Soundway Records S/D

So far I wouldn't destroy a single one, but I haven't heard them all. Packaging is lovely, downloads come free with most vinyl purchases, liner notes are informative and fun to read. Their dance party seems like fun, podcasts are great. Don't know much about how much of the proceeds make it back to the artists, and I know that is a real thing for reissue labels and the concerned nerds who patronize them.

Lots of talk on ILM of various comps here and there, but I thought maybe having a dedicated thread would be good since I just KEEP BUYING THEIR RECORDS.

Favorites: (most of my favorites are the Colombian/Latin American ones, but I love them A LOT)

Colombia!
Cartagena
Michi Sarmiento y sus Bravos
Panama! (I only have 1, not 2 and 3)
Ghana Soundz
TP Orchestre Poly Rythmo (Kings of Benin)

I like the Nigeria ones too, but they don't speak to me as strongly as the Colombian ones do.

i don't know the latin american ones, but ghana soundz was revelatory

Interview with Curro Fuentes, awesome old Colombian dude

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj27fwWSiSE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmAmFkLJE4k&feature=related

I love how these particular forms (cumbia, porro, etc) teeter on the border of being folk music, dance music, pop music, big band, all of these things all at the same time in one super strong stew. Mondongo!

ghana soundz also has the best cover

http://www.thegoldbrick.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/ghana-soundz-vol-1.jpg

I do not have Sound of Siam, but listened to some of it on the podcast and it sounds really groovy.

this is a petty complaint (sorry), they have overused the word 'special'

Kings of Benin is super awesome too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e81UJX2bjUs&feature=related

Complaint registered.

haw

Michi Sarmiento talks about his history playing music, talkin 78s, lamenting the techno/reggaeton music of the jovenes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzuPEzpuNP8&feature=related

I would also like to know if any London ILXors went to their dance party this past weekend.
Was it fun?
Please describe it -- were people dancing with verve or sheepishly?

I wish such an event existed here, but I don't think it does. There are soul nights, but that's not what I'm looking for.

I love how these particular forms (cumbia, porro, etc) teeter on the border of being folk music, dance music, pop music, big band, all of these things all at the same time in one super strong stew.

In the case of cumbia at least that's mostly because it's been around for so long.

Yeah, I know -- it's basically a folk rhythm with elements of pop -- and since they know people dance, there are dance music flourishes too.

Glad to see you pop up Rudi (i have taken the liberty to call you this) -- you know more about the newer stuff than I do.

So are any of these comps NOT great?!

didn't realize til just now that Victor Awaifo "Guitar Boy Superstar" is a Soundway release, so put another in the "great" column

p sure I posted Michi Sarmiento's photo to the 'people who have figured out how to live' thread, or something similar

his compilation is friggin great too

the Remi Kabaka 'Black Goddess' OST is less populist for entry level rubes like me, in that it's this weird scrawly afro-jazz thing that I don't have a huge amt of reference points for, but I totally like it

Oooh I don't have that one, but weird scrawly afro jazz thing sounds DELIGHTFUL and totally like something I would like. I am also still an idiot who has an emusic account, and a lot of these are on emusic.

Cartagena, Colombia, Sounds of Siam and 1970s Afro Rock and Psychedelia in Nigeria are on spotify too (even in the US!)

I cannot tell you how much that Colombia comp cannot be beat. IT IS AWESOME. If you have never really figured out what you like about Latin music because you never really got all that into Fania, this could be what you were actually looking for. (Note: I love Fania salsa, but cumbia/porro/salsa colombiana it is not)

not a single dud.

That's my impression so far. Also, I believe as was discussed on another thread, Soundways I think is considered very ethical in its handling of royalties.

i am admittedly a world music dilettante, so these comps are perfect for me -- everyone's gotta start somewhere. love the colombia comp, the ghana soundz stuff, sir victor, nigeria 70...need to get more!

Not everyone can travel around the world and collect records; I figure that since I can't be one of those people I can at least enjoy what they find.

otm
also think that the soundways comps i've heard are wonderfully sequenced, regardless of what the focus is. the compilers are marvelous mixtape makers.

that kings of benin comp is fucking great

it totally is! you can play that album at almost any upbeat social gathering, and people are going to dig it.

they really are awesome sequencers -- i guess i am officially at the point where i trust soundway records to show me a good time.

Cartagena
Michi Sarmiento y sus Bravos

I have these two and play them constantly. I always hear something new in them. They are just amazing.

I also have this one:

http://www.soundwayrecords.com/catalogue/colombia-45.html

Which is darker, crazier, weirder. And this one:

http://www.soundwayrecords.com/catalogue/panama-3-limited-edition-7.html

which is stark handclapping funk/soul on both sides. I am trying hard not to spend all of my money on everything else.

another one i like is the Ghana High Life Special

this seems like one of those labels you could p much just buy anything they put out and it would be great

oh dang i have always wanted colombia 45 but the only store that carries soundway (as far as i have seen) doesn't usually get the little stuff, only the big releases. shipping to the US has been...spotty, so i have just used emusic. but they don't HAVE THAT. so congratulations, you have made me pay soundway for a download :)

So I want to know if anyone in London has ever gone to their events? They just had a huge dance party/screening/DJ thing. Sounds like A++++ good time.

