Juno Recommends International: May 2022

Review: More essential triple-"45" action from Spain's Rocafort Records, who over the last few years have become an essential outlet for those seeking reissues of dancefloor-igniting Latin American obscurities. This time round, they've mined the vaults of legendary Colombian imprint Discos Fuentes in order to serve up a sextet of cumbia bangers originally released at different points between 1961 and '81. Highlights include the classic, sing-along shuffle of Climaco Sarmiento Y Su Orquestra's 'Cumbia Sabrosa'; the hard-spun cumbia-psychedelia of Afrosound's 'Tiro Al Blanco', the tango-influenced party sound of Peyo Torres Y Sus Diablos Del Ritmo's 'Le Veterana' and the warming, densely layered horns and distinctive drums of the same band's fabulous 'Lucy'.

Review: Peruvian percussionist Coco Lagos y Sus Orates dropped this Descarges album in 1967. He called up talents including Alfredo Linares, Charlie Palomares, Otto de Rojas and Mario Allison to cook up its irresistible percussive Latin charms. It has long been all but impossible to find on wax and so this overdue reissue is welcome indeed. The record feature a version of Cal Tjader's 'Mamblues' and a classic by the so-called father of boogaloo, Joe Cuba, in the form of 'Brava pachanga.' It is a lively and vibrant album with percolating rhythms and tin pot percussion that hit deep.

Review: Mexico City-based crate diggers Discodelic Records continue to unearth and reissue rare gems from South America. Their latest pick is, we're reliably informed, one of the "holy grails" of Guaguanco music - an astonishingly hard-to-find "45" from Nicaraguan band Warumo, whose members had previously played in some of the country's most popular salsa bands. 'Bravo Guaguanco' dates from 1977 and is simply insatiable - a heavy, up-tempo workout in which salsa style vocals and instrumentation (think twinkling piano riffs, heavy horns and fast-fingered bass) rise above a killer Guaguanco rhythm laden with heady Latin percussion. Original B-side 'Pa'l Que Lo Quiera Gozar' is equally as good, with a more laidback, breezy and psychedelic-tinged sound.

Review: Oumou Sangare is an icon of Malian music, and African music overall. She first came to attention in the early 90s with songs descended from wassoulou traditional hunting songs. She's remained a creative and visible force ever since, and now she's back with her first album of new material since 2017's critically acclaimed Mogoya. Timbuktu fuses Sangare's Malian sound with elements of blues, folk and rock to create a timeless body of work which winds up all her own. You'll instantly be transported into her rich and rooted world of sound, where she uses her position as a hugely influential African musician to push for women's rights amongst other socially-conscious themes.

Review: Indian classical music giant Srinivas recorded this majestic, candlelit live show at Real World Studios while on tour with WOMAD in August 1992. He was a child prodigy of Carnatic music who was such a wizard on the mandolin that he took it into whole new worlds having started to play it aged just six.
His ragas were unlike anyone else's and he soon beam a real sensation India where he was named 'Mandolin Srinivas'. This album finds him at the height of his powers and really turned even European audiences on to the mandolin.

Review: Late last year, El Palmas Music dropped Color De Tropico, a terrific collection of vintage Venezuelan music that showcased far-sighted fusions of cumbia, salsa, and numerous American and European styles (jazz, rock, soul and so on). This speedy follow-up covers similar sonic ground and is every bit as essential as its predecessor. Highlights abound from start to finish, but our picks include the rocking, organ-laced psyche-cumbia of Los Kings' 'Empecemos (Let's Start)', the Venezuelan reggae-soul of 'Buena Suerta' by Las Cuatro Monedas, the percussion-and-synths brilliance of Mario Y Sus Diamentes' 'Santo Domingo' and the plucked guitars and infectious rhythms of Anselmo Y Su Conjunto's 'Seis Pajueliao'. The latter is a bona fide tropical treat!

Review: Jorge Ben was the bad lad of Brazilian samba and someone who rattled feathers throughout his career thanks to his always expressive, innovative takes on the genre. He was also hugely prolific, with countless classic singles and LPs to his name. In 1983 he put out Davida, a record packed with hits from this towering Latin music figurehead. Amongst them are 'Rio Babilonia' plus stone cold classics 'Taj Mahal / Pais Tropical,' while the opener itself is pretty hot thanks to the addition of fellow legend Tim Maia. This one is hard to find in good, affordable condition so do not sleep on this reissue.