quinta-feira, novembro 29, 2007

Dakar all stars



Not all those boring duties and affairs that kept me from blogging weren’t actually that boring. One was pretty exciting, but the kind of excitement one can rather do without. I had a water leek in my apartment a couple of days ago. While I was spending time for work at the other side of the country the neighbours, who lived just under me, phoned me to tell me that water was dripping from the ceiling in their living room. I drove back home as fast as I could to find my own apartment flooded with water. Apparently a small tab in my kitchen had broken and spilled water on the floor.

Well, shit happens. I only hope that my wooden floor holds it and dries out. It’s made entirely of tropical wood, which probably doubled my ecological footprint a couple of times, but it’s not manipulated with all sorts of toxics and plastics which probably makes it more vulnerable for this kind of wet accidents.
Anyway, time to relax and one tropical tree leads to another. The Baobab tree for instance is a very big tree that is also photogenic and elegantly sculptured and that grows in most West African countries. It gave its name to a famous club in Dakar. The band that started to play there in the seventies, Orchestra Baobab, got on its turn its name from that club and the tree.
If one is not familiar with their music and their sound one would think that they’re not African but from Cuba. Which is not that odd if you know that Cuban and Caribbean music in general has been very popular in West Africa ever since the forties and has had an enormous impact on modern African music.
The band formed in the seventies and quickly developed its relaxed keymark sound and its elegant softly flowing Afrocuban vibe. Because of the many African musicians from other countries that once played in the band their sound assimilated influences from many African styles ranging from highlife to the Rumba from Congo.
Orchestra Baobab was immensely popular during the late seventies and early eighties until 1984 when they got out of the limelight because of younger and more energetic musicians like Youssou N’Dour with his Mbalax sound that took Senegal by storm. They finally stopped playing all together.
From that moment on their story becomes very similar tot that of the Buena Vista Social Club from Cuba. After years of inactivity they got rediscovered, were asked to get back together to record and tour again and as a result they finally got the recognition in Europe and the States that they deserved.
In the case of Orchestra Baobab it was Nick Gold from the World Circuit label and their 1982 recording sessions which over the years received a legendary status among fanatic African music lovers around the world. In 2001 these sessions got reissued as Pirate’s Choice and in 2002 a great new album, Specialists in All Styles, followed. That was the moment when I first heard their music. This years they released another new album called Made in Dakar and the promotion tour brought them to Brussels.
I’m usually a fan of rather heavy, energetic and gritty African vibes like Afrobeat but I immediately liked this sophisticated well crafted music from Senegal. What stroke me was the clear sound in which you can hear each instrument and in which each instrument has its proper place.

A nice anecdote to illustrate this was the fact that during the live concert, their tambourine got broken and they were devastated that this was the case and that it took the people from La Botanique a while to fix it because they really needed this thing for a couple of song. When it was fixed you could immediate hear why they were so concerned because it really made a difference.

The producer and guest vocalist on these albums was Youssou N’Dour which is a bit ironic. Another funny anecdote is the fact that for the Buena Vista Social Club sessions that Ry Cooder organised in Havana it was originally intended that Orchestra Baobab would join, in order to bring together Cuban and African musicians with similar styles. Because of problems with visa this plan never got realised.


Pirate’s Choice
Coumba
Werente Serigne
Ray M'bele
Ndiaga Niaw


Specialists in All Styles
Bul Ma Miin
Dée Moo Wóor
Jiin Ma Jiin Ma
Ndongoy Daara
On Verra Ça

Made In Dakar
Nijaay
Beni Baraale
Sibam
Colette

domingo, novembro 25, 2007

Vaya Con Rios

Hiya, I’m blogging again. It’s been a little while since the last call but I’ve been taken out of steady rotation because of all sorts of tiny and stupidly boring affairs and duties. And what else? Concerts! Lots of concerts. This year has been chock-full bumpered with them. Even foreign bands like for instance Bloc Party bother to hit this tiny spot on the globe two times in a year. I guess they need the money but there’s a certain risk for overkill. Needless to say that concert tickets are going slow right now.
Some concerts are still sold out, though. I’ve been to a couple. Luckily I buy my tickets online and sometimes months in advance but I still missed out on Beirut which was sold out before I got the chance to look for tickets. More luck next time, I hope.

