El Selecta de Popayán

One of my enduring music memories of my travels in latin America (Alan Whicker voice) is a small unassuming town bar in a backstreet of a quiet city in Southern Colombia called Popayán. That bar is called El Sotareño.




This bar is super friendy and kind of reminded me of a British pub in some ways. What makes it extra awesome is the landlord, Augustin or as he's known Don Gucho.




Apart from landlord duties, Don Gucho is the resident DJ with a massive collection of records that he plays from behind the bar inbetween pouring Aguardiente shots and popping Poker beers for the locals. On the two consecutive nights that I went there, I remember Don Gucho dropping the most awesome cumbias, tangos and colombian folk jams I'm probably ever likely to hear. Behind the bar he DJs from his amazing collection of vinyl, cassettes and cds piled high.

Bar El Sotareño has a Facebook group where I found these photos.

This is one of my favourite ever Vallenato cumbias which is from a great album on Smithsonian Folkways called ¡Ayombe! The Heart of Colombia’s Música Vallenata (buyable)

Reynaldo "El Papi" Díaz and band - Fidelina

El Remolon Winter Heaters

El Remolon's La Bonita was an awesome piece of colourful dubby cumbia that is perfect for chilling time. Not content with firing out more cumbia heat than is possible, ZZK have dropped a free bundle of unreleased El Remolon goodness.

Similar to Villa Diamante's excellent mash ups, these skillfully blend reggaeton dem bow drums and digital cumbia shuffles which makes me want to go to Buenos Aires and eat ice cream in the sunshine right now.


EL REMOLON - PIBE COSMO B SIDES

01-El Remolon - Dabrye vs Mc Hammer
02-Cumbia Lescanera (ft Pablo Lescano) vs Zaptap-Citizen 10
03-El Remolon - Veridis Quo (Daft Punk reprise) vs De La Soul
04-El Remolon - Modeselektor vs Calle 13
05-Princesa - I Feel So Good (El Remolon Mix)
06-Animal Collective - My Girls (El Remolon Cumbia Mix)
07-Matias Aguayo - Minimal (El Remolon Remix)
08-El Remolon - Andres Landero vs Madonna
09-El Remolon - Escape a Barcelona (Ft Blitto & Jahcoozi)
10-Mochipet - Rambuktion (El Remolon Zapatillas Galacticas Mix)
11-Alcides - Violeta (El Remolon Remix)


And if you like these go buy his album Pibe Cosmo.

Gil Scott-Heron

Living legend Gil Scott-Heron is giving away one track from his forthcoming album on XL, just go to his website and sign up to his mailing list.

I was lucky enough to actually hear parts of the album in XL's office the other week and i wanna go on record as saying it will probably be 2010's best album. The only other release I'm aware of that could rival it is by Warp's Gonja Sufi.

I am glad some of the profits from bands like Radiohead, The White Stripes and The Prodigy are actually being put to good use and you can read a good overview of why the man's a legend over at the BBC

Check a video of him performing the track below

What Gwan Na Salone

Me and Daniel of Nguzunguzu were jamming to this the other day, and I really dig the sound. Mende-Funana (Bubu-Soca?) in my mind. Hypeness from Sierra Leone.

I hope that Sierra Leonean artists keep trying to push their local unique sound. Word on the web and from my friend Black Nature, who visited this August, is that Nigeria is dominating the sound waves right now. His favorite tune was Bracket's Yori Yori.

Bracket-Yori Yori (Links to download at Get Mziki)

Nature was in Sierra Leone to help run workshops for We Own TV. His partner Banker White posted a trailer on their youtube page of footage and interviews from the sessions. It has some very beautiful shots and deep messages about the power of human expression.

Make sure you watch it in HQ (high quality!)

