- Sonido Franko

I met Eamon (and his rad wife and fellow artist Gina Osterloh) at a bar in Pasadena during Euro ’08, and since then I’ve watched him put on excellent solo art shows, release the killer Cruzando album (get it here), and organize great events like a screening of El Mundo de Los Pobres, the rare 1986 film that stars chicha legends Los Shapis. So it’s an honor to have such a busy person take the time out to make a mix for EPR, and “Acid Sonidero” is fantastic, a mad mix of drowsy drops, washboard rhythms, and bass for hips, ending with a sample from Dr. Dre. It’s a crazy flight through the  Andes up to Mexico City, with a trip back home to California. Thank you Eamon!

Taken from Echo Park Records

1. Los Supersonicos Del Ritmo: Escucha Juventud

2. Panamérika.fm: Programa 142 (large file)

Nevertheless, Uriel showed up at my house - and yes, on time. Please go check out my interview at Panamérika.fm if you can. I had the great pleasure of hanging out, drinking, talking, and listing to some great music with Mr. Waizel and his wife. His love for really obscure cumbias made me like this Chilango instantly. Anyway, I wanted to take the opportunity to drop some of the more obscure tracks that you can hear in the interview. Also, I want to take the time out to thank them for coming over, braving my freezing flat and listening to me rant for 3 hours – you guys are awesome. Enjoy!

1. Los Bobby Soxers: Aguardiente y Limon

2. Tita Duval y su Cumbianba: Cumbia a Go Go

3. Lemaire y su Klan: Mar y Sol

4. Los Teen Agers: La Gaita Marciana

- Sonido Franko

Mas Exitos is a monthly Los Angeles event that traces the connections between the music made on both continents of the Americas by exploring the various migration patterns through sound. Think of it as a National Geographic documentary on sound that will take you from the Andes of Peru to the East Side of LA. From fuzzy cumbias, to jumping boogaloos, to funky soul oddities, to disco aztecas, rock n’ rolleros, a-go-go latino, paisadelic-psychedelic freak outs and janky electro beats… * Mas Exitos: Dj Ganas, Dj Enorbito, DJ Lengua *

MAS EXITOS: “Menudo Mix” (DJ ENORBITO + DJ GANAS)

Opening Scene Japan meets Peru from SONIDO LENGUA on Vimeo.

Mauka Zapato from SONIDO LENGUA on Vimeo.

This is a video of my uncle Glenn Ore de la Fuente playing his guitar in Japan. He is playing the style of music I did a post on earlier called “Guitarra Ayacuchana”. The lyrics he sings in are a mixture of Quechua (indigenous language of Peru) and Spanish. The story goes that he married a Peruvian woman of Japanese decent and they moved to Japan. When my dad got this DVD from Glenn he thought it was a CD of his music, not realizing it was this amazing video of him playing musica Ayacuchana in Japan of all places. We haven’t heard anything about Glenn for a while and my dad has been trying to find out his whereabouts. I looked up this statue and it seems to be called Ushiku Daibustu, in Ibaraki Prefecture. From what I saw online it was one of the areas hit hard by the tsunami/earthquake. I hope there is an end in sight to the suffering they are experiencing right now and that Glenn and his family are safe. Big love to our Japanese Super Sonido readers!

-DJ LENGUA

If you ever end up in Barcelona Spain, there are a few record shops that you need to check out. Much has changed in the six years since I’ve last been here, and it was obvious that Barcelona wasn’t immune to the dramatic decline in independent records stores – as most cities have been experiencing in the last 2 years or so. Nevertheless, I was surprised at the weird Latin American selections I turned up with. From South American labels I’ve never heard of, to common labels whose release I’ve never seen before. I had to dig deep, but it was worth the effort. Ill post some music up when I get back. On a side note, I noticed a lot of Italian Disco too – something I know nothing about. But if that’s your thing, I’m sure some of these stores will have something you will like.

Anyway, if you happen to be meandering through the decorative streets of Barcelona, you may want to check out the two following stores:

Disco Edison Riera Baixa 9 &10 – If I ever lived in Barcelona, this would probably be my favorite shop. A large selection and odd mix of used Latin American vinyl. It’s a shame though, looks as if the owner is retiring and trying to sell the store.

