Review: Insane boogie fire from Rio circa 82; both Robson Jorge and Lincoln Olivetti were already decorated before they joined forces, but this one took both of their reputations and amplified them beyond expectation. Their one and only album, it's loaded with soul and funk from every corner of Brazil's sexy city and brought together with beautiful attention to detail; the gradual vocal breakdowns, rude synths and lavish instrumental sections, key cuts such as the Wonder-level "Aleluia", the jazz slides and glides of "Pret-A-Porter" and the sexy 80s electro boogie "Squash" will still completely flip any party 35 years later. Stunning.
South Funk Blvd - "Skying High (Getting Off On Your Lovin')" (4:01)
Ad Libs - "Don't Need No Fortune Teller" (3:44)
Atlantis - "Hung Up About You" (4:21)
Smoke Inc - "Waitin' For Love" (4:10)
Mandisa - "Summer Love" (3:54)
City Lites - "Now You've Gone Away" (4:12)
Papaya - "Favela" (6:42)
Alcione - "Este Mundo Tem" (2:38)
Quintaessencia - "Serrado" (4:01)
Superior Elevation - "It Was September" (4:16)
Keith Chism & Light - "My Life & Song" (4:51)
Belita Woods - "Magic Corner" (3:16)
Spare Hare - "Ain't No Doubt About It" (3:40)
Sammy Acuna - "Never Found A Girl" (4:55)
Sweet Mixture - "House Of Fun & Love" (3:01)
Review: Mr Bongo mint a new compilation series, With Love, by welcoming Miche into the fold. This dynamic force within the diggers landscape certainly has some authority in pulling a compilation together, being the music programmer for London's Spiritland venues and spending an unreasonable amount of time around learned folk and the deepest cuts in their bags. Embarking on a personal quest to contact all concerned artists and clear licensing for some truly forgotten, hidden gems, Miche poured his heart and soul into this compilation spanning gospel, jazz-fusion, Brazilian grooves and much more besides.
South Funk Blvd - "Skying High (Getting Off On Your Lovin')" (4:02)
Ad Libs - "Don't Need No Fortune Teller" (3:45)
Atlantis - "Hung Up About You" (4:21)
Smoke Inc - "Waitin' For Love" (4:10)
Mandisa - "Summer Love" (3:54)
City Lites - "Now You've Gone Away" (4:13)
Papaya - "Favela" (6:41)
Alcione - "Este Mundo Tem" (2:39)
Quintaessencia - "Serrado" (4:02)
Superior Elevation - "It Was September" (4:17)
Keith Chism & Light - "My Life & Song" (4:50)
Belita Woods - "Magic Corner" (3:16)
Spare Hare - "Ain't No Doubt About It" (3:40)
Sammy Acuna - "Never Found A Girl" (4:56)
Sweet Mixture - "House Of Fun & Love" (3:01)
Review: Mr. Bongo continues in their mission to peddle the feel-good, compiling rare Brazilian, gospel, modern soul and jazz fusion music, all with a bent towards ecstatic dance. Not taking itself too seriously yet still dipping one toe in the mystical and romantic, our favorites from the comp include 'Don't Need No Fortune Teller' and the patient 'Waiting For Love', all compiled by Mr. Bongo director and former Spiritland programmer Miche.
Review: Mr Bongo's crucial Brazil series hits a 94th volume here with vocal and instrumental group Os Carbonos from Sao Paulo. The band had a long and fruitful career that started in the 60s and ran on into the 80s. This offering is a tune from later on in their time and it is a prime slice of Brazilian boogie with funk drums, vamping chords and hip swinging claps all designed to bring the good ties and the sunny vibes. The bass-driven a-side is the one, but the flip from Sandra Sa is a special kind of sentimental soul sound.
Review: 'Girassol' has long been one of the hardest-to-find gems in Brazilian great Marcos Valle's vast catalogue of sun-drenched musical treats. It was initially recorded and released as a promo-only seven-inch, with copies being handed out to customers of a Brazilian supermarket chain. This, then, marks the track's first ever commercial release. In its' original form (side A), 'Girassol' is a lusciously short, soft-focus affair - a two-minute chunk of laidback, jazz-funk influenced South American boogie bliss with the kind of high production values that you'd expect from Valle during his successful post-disco period. As with the original 7", it comes backed with the slightly more elaborate 'Playback' instrumental mix, where gentle, eyes-closed saxophone solos come to the fore.
Thandi Zulu & The Young Five - "Love Games" (edit)
Tony Wilson - "Hangin' Out In Space" (dub mix)
JC Lodge - "In Between The Sheets"
Soyuz - "Spring Has Sprung" (feat Asha Puthli & Sven Wunder)
Bill Withers & Studio Rio - "Lovely Day"
Review: By now, we should know exactly what to expect from Mr Bongo's superb Record Club series of compilations: inspired selections, across a range of complimentary styles, from the esteemed label's staff and roster of in-house DJs. Predictably, volume seven is another must-check treat, with the plentiful highlights including the sun-soaked samba shuffle of Yvette's 'Upa Neghuino', the jazzy MPB excellence of 'O Espaco' by Os Panteras, the joyous and spiritual dancefloor soul-jazz of Roman Andren's 'Captain's Sword', the gritty funk-rock of Truth & Devotion ('Bless My Soul'), the heavy disco of 'Come Inside' by The Shades of Love, the self-explanatory (but hard to pigeonhole) brilliance of Tony Wilson's 'Hangin' Out In Space (dub mix)' and the hard-to-find excellence of JC Lodge's 'In Between The Sheets', a far-sighted Jamaican street soul jam from 1993.