Ay Ay Ay

Man of the year Matias Aguayo brought a much needed touch of South American fun to Fabric on Saturday night. He performed tracks from his recent album Ay Ay Ay as well as his collaboration with Mexico's Rebolledo Pitaya Frenesi (which came out on his awesome Comeme label). He unfortunately didn't finish his set with his genre baiting Minimal, I guess maybe the humour would have been lost on a venue that was also hosting the launch of Magda's latest mix CD.

Instead we'll have to make do with this video of him performing Minimal in a packed bar in Guadalajara

Pop over to Comeme and Bumbumbox's Myspace and Soundcloud pages where you'll be able to hear and download mixes that take in everything from Cumbia and Coupe Decale to Michael Jackson and 80's House figures like Ron Trent.

I've lost a lot of enthusiasm for club music since the scene shifted back to deep house but it's Matias' drive to mix it up with the best Latin and African styles that keeps it sounding relevant and interesting.

Pitchy Control

With my sometimes reservations about what goes on over at the Mad Decent site, every now and then they post something that really blows me away. This mix by Nick the V is Dubstep at 45 RPM mixed with DJ Nate Juke Footwork songs, and in my opinion it really works. It's amazing what a little ajustando of the pitch control can do for the creative process.

Dull•Summer•Jukestep•Mix by Thev on Mixcloud

Ghana Special

The awesome Soundways imprint continue their reissues with this great compilation of Ghanan Highlife and other Afro sounds, which follows on from their earlier Ghanan and Nigerian releases.


Here's my favourite track which is by

The Cutlass Dance Band - HewHwe Mu Yi Mpena.

There's a great Latin feel to it and it could have easily been on Honest Jons' similarly awesome, Africa Boogaloo: The Latinization of West Africa.


Soundways have also just released their third installment of their amazing Panama series as well as one on the music of the French Caribbean. Check DJ Beto talk about the comps on Rupture's radio show here then go out and buy them all. Essential.

FREE Secousse Soundsystem show This Friday

Following the Rachid Taha / Vieux Farka Toure show at The South Bank Centre..

FREE AFTER SHOW PARTY

Afrikan Boy

Vamanos
A.J. Holmes



with a special live set by the legendary ethiopiques star Mulatu Astatke and the Heliocentrics.

10.30pm

Head over to The Fader to grab a track off his excellent new compilation record.

Real American Freedom

I'm flying down to LA for a night to play the Wildness party with Nguzunguzu a night they share with DJ Total Freedom. Also playing according to Twitter will be, Animal Charm and Sid Brown.

In honor of freedom, I thought I'd share this great Freestyle by my favorite Romantic Style DJ El Roockie. Fue liberado from a great Panamanian playlist.

El Roockie-Freestyle

See you there!

Bashment Funky

Pic: DJ Ripley's Boasy Tuesdays set on Flickr

Following the London/JA Funky Bashment pressure, Exclusive UK funky heat from The Heatwave's awesome MC Rubi Dan on The Bop riddem. Its a heatseaker, mashing up bashment vocals from Rubi and Juxci on a swagger beat. Git it.

Rubi Dan & Juxci - Bashment Funky

Secousse November

A BIG one tonight. Get ready for special guests KA-BOOM, awesome Ghanaian double act coming to tear it up with their live show. Special guest on the decks will be Akwaaba Music's BBRAVE. In support the house party High-life kings, The Hackney Empire as well as The Secousse Sound system ft Radioclit, A.J. Holmes & Vamanos.

Secousse @ Notting Hill Arts club

All the info is here

Live

Ka-Boom

The Hackney Empire

Decks

BBRAVE

Secousse Soundsystem ft. Radioclit, A.J. Holmes & Vamanos

Rumble Time

Pleased that Afropop featured us in their list of top New-Whirled blogs. All the other ones are bangers too.

While you're there check their interview with New-Whirled Daddy and all round clever dude Wayne and Wax as well as their Afropop worldwide radio show streamable.

