My October's choice!

Sunlightsquare
‘Britannia Shing-A-Ling’ Album
Sunlightsquare Records (UK)
Out on OCTOBE 24th 2011

Check out the making of ‘land Of 1000 Dances’ & ‘O Mi Shango’ videos here: http://www.sunlightsquare.co.uk/fr_britannia.cfm ::

Sunlightsquare band leader, Claudio Passavanti unleashes his enormous new album recording venture, ‘Britannia Shing-A-Ling’. Recorded at Studio Miloco Studios, London, Claudio enlisted 25 musicians and vocalists (A MASSIVE BAND!) to take part in this phenomenal live album project, using no more technology than that was available in the early 1970’s. The result is a joyous celebration of Northern Soul, Rare Groove, The Boogaloo and Rhumba classics all served with that hot signature Sunlightsquare Latin twist!

‘Britannia Shing-A-Ling’ has already spawned 2 big single releases: a cover of Wilson Pickett’s 1966 ‘Land Of 1000 Dances’, and the Cuban Latin jazz percussionist Mongo Santamaria’s 1976 smash ‘O Mi Shango’ (with mixes from Ft. Franke Estevez & George Mena, Mustafa and David Doyle) supported massively in NYC as well as across global dancefloors and radio! Other popular songs featured on the album include favourities such as Marlena Shaw’s ‘California Soul’, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas ‘Nowhere To Run’ and Jimmy Rivers’ ‘Up, ‘Up and Away’.
The ‘Britannia Shing-A-Ling’ album is a project including a massive line up of 1 drums, 1 bass, 3 percussion, 7 horns, 1 flute, 1 vibraphone, 1 keyboards, 6 singers and + a string section. The whole album was recorded live, using the same technique typical of Fania/Motown/Staxx sounds, where all parts were written and performed all at once with just strings overdubbing and no editing whatsoever!