Midweek Mixdown: Hugo Mendez salutes Dominica

Here's a selection of old-time Cadence, Cadence-Lypso and Reggae from Dominica in preparation for the Sofrito charity session for Dominica at the Total Refreshment Centre in London on November 4th.

Dominica is suffering the catastrophic after effects of Hurricane Maria and urgently needs help. There is barely a single building that has been left unscathed and there is little or no access to fresh water, electricity, and other vital services.

We are raising funds for Dominica Hurricane Maria Relief effort at the London event on November 4th. If you cannot come but wish to help please visit http://dominicarelief.org/ for more information. In the meantime please enjoy a selection of old-time sounds from Dominica, please share and spread the word.

A bit of background: I picked up most of the tracks on this mix in Dominica several years ago. Most of them came from Albert Darroux – a sound system and record shop owner who sadly passed away a few years ago.   Hugo Mendez

Happy Birthday to Sofrito's Hugo Mendez

Hugo Mendez's Bon Bagay Là Mix

UK's Rhythmagic Orchestra finally resurfaces

Since five years have now passed since Ben Lamdin (Nostalgia 77) and Hugo Mendez (Sofrito DJ Collective) first put together the Rhythmagic Orchestra with fellow UK-based members of the Heliocentrics, Plumstead Radical Club, the Alex Wilson Band, Jazz Jamaica, Ska Cubano and the Nostalgia 77 Octet to pay tribute to Afro-Latin jazz greats which inspired them so it's about time they issued a follow-up to their smokin' three-track 12" vinyl debut.
After spinning through some of Hugo's dusty tropical treasures over a bottle of rum, they decided on an appropriately diverse selection of mambo madness, deadly descargas and cha cha craziness which N77 arranger Jonny Spall has charted for the latest Rhythmagical expedition into dance jazz dementia. Those who missed their out-of-print first EP on Impossible Ark will be relieved to know that they've included their dancefloor destroying cover of Nina Simone's African Mailman along with a hard swingin' version of the Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo standard Manteca which you can check below.



To celebrate the long overdue release of the self-titled Rhythmagic Orchestra album (you can get the limited vinyl version via mailorder here), Hugo Mendez has assembled a smashing 40 minute mix of old-school Afro-Latin heat from Cuba, Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Congo, Guadeloupe, Senegal, Dominican Republic and the USA which you can enjoy until you get your hands on that dope new Rhythmagic Orchestra platter.  
Here's the track list for Hugo's fantastic Rhythmagic Partout! mix.

Vincent Casino – Mambo de Paris
Joey Lewis Orchestra – Tema del Papelon
Arthur Sterling & Pucho – Darin’s Mambo
Elmo Garcia Orchestra – Brooklyn Mambo
Guapacha – El Retoson
Luis Grinan y su Orquesta – Cosas Bonita
Orchestre Esperanza – Pas Bel
Cachao y su Orquesta – Descarga Mexicana
Orchestre O.K. Jazz – Cha Cha del Zombo
Chiquita Serrano – Marijuana
Los Caraibes – Cuando Llegare
Amara Touré – Lamento Cubano
Duo Los Ahijados – El Hombre Misterioso

Sofrito DJs and Quantic bring the tropical heat

If you're reading this posting, chances are you're not among the lucky few to escape the February blahs with a timely island getaway. Well, deep digging UK DJs Hugo Mendez (compiler of Soundway's sizzling Tumbélé set), Frankie Francis and some dude known as the Mighty Crime Minister – who formed the Sofrito party collective in East London back in 2005 – are bringing the heat to beat the winter doldrums with Tropical Discotheque (Strut).

