Soundway Records S/D

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/

interesting discussion of postcolonial nigerian national psychology too

I like the percussion a lot, tons of oompa.

Yeah, there's something almost Balkan going on there. It's insane!

I'm thinking specifically of Banda 20 de Julio de Repelón. There's something ancient and Slavic and mournful about those horns

Have I mentioned how great the Palenque Palenque comp is?! If you like the African-influenced songs (the Wganda Kenya songs, por ejemplo) on the first Colombia comp the best, you will love this.
http://www.soundwayrecords.com/catalogue/palenque-palenque.html

I should get that as I have loved all of the Palenque stuff I have heard in the past.

That's really nice but I prefer the thrash and bite of Michi et al.

holy crap this Kings of Benin disc is amazing!

um, totes gonna preorder
http://www.soundwayrecords.com/catalogue/the-original-sound-of-cumbia.html

The Original Sound of Cumbia
The History of Colombian Cumbia & Porro As Told By The Phonograph 1948 - 79

Soundway set sail for Colombia once again, delving deeper into the South American country’s rich musical past. Boasting 55 tracks spread over two CDs and two triple LPs, ‘The Original Sound of Cumbia’ is Soundway’s definitive guide to the origins of Colombian cumbia and porro and the result of five years pain staking re-search by Will ‘Quantic’ Holland.

Disc 1 tells the story of some the earliest Colombian cumbia recorded, a genre that captured a nation, spreading from its birthplace on the Caribbean coast in land to central Colombia and the capital Bogata. Disc 2 sees the evolution of cumbia. Greats of Colombian music like Alberto Pacheco, Toño Fernandez & Anibal Velasquez brought the genre forward, bringing new influences and instruments to the genre. What had once been considered the music of the underclasses had risen up as the new sound of a nation.

After five years of becoming slowly submerged in Colombian musical culture, learning the accordion, setting up a band and a studio, and scouring the country in search it’s recorded legacy, Will ‘Quantic’ Holland (Quantic Soul Orchestra & Quantic y su Combo Barbaro) has compiled the fruits of his labour into this unique compilation that tells the story of cumbia in the years of the phonograph record’s supremacy. Along with good friend and head of Soundway Records, Miles Cletet, Will Holland has condensed hundreds of 78s, 45s and LPs into just over two and a half hours of the finest Colombian cumbia.

That sounds awesome. Even if some of the choices overlap with other compilations I have, decent liner notes covering the history of the genre would be a big improvement.

A bit OT, but, La Lechera, have you ever heard Quayacan Orquesta's album from a few years back, Xtremo? It's mostly (but not entirely) salsa, but very Colombian. I am listening to it now, and I always forget how much I like it. It's a bit cheesy and goofy, but then the songs always end up arriving in this sublime groove space.

I haven't, but I will totally check it out. Some of the more recent stuff takes a while to grow on me for that reason, but usually I end up liking it after giving it a chance because it's still essentially groovy.

Jesus Christ I am defenseless against news like this

I am STILL listening to my Soundway cumbia comps, probably three, four times a week, still finding new favorites

Today it's this, just outrageously bad-ass -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZDL0FQfTdU

Tracer the song I CANNOT stop listening to from the Colombia 45 release is El Sabrocito. I love the sound of the vocals so much, and the "mira, ven aca" part was stuck in my head for days until I could figure out which song I wanted to hear. The vocals don't kick in until almost a minute has passed and only last two lines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbY7-OT71Fk

and the capital Bogata.
do not appreciate the spelling error of Bogotá though :(
i understand losing the Santa Fé de or even the accented a but misspelling is misspelling

not so much into the columbian stuff, but the african compilations on Soundway are golden...

The Ghana Special 5LP boxset is particularly awesome

lol La Lechera, "El Sabrocito" is the last song on my own little "comp of the comps" I made for myself. I don't know how to describe that guy's voice on that song. It's a late night/early morning voice. Crunk, I guess? He's crunk.

he is totally crunk -- the whole song is a woozy head scrambler

Ok, so I went to preorder this, but I'm a little confused.

CD is £12.99 -- fine, i get that
then there are two LPs to order, parts 1 and 2 and each one is £17.99

Does that mean that in order to get the whole thing, I have to pay £17.99 x 2?!
Are they two different versions of the same release?

thanks to this thread I picked up Nigeria Disco Funk Special, enjoying it very much but I wanna hear that cumbia collection even more!

Somos todos cumbia cabezas ahora.

(Apologies if that Spanish is a bit fucked.)

looks like there are two separate 3-LP sets that (together) provide the entire collection one could also purchase for £12.99 on CD (blech) and still get the free downloads.

i want the vinyl, i do WANT IT, but do i want to pay ~$50 for it?!?!
dios mio

thanks to this thread I picked up Nigeria Disco Funk Special, enjoying it very much but I wanna hear that cumbia collection even more!

i like everything soundway releases, but i much prefer the africa reissues than the cumbia series (and it all seems like summer -- not fall/winter -- music to me).