Revolver Records 11 Carrer De Tallers – this place had piles of 45’s and I totally came up in this joint. It mostly has a heavy metal and indie rock feel to it, but the used vinyl selection was good and reasonably priced. There are also some decks, so you can try before you buy.

Sonido Franko

Written by Daniela Garcia @ http://cafemagazine.com/

It’s a humid summer evening as Colombian quintet Bomba Estereo takes the stage in Millennium Park, just one of the many acts playing throughout July as part of Chicago’s monthlong Colombian Music Festival. Scattered across the Great Lawn are music fans sitting on blankets, enjoying the free show. The sounds drifting from the stage draw the attention of a curious passer-by or two. Closer to the stage, a small, energetic group of fans bounces and dances to the infectious beat, a new mixture of sound known as digital cumbia.

Colombian-American Julian Castro, who recently became a fan of the subgenre, was up front, taking in the new and old sounds from his homeland. “I think what also is exciting is seeing bands coming out of South America that feel free to incorporate their own indigenous rhythms and native customs into their music,” Castro says. “A lot of times, bands feel like they have to fit into more of a North American context in order to make it. It’s really refreshing to hear a band [like Bomba Estereo] that is kind of doing something a little different.”

It’s a musical revolution known by a variety of names: la cumbia nueva, electro-cumbia, digital cumbia. Yet no matter what you call it, they all describe a product of the fusion of traditional Colombian beats and electronica.
Traditional cumbia can be traced back to the colonial period, mainly along Colombia’s Caribbean coast. The beat originally began as a courtship dance between the indigenous people and those of African descent. The original instruments included wooden flutes known as gaitas, drums and other forms of percussion.

As the genre’s popularity spread across the country, cumbia was adapted to appeal to different social classes and began to include new elements, like horns, piano and bass. By the 1950s, cumbia had become widely recognized and enjoyed throughout South and Central America and Mexico, who made this Colombian rhythm its own. Musicians now sample older songs and put their own spin on them or, at times, add modern instrumentation to the various styles of cumbia.

FROM COLOMBIA BY WAY OF ARGENTINA
Digital cumbia’s origins are difficult to pinpoint, but its popularity in the past few years can be traced to Argentina thanks to the work of the collective known as the Zizek Urban Beats Club.

Tango is often the form of dance and music that is commonly associated with that country. Like cumbia, tango was originally popular in working-class slums and has since found its way to a younger mainstream audience in the form of tango nuevo. Now, digital cumbia is following quickly in its footsteps.

“Cumbia has always been great on the dance floor; it only needed the electronic ingredient to make it appeal to young people that usually doesn’t listen to it,” DJ Sylvestre Herrera says.  “I think there has been a rebirth of Latin American folklore in the past few years. It happened to tango, so it was just a matter of time before cumbia finally got its own facelift.”

The Zizek collective emerged in 2006, providing Buenos Aires with a new monthly dance party fueled by a unique, electronic beat. Grant Dull, an American expatriate and one of Zizek’s co-founders, explains that “at the time, [in Buenos Aires] there was an emerging scene of producers that were all experimenting with cumbia … it’s such an old, legendary, popular and amazing rhythm.

“And I think what we’re doing with it is taking it into the 21st century using modern tools and technology to just give it a reinterpretation for the digital, modern age.”

Zizek’s founders created ZZK Records, now home to some of South America’s most well-known digital cumbia acts. Their roster includes Tremor, the alter ego of producer Leonardo Martinelli, who uses a mixture of indigenous sounds and synthesizers, and El Remolon, a popular DJ who polishes and remixes traditional cumbia with sleek digital beats.

Dull, who also creates music under the DJ name El G, is a professed lover of both new and old cumbia. “It’s just really fun to be working with a group of producers and musicians that are respecting their roots but building on technology and just taking [cumbia] into a completely new territory,” he says.

The Binary Cumbia Orchestra, DJ Silvestre Herrera’s project, is also contributing to the digital cumbia scene on a smaller. Having tired of house and techno, Herrera began experimenting with cumbia and was encouraged to continue his work after receiving positive feedback for “Coomvee-ah!” – one of his first tracks – from Federico Randall, the beatmaker behind The Peronists. “What I like about [digital cumbia] is that there is room to explore new sounds,” he says. “It’s not a standardized genre.”

