Future Classic: Los Sospechos “Postales OST” (Menahan Street Band, Budos Band)
Sometimes a record finds you. I was at a Charles Bradley concert perusing a crudely set up merch table when the LP caught my eye. Its cover featured the word “Cuzco”, and the Peruvian police uniform I had learned to recognize in my many months spent in Peru. On the …
Forgotten Treasure: Doing It In Lagos: Boogie, Pop & Disco In 1980’s Nigeria
Soundway Records present a new compilation of twenty rare and mostly unavailable tracks from the slick and sassy world of Nigerian pop music and club culture of the early 1980s. Buoyed by an explosive oil boom and a return to democracy after a series of military dictatorships, Nigeria’s economy in …
Forgotten Treasure: Willie Lindo “Far & Distant” (1974)
A legendary session guitarist as well as producer for such greats as Beres Hammond and Maxi Priest, Willie Lindo is much too bright a gemstone to be left uncovered. I stumbled onto him on one of my YouTube-digging runs with the homie 80rock when we discovered Midnight, a sumptuous piece …
Forgotten Treasure: Francis Bebey “La Condition Masculine” (1976, Ozileka)
Born in 1929, Francis Bebey was a multi-instrumentalist, composer, poet, story-teller, musicologist, writer, journalist, and an icon and innovator of contemporary african music. He had a profound impact on the Cameroon music scene, releasing over 20 albums from the late 60’s until he passed away in 2001. The “La Condition Masculine” album released in 1976 …
Forgotten Treasure: Ray Barretto “Que Viva La Musica” (1972)
Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls had “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project as their intro music. Puerto Rico’s 1972 Island wide Basketball champions, Colegio San Antonio in Isabela, had “Que Viva La Musica“. My father was the starting point guard that year. Decades years latter when I was a …
Future Classic: Azymuth “Fênix” (Far Out Records)
The legendary Brazilian jazz trio Azymuth has tirelessly released more than 25 albums over a span of 40 years. After interviewing the group I knew a new album was in the works, and seeing the video of them back in the studio got me very excited. However, I was not …
Forgotten Treasure: ORM – LBD Issues (1979 – 1984)
via Little Beat: Different Issues is a new series focused on reissuing music from Eastern European region previously unavailable on Western markets. The first release is a compilation by project ORM, the moniker of Czech producer team Petr and Pavel ORM. Originally formed as a disco group in the late …
Forgotten Treasure: Mor Thiam ”Dini Safarrar” (1973)
Originally released in small numbers as a custom pressing in 1973, the compelling ‘Dini Safarrar’ by Senegalese drummer Mor Thiam has gained cult status around the world amongst enthusiasts of jazz, funk, hip hop & African music, and grail status among LP collectors. Here is the first official reproduction of …
Forgotten Treasure: O.R.E.A “Biguine Inferno / Désintégration” (1982)
Needless to say, Digital Zandoli on Parisian label Heavenly Sweetness is an early contender for compilation of the year. It’s a mostly danceable affair put together by the great people behind Digger’s Digest, bringing forward tracks ranging from disco, boogie and zouk from the West Indies recorded in the early …
Forgotten Treasure: Cassiano “Cuban Soul 18 Kilates” (1976)
A true Brazilian Soul Gem that’s as rare as hen’s teeth, is being reissued and finally the world will be able to bask in the sunny arrangements that made Cassiano‘s music so ephemeral. A soul signer who went through a lot of groups and studios in the Brazilian music industry. Cassiano hit …
Forgotten Treasure: Tee Mac Night Illusion (1980)
Soul Jazz Records’ are releasing Tee Mac’s ‘Night Illusion’, a lost classic Nigerian Afro soul meets disco boogie funk album originally released in Nigeria in 1980 as a private-press release of 1000 copies on the enigmatic artists’ own label. Impossibly hard to find, the record remains practically unknown outside of …
Forgotten Treasure: Bitori “Legend Of Funaná” (The Forbidden Music of The Cape Verde Islands)
via Analog Africa: In 1997, a quiet, unassuming man of 59 years old named Victor Tavares – better know as Bitori – walks into a studio for the very first time to record a masterpiece which many Cabo Verdean consider to be the best Funaná album ever made. Bitori’s musical …