Gretchen - "Ela Tem Raca, Charme, Talento E Gostosura" (4:03)
Coisa Quente - "Edmundo (In The Mood)" (3:35)
Ze Carlos - "Venha" (remix) (6:00)
Robson Jorge & Lincoln Olivetti - "Suspira" (5:40)
Os Carbonos - "Passaro Selvagem" (3:38)
San Rodrigues - "Fofa" (3:01)
Marcos Valle - "Parabens (Danca Do Daniel)" (8:34)
Lafayette - "Sol De Verao" (3:57)
Roberto Cesar - "Fevereiro (O Bamba)" (3:57)
Arlete - "Quero Ser Sua Mulher" (3:19)
Waldirene - "Queima Como Fogo" (3:28)
Luiza Maura - "Deixa Girar" (3:09)
Jorge Ben - "Rio Babilonia" (4:51)
Carlos Bivar - "Elo" (2:49)
Review: In full gatefold LP form comes the latest Brazilian boogie compilation by Horse Meat Disco, selected selectors of the best rarities in the disco genre. Curated mostly by founding member Luke Howard and with added consultations from crewmates James Hillard, Severino Panzetta and Jim Stanton, a lifetime of frolicking among samba troupes, carnival processions and yearly Rio visitations went into the choices you hear here, consummating one man's intuitive taste for a sound whose appeal stretches far wider than its nation of origin. Mr Bongo invited Howard to their Brighton HQ for an extended on-site selection, proving its off-the-cuff expertise: early electronica experiments from Ze Carlos blend voluminously with Jorge Ben pennings and mouth-watering Luiza Maura 7" cullings, proving a hand-picking that is at once eclectic and unifying.
JB De Carvalho E Seu Terreiro - "Fui A Umbanda" (2:33)
Trio Ternura - "A Gira" (3:04)
Alcione - "Figa De Guine" (2:19)
Impacto 5 - "Longe Daqui Aqui Mesmo" (3:23)
Abaete - "Pisa No Taboado" (2:34)
Tobias - "Coisa Sentimental" (4:00)
Os Flippers - "Estrelar" (2:02)
SpaceArk - "Don't Stop" (unreleased long version) (4:09)
Pure Release - "I'll Know It's Love For Sure" (3:37)
Luther Davis Group - "You Can Be A Star" (4:39)
Kaleidoscope - "Let Me Try" (3:26)
Marumo - "Khomo Tsaka Deile Kae?" (3:43)
Splash - "Peacock" (4:51)
Gyedu Blay Ambolley - "Highlife" (5:00)
Harari - "Senyamo" (4:44)
Tokyo Academy Philharmonic Chorus Group - "Taharazaka" (2:57)
Cesar Roldão Vieira - "Ze Do Trem" (2:14)
Elias Rahbani - "I Want To Be" (3:21)
Elias Rahbani - "Dance Of Maria" (2:45)
Galt MacDermot - "Coffee Cold" (3:22)
Review: The crate-diggers behind the Mr Bongo label can usually be relied upon to showcase some seriously good tunes old and new. That's certainly the case on this third volume in their occasional "Record Club" series of compilations. Spanning sunshine soul, obscure samba, spacey jazz-funk experimentation, wide-eyed underground disco, fiery funk, weirdo rock, cheery South African bubblegum, synth-laden early '80s highlife, Ramsay Lewis style workouts and the psychedelic Middle Eastern disco-funk of Elias Rahbani, the compilation's 20 tracks are not only near faultless, but genuinely surprising and eye-opening. To quote a cliche, this collection genuinely is all killer and no filler.
Gretchen - "Ela Tem Raca, Charme, Talento E Gostosura"
Coisa Quente - "Edmundo (In The Mood)"
Ze Carlos - "Venha" (remix)
Robson Jorge & Lincoln Olivetti - "Suspira"
Os Carbonos - "Passaro Selvagem"
San Rodrigues - "Fofa"
Marcos Valle - "Parabens (Danca Do Daniel)"
Lafayette - "Sol De Verao"
Roberto Cesar - "Fevereiro (O Bamba)"
Arlete - "Quero Ser Sua Mulher"
Waldirene - "Queima Como Fogo"
Luiza Maura - "Deixa Girar"
Jorge Ben - "Rio Babilonia"
Carlos Bivar - "Elo"
Review: International favourites on the boogie-and-beyond selection circuit, Horse Meat Disco deliver the first edition in a brand new compilation tracking yet more heat disco of a Brazilian flavour. Some 13 years in the making, much love and attention has been poured into this compendium, which unearths tracks from the seemingly endless urban goldmines of Brasilia and Rio, twin obsessive loci, nurtured by founding member Luke Eagle amid an extended exploration of the South American nation's dance music culture. Having learned to dance samba and paraded the Rio Carnival, this is a compilation rooted in worldly experience, made up largely of 7" finds. Chief among the brilliants are Ze Carlos' Italoesque wonder 'Venha' and the well-spiced 'Sol De Verao' by Lafayette, spanning years' worth of digging.
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