I’m pretty awfull tired right now. I had hardly any sleep for three days. Luckily I rarely drink coffee so Black Gold kept me going. Certainly today at work. Now I can finally go to bed but first this post.
There was too much fun going on this weekend… concerts, Fiesta Latina’s, Richie Hawtin, Murga parades and Samba schools were coloring the city streets and nights. I also had the chance to get me some free and fun one-to-one salsa lessons from a dear friend. It turned out to be as hard I thought it would be. It’s difficult for me to stay centered. It still feels like putting a step back. I have to focus on the basic moves when all I long to do is improvise. It's called dancing together and paying attention. It’s clear though that I need lessons if I want to get into it. Or maybe I should take up tango instead but in that case I will probably have to face the same problems.

The Rayees – Hurricane

I raved on about this band just a short while ago and posted 2 video’s and a myspace link. For those who are too lazy, too scared to make it to the other side or want a souvenir to cherish, I post this great song right here.

The Blue Nile – Tinseltown In The Rain
The Blue Nile – Stay

Every once in a while I fall in love with my radio. I heard this fabulous song sleep drunk while driving my car (no go, I know but sometimes I have no other choice). It’s from an great almost forgotten band from the 80’s, The Blue Nile.
The funny thing was that I had the album from which the track was pulled from. It’s one of many records that I took from the library and copied on tape when I was in college but hardly gave a look in the years afterwards. Maybe I was just not ready for it. Hearing it back today it’s incredible how fresh and up to date A Walk Across The Rooftops from 1983 sounds. Tracks like Tinseltown In The Rain and Stay are genuine pop songs but have them haunting dance oriented pulsating minimal rhythms that are just a kin to present day disco and just are craving for a remix by the likes of Lindstrøm, Aeroplane, Low Motion Disco,…

Five Letters – Tha Kee Tha Tha
Alec R. Costandinos – Romeo And Juliet
Ratatat – Shempi
Lützenkirchen – 3 Tage Wach

Marco Carola – Re_Solution

This Italian guy was the side kick for Richie Hawtin in the fuse on Saturday but I missed it this time. You can’t have it all. Well, next year he’ll be back, just like the year before and year before that and the other one before that…
Oh yes, this one's another mediafire upload so it will go dead after a while (just testing how long it lasts).

Machines Don’t Care – On A Roll Man
Mugison – Mugiboogie

Getting into some heavy aural traffic now with these two.

I thought that the following video would fit in just fine with all this 70’s and 80’s stuff hanging around.



Every year they have a festival in Holland called London Calling with the latest Britpop fab’s and hypes from the UK. I didn’t go but I managed to get a hold on a sampler which the Dutch music magazine OOR (ear) put together for the occasion. A couple of nice songs, nothing amazing or a must have. That’s why I uploaded these with Mediafire. Just a testcase to check out their service. It means that these links will die after a while but I’m not sure when.

Pete & the Pirates – Mr. Understanding
Blood Red Shoes – Say Something, Say Anthing
Mystery Jets – Young Love
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly – Waiting for the Monster to Drown
The Young knives – Up All Night
Make Model – The LSB (demo version)
Peggy Sue And The Pirates – The New Song
Florence And The Machine – Girl with One Eye
Chrome Hoof – Pronoid

Just Do What You Feel… but Do It With Style

You all might have been wondering what was going on lately with these short messages and second hand links? No worry, I was just running short of up/download credit because I’ve been watching to many South Park episodes over the last few weeks, even months. At the end of the month I’m always short on fiberjuice. But I’m almost there. I’m entering season 10 now from 2006 and the credit counter’s back to zero.
I must say, the joke isn’t still starting to wear thin in contrast with what I expected. I’m as pretty much amused by it as on the first day. There are some weak episodes off course but the general appreciation is still A OK.

So what’s in the bag this time? The usual I’m afraid… I’m still not getting fed up with hearing fine disco music. There’s so much of it and just now I got hold on one of the best but rare and almost forgotten albums of a true master of disco. Webster Lewis is held in high regard by soul, funk and Jazz fans alike, although he never attained the mainstream success he thoroughly deserved. He was born in 1943 but he passed away 6 years ago in 2002 as a result of diabetic complications.
He was a fine pianist, clarinetist and arranger who also toured as a conducter for Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra and worked as a musical director for Herbie Hancock and Gwen McCrea. He’s the one behind the early vintage electro of Welcome Aboard of The Love Unlimited Orchestra.

The album I’ve obtained is one of his amazing late 70's sets for Epic Records called 8 for the 80’s. Lewis and Hancock shared the production credits on this one. It’s full of fabulously orchestrated first rate fusion of funk and disco with a jazzy sensitive edge. Lots of smooth soulful vocals, strings and horns but it never get's cheesy. The up-tempo tracks like Give Me Some Emotion, Fire, Go For It, You Deserve To Dance have sharp edges, rightly cut for the dancefloor. Every track’s a winner even the few ballads like The Love You Give To Me and Heavenly.

I combined the Webster Lewis tracks with a couple of other disco or related songs according to the flow. It would make a nice mix.

