Let's end the week with a new re-edit I recently did of tropical disco gem from 1977. As the title suggests, I went for a funky Caribbean groove on this edit. I'm sure if you listen closely, you'll be able to identify the original track. As always, I would love to hear feedback regarding this track from everyone. Enjoy your weekend!
Here's a preview of the forthcoming release from Sofrito titled Sofrito Super Singles 004 - Highlife Underground EP. This amazing new twelve-inch single features two new funky tropical Afro edits. The A-side track has the Sofrito crew teaming up with London based producer DrumTalk in remixing Mpese Mpese Band's 1986 bass heavy gem "Mpese Mpese Theme" into a futuristic highlife dancefloor cooker. The flip continues to turn up the heat with a reworking of an early eighties Afro-funk track from the Canadoes Dance Band. It's safe to say that there will be no standing around on the dancefloor when either of these heavy-hitting Afro gems get spun. Overall, Sofrito continues to prove once again that they are kings of the tropical discotheque. Enjoy!
It's a little gloomy here in the Bay Area today so I think I need a little "pick-me-up". What better remedy than Wganda Kenya's funky tropical gem "Bayesa" . This track was originally featured on the group's 1976 self-titled album, which was released by the now legendary Discos Fuentes label. This was just one of the many great tracks this group, which resided off the Caribbean coast of Colombia, released during the late seventies. If your into this sound, I highly recommend checking out other songs by this group. Enjoy!
Over the last year, the record label Strut has teamed up with a number of music legends like Dennis Coffey, Ebo Taylor, and Orchestre Poly-Rythmo to release fresh batch of new studio material. The latest notable artist to team up with the London based label to release a new record is legendary disco producer August Darnell, better known as Kid Creole. Darnell made a name for himself during the seventies and eighties producing classic disco releases by group's like Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, Cory Daye, Gichy Dan's Beachwood # 9, Aural Exciters, Machine, as well as his own Kid Creole & The Coconuts' releases. Much like Coffey and Taylor, this new studio album, titled I Wake Up Screaming, represents the first new studio album in over a decade. This record was recorded at Darnell's own studio in Sweden and mixed by Brennan Green and Lars Nissen. The new album also features co-compositions and co-productions with Andy Butler of Hercules & Love Affair. I Wake Up Screaming has all the elements of a classic Kid Creole album with it's funky swagger on tropical groove-oriented music. Fans of Kid Creole will definitely not be disappointed. I highly recommend checking out this release!
The funky tropical crew Sofrito just released another great twelve-inch titled "Jungle Magic" (Previously discussed on this blog. See Jungle Magic). Click Here to purchase the new amazing 12" single. Definitely one of the year's best twelves!
Here is the final track, titled "Nightflight to Trinidad", off of my recently released Cabana Disco Vol.05 12". The re-edit is an instrumental reworking of a rare Caribbean boogie gem that came out in 1981 (maybe the photo above will give you a hint).
With the summer pretty much in full effect, I thought I would post a tropical Cumbia-flavored cut titled "Maria" by Juan Campolargo. This track came from Campolargo's 1973 album Merengues! Merengues! Merengues! off the label Sounds of the Caribbean, a record I picked up about six months ago. I had very little knowledge about this release when I bought the record, however it turned out to be a nice find. With that being said, you can probably make an argument that the sleeve artwork itself makes the record worth owning. Regardless, it's nice complimentary track to go along with all the upcoming warm summer nights. Enjoy!
Here is the tropical gem "Funky Stuff" by the group Dutch Rhythm, Steel & Show Band. This soulful cut was originally released back in 1975 off of the group's Soul, Steel & Show album and most recently included on the superb Trans Air Records compilation West Indie Funk, which features a number of rare funky Caribbean gems. For those that enjoyed Trans Air's first compilation release Disc'o'Lypso, I highly recommend checking out West Indie Funk. Some of the other highlights from the record include Syd Jones & The Troubadours' "Cardova", East Side Symphony's "Hot Pants Road", The Esso Trinidad Steel Band's steel drum-infused cover of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" and The Troubadours' heavy-hitting psychedelic gem "No Names Bar". Overall, West Indie Funk is a great release that brings together some of the most rare and obscure tropical-flavored titles from the Caribbean region. Enjoy!