BLOG SUPPORT
The Internet plays a vital role in digital cumbia’s expansion. Music blogs from both North and South America (and their readers) have taken notice and responded enthusiastically.

Joseph Franko, owner of the blog Super Sonido, began to notice digital cumbia’s rapid growth in popularity in the last three years. “One has to understand that cumbia is a pretty simple form of Latin American music,” he says. “So when it emerged from Colombia, other countries were able to incorporate their own regional sounds to that basic 4/4 cumbia beat. Countries like Mexico and Peru put their own stamp on the genre, very similar to what electronic musicians are doing today.”

Blanca Mendez, a contributor at Latin music blog Club Fonograma, agrees that interest has peaked among readers. “We do keep up with Zizek a lot because they really are at the forefront of all of this,” she says. “Really any artists under their label we keep a close eye on because they’re all doing really interesting things.”

Mendez, who is from the border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, grew up listening to cumbia mexicana at family gatherings and had never had much an opinion of it. With her musical preferences leaning heavily toward electronica, digital cumbia caters to both her taste and her roots. She became a full-fledged fan more than a year ago, when she first heard a cumbia-fied remix of Santogold’s “Shove It.”

“I was already a fan of the original song when I heard DJ Toy Selectah’s remixed version, and it was just astounding how well the combination worked,” she says. “I never would have expected it to work that well.”

It was only a matter of time before digital cumbia slowly made its way to North America. Dull says that around 2007, he met one of the organizers of South by Southwest, the Austin, Texas, festivals of film, music and interactive culture, and was encouraged to help bring digital cumbia across country lines. The feedback they received at SXSW was positive and motivated the Zizek crew to bring its music to the U.S. on a broader scale. By 2008, Dull and his fellow musicians embarked on Zizek’s first North American summer tour – now an annual event.

Dull says digital cumbia’s success is due to “its ability to speak to any kind of music lover – from a college kid that’s looking for something new and hip to somebody who’s into world music and wants to know what these [people] from Argentina are doing with cumbia, something that has such a rich history.”

Back in Chicago, Colombian-American fan Castro believes digital cumbia provides yet another way to embrace his dual identity. “A lot of us connect to our heritage through our parents’ generation and through our parents’ views, and since we’re growing up in the States, we don’t necessarily get a lot of interaction with people our age back home,” he says. “So it’s a way to kind of connect with youth that we don’t have access to because we’re growing up in a different [context].”

As digital cumbia slowly but firmly establishes itself in both the worlds of electronic and Latin American music, new subgenres will follow as other traditional rhythms find themselves merged with the likes of reggaeton, dancehall, and more. Thanks to online communities and a young, enthusiastic audience, the possibilities seem endless.

“In the past, the music business was tightly controlled by only a few media outlets. The availability of music online and social media outlets has really counteracted that,” says Franko of Super Sonido. “It gives a musician the opportunity to work more independently and expand his or her reach. It’s a boon for genres like digital cumbia or any other type of underground Latin music.

“So whether it’s a passing fad or not, I believe that the best has yet to come.”

——-

1. Ranil y Su Conjunto Tropical: Cumbia Sin Nombre

More info for this record can be found here: Masstropicas

Deeply funky psychedelic-surf guitar jams from Ranil y Su Conjunto Tropical (Ranil and his Tropical Band). Ranil’s Jungle Party (re-released for the first time by folks at Masstropicas and limited to 1,000 copies) brings back from the past the much loved popular music of Peruvian cumbia.

For the uninitiated, Peruvian (or Amazonian) cumbia was to Peru as Tropicália was to Brazil—a 1960s – 1970s popular music style that mixed (often irreverently) traditional music with those of African and the West. Hailing from the Belen district of Iquitos, nestled within the heart of the Amazonian rainforest, Ranil and Co. were definitely digging on some Western Surf music while keeping alive the traditional highland “huayño” dance music.