Webster Lewis & The Love Unlimited Orchestra – Welcome Aboard
Rene & Angela – I'll Be Good
Webster Lewis – Fire
Willie Hutch – Disco Thang
Webster Lewis – You deserve To Dance
Webster Lewis – Do It With Style
Willie Hutch – Midnight Dancer
GQ – Disco Nights (rock freak)
Webster Lewis – The Love You Give To Me
The Pointer Sisters – Automatic
J.M. Tim – Douala By Night
Classe Action – Weekend
Norman Connors – Once I've Been There
South Bronx – Bottom Line
Kaos – Town & Countryman (edit)
The Internationals – 33
Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara – Sanakubay

Chris & Cosey – October Love Song
William Powers – Adventures In Success (dub copy)
Ray Mang – Look Into My Eyes
Starlight Boyz – Machine Disco
The Juan Maclean – Happy House (original version)

I stumbled across this promo video for Save by Kap Bambino just the other day. For one raison or the other I completely forgot all about these guys. I remember finding a copy of this awesome heavily charged bit of high energy on the net and reposted it a long while ago (I think it’s still on in one of those white Boxes on the right) and then I didn’t go after them as I used to do. Stupid me. In the meanwhile I haven’t heard anything about Kap Bambino in the media either. But now I’ve got this to remember me to do so.

Kap Bambino - Save


Another myspace revelation is this soulful bare naked combo called the Rayees. It’s practically a’cappela but that sure doesn’t prevent them from leaving a lasting impression. Just watch and listen.

Lemme take you by the hand Folks. You really have got to hear this! I found a fresh and tiny Suisse Label with some great Cosmic disco and Electro related dance music over at Innocenti Music. I especially like Experimental Cinema with a track called Timex. They offer free downloads to all the tracks and every one's a winner. Enjoy!

I’m going down under this time for a very talented bloke by the name of Goyte. He’s from Melbourne Australia but his real name Wally De Backer makes it sound all too familiar. Turns out that he was born in Bruges, Belgium and moved to Australia at the young age together with his parents. I heard his music for the first time in a radio program a while back. He can still talk Dutch but with a funny fat Australian accent.
He’s releasing an album over here called Like Drawing Blood but in Australia it was already released in 2006 and paved the way of success for him at home in Australia, the UK en the States. Now he’s becoming Big in Belgium too, no pun intended.

His music is very diverse and versatile. He adopts many styles and makes them suit his music and his voice. I especially like Heart’s A Mess which is a brilliantly orchestrated but pretty sad song. Learnalilgivinanlovin’ is straight forward funk and soul.

Over the past 2 years quite a lot of DJ’s and producers have made remixes for songs of the album. Supermayer made a very nice one for Heart’s A Mess.

Heart’s A Mess
Learnalilgivinanlovin’
Heart's A Mess (Supermayer's Supermess remix)
Only Thing I Know

Down Home Final For Bo Diddley 1928-2008

Who Do You Love
Down Home Special
Mumblin’ Guitar
Spanish Guitar
I Love You So
Crackin’ Up
Diddy Wah Diddy

Eu Ainda… Volto Ao brasil

I don’t know if this heading is grammatically correct or not, it’s been almost three years that I’ve been to brasil, so I’m losing the hang of it, you know.
After all the Italo, I’m finally going back to Rio for an update of everything Brazilian. I’ve got some old vintage 70’s stuff but also more recent tracks from various sources and a small Arthur Verocai special. I posted songs from his last (comeback) album Encore a while ago last year but they got lost in the fire. I’ve now added a couple of tracks of his classic self titled album from 1972.

Over the past few years the northern states, with cities like Fortaleza and Recife, have known a musical revival with a lot of new bands recycling or reinventing their past. Some of them move to São Paulo or Rio. Like for instance a band like Cidadão Instigado who picked up the line where the Tropicalia movement and their 70’s offspring left it.

For once I tried to turn all of this into a kind of mix. I used to make mix tapes on cassettes back in the days with special attention for the flow of the music. You know, which song goes well with which other song and should it be before or after the that one... that kind of stuff. Now, I no longer have the time for it, but for this once I made an exception. It all came natural this time so why not make the effort?

Ceguinhas de Campina Grande – Atirei No Mar
Mar Revolto – Contendas de Sincora
Luís Carlos Vinhas – Yé-Me-Le
Erasmo Carlos – Mane João
Novos Baianos – Tinindo Trincando
Novos Baianos – America Tropical
Gilberto Gil – O Canto Da Ema
Gilberto Gil & Gal Costa – Sai Do Sereno
Alceu Valença – Punhal de Prata
Olha o Menino – Caetano Veloso
Gal Costa – Pontos de Luz
Trio Ternura – Filhos De Zambi
Nelson Angelo & Joyce – Sete Cahorros
Jaime Alem and Nair De Candia – Passarã
Ednardo e o Pessoal do Ceará – Ingazeiras

Arthur Verocai – Na Boca Do Sol
Arthur Verocai – Presente Grego
Arthur Verocai – Caboclo
Arthur Verocai – Dedicada A Ela
Arthur Verocai – Bis
Arthur Verocai & Azymuth – Dona Das Meninas
Arthur Verocai & Azymuth – Eu Quero Paz

Troubleman & Nina Miranda – Toda Hora
Cidadão Instigado – Os Urubus Só Pensam Em Te Comer
Cidadão Instigado – O Pobre dos dentes De Ouro
Monjolo – Samba do Sequestro
Instituto feat. Amabis & Pupilo & Roger Man – Na Ladeira
Instituto – Juntando Coco
Beatfanatic – Jogando Capoeira
Funk N Lata feat. Ivo Meirelles – Baile Funk Medley (ao vivo)
Candeia – Sãudãçao A Toca Preto
Ive Mendes – A Beira Mar (São Benitez Mush mix)
Musica Ligeira – Pelo Telefone o Samba começou (ao vivo)
Juca Chaves – Take Me Back To Piaui
Sambaden – Sebastião Tapajos e Pedro do Santos