So what did I see? The first one was Orchestra Baobab in the Orangerie at Le Botanique which is still, to my knowledge and personnel taste, thé best concert hall in the country. It’s a bit small but it has a great sound. Artist also like it because of the sound quality on stage and they come back. Like Les Rita Mitsouko. They prefer playing there three concerts in a row instead of just one in a bigger one.

Next on the bill was Pinback at Trix in my hometown. Finally, after more than 3 years of waiting, if I’m not mistaken, Pinback came back to play. It was a full house which was the first time, I’ve been told, for this still pretty new venue. It’s the second year that they’re in business and this year’s bill is still promising. I’ll be spending more time there. This concert was my first live Pinback experience and it was worth it.

The last one in the row was Roisín Murphy from Moloko at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. She gave 2 concerts in as many days to present her new album Overpowered.
My first visit since she went solo and probably my last one as well. Not because she stank but because next time around, she’ll be playing the big concert halls and stadium’s in front of huge crowds and that’s not exactly my cup of tea.

Now, I’m going to make some effort, to turn all of this into music because people who missed out on some of it were asking me for it nicely, so I can’t refuse can I. I’ve got also quite a bit of African music ready so when I’m done it will be half of December and then Khaled will be in town, which means that I’ll be preparing some good old Raï music.

Meanwhile I received another free promo-CD this week. It’s one of the Belgian/Puertorican artist Gabriel Rios and it’s called Morehead which is a reference to his new album Angelhead. It’s an exclusive promo-only CD with just 7 tracks, so in contrast to my usual habit of posting separate tracks instead of albums, I’m posting the whole lot here.
If you don’t know Gabriel Rios it’s maybe a odd introduction - because this stuff is mainly acoustic and he usually plays with a big Latin band - but there’s enough quality here to give a nice impression of what he’s up to.

01 - Voodoo Chile
02 - Baby Lone Star (First Ever Version)
03 - Wish (Alternate Version)
04 - Porque Te Vas
05 - I'm Gonna Die Tonight (First Ever Version)
06 - For The Wolves (Acoustic Version)
07 - Dink's Song

segunda-feira, novembro 12, 2007

Don't Think I've Forgotten
(Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll)


You might have noticed that at the right end bottom, I’ve got one of these Neoworx visit counters that all the great blogs have ;-). It’s a free try and buy that ends today. I think I’m going to keep it because it’s always nice to know who’s passing by. At present it states 1000 visitors from 38 countries and 249 cities. I wonder who those 172 people from Antwerp are because I enabled the option of keeping my own visits out of it, but apparently that’s not the case or maybe I’m suffering from a Multiple personality disorder just like Dylan in that new biopic movie I’m Not There. I just got the soundtrack and it’s a really swell tribute to the old master.

I could post a Sufjan Stevens' song every day because I like everything he does. I rarely use big words but I’m starting to believe that this guy’s a genius. He keeps producing and arranging wonderful stuff. Another surprise is Karen O from The YeahYeahYeah’s version of Highway 61.

Karen O & The Million Dollar Bashers – Highway 61 Revisited - I’m Not There OST
Sufjan Stevens – Ring Them Bells - I’m Not There OST

All those exotic names makes one dream of far away places and travels. It's also nice to see how flat the world is getting but there’s still a difference in the number of internet users. Most visitors are from Europe and the States and Asia. No sign of Africa and the Middle East so far. Some visitors from brasil is always nice (muito obrigado) but no visitors from India... Bangalore and all? I guess that people from countries with their own type of scripture usually stick to their written language and that maybe still creates a kind of barrier. If you’re from India and are looking for Bollywood you’re probably are not going to do that in googlish. It’s just a guess.
Anyway, it reminds me that I haven’t done anything music wise with my last travel to the Far East. Usually when I go on a holiday, I search for local music but I’m starting to lose the hang of it. It tends to get in the way of holiday pleasures and activities. That’s why I came back empty handed this time. For the first time, really. A pity but I don’t have to feel sorry to long because there’s plenty of music on the net.