On Ranil’s Jungle Party, Ranil and his Tropical Band keep things in a mellow, funky mood with some heavy psych-surf guitar workouts. The result is a style mash-up not unlike that of African “Juju” or “High-Life” music, popularized by the incendiary Stratocaster guitar playing of King Sunny Adé. In fact, think of Ranil’s Jungle Party as King Sunny Adé jamming with some Andes dudes while on vacation in Peru. Dig?

Stand out tracks include “Marlenita” with its highly melodic guitar riff and frenetic percussion and “Chinito rulo” which grooves in an Eastern drone / psych fashion and the beautifully melodic electric 12-string of “Tus cabellos”. It’s largely an instrumental affair but Ranil steps up to the mic for “Denuncia a tu Pátron”, “El manicero” and “Carbonero”.

Masstropicas worked with Ranil on this vinyl LP re-release (his records were originally produced and released by himself on his own label) and we look forward to more in the future.

Version Especial en Español

Bert y Ernie – “Rubber Duckie”
David Lee Roth – “Yankee Rose”
Bow Wow Wow - “C30, C60, C90 Go!”
Blondie – “Llamame”
Abba – “Dame! Dame! Dame!”
Tag Team, MC Skeey - “Whomp! Si Lo Es”
Stevie Wonder – “Mi Querido Amor”
Manolo Munoz – “Lo Mio”
Los Rockin Devil’s – “Mi Carcacha”
Los Rockin Devil’s – “Lupe”
Camisas Negras - “Fiebre”
Santo y Johnny – “Luna Azul”
Punto Cuatro – “Muchachas Malas”
La Cumbia Moderna de Soledad -”Cres Que Soy Sexy”
Punto Cuatro – “Suena Mi Campana”
Memo Rios – “Muy Delgada”
Toni Basil – “Mickey (Version en Espanol)”

Also doing an event in San Francisco for Mexican independence day – hope to see you guys there!

It is a complete honor and privilege for us to introduce Chicano Batman to their very first Northern California show.

If you live in the Oakland please come down and support them by dancing your nalgas off to the sounds of sweet Latin soul and psychedelic cumbia beats. Rigo Tovar never died! Try to arrive early because I think we are going to capacity on this one. The $5.00 cover is worth it, these guys are fucking amazing live. Hosted by the incredible Vivian Bovell & the infamous Sonido Franko.

Also, if you can’t catch them on Thursday or you want to see them again, be sure to check them out Saturday night June 12th at El Super Ritmo @ The Make Out Room in San Francisco. The cover charge is usually $5 to $7, but it is also well worth the admission. Homeboys El Dj Roger Mas y El Kool Kyle have been hosting this excellent cumbia dance party for the last 3 to 4 years. Should be a really awesome show.

There is even more! Listen to KALX from 12 to 3 pm on thursday for a live set of Chicano Batman. And if you miss that they’ll be performing live for Pirate Cat Radio  in San Francisco at 12 noon on Saturday. Lastly, we don’t have a show for them for Friday the 11th, if you have a venue or house party that needs an extra band……Chicano Batman will save the day.

MAS EXITOS OYE MIX

The Mas Exitos latin dance party has changed their venue to Footsies Bar in Los Angeles. The best in obscure Latin sounds and rare vinyl in the whole So Cal area. Please pay them a visit tonight if you are in town. For more information and future dates click this link here: Mas Exitos  

- Sonido Franko

The Open Wide Proton Drive starts on May 11th and features a never-before-heard theme song created by Lucky Dragons. Dublab is an art collective that has teamed up with musicians and visual artists like Flying Lotus, Shepard Fairey, HEALTH, Kozyndan, Ariel Pink, and many more. They need your help to keep creativity flowing and continue making awesome projects!