No, I totally should!! Except... it will kill me not to be able to dance properly to this music. I swear to god this label has got me seriously thinking about taking classes.

I gave the Michi Sarmiento CD to my father-in-law who loves salsa and he said most of it isn't suitable for salsa dancing because it has the wrong beat

That's because it's not all salsa -- there are other rhythms, and other dances for those rhythms

This woman is explaining it sooooo slowly but I guess that's what some people need?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlYl30Dqfc0

*sheepishly raises hand*

I understand the compulsion to dance "properly" but wonder if people just go to town at these events and dance however they want? I mean dancing is just moving -- who cares if you're dancing correctly as long as you are enjoying yourself and not hurting anyone?

That said, it is fun to dance both properly and improperly. Just practice at home!

for some reason this tune absolutely kills me --

http://open.spotify.com/track/6dgB8hJLSydO5E1i4wyHjz

'blacky joe', by 'p.r.o.' ('people rock outfit', apparently) from 'the world ends: afro-rock and psychedelia in 1970s nigeria' -- which compilation itself is just kind of amazing

one wonders sometimes what it feels like to be one of, like, the four people in europe who actually know enough about 1970s nigerian psychedelia to hold an in-depth conversation about it

TH - Does the video help? If so, she has others. Not sure if she is *foremost expert* or whatever, but it was the first one I found.

i see them as having dogs, and internet dating profiles, and resembling -- though not, admittedly, to a great extent -- patrick magee in the first production of krapp's last tape

er, xpost

Yeah and what she does is probably not far from what I'd just come up with naturally, but it is just so.... impressive watching people who really know how to dance together to this sort of music. Really what I'm saying is that I want to learn how to use my hips.

x-post re European experts on Nigerian psych

Have you asked any of the African immigrants near Paris? Most of them are Congolese refugees but surely there must be some from Nigeria?

Yeah and what she does is probably not far from what I'd just come up with naturally, but it is just so.... impressive watching people who really know how to dance together to this sort of music. Really what I'm saying is that I want to learn how to use my hips.

― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Trying to find the time to practice, practice practice to be able to dance well has always been my issue. Maybe some people can pick it up quickly but not me.

The latin stuff is easy enough to dance to, I'm kind of wondering about the African psych stuff. Does one dare dance to that in public? I mean, I would, but I've got like 2 shameful bones in my body and they both like to dance.

Cumbia is fairly easy to pick up. I still am not sure I know it 100% properly but last time I was being all apologetic with a partner about not knowing it, she was like: you do know how to dance to this.

'blacky joe', by 'p.r.o.'

I stopped myself from gushing over this track here, cause I'm pretty sure I already have on a couple other threads. awesome to see someone else doing it for me!

This Colombia 45 ep (or whatever it is) is SO GOOD. Sounds really unlike what I imagine most people think of when they think "Latin music" or w/e. Not unusual if you're familiar with the range of Colombian music, but very different if you are imagining 60s/70s Fania or 50s Cuban music. I like the percussion a lot, tons of oompa.

In particular the tracks from Banda 20 de Julio de Repelón are just O_O and totally hypnotic.

<3 this label. Haven't seen anyone mention the excellent Tumbele comp of stuff from Guadeloupe and Martinique yet. It hits a sweet spot somewhere in the venn diagram of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Africa, and a bit of France.

Interview with Joni Hastrup http://www.theworld.org/2011/09/joni-haastrup-father-of-afro-funk/

ondatropica is getting a lot of press, no? comes out tomorrow. i didn't preorder but only because i am tired of their super slow intl shipping.

i went to the store and got this over the weekend, listening to 3xLP set for the first time and all i have to say is that it sounds awesome, but it sounds like 100 more awesome if you are even a little familiar with the type of tropical Colombian music Soundway has been reviving since their first Colombia! comp a few years ago (or knew about la musica tropical de Colombia before.)

I know they're going to get lumped into the Buena Vista Latin Music club, but they're way more than that.

there's even a goofy romantic boogaloo number if that's your bag

i think it was streaming somewhere and the NYC show is on the 27th
sample here at the very least http://snd.sc/JFLQcb

whoa i did not realize MICHI SARMIENTO IS STILL ALIVE??

i gotta get this ondatropica record

not only alive, but making music!

it's a shame you missed the london show(s) -- i think there was more than one?

only two shows in usa -- ny and la :(

i was in new york for the london show, and will be in london for the new york show *flings back of hand limply to forehead*

oh nm that rough trade show was for soundway as a whole.. STILL THOUGH

yes: http://www.okayafrica.com/2012/10/24/kiki-gyan-24-hours-in-a-disco/

It's December and I still think Ondatrópica is really good -- they got slapped with a corny marketing scheme imo, but the music itself is v enjoyable. Any other Soundway recordings I shouldn't miss this year?

To each her/his own, but I think if a group is doing an Afro-Colombian cover of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" like Ondatropica do, they may get a corny marketing campaign because such a cover is kind of corny.

