Back in stock: Funk

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Brazilian electronics are back in vogue, and Tony Bizzaro might have just snaffled up said new wave's crown. All the way from 1976 comes 'Que Se Faz Da Vida', a strutting, suave, emotionally cool EP of only the most DJ-able and collected soul-funk. This reissue is, bizarrely, Bizarro's first ever.

Review: Two cornerstones of rare Amazonian (!) cumbia appear together on 7" for the first time, as Vampisoul resurrect these wildly sought-after versions of 'Sonido Amazonico'. On one side is a hypnotic, percussion-heavy take by Ranil Y Su Conjunto Tropical, first and only released on LP. Led by Raul Llerena, this Iquitos band helped forge the sound of psychedelic cumbia through Llerena's Producciones Llerena imprint, now a holy grail label for collectors of such trove-bound tropical rarities. On the inverse comes Los Wembler's de Iquitos - of equal stature as one of the genre's most enduring groups - bringing their stomping rhythmoids to the same track; it also just so happens to remain one of their most defining anthems. The UK's not the only "jungle scene" out there - just listen to these killer, understoried sonic forests.