Soundway Records S/D

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

This Asian disco/funk/boogie compilation is lovely on first hearing, definitely in the category of "what I didn't know I needed": https://soundwayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ayo-ke-disco-boogie-pop-funk-from-the-south-china-sea-1974-88