Yeah I guess so. The rest of the album is good though! Maybe I have a high tolerance for corny cumbia.

I really like the Meridian Brothers - Desesperanza LP. Pretty unique take on that stuff.

This one is my favorite - cumbia with little sci-fi synths sprinkled throughout:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3_R-RSPmYY

Hmm - I don't know why it didn't embed

"https"->"http" I think

damn, great song.

bump it while looking @ this thread:

post animated gifs of dancing skeletons

ooh that is good! thanks. i'm a little confused about what is considered cumbia these days -- that's way faster than what i think of when i think of cumbia.

I played this track a bunch, not sure where it fits in genrewise: https://soundcloud.com/bombaestereo/lo-que-tengo-que-decir

i like them but i don't think they're on soundway records? did NOT know they had a new record out -- i'll have to give it a listen.

Their last album was on Soundway in Europe at least.

oh weird
i don't think it was here? i dunno, i downloaded it from emusic i think. anyway i completely forgot about them, so thanks for reminding me.

fun fun fun fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYAW8oJgti8

not on soundway, but it feels more relavent to share them here than any other thread:

CHICANO BATMAN
CHICANO BATMAN
CHICANO BATMAN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynlnp_I4vwY

CHICANO BATMAN
CHICANO BATMAN
CHICANO BATMAN

new meridian brothers -- sounds pretty good so far, and i like the cover art. i'm not really in love with the hyperactive side of psychedelia but maybe it would grow on me.

Deseperanza’ focussed heavily on salsa rhythms but on his new release Álvarez based each track in a different Latin American style. For example ‘Somos los Residentes’ finds it inspiration in Dominican Republic merengue while ‘Baile ultimo….’ is a slow and sad reggaeton. The lyrics talk of a man who has been sent to the electric chair because he was dancing too much reggaeton, a style that isn’t accepted as “good taste” within Colombia.

https://soundcloud.com/soundway-records/meridian-brothers-el-gran-pajaro-de-los-andes-instrumental

THIS, from Cartagena!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jGyfqc7vK8

dang this song is so groovy
it's exactly what i needed to hear right now

https://soundcloud.com/soundway-records/vou-me-libertar

hey that track's a lot of fun

the beginning sounds kinda like Can!! i love it.

damo suzuki-fronted freaked out groovy can

Latest Meridian Brothers record may be his best yet.

https://open.spotify.com/album/3RKNDECAtWiG1Ltq28t9kc

Title track for the Spotify-allergic: https://soundcloud.com/soundway-records/donde-estas-maria

i feel apprehensive about this in spite of the description sort of appealing to me

Announcing our newest signing, The Mauskovic Dance Band! The Dutch group combines cumbia, Afro-Caribbean rhythms & space disco. Stay tuned

Dutch Cumbia makes me think of the time Malkmus was going to call an album Swedish Reggae. (But who knows, this could be great.)

i guess i don't really turn to Soundway for this sort of thing. whatever it takes to stay alive i guess.
maybe it will be good?

all the vinyl releases from this label are hella expensive these days, wish they would do represses every once in a while

I guess I need Kings Of Benin... I have the (awesome) cumbia 2CD, Nigerian Funk, Nigerian Disco, and The World Ends Part 1, any other shortlist recommendations?

ghana soundz, imo

I think the MIchi Sarmiento collection is essential
https://soundwayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/aqui-los-bravos-the-best-of-michi-sarmiento-y-su-combo-bravo-1966-67

this one is good too
https://soundwayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cartagena-curro-fuentes-the-big-band-cumbia-and-descarga-sound-of-colombia-1962-72

is this the cumbia comp you mean? this is definitely essential https://soundwayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-original-sound-of-cumbia

lol one of the biggest current dancehall producers is Swedish: https://soundcloud.com/addeinstrumentals

I might have said this upthread, but Nigeria Special is probably my favorite soundway release, though mookieproof is also right

xp, yep, that's the one.

thanks y'all, I've seen those recommendations earlier in the thread and they seem like good next steps

I introduced my students to Soundway tonight and I feel like I have done a great service to humanity

you have, congrats

they were really interested in 1) the fact that this music wasn't widely available before it was reissued 2) it was all available for preview on bandcamp
three cheers for soundway and bandcamp!! everyone wins :)

i'm listening to Gumba Fire: Bubblegum Soul & Synth-Boogie in 1980s South Africa right now, wowow it's good

yeah that set is dynamite

At this point I've listened to a buncha Soundway Afro-Beat comps but barely any Fela Kuti.

I wonder if reissue digger labels like Soundway, Soul Jazz, etc. lead to that sort of experience for a lot of people - knowing about José Mauro before you've heard Caetano Veloso, say, or funky Gospel obscurities before you've heard Mahalia Jackson.

the Amanda Petruisch book about hardcore 78 collectors talks about this a bit in regard to how ppl ended up listening to Skip James rather than anyone who was actually popular at the time

i introduced my students to fela last night too! it was their lucky day

you are the best

Tunji Oleyana comp is dope fyi

Terrible artist name, but the two songs made available so far from this EP, released in full next Friday, are both terrific:
https://pigeon-uk.bandcamp.com/album/yagana-ep