El Expreso de Medianoche

Carlos Pickling—Cumbia Morena
Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlan—Cumbia Arabe
Chicken y Sus Commandos—Cumbia Sampuesana
Los Aragon—Mar y Sol
Mario y sus Diamantes—Quena
Negros de Colombia—La Especulacion
Negros de Colombia—Bomba Tropical
Gustavo Pimintel—Pata Pata
Camacho y Cano y su Grupo—Gaita Numero Uno
Los Diplomaticos—La Samaria
Grupo Standard’s—Cumbia en el Palmar
Grupo Salas—Mar y Sol
Jose y sus Antillanos—Melodia Antillana
Los Beltons—Adios Pueblo
Jose y sus Antillanos—Morena Linda
Manzanita y su Conjunto—Asi Asi Asi
Elkin y su Organo Electronico—El Burro
Elkin y su Organo Electronico—Fiesta y Parranda
Los Socios del Ritmo—Chilito Piquin
Chico Sonido—A Bailar

-Franko

http://analogafrica.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/analogafrica

Nestled between the Caribbean Sea and the Rio Magdalena, lies the city of Barranquilla. Hailed by its locals as Colombia’s “Puerto de Oro” or Golden Gate Barranquilla has served as a gateway for “Caribbean Tropical Sounds” for almost a century. Home to the countries biggest cultural celebration, El Carnaval, and the birthplace of the radio and recording industry in Colombia, Barranquilla has always been a city deeply rooted in musical traditions. Its port-city status, has allowed its citizens to remain up-to-date with the latest grooves coming out of the Caribbean basin; with scores of LPs arriving from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States; the city soon became a bastion for musicians and vinyl enthusiasts from all over the world.

Nobody embodies more Barranquilla’s rich musical heritage than the master accordionist Anibal Velasquez. Known affectionately by his fans as “El Mago” (the Magician), Anibal has been one of the most prolific musicians of Colombia’s Musica Tropical movement. Anibal Velasquez Hurtado was born on June 3rd 1936 in Barranquilla into a musical family. His father was an accomplished musician but Anibal´s biggest influence was his older brother Juan who first introduced him to the secrets of the accordion. “I knew already how to handle the clarinet, the Guacharaca and other instruments, thats a talent I must have received from my father. In those days music was everywhere – people would come together and dance to cumbia’s and mapale’s…it was all very spontaneous.” 

“As you know Barranquilla has always been a musical city, but when I started to play the accordion, the instrument was not very popular, It had not become part of Costeno culture as it was considered a second-class instrument. A bit foreign and awkward, used primarily by campesinos in rural towns off the banks of the Rio Magdalena – but we´ve changed that. One of the turning points was an encounter with Robertico Roman a musician from Cartagena who I´ve met in a record store on a rainy day. We both had a deep love for Cuban Music and he often came to my place where we jammed. Its with Robertico Roman that I founded my first band called

“Vallenatos de Magdalena”. I made my first recording with that band in 1952. Four songs were recorded including a track called La Gallina, which became a huge hit. It really spread the costal sound toward the center* of the country (interior*).

With the death of Robertico In 1955 the band disbanded and Anibal became a session musician for disco Eva in a band called “El Conjunto Colomboy” which was directed by the Costeño Master “Lucho Campillo” till 1960 when Anibal decides to form a new group. Included in the band are his two brothers Juan and his younger brother José who was instrumental in the sound he wanted to achieve. Instead of using the bongos like in the Cuban Guaracha and Rumba, José decided to use the Traditional Colombian caja drum. The leather skin was replaced by an X-rays Film (radiografias Medicas) an innovation which enabled him to generate a much harder and dryer sound then the cuban bongos. But The cuban style I was producing wasent right – some sounds simply didn’t work on the accordion so I decided to create my own Guaracha which is much faster and a lot hotter then the cuban one. We´ve started recording for various record companies – I didn’t like to exclusive to a specific label – so they dubbed me “Anibal Todo Sello”  (Anibal all labels)

“thats when I met with Antonio Fuentes who had just started his broadcasting company called Emisoras Fuentes in Cartagena. I really enjoyed working with him because he understood the mind of the musician and gave us lot of creative freedom. Encouraged by his attitude I began by playing different styles adapting regional elements to the accordion. I would play cumbia, merecumbe, Mapalé, Pompo, and corrido and later also began to incorporate Cuban and Puerto Rican elements into my music. It was in many ways the golden area of the Musica Tropical movement. Lucho Bermudez and Estersita Forrero had taken the genre into new heights spreading the warm tropical sound of the coast to Bogota and reaching as far Cuba and the United States. I recall playing in a small venue called “Mi Kioskito” here in Barranquilla. I was playing there every week and all the greats musicians of this country would appear one after the other; Pacho Galan, Rufo Garrido, Pedro Laza , Michi Sarmiento…Costeno music was taking over the country and we were pioneering a new movement, a new identity for Colombia – Amazing times – I began to have an impressive amount of followers…(including some future legends) guys like Alfredo (Gutierrez) and Lisandro (Meza) were greatly influenced by my style and used it to developed their own.”