It's a brilliantly bangin' 15-track double vinyl set of Colombian cumbia, salsa and porro joints alongside some heavy-hitting West African soukous, highlife and Afrobeat grooves with a touch of Trindadian soca-disco, topped off with a bit of gwo ka moderne and cadence-lypso from the French Antilles – essentially a sweaty Sofrito party on plastic. Check out the Tropical Discotheque link below to hear a mini-mix preview.
In addition to the vintage floor-fillers from Nigerian ekassa ace Victor Uwaifo, Lisandro Meza's Banda Los Hijos De La Nina Luz, Benin's Gnonnas Pedro, the Roaring Lion, Ghanian guitar great Safohene Djeni, Mighty Shadow and Adolfo Echeverria, Tropical Discotheque also presents an otherwise unreleased costeño-style cumbia cooker from Quantic y su Conjunto Los Miticos del Ritmo that fits so seamlessly in the mix you'd never know it was a recently recorded composition from Will Holland.

The bandleader/composer/producer extraordinaire of Flowering Inferno notoriety, who has been living in Colombia since 2007 and helped assemble the forthcoming Soundway comp Cartagena! Curro Fuentes & The Big Band Cumbia and Descarga Sound of Colombia 1962-1972 (due February 28 – see links below), will be reverting to his DJ Quantic guise to spin his latest tropical funk finds at A Man Called Warwick's Turning Point party on Saturday (February 26) at The Garrison (1197 Dundas West) which has been paralleling in Toronto what Mendez and pals have been doing with their Sofrito nights in London. Evidently, that Quantic hombre is looking forward to Saturday's Turning Point throwdown as much as anyone in the GTA.
“Turning Point is one of my favourite club nights of all time," wrote Holland on his site. "It prides itself on using a big sound system to present some of the best recorded music on vinyl only –  CDs are forbidden. It is held on a monthly basis in Toronto, Canada and it's truly unique with a focus on playing warm, vibrant and all-resonating tropical rhythms. If you’re ever in town, I heartily recommend it. The combination of these three things is irresistible: dark room, bass heavy sound & soulful analogue recorded music. The session resident and host is A Man called Warwick and past selectors include DJ Paulo Superfly, Miles Cleret and myself among others.”  

Sofrito - Tropical Discotheque (Strut)

01. Banda Los Hijos De La Nina Luz – Quiero Amanecer
02. Les Ya Toupas Du Zaire – Je Ne Bois Pas Beaucoup
03. Frente Cumbiero – Pitchito
04. Fair Nick Stars – Arrete Mal Parle
05. Kyerematen Stars – Maye Obi Den
06. Víctor Uwaifo – Ohue (Frankie Francis & Simbad Edit)
07. Adolfo Echeverria – Sabroso Bacalao
08. El Timba – Descarga Bontempi
09. Mighty Shadow – Dat Soca Boat
10. Dany Play – Fa’waka
11. Safohene Djeni – Mahu Wo Asie
12. Ti Celeste – Popilation Basse-Terrienne Du Abois
13. Quantic Y Su Conjunto Los Míticos Del Ritmo – Cumbia De Mochilla
14. Roaring Lion – Carnival Long Ago
15. Gnonnas Pedro – Yiri Yiri Boum




Sofrito: The Tropical Discotheque Story


To get you properly primed for Quantic's highly anticipated Turning Point return, here's a dope mix which DJ Philippe Noël (who co-runs Montreal's Canicule Tropicale monthly) put together from the vinyl treasures he uncovered on a recent digging trip from Bogota to Barranquilla. With killer tracks from Afrosound, Enrique Lynch, Peregoyo y su Combo Vacana, Los Corraleros, Afredo Guitierrez, Banda 19 de Marzo, and Mr. Trombone among others, it's a tasty selection of salsa and cumbia swingers.
Too much goodness? There's a Hugo Mendez mix in the links below which should help your digestion boasting choice cuts from Catalina y su Gran Combo, the Cyril Diaz Orchestra, Beddoe’s Limbo Orchestra, La Sonora Cordobesa, Ibo Combo, Eskill & Vicky avec Orchestre Poly Rythmo, Super Combo, Black Truth Rhythm Band, Etoile Number One and Toronto's own calypso king Elsworth James!



LINKS
Sofrito site http://sofrito.co.uk/
Tropical Discotheque Mini-mix
Cartagena! stream
Quantic site http://www.quantic.org/
Turning Point http://www.ducktape.ca/
Soundway http://www.soundwayrecords.com
Hugo Mendez's Musique Pour Aider La Digestion Mix