International Recommendations April 2016

Review: Despite the rather glum look Mark 'Snowboy' Cotgrove is sporting on the cover of New York Afternoon, this new Snowboy & The Latin Section album is a reason to celebrate as its been some 30 years since the Afro-Cuban act first put out a record!! Since the Flaco Jiminez-featuring Mambo Teresa 12" dropped back in 1986, Snowboy & The Latin Section have become torchbearers for the authentic Latin jazz style and they sound as vibrant as ever on this sixteenth album. A glorious Afro-Cuban jazz extravaganza which captures the block party feel of '70s Latin jazz and early salsa, New York Afternoon features vocals from both rising jazz vocal star Jen Kearney and Baltimore house music legend Marc Evans as well as Polar Bear saxophonist Pete Wareham.

Review: A detailed document that captures a unique period in African music history: the most western point of Africa had attracted all manner of traders and visitors over the years but it was the Cubans and Americans who really left their mark with soul, jazz and son montuno. By the '70s cities such as Dakar and Thies had become hotbeds of national acts who'd repurposed these influences with their own west African musicianship. And while many of them recorded music, not all of them released it. Here we find 12 of over 300 never-released-before recordings recently curated by audio archaeologist Adamantios Kafetzis and Thies sound engineer Moussa Diallo. Complete with a 12 page booklet detailing the era's history with levels of research it's never enjoyed before, this took four years in the making and you can really tell.

Review: Another weighty slab of Ethiopian music history from Mr Bongo... First up is the hugely influential fusionist Mulatu Astatke with the Latin-meets-Afro jam "Assiyo Bellema". Loaded with frenetic guitars and mesmerising drum work from Frank Holder, this was actually recorded during Mulatu's time in London. Flip for an equally influential force in Ethiopian music: Soul Ekos Band affiliate Teshome Meteku with a more traditional local sound, Teshome's yearning insistent vocals wrap around the horns and tight drums like fog around a mountain. Captivating.

Review: Roboticized, contemporised, synthesized: Oakland up-and-comers Los Disco Duro repurpose cumbia styles with a quirky electronic charm that sits somewhere between Daft Punk and Senor Coconut. Their third single to date, "La Vida Es Un Carnaval" packs vocodered vocals in harmonic layers as syncopated synths provide the heel-clicking, street swinging beat. Flip for a slightly darker version where the vocals are removed in favour of more floor-focused drums and added twisted calypso feels. Unique.

Review: Two powerful bossa nova workouts from 1972: Brazilian chanteuse Rose Maria delivered two incredible funk jams on Tapecar which escaped her prolific album releases and never enjoyed a repress. Until now... The Afro-Latin soul of "Deixa Nao Deixa" is all about the sudden dynamic from purring verses to emphatic, harmonic chorus while "Avenida Atlantica" takes a more straight-up funk route with its dominant horns and heavy boss break. Instant party material.

Review: Straight outta Puebla, Los Daddys let rip with two more unique future cumbia jams. "Baila Morena" runs with energetic gusto, synth-toms and tongue-in-cheek announcer effects breaking up the tradition cumbian vocals. "Cumbia Sin Calzones" slows down the tempo but adds heavy organ dynamics that march with a sense of matrimony... You're walking down the aisle but you have no idea what you're walking in to. One of a kind.

Review: A true Ghanaian legend, Taylor's fusions of traditional Ghanaian music with jazz, funk, reggae and soul helped set the blueprint in the early 70s and here's where it all began: 1975, a highly limited debut on Gapophone Records. Reportedly pressed only 500 times due to the country's dictatorship, it's a beautiful introduction. Sweet-tasting highlight with strong reggae references throughout, highlights include the epic 13 minute jam "Maye Omama" and the ebbing, flowing rocksteady soul of "Will You Promise". Still active, teaching and playing at the age of 80, Taylor's music has matured just as well as he has.

Review: Destination Ethiopia: The Wallias Band are one of the country's longest standing troupes with over 20 years service to their name from the early 70s to early 90s and serious accomplishments such as being the first Ethiopian band to tour the USA. Here they're represented in all their full spread glory; "Muziqa Muziqa" has an almost northern soul dynamic with its speed and wily sax blasts from Seyoum while "Muziqawi Silt" is a much more measured, introspective affair. Beautiful.