I’m used to some surprises by now, when it comes to worldbeat treasures, but it still is a surprise to learn that Cambodia used to have a very flourishing popular music scene in the late sixties and early seventies which was a perfect example of my definition of glocal pop music: Global pop formats meet local sounds, rhythms and vocals.

All of this has literally vanished into thin air, because of the war and the cultural setback during the Khmer Rouge regime but some of it survived in the Cambodian diaspora.

I stumbled on a site that promotes a movie that’s being made about this great loss and the actions that are being taken to reconstruct this heritage and celebrate those who survived. This documentary film, Don't Think I've Forgotten, provides a new perspective on a country usually associated with war and genocide. By celebrating this powerful music, and the people who created it, Cambodia's musical heyday emerges from the shadows of tragedy into the light of history.


Just imagine, this music down below, being played at rooftop parties while bombs ignited the evening sky when the peasant Khmer Rouge army closed in on the capital city of Phnom Penh. It makes a whole different take on it.

Here’s a Cambodian Rock movietrailer that explains the rise and fall of Cambodian Khmer Rock.

There are also lots of compilations featuring rock and popmusic from the 60's and early 70's. Cambodian musicians took various rock music styles sweeping across America and England and created a sound like no other by adding the unique melodies and hypnotic rhythms of their traditional music. The only thing that comes close, is the music that was made during the same era in Ethiopia and some of the Bollywood craze of that period. The typical Asian style of singing of the female vocalists and the soft crooning of the men became the final touch that made this mix so enticing.
If you want to go further, just look for
Cambodian Rocks, and check out the wide range of compilations available through this specialist online label, Khmer Rocks which features thousands of original and remastered tracks. Maybe I will post some tracks from it in the future, if I can figure out how it works.

Meanwhile I purchased a copy of Cambodian Cassette Archives: Khmer Folk & Pop music Vol. 1 on the young Sublime Frequencies label from Seattle which is run by Sun City Girls member Alan Bishop. It exclusively releases recordings of obscure and unusual international music.

Sublime frequencies is a collective of explorers dedicated to acquiring and exposing obscure sights and sounds from modern and traditional urban and rural frontiers via film and video, field recordings, radio and short wave transmissions, international folk and pop music, sound anomalies, and other forms of human and natural expression not documented sufficiently through all channels of academic research, the modern recording industry, media, or corporate foundations.

Sublime Frequencies' involvement in World Music takes a different tack, delighting in the unpredictable, the inexplicable and the bizarre. The label curators are more like eccentric nineteenth-century travelling aristocrats than simple tourists, returning home with untamed and obscure musical treasures that even they haven't quite figured out yet.

They have their own style of releasing records which is fresh but it has it’s fans and it’s critics. There’s hardly any research done but they probably don’t have the means to do so. Or you could make the conclusion that something like Java Radio, or all the others in the Radio series that consist of tape edits of typical radio broadcasts in a specific country with a original approach to radio, are easy money. Nevertheless it’s important to bring this stuff into the spotlight. it's worth it.
Especially the Java Radio brings back fond memories. In Indonesia they like their radio and their music. And they should. It’s an overwhelming experience to hear this distinctly different and very diverse type of music virtually everywhere. Even my travel mates, who weren’t that much into music as such, noticed this strange soundtrack to their daily adventures and were captivated by the atmosphere it created. Gamelan a-go-go it was.
About the Cambodian cassette archive. It’s an overview of Khmer Pop and Rock music as found by Mark Gergis on various anonimous audio tape cassettes that were 'rotting' away at the Asian Branch of the Oakland Public Library in California. Some tracks are from the heyday and some are made later on by expads during the diaspora of the 70’s and 80’s.

I found some reviews about it, so I don’t have to make up my own words because I already wrote more lines by now than I usually do.