Made In Jamaica

I went to see Made In Jamaica, a new film about reggae and dancehall starring tonnes of artists old and new. Going against the grain of the traditional music documentary narrative, it was pretty cool just rambling along like an Altman film, giving the artists a chance to express themselves. Amazing performances Vybz Kartel, Capleton, Lady Saw, Gregory Issacs and loads more. Londoners catch it now at the ICA. Sorry I dunno where else its on. New York?

Can You Tchoucou Tchoucou?

Benjamin of Akwaaba Music posted this video of my favorite Coupe Decale artist DJ Kedjevera teaching us how to dance, which reminds me to let you all know that his album is now available to purchase on iTunes. Pick it up so you can practice your dance moves, and after you have them perfected you can enter Mokobe's dance competition. Seriously, I really want to see some of your videos, feel free to post in the comments!

Download the song Mokobe by Boulevard DJ

Let's see you win the contest!

The Very Best live @ Malawi's Lake of Stars festival

The Very Best perform DJ Cleo's Wena as a girl cooks up a snack on some bloke's head.




Head over to RCRDLBL to get the awesome new remixes of 'Julia' by Kano and Jayou.

And if you haven't picked up the album yet, go buy it at Rough Trade (and get the mixtape FREE), Amazon and everywhere else.

Uproot Andy live at ZZK

An hour of Dutty Artz's Uproot Andy smashing it at Zizek's 3rd Anniversary party in BA.

Tribalismo

Following his Tecno Brega mixtape that we posted, Rio based Sound Goods dables into the slightly elusive world of Mexican Tribal Guarachero and comes out with a hammer. Grab his mix of jackin 4/4 cumbia sourced from cd sellers in D.F/Mexico. Download Tribalismo Tropicalismo

01. Danza Azteca 02. La Culebrita 03. DJ Retro – Babaninko 04. Chango 05. El Ballo 06. DJ Retro – Guarachosa 07. El Ritmo De La Petaka Tribal 08. DJ Gato – Topota Madre 09. Danza 10. Damas Gratis – Se Te Ve La Tanga 11. A Ritmo De Los Manos 12. Cumbia Tribal 13. Vamos A Bailar 14. Vive La Fiesta 15. Prehispanik 16. DJ Sobrino – Automation 17. Oaxaqueño

And if your feeling that check Paul Devro's Invasion of the Loop Zombies from Mexico

Cumbia para mi gente

We all know Rupture's Soot records have been hard on their cumbia game. Earlier this year they released El Hijo de la cumbia's record which was absolutly great was but sadly kind of slept on. Its my favourite cumbia album. Buy here.

Their resident cumbia expert Sonido Martines (above) of the infatigable La Congona fame follows it up with a weighty compilation of latin American heat. His cumbia driven travels led him from Lima to Buenos Aries to Bogota have enabled him to connect with some of the hottest artists to create this album. From Cumbia Villera to New school digital stuff, it's faultless 13 deep tracklist boasts of some of the biggest artists in Argentine cumbia from Damas Gratis to Chancha via Circuito.

Here is a a track from the record. Out to buy now.

Los Destellos - Elsa (Sondio Martines Remix ft Fefe)

New Yorkers catch Sonido Martines' US debut at the Natural History museum on November 13th. Then he'll be joining Rupture on tour in Europe this winter.

The Best Live set you will Ever Download

Pic: Joel Veitch Flickr


Just before Wiley dropped his eskibeats and Pulse X changed UK Bass music forever, garage was fast and punishing. Sidewinder were the original garage/grime raves in the UK, one of the first parties to take grime DJs and MCs out of London to the rest of the UK.

Sidewider raves were so classic you can now buy flyers on ebay. The awesome thing was that they recorded loads of the live sets and sold them as tape packs.

I dug this one out of the grime cave, think its from around 2002.

Roll Deep's Maxwell D, Flowdan & DJ Principal take it into the dark hour. They hardly take a breath.

Roll Deep live @ Sidewinder

In more recent BIG Grime news

Is anything better than P- Money right now? Produced by Sukh knight taken from his mixtape Money Over Everyone (Buyable).

Freestyle on Logan Sama's show is big too..