La Lechera: I was lucky enough to do a bit of warm up DJing at the Soundway Party and it reminded me of going to Bar Rhumba on a Monday night in the early 90s, just with no drum and bass.

The Sound of Siam DJs were ace and even though it was sparsely attended people lost their shit to it. Had a weirdly Northern Soul vibe to it.

Basically mainly people who were there to dance.

looks like there are two separate 3-LP sets that (together) provide the entire collection one could also purchase for £12.99 on CD (blech) and still get the free downloads.

i want the vinyl, i do WANT IT, but do i want to pay ~$50 for it?!?!
dios mio

Soundway did the same thing with "The World Ends" afro-psych compilations..

I really wanted then on vinyl, but they spread the 2CDs over 6 LP's - meaning about 10-12 mins music a side... They could easily fit the whole thing on 4 LP's and still be under 20minutes a side..

I passed on that one for the same reasons as you....

Doran -- that sounds like maximum funtimes. It's just the right kind of stuff to lose your shit to :)

As for the LPs -- is there some DJ reason they would spread the songs over so many sides?

the 10 - 12 minutes a side makes it a little annoying for home listening but it's more than compensated for by the increased fidelity and volume. psyched for these two cumbia comps as i don't know any of the tracks on them.

the other one i keep coming back to these days is "El Alegron" - it keeps playing out in my mind as the opening credits to some fusion of Louis and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Sampler from aforementioned cumbia comp http://soundcloud.com/soundway-records/the-original-sound-of-cumbia

(I am just reposting this stuff from their fb updates btw)

bad news: it sounds gooooooooooooooood

Ha ha

whoa accordion attack!

i decided to plunk down for the vinyl and i can't say that i regret it in the slightest

my prediction: vallenato is next

this is what they've got up next - anyone know the dealie with this?

Soundway are proud to release the debut album of Portuguese/Angolan DJ Mpula aka Pedro Coquenão. A distinctly modern and vibrant project with it’s feet firmly rooted in the past, Batida combine samples from old 1970s Angolan tracks with modern electronic dance music. Simply put, Batida is the sound of the wildest Angolan street party

Being the first of a string of brand new projects, this eponymous first album sees Soundway taking a slightly different direction in 2012 and beyond. Championed mostly for their work in un-earthing and re-releasing classic, rare and vintage tropical recordings, Soundway have started signing new acts that have drawn on and been inspired by the kind of music found on the label's groundbreaking compilations and re-issues.

free download from Batida -- http://soundcloud.com/soundway-records/batida-tirei-o-chap-u

Batida, the brainchild of Angolan / Portuguese DJ Mpula aka Pedro Coquenão. A distinctly modern and vibrant project with its feet firmly rooted in the past, Batida combine samples from old 1970s Angolan tracks with modern electronic dance music. Music is the starting point but through dance, graphics, photography, radio and video, Batida expands, taking in politics and social commentary but always bringing it back to the party.

haven't listened to it yet, but my guess is that it is HUGE
hope so at least

Just ordered the Edzayawa LP as it looks awesome..

...and the second Rob LP in a few weeks... (and with it being on Soundway, we get the re-issue in the original sleeve, unlike the Analog Africa remade sleeves)...

x-post
a more cultural Buraka Som Sistema? Haven't heard it yet

Just listening to the Edzayawa album. End of Side 1. So far, so great. Nice gatefold.

really looking forward to that... Lijadu Sisters double LP on Soul Jazz landed today which will keep me going....

I just have my old Lijadu Sisters release. That sounds intriguing

it's a double vinyl compilation of the afro-beat stuff of their Afrodisia 4 LP's - missing out the more reggae/disco tracks..

London crew, Im doing video stuff at their 10th birthday warehouse party in Hackney tomorrow night. Shaping up to be a good do

http://www.soundwayrecords.com/events/dancing-time-with-soundway-10-year-anniversary-party-2.html

fuuuck i wish i could go

tell me about it!

That Batida record is so great!

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

^ video takes a while to get going but that song is something else

Was a great party, all the soundway folk thoroughly nice guys. Wasnt sure what to expect crowd wise but everyone was dancing like crazy all night, no room for beard rubbing at all. The girl who does the video stuff for batida was totally smoking, yabbered at her for quite a while before realising that noone has ever, ever got laid off the back of technical video chat

the party on friday was great (and even though i can't now remember much about them i recall thinking that the visuals were really impressive, so good work straightola!), to the extent that i somehow managed to wear a hole in my shoe from dancing...

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