Two heavy-weights in Strut Records and Sofrito have come together to release the best new compilation of the year so far in Tropical Discotheque. This highly anticipated release, which was put together by Sofrito deejays Hugo Mendez, Frankie Francis, and The Mighty Crime Minister, bring together fifteen unmixed, dynamite tropical grooves old and new ranging from raw cumbia, heavy Congolese soukous, bassline calypso, and cosmic highlife. Some of the many highlights found on the compilation include an exclusive cumbia jam by Quantic Y Su Conjunto Los Mỉticos Del Ritmo titled "Cumbia Mochilla", a funky re-edit of Victor Uwaifo's disco gem "Ohue", alongside classic cuts like Gnonnas Pedro's "Yiri Yiri Boom", Roaring Lion's "Carnival Long Ago", Adolfo Echeverria's "Sabroso Bacalão" and one of my personal favorites in Frente Cumbiero's funky intrumental gem "Pitchito". If you've been following Sofrito over the past half decade, you already know that everything these guys put out is of the up most quality and the same can be said about this incredible new release. From what I've been able to notice, this compilation has already been flying off the record shelves, therefore I highly recommend picking up a copy while some still exist. Strut and Sofrito, between the two of them, have definitely put out a number of amazing records, however their collaborative release of Tropical Discotheque might be their best yet. Enjoy!
I was excited to receive a press release from Strut Records this week that they have teamed up with tropical dancefloor label Sofrito to release an upcoming compilation titled Sofrito: Tropical Discotheque. This compilation, which was put together by Sofrito deejays Hugo Mendez, Frankie Francis, and The Mighty Crime Minister, bring together fifteen unmixed, dynamite tropical grooves old and new ranging from raw cumbia, heavy Congolese soukous, bassline calypso, and cosmic highlife. Some of the compilation highlights will include an exclusive cumbia jam by Quantic titled "Cumbia Mochilla", a funky re-edit of Victor Uwaifo's disco gem "Ohue", alongside classic cuts like Gnonnas Pedro's "Yiri Yiri Boom", Roaring Lion's "Carnival Long Ago", and Mighty Shadow's "Dat Soca Boat" among many others. If you've been following Sofrito over past half decade, you'll know that everything these guys put out is of the up most quality and definitely worth owning. The highly anticipated compilation release will begin to make it's way into record shops on January 25th. Mark your calendars!
During this summer's trip to Paris, I met and deejayed with a number of great people. One of those individuals was Matthieu Gazier, who runs the French label Ekleroshock. We got a chance to hangout a little bit and share some music while deejaying together at the Tape Bar. One of the tracks he played was Resonance's 1974 tropical disco gem "Safari Love". I pretty much fell in love with this track from the song's opening minute, with the song nicely blending together animal and jungle sound effects alongside some funky instrumental grooves and repetitive vocal chants. It's safe to say that since I've gotten back to the states, hunting down the track, which was originally released as a seven-inch single, has been a high priority. I also came to later find that the song was also included on the group's 1975 album O.K. Chicago. Overall, it's a great tropical disco cut that I was very happy to be introduced to while hanging out in Paris. Enjoy!
My wife and I have been spending the last few nights going through drink recipes that feature rum in this new cocktail book that we bought. I find there is nothing better than an evening enjoying some tropical rum drinks with some funky Latin music, which brings me to today's featured track by Gnonnas Pedro, titled "Yiri Yiri Boum". This laid-back tropical gem was released back in 1981 off his album El Cochechivo. Pedro was a Benin born multi-instrumentalist who was known in that region for his Cuban influenced music. He played in the Benin based group Los Panchos before starting his own band which was called Les Dadjés. If anything can be certain when it comes to the tropical music that Gnonnas Pedro produced throughout his career, is that the songs should be complimented with a solid dose of Cuban rum. Enjoy!
