Juno Recommends International April 2020

Review: The 11th Limited Dance Edition Ranil y su Conjunto Tropical. Fourteen mindblowing Cumbia masterpieces - many of which have never seen wide release outside the Amazonian region. Ranil comes as a Limited Edition LP in Gatefold Cover pressed on 180g high quality virgin vinyl and includes a beautiful LP-size poster. Don't miss this powerfull LP!

Review: Tireless diggers and world class reissue merchants Mr Bongo have done it again with this one. They discovered The Star Beams when one of their tracks was on a Disco Calypso compilation, then went on a mission to track down the original anymore material from the band, who turned out to be based in South Africa instead of the Carribean. The resulting record is a real gem - disco, funk and jazz all get chewed up and spat out across four fantastically timeless cuts of dance floor dynamite. "Disco Stomp" in particular you might already know as Theo Parrish has been dropping in his sets for time.

Review: Here's a serious dose of Brazilian boogie to get diggers rejoicing. Marcos Valle first released his self-titled album back in 1983, and now it's been given a generous remaster and reissue treatment from Vampi Soul. It's an album that glides from seriously funky party tracks to soft-focus ballads, with some of the sweet spots in between delivering the most memorable moments. Look no further than the slow but so damn groovy "Samba De Verao", or if you prefer something with a bit more swing then "Naturalmente" has you covered. A gold dust rarity from the annals of Latin music history given a much-deserved dusting down.

Review: This fine compilation dives into the vast archives of Uzelli Kaset, a Turkish record label founded in Frankfurt in 1971 that later become one of Turkey's leading music companies. It focuses specifically on tracks made between 1976 and '84 using the electric saz, an updated electrified version of the country's most-used traditional string instrument. Musically, it's a hugely vibrant hotchpotch of exotic, late 20th century updates of Turkish folk songs, psych-rock, and Persian popular music from the period. Intoxicating, exotic, otherworldly and packed to the rafters with genuinely quality cuts, it's an eye-opening and hugely entertaining compilation that you'll want to return to time and again.

Review: Another week, another must have edition in Mr Bongo's essential Brazil 45s series. This time round they've offered up a genuine rare-as-hen's-teeth gem: Sonia Santos's 1974 single "Marraio", a fiery slab of samba-funk fusion laden with rousing horns, shuffling beats and busy bass. It's brilliant all told, and well worth the admission price on its own. Of course, the flipside from Marcia Maria is also superb. A little less hard-to-find but still rare, 1979's "Oh! Man" is a more relaxed and groovy MPB affair that joins the dots between jazz-funk, soul and samba. It's undeniably sun-kissed and celebratory, like much of Maria's work in that period.

Review: Rewind to 1975, Brazilian supergroup Azymuth hit their richest creative vein with this self-titled full-length. Just as the band remain so themselves, this is still hugely relevant and ridiculously on-point considering it's 40 years on the clock. Proof can be found on every track from the sedative harmonic charms of the opener "Linha Do Horizonte", the raw slap bass funk, velvet keys and soaring synths on "Seems Like This" and the frenetic, almost techy mentality of "Wait For My Turn". An essential addition to any collection, this would have blown minds to pieces back in 1975.

Review: Ethio-jazz legend Hailu Mergia is arguably one of Awesome Tapes From Africa's biggest success stories. After discovering that he was now driving a taxi in Washington, D.C, label boss Brian Shimkovitz reissued some of his old recordings before encouraging the keyboardist and accordion player to make new music. Mergia has been on the rise ever since. "Yene Mircha" is his second new album for ATFM and was recorded with a cast list of guest musicians, including mesenqo player Setegn Atanew, vocalist Tsehay Kassa, and saxophonist Moges Habte. It's surprisingly musically diverse, drawing together elements of jazz-funk, ethio-jazz, more up-tempo Ethiopian dance music and, perhaps most surprisingly of all, both dub and reggae.

Review: The Tamikrest collective is arguably the best-known musical project to emerge yet from the Tuareg people, a nomadic community of "pastoralist peoples" who inhabit the Saharan interior of North Africa. "Tamotait" is their sixth studio album and undoubtedly one of the strongest yet. Their sound is undeniably contemporary, with ear-catching electric guitars and electrified versions of more traditional North African instruments being joined by ear-catching group vocals in their native language, traditional rhythms (mostly played on a rock style drum kit) and nods towards Peter Green style electric blues, Turkish psych-rock and even axe-wielding, punky indie-rock.