The interest for Anibal´s innovative sound started growing and recording offers started pourring in. This was Anibal´s most productive period were many records were produced for innumerable costal labels. Discos Fuentes worried by the artist´s dominance who´s sound had started spreading like a wildfire by forming a super group called Los Corraleros de Majagual composed of Lisandro Meza, Alfredo Gutierrez, Ernesto Estrada (aka Fruko), Calixto Ochoa and few other giants.

The rivalry between the two bands came to an abrupt end with the arrival of the drug cartels. By the mid-1960s, music in La Costa began to change drastically. With the onset of the hippie movement in the United States and America’s new found craving for marijuana, Colombia’s Caribbean Coast had become a main trafficking hub. A new economy of drugs had emerged in the coast and with it a style called Vallenato rose to prominence. It’s distinct accordion sound and bleusy appeal made it a favorite among drug lords and Mafiosos alike, eventually becoming the soundtrack for their feverish life-styles. According to Anibal, “for a short period, people found happiness in the new economy of drugs and Vallenato had became the manifestation this new found happiness. This new brand of prosperity was soon followed by a dramatic upsurge in drug-related violence. The Drug Cartels ruled the streets and people did not feel safe. Life changed and so did the music.” The Drug-lords delighted in the accordion and the instrument soon become a trademark in local festivals and public gatherings.

Vallenato was everywhere. “I quickly began to redefine my playing style because I became bored with Vallenato mostly because its lyrical content had become decadent and too closely associated with violence. So while the other bands started playing slower music I became faster, much faster. I began incorporating new sounds and techniques creating a new fast tempo style known as “Guaracha de Anibal Velazquez” which became an incredible success during Carnival here in Barranquilla. Unfortunately due to the violence in this country I decided to packed my luggage and moved to Caracas where I stayed for 18 years (Half of the  300 LPs recorded by Anibal Velasquez were recorded in Venezuela).

We are very proud for the opportunity to bring this sound to you. Many of the tracks presented here have set fire to more then one dance-floor and have become essential during Analog Africa Dj Sets.

Samy Ben Redjeb
Analog Africa – Rare Afro Sounds from the 70s
Friedberger Landstr 128
60316 Frankfurt am Main / Germany

Big thanks to all the supporters, listeners, and collaborators of Super Sonido. Couldn’t have done it with out you. Saludos!!!

- Sonido Franko

- Sonido Franko

p.s. i just double checked that it wasn’t a leap year.  

Deejays:

Joe Quixx Oakland Faders
Sonido Franko Unicornio Records
Wonway Posibul Distortion 2 Static/Thinkbeat
Sivan TRU Soul

Live art, silk screening and installations from:

Miguel Bounce Perez Latin Soul Brothers / TYS
Laura Victoria Salazar
Lorenzo Vasquez
Luis Marroquin U-N-I Collective
John Ramirez
Zore
Ashley K Arnold
Franklin Cartegena/F.E.O. KREW
Yoshi Trust Your Struggle Collective
Shaun Burner Trust Your Struggle Collective
Robert Trujillo Trust Your Struggle Collective

Submission Art Space
2183 Mision Street @ 18th St. S.F.

$10 before 11pm
$15 after

$7 before 11pm w/ RSVP at
www.going.com/saludNYE2010

www.sf-submission.com

Pipomixes: Makossa Classics Vol. 1 – Mixed by DJ Wonway Posibul

Getting my new space in order. I should have a bunch of posts in the next week.

1. Bronx River Parkway: Aqua Con Sal

The Song:

The second single off Bronx River Parkway’s San Sebastian 152 is a saucy hip-shaker dripping with their signature Latin-funk flavor. These mainstays of Williamsburg-based Truth & Soul are known for a sound and style that stem from authenticity, not imitation. Legendary Sammy Ayala, formerly of Cortijo y Su Combo, leads the group of almost 20 musicians. Ayala brings his recognizable presence to the vocals of “Agua Con Sal” with a sultry style and flair. The minimalist production gives the feel of a live performance, while the polyrhythmic percussion arrangements compliment the classic horn section. ¡Una otra, por favor!