I especially liked this quote:

It’s a strategy that has won as many critics as fans, but this CD of Cambodian pop is exhilarating precisely because of the lack of context. It’s a punch you didn’t see coming.


I wonder how I would have reacted to this CD if I had heard it 10 years ago. Maybe I would have been knocked out, I don’t know. I remember how that Ethiopian Groove sampler had that effect on me, so I saw this one comin’ :-).

Other quotes really get under your skin and have an eerie sound if you’ve been to Cambodia and have learned something about the horrors which took place:
…when these tapes were discovered in Oakland public library, they were even slowly being erased by accident. Behind the music is a murky history—one of disintegration, of both a country and its culture.

It's sadly appropriate, then, that this compilation of Cambodian pop music, spanning the 1960s through the 1990s, had to be pieced together from more than 150 cassettes (described as "ravaged" in the liner notes) found in the Asian branch of the Oakland, CA, public library.
From a Stylus article
An unbelievable collection of dynamic Cambodian music recorded between the 1960s and the 1990s, both in Cambodia and in the United States. A truly Khmer blend of folk and pop stylings - Cha-Cha Psychedelia, Phase-shifting Rock, sultry circle dance standards, pulsing Cambodian new wave, haunted ballads, musical comedy sketches, Easy-Listening numbers and raw instrumental grooves presented in an eclectic variety of production techniques. Male and female vocalists share the spotlight, embellished by roller rink organ solos, raunchy guitar leads and MIDI defying synthesizers. Culled from over 150 ageing cassettes found at the Asian Branch of the Oakland Public Library in California, these recordings showcase a pre and post holocaust Cambodian musical lineage that can't be ignored.

Richie Unterberger at music.barnesandnoble.com
Cambodian Cassette Archives is certainly many removes away from presenting an objective picture of this mysterious genre. Some of the tracks were original songs cobbled together in Cambodia prior to the brutal reign of the Khmer Rouge, but most were versions made much later by exiled ex-pats.
Pol Pot's horrific regime in Cambodia wreaked destruction in multiple directions, including irreparable damage to the country's culture and musical heritage, as well as the loss of so many lives.


For Western listeners, much of the interest lies in the sheer novelty of hearing unfamiliar collisions, with melodramatic Cambodian vocals, melodies, and operatic orchestration charged by raw psychedelic guitar, cheesy organ, and fusion-like horns. Bubblegum pop and hi-NRG are a recurrent, irrepressible energy source; dubby and phased psychedelic production shows a taste for cheap sonic thrills.
Though late-20th century Cambodian pop can probably never come close to being documenting with any reasonable thoroughness, this unusual reissue captures at least a slice of it, performing a valuable artistic and musical service.

The artists on this collection were inspired by popular Cambodian musicians from the 1960s and '70s, most of whom were murdered by the government during Pol Pot's dictatorship. Six of the 20 tracks actually come from the fruitful earlier period of recording, but the rest were recorded in the 1980s and '90s, mostly by Cambodian immigrants to the United States. You'll hear a wide range of eastern/western and ancient/modern influences and instruments on these songs. There are bits and pieces of punk, reggae, garage rock, psych, and even a strangely Morricone-esque instrumental. The production is obviously pretty low budget, but the recording quality is surprisingly good and the arrangements display great ingenuity in spite of the artists' limitations.

If you like vintage Bollywood, or the 70's Ethiopiques releases you needn't hesitate. This CD is another find for hunters of exotic or quirky fun music. The CD is also beautifully illustrated with artwork from the original cassettes.

Blue Basket – Anon
unknown 4 – Meas Samon
Don't Let My Girlfriend Tickle Me – Sim Sisamouth
Srey No (Lady Named No) – Anon
unknown 11 – Anon
unknown 12 – Anon
unknown 18 – Anon
Birds Are Singing But My Lover Won't Return – Anon

And since we’re traveling, some other worldly sounds.

