Sofrito takes a trip to Martinique with Michel Bagoé

Michel Bagoé's bangin' Oulé Collé out now is track 4 on Hugo Mendez's fab Cadence Fever! mix below.

Midweek Mixdown: DJ PepeSol

Here's a tasty tropical delight from Australia's DJ PepeSol – the man behind Brisbane's swingin' Sabrosa sessions – which comes via the always on point Sofrito site.

Bringing together largely forgotten gems uncovered on regualr digging adventures in South America, Pepesol's Melodia Tropical set moves from heavy Carimbo pounders from Brazil's northern coast through the floor shaking rhythms of Angola, Cape Verde and the French Caribbean right through the Palenque jams of Colombia which makes for the perfect September party mix. Check it out...



Tracklist:
Joshwa Omoro – Sare River Jazz band
Wadyngo – La Saja
Bonga – Kilumba dia Ngola
Jobby Valente – Coup de Main Mestre
Cupijó – Mambo do Martelo
Los Corraleros – Nuevo Tumbao
Kings – Faroeste
Fair Nick Allstars – Energetic Song
Grupo Da Pesada – A Ponte
Petrona Martinez – Tungue Tungue Tigui
Edmond – Engno Ya Nnem
Quinito – Bolero Quinito

Midweek Mixdown: Liam Large (Jukebox Jam)

Here's a brilliant mix of vintage Cubano corkers, calypso heat and swinging R&B blasters assembled by Liam Large (Jukebox Jam) for the excellent Sofrito site. If you like what you hear then you really need to grab a copy of Liam's stone-solid Jukebox Mambo (Jazzman) collection of 1950s-era Afro-Cuban flavoured R&B groovers on the double. Spoiler alert: It's going to place near the top of The Perlich Post's Reissues of 2012 list. Check out Liam's mix which duplicates only two tracks from his killer comp now available on iTunes

Red Callendar Sextette – Eee Ooo Voodoo*
Chuck Higgins – Blues 'n' Mambo
Pupi Campo – Que Te Parece Cholito
Facundo Rivera – Negra Mi Cha Cha Cha
Camille Howard – Hurry Back Baby
Clarence Garlow – New Bon Ton Roulet
Lucho Bermudez – Arroz Con Coco
Duke Of Iron – Calypsonian Invasion
Al Stephano – Mambo Indio
Zilla Mays – Calypso Blues
Alfredito & His Orchestra – Mambo From Mars
Machito – Dragnet Mambo
Noro Morales – Istanbul
Tito Puente – Guageo En Dominante
Ontarios – Lover's Mambo
Ray Charles – Mary Ann
Jimmy McCracklin – Beer Tavern Girl
The Pelicans – White Cliffs Of Dover
Combo Loco – Ven Mi Amore
Sylvie Mora – Taboo
Billy ‘Red’ Love – A Dream*
*From the ‘Jukebox Mambo’ compilation album 

Mid-week Mixdown: Eldica's Andy Westbury

From the fab Sofrito site comes this funky fresh mix of Island heat put together by Andy Westbury – the man behind Hackney's well-stocked Eldica Vinyl and Retro shop (8 Bradbury Street, London N16 8JN) – which you can download right here.

Caribbean Boogie Selection

These Eyes – Soca Hustle
The Troubedours – Gimme Some More
Sylvania East Side Symphony – Hot Pants Road
Charlies Roots – Pastime Paradise
Embryo – Wanjang Woman
Robert Bailey – Trinidad
Last Supper – Black Bull
Lunar 7 – African Bump
The Fantastics – You Don't Love Me
The Outfit – Dr Spougenstein
Johnny Limbo – A Little Bit Of Everything
Carol Addison – I'm Tricked, I'm Trapped
Brothers – Thoughts




LINKS
Sofrito http://www.sofrito.co.uk/
Eldica Vinyl and Retro http://www.eldica.co.uk/

Sofrito goes Malian Afro-disco... with Caribou?

Dan Snaith, aka Caribou has been exploring bold new sounds and fashion accessory options under his Daphni alias.

The latest in Sofrito's superb Super Series 12" EPs is Kognokoura – a bangin' bit of afro disco from the legendary Malian griot Niama Makalou with a non-throwaway remix on the flip by Dundas mixmaster Dan Snaith using his "Daphni" handle presumably to keep Caribou and Manitoba fans guessing.

Descended from a family of traditional Malian praise singers, Makalou – not Dan – moved to France in the 70s where she cut this, her first and last vinyl release. At the time Paris was swept up in disco fever, so along with a pick-up group of fellow West African ex-pat musicians dubbed the African Soul Band du Mali, Niama cut a dancefloor destroyer with a distinct Mandé roots flava.

The resulting mixture of off-kilter handclaps, raw string arrangements, balafon battering combine with a heavy disco groove and Makalou's shouted Bamanankan exhortations to produce a one-off piece of cross-cultural magic. Have a listen below.

Originally released in 1980 as a 12" maxi 45 tours on the Ledoux Records label, copies like the one depicted on the right currently change hands for 200 Euros and up. So even though the generic sleeved Sofrito reissue regrettably doesn't reproduce the snazzy art and leaves off the B-side track Drissa Coulibaly, you're saving at least $250 and you get a Dan Snaith remix thrown in gratis!

For his part, our kid Caribou – who has apparently been listening to the late 70s recordings of Nigerian lo-fi funkateer William Onyeabor on the sly, really! – strips the vocals off the original with a dubwise imperitive which may appeal to the less adventurous club crowd who care not for the riotous Afro-disco bang-sha-lang of decades past.  As for myself, I'll be rocking the A-side but it's still good to see Snaith expanding his horizons.

Sofrito Super Singles 005 - Niama Makalou et African Soul Band / Daphni Edit

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