Today I thought I would share one of the most interesting and unusual tracks I've come across for quite sometime in Bob Chance's 1980 novelty cut "Jungle Talk". This tropical funk gem is included on Chance's 1980 album It's Broken. I first came across this record when I was record shopping at San Francisco's Groove Merchants record shop. One of the clerks was playing this track and I immediately became mesmerised by the heavy overall groove mixed together with the assortment of tropical sound effects. The record became even more interesting after the clerk showed me who was actually behind the tropical funk gem. I couldn't imagine that this funky track, which sounds like something from an artist like Manu Dibango, came from this complete "cheesy looking" one-record-to-his-name Bob Chance. It's safe to say that the rest of the record is not very good, however I still became sold with the heavy funkiness of "Jungle Talk". For those that enjoy this track, Groove Merchants has a few more copies in stock. Overall, the record makes for one of the most interesting of my personal collection. I would love to see someone license this and include it on an upcoming compilation. Until then, sit back and enjoy some "Jungle Talk" from Bob Chance.
A few years back, a number of great disco re-edit twelve-inches were released under a series titled Les Edits Du Golem. Most of the releases featured edits of some of the most obscure disco tracks one could even think of or find. Furthermore, the releases never mentioned or gave credit to the people that were responsible for the actual edits, therefore adding a bit of "mystique" to this already interesting series. In all, the series consisted of six releases with the last coming in 2008 titled "A.L-T.s Summer Outtings". My favorite record from the series is actually the first release of the series which consisted of funky re-edits of Clout's "Sunshine Baby", an unkown re-edit titled Sumak, and a 1977 tropical disco gem by Ahmed Fakroun titled "Nisyan" (re-titled "Pyramide"). Unfortunately I haven't been able to hunt down who actually did these edits, therefore I can't give the apropriate credit due for these fine edits. Regardless, the overall series was a good one that I was saddened to see come to an unexpected end. Nevertheless, we still have the music from this collection to always enjoy, and that is exactly what I plan on doing.
If you have listened to a number of my edits, you will find that I have a thing for animal and jungle atmospheric sound effects. I love this idea of a disco located somewhere in the deep hidden terrains of a tropical jungle. A song that captures that ascents is the Kongas'(featuring Cerrone and Alec R. Costandinos) 1978 funky disco gem "Jungle". This rendition of the track appears on the group's Anikana-O LP. An earlier, more raw version of the song can also be found on the group's 1974 self-title outing, however the track lacks the same disco appeal and production quality that I feel the later version posses, which probably has to do with the fact that Tom Moulton handled the records overall mixing. Jungle is just one of the many great songs on the record, which also includes funky disco classics like "Kongas Fun" and the self-titled track "Anikana-O". Overall, the entire album, in my mind, is one of the best records that both Cerrone and Alec R. Costandinos have collaborated on and one I highly recommend snatching up when you get the chance. I'm currently finishing up an edit of the "Jungle" track for Cabana Disco vol.5. Look for it on this site in the coming month. Enjoy the Jungle!
The Beginning of the End will, rightfully so, forever be associated with the 1971 classic track "Funky Nassau". As this group continues to be recognized and appreciated for this dancefloor classic, many have forgotten or somewhat ignored their solid self-titled follow-up album, which was released in 1976. Now, this record doesn't have a track that can probably even stand up next to "Funky Nassau", however it would almost be impossible to duplicate such a great track. The record does contain plenty of solid gems to get excited about like "Super Woman", "That's What I Get", and "Jump in the Water". The self-titled record starts where the group's debut album Funky Nassau left off, with an overall feel-good funky soulful groove that made tracks like "Funky Nassau" and "Come Down Baby" such classics. Like I mentioned before, the group's 1976 self-titled album might not feature the group's signature cut, however the follow-up record is still very solid and definitely deserves some attention and praise. Here is my personal favorite track off the record in "Jump in the Water". Enjoy your weekend!