William Onyeabor – Better Change Your Mind
I first heard this one on the great (-) blog Siebe Thissen has. The links lead to the Dr Auratheft/Mom Radio page whee he ads his own mixtapes. This one is on the first Africa Wakbarr volume and it took me quite a while to track it down. It’s about (de)colonization which is still a hot topic since this world is getting flatter.

Khong Khao Noi Mea Ka 99 (feat. Noppadol Duangporn) – Pleng Peebah (Crazy Song)
I didn’t only stay in Cambodia but also in Thailand which is where this one comes from. It’s from Molam (Thai Country Groove From Isan).

Caetano Veloso – Odara
Arthur Verocai – Bis (Eddy Meets Yannah Mix)
Over to brasil for a new episode in Caetano Veloso’s discography. I finally have my copy of Bicho which features the well known O Leãzinho about a little lion which every brazilian kid learns in school and as such became Veloso’s big breakthrough after years of exile and obscurity. The opening track is Odara which has always been a personnel favourite of mine. It’s not that brilliant compared to other songs but the refrain just sticks to yer head.
I just recently posted the original version of Bis by Arthur Verocai. It’s from a new album called Encore and it’s nothing less than a revelation. Verocai is a man who lived for many years in obscurity if you look at it from an European perspective but who has been a kind of musicians musician in brasil. He became famous in the sixties and collaborated with almost every major MPB star, worked as musical director for Globo television and became a fulltime arranger. Far Out Records tracked him down and made a new album with him together with Azymuth and Ivan Lins. It’s just simply great. Anessential if you like brazilian music. I have to track down more of his music but that will probably be a tuff one.

Eagles of Death Metal – Flames Go Higher An oldie
Belleruche – Minor Swing The New Moloko?
Matthew Dear – Don And Sherri without a doubt, THE dancetrack of the year!
Matthew Dear – Elementary Lover (DJ Koze remix)
Free Blood – Never Hear Surf Music Again (ACTH remix)
Jill Scott – Living My Life Like It’s Golden (Kenny Dope rmx) it ain’t to difficult with mixes like this
Jerboa – Number One so far, the best Belgian export product this year – it’s definitely one for the bongoparade.

sábado, novembro 10, 2007

... but not my Dapper Dan!

It’s Saturday, the 10th of November and it’s I love Techno in Ghent but I’m at home writing this stuff. Last year was the last time, I said to myself and I stick to my decision, even though this year’s list is pretty cool but I had it with mega dance happenings and music festivals in general. It’s the worst of both worlds if you ask me, so I rather prefer small venues these days.

Anyway, that was then and this is now. I already had my share of vibes last night with DJ Premier. The production half of the former seminal hip-hop crew Gangstarr came down to my hometown for the Love Below, a clubnight concept dedicated to soul, funk and hip-hop. He came to lecture because he did almost as much talkin’ as spinnin' records. Telling about the music he listened to, when he was a kid, and asking a word up to pay respect to the origins of hip-hop. Luckily it wasn’t all about talkin’ but he also played lots of oldskool hip-hop and funk to illustrate his point.

Talking ‘bout oldskool funk. I still had to report about Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and The Dynamites feat. Charles Walker. It seems that Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are the most prominent forerunners of the so-called ‘Deep Funk’ movement. This soulrevival includes acts like Breakestra, Poets of Rhythm, New Mastersounds, Butos Band, The Dynamites and The Bamboos and why not… Amy Winehouse.
I read that this renewed mainstream interest for hard edged soul and gritty funk was coined Deep Funk by British DJ Keb Darge to give a catchy overall name to the little known funk music from the ‘60s and early ‘70s he spun as well as the newer recordings derived from that sound.

Deep Funk is pretty much more roots orientated and something more raw than the funk-inspired Salsoul and cosmic disco of the late ‘70s that I’ve been posting on this blog. Or as The Dynamites' bandleader Bill Elder puts it, 'We keep it in the swamp, and away from the spaceships.'
It’s probably soul music’s inherent authenticity that’s brings it back into the limelight. Every now and then, people get fed up with the plastic fabricated stuff record companies come up with and look back for something old and familiar but nevertheless real. If Charles Walker sings about doing his ‘Own Thing’ after years of slaving for ‘The Man’, he knows what he’s talking about because both Walker and Sharon Jones paid their dues in the chitlin’ circuit and in ‘shitty’ jobs before they got a better chance and a rightful place in the spotlight.