The Background: 

This collective of musicians hailing from both New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico fuse seamlessly to create a flawless combination of Truth & Soul’s classic soul rhythms with the sounds and emotion of indigenous Puerto Rican and Caribbean music. The Hispanic funk jams of Bronx River Parkway’s upcoming album San Sebastian 152 are the perfect example of this synthesis: the record sets down timeless grooves that beg listeners to get down. Among the 20+ musicians of Bronx River Parkway is legendary lead singer, Sammy Ayala, an original member of Cortijo y Su Combo. He has been regarded as “The most consistent figure on Puerto Rico’s musical journey from folk to popular,” according to The Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network. Ayala brings his trademark energy, stirringly passionate vocals, and floor-stomping performance to San Sebastian 152, which encourages engagement between the audience and performers in both live performances and through their recordings. This, in conjunction with the other talented souls of the orchestra, makes the album a force of nature: powerful, strong, and certain to make you move. San Sebastian 152 will be released on Truth & Soul, a Williamsburg-based modern vanguard of soul and funk, formed by Leon Michels and Jeff Silverman.

Audio Streams:

“Agua Con Sal”

http://media.audibletreats.com/Bronx_River_Parkway-Agua_Con_Sal.mp3

Mega Mezcla album sampler

http://media.audibletreats.com/BRP-Sampler.mp3

“La Valla”

http://media.audibletreats.com/Bronx_River_Parkway-La_Valla.mp3

Video Streams:

Rostarr and Truth & Soul- “Percussive Movement No. 5 -Timelapse”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR1m-TJA5FY

Rostarr and Truth & Soul- “Percussive Movement No. 7 -Timelapse”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nduomkqMPs

Bio, pictures, and streams available here:
http://www.audibletreats.com/download/BRP/

Truth & Soul MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/truthandsoulrecords

Truth & Soul Imeem:
http://truthandsoul.imeem.com

Truth & Soul Official Site:
http://www.truthandsoulrecords.com

- Sonido Franko

Once again Generation Bass and Hipi Duki Muzik  are back to bring you the most excited tunes from the green & wild side of the world: Soundamerica chapter 6.
No bullshit, no fashionable tunes, no smart tricks for the air conditioner society: this is really hot, this is real, the sound of the Pachamama will blow your mind:  play it very loud!

descarga/download

Soundamerica vol.6 tracklist:
1.Malpalpitando_ SYSTEMA SOLAR
2.El porro mangangueleño_DJ NEGRO
3.Samber(Sambador)_ NATEMA
4.Pura sangre_ PURA
5.Cabocla_ N`’SISTA
6.Mama loves Nortec(pinche disco rmx)_ TIJUANA SOUND MACHINE
7.Choquechinchay El Jaguar_PURDY ROCKS
8.Ritmo kebrao-MATERIA PRIMA
9.Querer libera_ EMISOR

Selected, mixed and produced by class=”mceItemHidden”> Hipi Duki at Blackwhale Studio, Montjuic_Bcn
Artwork by G.Piacenza
Presented & released by
http://www.generationbass.com
http://www.hipidukimuzik.com

Creative Commons License
October, 2009.

1. Perez Prado: Que Es Lo Que Pasa? From Now (Contour, 1974)

 2. Afrosound: Jungle Fever From Joint (Fuentes, 197?)

3. Luciano Luciani Y Sus Mulatos: Al Ritmo Del Bump From El Hitometro Mag Vol. 1 (Mag, 197?)

One of the pleasures in reading other people’s blogs is using their ideas to spark my own. Maybe that seems a bit unoriginal but honestly, when you have a gazillion songs swimming through your head (or, at least, iTunes library), sometimes it takes a nudge from someone else to remind you, “oh yeah, this other song by them is awesome too.”

That’s what makes reading Super Sonido such a constant treat. Given my ever-deepening appreciation for Latin tunes, I’m constantly learning from sites like this and re-evaluating/revisiting records in my own collection as a result. I guess it’s apropos then that all the songs I ended up picking are, themselves, covers, i.e. riffs on other people’s songs. Everything is connected.

