Soundway Records S/D

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/

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)

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