If you want to know more about Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and how the band came about and wind up playin’ on the Winehouse album, you can watch this short but informative MTV documentary.




If you can’t get enough of it, you can watch Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings in their studios in Brooklyn working on their last album 100 Days 100 Nights.

Part 1




Part 2




Sharon Jones & The Dap-kings
Natural Born Lover
How Do I Let A Good Man Down
How Long Do I Have To Wait For You
My Man Is A Mean Man
100 Days 100 Nights

Butos Band – Chicago Falcon
Some members of The Dap-Kings also play in the Afrobeat band Antibalas and this Afro-soul band called Butos Band. The keyboard player from Antibalas/Dap-Kings turns out to be the guy behind the Ticklah project.

Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators – If This Ain’t Love (Don’t Know What Is) A rerun that fitts neatly in this set

The vintage style video for one of the first singles from their new album. I Came By To See What Condition My Condition Is In.




Now, lets talk about Charles Walker for a moment. Charles "Wigg" Walker is a soul veteran, having recorded many sides in the '60s and '70s for classic labels like Decca, Champion, and Chess. On the bio section on the Dynamites site it says that…

When the revolutionary ‘new bag’ now known as funk first made the scene, Walker was right there in the thick of it, opening for the likes of James Brown, Etta James, and Wilson Pickett, and imbibing himself in a cultural movement’s genesis. His recordings as "Little Charles & The Sidewinders" produced a cult following on the New York club scene and even on England's Northern Soul scene and earned Charles a spot in the footnotes of soul music history.

All this, combined with his Tennessee upbringing, made Walker a natural choice to be included in the Night Train to Nashville collection. After having seen a resurgence of interest in his career thanks to inclusion on the second volume of the Night Train To Nashville collections of Nashville-based soul and R&B, Charles began performing live in the Nashville area again which brought him to the attention of a hungry young band leader looking for an authentic voice to front a new funk band project called The Dynamites. The rest is history.

The Dynamites feat. Charles Walker
Body Snatcher
Own Thing
Way Down South
Every Time
Dig Deeper

domingo, novembro 04, 2007

Late Halloween’s Random Trick or Treat Discount
just take out what you like, always a nice price

Picture courtesy of MRC

I’ve been around in the past couple of days, that’s the least you can say, but I only did half of what I intended to do because of lack of energy - gee, I’m getting’ old - or because of the company (if you go out with friends it’s not that easy to follow a tight schedule but who cares if the company’s swell).

Let’s see, what did I do: Apparat was boring, 65daysofstatic was overwhelmingly heavy and Dead Elvis and His One Man Grave was alive and kickin’. I totally missed out the second day in order to be prepared for the next one because Think of One was again really great, Bonde do Rolê was a bit short – one of them was feeling sick – but from what I’ve heard I guess they’re pretty swell. The surprise act of the evening was Mauro Pawlowski who played a DJ-set and that one was incredibly funky, awesome! Rare grooves a go-go to the double and musical tastes from here to Timbuktu, sorry Lagos because he ended his set with some classic Fella Kuti - I wish I knew what that opening track was, it was a remix from Yo La Tengo’s cover of Sun Ra’s Nuclear War but without the children’s choir - I ended the evening, all in sweat, but with a big smile on my face :-D.

