'know, really POPS. Like, ferinstance, the sheer organ-heavy FUNK of Caballo Vapor's cut. Or the unhinged mayhem of Gipsys' "Oh! Malala" (they get two tracks here, and the other one, "Kamasutra", is pretty wicked too). Wild, wacky, and fun are what you should expect, especially from the band that calls themselves Wooky Toky...

MPEG stream: Toma Tu Tiempo
MPEG stream: Kamasutra
MPEG stream: Viaja Al Ayer (Turn Back Time)

Yay! Always cool to get a new comp of crazy, colorful, psychedelic pop rock treats from way back when (and way far off too, internationally speaking).�The comic bookish cartoony cover art gets the swinging '60s (and early '70s) concept across, plus we were already fans of a couple previous comps on the same label, Neurotic Reactions and Some Songs Stuck In My Mind. So we were curious to hear this, and quite pleased with what we heard! 15 cuts full of fuzzy guitars, funky drum breaks, exuberant vocals, Hammond organ orgies, and other facets of freaky, garagey goodness, all from rare 45s by bands straight outta Argentina circa '69-'75, that the detailed liner notes in the illustrated booklet will explain were part of something called the "Rioplatense scene". The lineup: Bosques, Dynamita, Los Fantasmas, Gipsys, Caballo Vapor, Kon-Tiki, Brujos, Wooky Toky, Los Barbaros, Victoria, Them (no, not that Them), Asfalto, Jarabe De Menta, and Little Green Men. Lots of great stuff. We love the backwards effects on Kon-Tiki's "Viaja Al Ayer (Turn Back Time)" which sounds like something by Peru's We All Together, old AQ faves. It's actually one of the prettiest, most restrained songs here, the others go for a variety of pop music that, y'know, really POPS. Like, ferinstance, the sheer organ-heavy FUNK of Caballo Vapor's cut. Or the unhinged mayhem of Gipsys' "Oh! Malala" (they get two tracks here, and the other one, "Kamasutra", is pretty wicked too). Wild, wacky, and fun are what you should expect, especially from the band that calls themselves Wooky Toky... Spanish import, limited to 500 copies.

MPEG stream: Toma Tu Tiempo
MPEG stream: Kamasutra
MPEG stream: Viaja Al Ayer (Turn Back Time)

Somehow we missed out on the first volume of Peruvian stompers offered up by the always trustworthy Vampisoul label, but we're more then happy to just dive right in with volume two in their series collecting great Bugalu sounds out of Peru from the late '60s. Such a ripe moment in time for the sound of Bugalu to explode in South America and these 28 tracks offer a nonstop foot stomping snapshot of this golden-era of Bugalu fun. Nice vintage packaging with informative liner notes in both English and Spanish makes this a must have for anyone wanting to learn more about the late '60s music scene in Peru. So fun and colorful!

MPEG stream: Humo
MPEG stream: El Conductor
MPEG stream: Boogaloo Del Perro