Review: In 2011, Banda Achilifunk & OJO served up Gitano Real, one of the year's most essential albums. It was caned far and wide by funk lovers, in particular Craig Charles on his 6 Music show. Now, two cover versions taken from the essential album have been pressed to limited edition translucent yellow vinyl. First up, 'I Believe in Miracles' is an overwhelming take on the Jackson Sisters classic with plenty of happy Latin vibes and rumba funk rhythms. Flip it over for a more abstract version of McFadden and Whitehead's seminal 'Ain't No Stoping Us Now' which is a soulful disco number packed with sunshine.
Review: NuNorthern Soul's 2021 Record Store Day offering is something of a treat. It's a fresh reissue of an impossible-to-find promo 45 first issued to promote Flamenco legend El Turronero's 1980 disco album, EL Hondo. It features two tracks that have long been regular features in the sets of many dusty-fingered Balearic selectors, especially globe-trotting cult leader DJ Harvey. On the A-side you'll find the cosmic, driving, synth-laden brilliance of 'Las Penas (La Cana) - a genuine "everything but the kitchen sink" affair topped off by El Turronero's distinctive vocals - while the more exotic 'Si Yo Volviera Al Nacer', where synths and Sitars accompany the Flamenco-disco grooves, resides on the flip.
Review: The popular Spanish ensemble Pyramid Blue come back, and do so in brilliantly fantastic fashion with this red-hot new 7" featuring a captivating mix of Afrofunk and Ethio Jazz. Oscar Martos is the composer and producer who heads up this group and is fresh off big collabs with Tito Ramirez. He manages to draw from modern sounds as well as classic genre tropes here and push both into all new ground with 'Lince Rojo' opening up with an enchanting lead and raw rhythms. On the B-side, 'Doctor One' brings a hint of hip hop edge to psyched-out guitars and cosmic synths.
Review: Matasuna Records, based in Berlin, kick off their 2025 with a ladling of fresh soul soma food, this time by Barca's finest one-girl band The Blaxound (Marta Roman), in collaboration with singer John Vermont. Building on irreverent, vintage 60s pop from Spain, whose sound is categorically fiendish to replicate, the two artists have nonetheless managed a close hewing here. 'No Es Por Ti' showcases Vermont's throaty singing, lyrically playing out the eternally relatable breakup trope of "it's not you, it's me." Then 'Qu Ms Te Da?' follows with an affectingly syncopal rhythm, with a tightened snare played only on the 4, heightening the erotic tensity of the scene, driven by shuffling hats alone, whilst the artists' respective cools are kept.
Review: French Latin ska/dancehall artist Manu Chao (Los Carayos, Hot Pants) shares 'Viva Tu', his latest single pre-empting his upcoming solo summer stomper of an album. A wholesome ode to the neighbourly charms of his Chao's home city, 'Viva Tu' translates to "long live you!", and sports a universal message of simple merriment and streetwise hobnobbing. From "the one who sells tickets on the subway, to the street-sweeper", Chao's call for love - mediated by the irresistible sweetmeats of rhythm guitar and trilling ad-libs - excludes no-one. It's also a great, sweet-hearted song.
Review: Mampon unleash their latest Afrobeat enchantment on a new 7" release. 'Si Algun Dia Has De Caer' is a clean, bouncing neo-Afrobeat whirlwind, combining the infectious vocals of Spanish singer Hector Rodriguez with a dynamic backup production that is as irresistible as it is ineluctable. The B-side pares back the dance and pierces the political veil, with a Spanish-language plea to listeners to carve out their own paths in life, regardless of cost.
Review: French-Spanish, Latin soul and Afrobeats singer-songwriter Manu Chao returns to the fore with Viva Tu ('Long Live You'), a heartwarming Latin ska and worldbeat album dedicated to uncovetable, amicable neighbourly relations between members of the public. After the release of the eponymous lead single, the full record comes now in full cordial force. With its sleepily descendant vocals giving off the sense of a narrator too sunkissed to care, Viva Tu is an al fresco listening experience, one that also nonetheless betrays Chao's seasoned, well-tanned skin in the game. Now 63, this is a comeback album "inspired by (Chao's) travels and people's daily lives", and it hears him hark after something like a universal language, flexing his multilingual chops by singing in Spanish, French, Portuguese and English. All this forms part of Chao's mission to address the various global issues facing humanity today, in such a manner as only he can do best; he treats music as a vehicle for a humanistic global activism, aiming to promote anti-capitalist, antifascist and without-borders content.
Review: Gipsy Power Band - what a name that is, by the way - debuts with aplomb here and mixes up a fiery sonic stew of flamenco rumba, rock and funk that captures the essence of a unique time in Spanish music. Formed in Madrid in 2022, the band originally paid tribute to "cine quinqui," a Spanish exploitation film genre, by performing tracks from its iconic soundtracks and other hidden gems from the mid-70s to early 80s. Drawing inspiration from artists like Los Chichos and Las Grecas, they lit up Madrid's stages with their vintage repertoire. Now, they've evolved to create original music and it comes in the form of these two songs.
Review: Spanish funk-rock group Barrabas formed in the 70s and had big success through that decade and the next. Drummer and producer Fernando Arbex lead the band and fomented a fusion of Latin rock and jazz-funk initially, before moving into a more disco orientated sound later on. Power was the band's second album and it came in 1973 with country-tinged tunes such as 'Boogie Rock', high speed funk workouts like 'Keep On Moving' and then more jazzy library sounds such as 'The Horse.' The second half of the album touches on busy dance floor funk like 'Casanova' and more stripped back and deep cuts like 'Children.'
Review: In spring 2002, this collection of compositions by the renowned Alfonso Santisteban debuted on CD and soon became a staple on dance floors at exclusive clubs and events like that year's Fashion Week and the grand reopening of the iconic Cafe Oliver. It was also embraced by Berlin's lounge, easy listening and Brazilian-inspired groove scene so found plenty of homes on various compilations of the era. Tracks like the funk-fueled 'Persecucion,' the Brazilian-tinged 'Brincadeira' and the kitschy delight 'Strawberry Flavor' cemented its status as an artistic gem. This is the sort of diverse and tasteful record that will come in handy in myriad different settings and seasons.
Review: This forthcoming album, features 21 previously unreleased tracks by Paco de Lucia and his brother Pepe. Dating back to 1959 and 1960, these recordings provide a rare glimpse into the early musical endeavors of the duo, aged 11 and 13 respectively at the time. The tapes, restored using AI technology from a vintage Grundig TK46 tape recorder, capture the essence of the brothers' talent and passion for flamenco. Pepe de Lucia expressed astonishment at revisiting the recordings, reflecting on the joyous memories they evoke. Pepito y Paquito promises to be a poignant homage to the enduring legacy of Paco de Lucia and his brother, marking a significant milestone in the history of flamenco music.
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