Saturday was the last day. I ended up going to Brussels for Sabah Fakhri for a concert of classic Arabian music and classic here, also means several hours of live performance. They knocked off the clock at 4 hours flat with a short pause in the middle. As a result I didn’t go to Petrol for the closing night of the festival.
The concert was pretty tuff, although I can’t complaint, because Fakhri is famous for singing non-stop for 10 hours in a row. It was tuff because, apart from a couple of words like Habibi ;-), I can’t understand a word of Arab, which is a must to keep your attention going for more than 2 hours. The music was wonderful and state of the art – there was an awesome oud solo in the second part of the evening – but it’s mostly storytelling so the dynamic of the melodies is more a result of the logic of the story or the format in stead of a pure musical flow. But I mustn’t complaint, I was warned, this wasn’t my first concert of classic Arabian music. I wonder if they could project translations of the lyrics as in western opera’s. It’s not ideal, but it could help.
Apart from that it was fun. Arab people, young and old, have the intention to sing along with this type of music and they did. I was sitting next to a row of some older women who could sing very well and they knew the lyrics word by word. Sometimes it’s was a kind of call and response as in black gospel choirs. And the men, they got off there chairs and started dancing, clapping their hands or waving their arms in the air and shouting stuff to fire the singer and the musicians. A nice party in an very highbrow cultural environment. It reminded me a bit of the visit of Asha Bhosle. She sang in the same royal concert hall a while back.

Back to the music. I didn’t find any means of translating all of these experiences into music but since it’s Halloween and all - I’m told ‘cause I don’t keep track of these things - I have a good alibi to deliver some random stuff that was lying on the shelve. Just take out what you like, it’s always a nice price!

What’s in the bag?... some more candy. Newly acquired stuff and some reggae again, although the first one is as much Latin as dub reggae. A new project Ticklah versus Axelrod. There are some links to Antibalas and the Dap-Kings but I still have to figure them out. I heard a couple of tracks on the net and they’re all brilliant. I’m going to purchase me a copy of that album. Here’s an Eddie Palmieri cover that’s circulating on the net.

Ticklah – Si Hecho Palante (Featuring Mayra Vega)
John Legend – I Used To Love You (superior remix) it really is!

Some real oldies, but they still got that swing.

201 Dakota Staton – My Funny Valentine
202 Slim Harpo – Shake your hips
203 Koko Taylor – Wang Dang Doodle
204 Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse –Valerie a pitty but this is not the Zappa cover that I held it for, nice tune though

More cosmic disco from the Baia

205 Alec R. Costandinos – L.O.V.E. Got a Hold on Me
206
Phyllis Hyman – Loving You, Losing You
207 Stanley Clarke – Hot Fun
208
Stanley Clarke – More Hot Fun
209 Eddie Kendricks – Girl You Need A Change Of Mind (Long Version)
210 Chocolat's – Kings Of Clubs (Tom Moulton Mix) some late dessert
211 Earth Wind And Fire feat. Ramsey Lewis – Sun Goddess
212 Macho – I'm A Man (Disco Version)
213 Chaz Jankel – You're My Occupation
214 Double Exposure – My Love Is Free (Tom Moulton 12 inch mix)
215 Kool and The Gang – Spirit Of The Boogie
216 Etta James – All The Way Down

217 Arthur Verocai – Bis it’s been a while but I found some excellent brazilian oldies that I didn’t know yet
218 Tuomo – Don't Take It Too Hard this is really great, I just found it and still have to find out who this fella is
219 Jazzanova – Mwela Mwela (Here I Am)
220 Jazzanova – Mwela Mwela (Here I Am) (Bugz In The Attic remix)
221 Jazzanova – Mwela Mwela (Here I Am) (King Britt mix)
222 Vivian Green – Fanatic (Francois K & Eric Kupper Classic Vocal Mix) mellow favourite from 2003
223 Joi + Jorio – I Won't Waste Your Time
224 DC Le Groove – Disco Deviance (Greg Wilson edit)
225 Rahni Harris and F.L.O. – Six Million Steps (full instrumental)
226 Nuspirit Helsinki – Seis Por Ocho

Animal Collective – Fireworks
Okkervil River – For Real
Richard Hawley – Serious

Supermayer – Please Sunrise one of the most happy, sunny dance tracks this year… yes please, some more sunshine
MANDY – Put Put Put
MANDY – Put Put Put (John Tejada RMX)
New Order – Waiting For The Sirens' Call (David Waxman planet funk remix)

DJ Mehdi feat. Chromeo - 'I Am Somebody'