Case in point: I really enjoyed the recent post on Perez Prado. It’s somewhat confusing to realize that there were two different Perez Prado’s recording concurrently (brothers) and that most (though not necessarily) all of the funkier Prado material came from younger sibling, Pantaleon, and not the elder, more famed brother, Damaso. Not sure which brother did Mexico ’70but I’m fairly certain “Que Es Lo Que Pasa?” was recorded by Pantaleon. Now is a UK pressing of the Italian-release of Escandalo, widely admired as Pantaleon’s best work (so much so, it’s been re-released several times over).

Here’s the thing about “Que Es Lo Que Pasa?”…isn’t it basically an instrumental version of Assagai’s Afro-funk classic, “Telephone Girl”? Maybe there were songwriter credits given on the album but if not, that’s a pretty brazen bite. Either way, good stuff with the percussion and a nice bank of complementing horns.

Afrosound is no stranger around these parts though I had scarcely heard half the albums Franko had posted. One round in my chamber of Colombian funk though has been this cover of the Chakachas’ massive smash, “Jungle Fever.” If you were expecting Afrosound to put this through a cumbia conversion, you’ll be surprised to hear that they stick mostly to original script here, even down to the salacious moans of the nameless woman. I wish I had a scan of the cover handy; it’s one of the all-time great Fuentes covers, of a giant joint smoking tantalizing on the cover. Take a long pull…hype.

Lastly, we come back to the August post on the “bump” fad that briefly whipped through Latin music. Heck, I didn’t even realize it was a genre until reading that post but it made me think of some of the Peruvian albums I have, all of which include a variation on the song, “Al Ritmo Del Bump.” I think the best known version is Otto De Rojas’ though I seem to recall Enrique Lynch had his own version too. I can’t be completely sure how much this “bump” has in common with the other “bump” but what I am absolutely certain of is that this song heavily “borrows” from “Soulful Strut” by Young Holt-Unlimited. It’s not a cover, I don’t think, but it liberally interpolates some key melodies from it.

–O-Dub

sondiofranko@gmail.com

 Got an Email from Alejandro who runs the La Colmena De Humo (Beehive Smoke) blog. Looks like a Colombian dude who’s into 60/70′s soul and funk, which is totally awesome. The site is in Spanish, but he’s also got some great cumbia and world beats as well. Man I love Lisandro Meza: Shacalao = dope song!!!

Si la buena simbiosis hombre!!! Saludos Ale!!!

Check it out:

La Colmena De Humo

Awesome end of summer jams from the folks at Mas Exitos. Great mix of Latin beats and breaks from some of the best crates in the business.

Check it out yo:

Dublab Mas Exitos “Flash Foward” session

Tropicaza, Ganas and Chico Sonido came in to support dublab’s “Flash Forward” Proton Drive fundraiser with a live Mas Exitos broadcast. This was an incredible explosion of vibrant Latin jams and funny moments with friends. 

MAS EXITOS shakes every 2nd and 4th Tuesday at the Verdugo Bar in Glassell Park. This is a bi-weekly sound celebration tracing the connections between the music made on both continents of the Americas. Think of it as an sonic National Geographic documentary taking you from the Andes of Peru to the East Side of LA. From fuzzy cumbias, to funky jazz oddities, to psych freak outs and janky beats. To find out more please vist myspace.com/masexitos.

Donde estaba lengua y enorbito?

Chico Sondio record review coming shortly. WORD!!!

This Thursday July 2nd 2009 at MOCA Grand Ave. Los Angeles, CA

For Flesh Car Crash, members of OJO will split into two groups, each of which will pack into a small car. Once there, they will make music both by utilizing objects and materials in the cars’ interiors and by playing instruments powered by the cars’ batteries. The cars will dance, glide, and narrowly miss each other in a choreographed game of chicken. The finale should be explosive!

The performance begins at 7:30pm. Bring your cameras and contribute your photographs and videos documenting the event to moca.org/party. Thats www.moca.org/party for interactive OJO. 

I may just have to buy a plane ticket.