Over the last few years, Soundway Records has been releasing some the best compilations focusing on all different kinds of funky rare world grooves from Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. This is why I'm excited that tonight, San Francisco's Elbo Room will be hosting Soundway's DJ Beto alongside Groove Merchant's Vinnie Esparza, and DJ Guillermo for a Panama! 3 release party. The Panama! 3 compilation, which has been mentioned before of this site, was one of my personal favorites of the year comprised of rare and impossible-to-find Calypso Panameno, Guajira Jazz, and Cumbia Tipica grooves. According to the Soundway website, part 3 will make up the last of this increadible series. Therefore, I highly recommend everyone in the bay to head down to the Elbo Room for this very exciting one-time event.
A few months back, I picked up a rare used copy of a 70's era Brazilian compilation that featured all the usual Brazilian musical greats like Gal Costa, Jorge Ben, and Gilberto Gil. Now most of the time these artists I just mentioned would of been the reason why I decided to purchase the record, however on this occasion that wasn't the case. The track I was most interested in was by a female singer named Lady Zu, which I previously had never heard of, and the track was "A Noite Vai Chegar". With one listen I was pretty much hooked, as the song, originally released in 1978, has an overall feel-good tropical disco groove that reminds a bit of a Dr. Buzzard & The Savannah Band, with of course being sung in Brazilian. With that kind of combination of a groove, it was safe to say that I picked the compilation and the song has been a personal favorite ever since. From the little bit of research that I've done it looks to be that Lady Zu has released a few albums that tend to blend towards a Brazilian disco sound. If "A Noite Vai Chegar" is any indication as to the kind of music Lady Zu has released, hopefully at some point in the very near future, I will be able to hunt down some more of her music. Enjoy!
Back from a nice break off. Thanks for all the Happy Birthday wishes. I ended up having a nice relaxing day consisting of record store shopping, Mexican food, and plenty of tasty drinks. Anyways, I always find this time of the year becomes quite hectic with the upcoming holidays and New Year. It's probably about time I start paying tribute to some of my favorite releases of 2009. After looking back on this year I found that I got really into funky world music thanks to labels like Soundway, Strut, and Honest Jon's among others. I found myself trying to constantly crossover rare African, Latin, or Caribbean music with funky disco gems. This whole process has been quite challenging, yet very refreshing and exciting, not to mention still a work in progress. Regardless, one of the new of the many compilations I found myself enjoying this year was Soundway's Panama! 3 release. This compilation focused on Calypso Panameño, Guajira Jazz and Cumbia Típica on the Isthmus from 1960–75. Now many of those music genres sounded very foreign to me, therefore the way I would break it down is describing it as rare tropical Latin jazz-funk (if that helps simplify it at all?). I found myself constantly putting this record on and trying to dissect each and every track. I'm not going to go into each and every song that moved me, as there were many, however I will just say that I recommend everyone giving it a listen and a chance. It might not be disco, however it's definitely funky and if you can somehow successfully work a song or two from a compilation like this in a disco set I think it could be powerful. Anyways, Enjoy!
Just over the past year, I have really gotten into the Trinidad based Soca flavoured disco group Kalyan. They are one of those groups that really blurs the lines between many genres of music including disco, soca, soul, Afrobeat, reggae, etc. I've been fortunate to pick up a couple of the group's records including Trini-Vibes and the 1977 self-titled effort, which are both produced by known cosmic disco producer Tony "Champagne" Silvester. The more I listen to both records, the more I tend to enjoy them. One of the songs that has really started to grow on me is the leading track off their self-titled record, entitled "Disco Reggae. This is one of those tracks that I think really represents the group's overall sound pretty well. Therefore, if you enjoy that "tropical disco" sound, like myself, this a great group to check out.
