A record that's every bit as groovy as you might guess from the title – served up by one of the most unique combos to record for Colombia's Discos Fuentes in the 70s! Afrosound certainly have plenty of rhythms and sounds that resonate with their contemporaries at the top of the South American scene – but they also use rootsier percussion, and served up a rawer sound too – definitely bringing back some West African modes, after that scene had an earlier influence from the world of Afro-Cuban music! There's some especially cool keyboards that get all weird and distorted – like electric guitar on some Peruvian records – balanced with plenty of live, loud percussion – on titles that include "Banana De Queso", "Baila Felipe", "Negua", "Ponchito De Colores", "Carruseles", "Zaire Pop", "Rapsodia Del Chinito", "Me Voy De La Vida", "Salsa Con Tabaco", and "La Negra Saramuya". LP, Vinyl record album

Lots of tight salsa cuts from Joe Arroyo – including "Por Ti No Morire", "Fuego En Mi Mente", "Las Cajas", "En Barranquilla Me Quedo", and "Quien Lo Sabe Baila". CD

Features the long "Mosaico Salsero" – plus "El Palo", "Rosa Angelina", "Los Barcos En La Bahia", "El Martillo", and "El Nativo". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unusual albums ever issued on the legendary Discos Fuentes label – and that's saying a lot, given how many unusual albums the company put out! This set's got a core Colombian groove in the rhythms – very much in the rootsy style that the company was making a name for in the 60s – great percussion, a nice raw edge in the production, and that slight variation in groove that made Colombian music a really refreshing change from the sounds of Havana and New York! Yet the real difference here is that the singer is a kid – the lovely Aurita pictured on the cover – a vocalist who's got this unusual depth for someone her age, this rawness at times that really comes across in a striking way – almost the unbridled energy and emotion that you'd never hear from an adult. That quality livens up the grooves in this really unusual way – all the charms of a vintage Discos Fuentes album, but with a very different spin! Titles include "El Vaquero", "Las Polleras", "Mompoxina", "Chambacu", "Festival En Guarare", "Carino Lindo", and "Lamento De Sirena". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unusual albums ever issued on the legendary Discos Fuentes label – and that's saying a lot, given how many unusual albums the company put out! This set's got a core Colombian groove in the rhythms – very much in the rootsy style that the company was making a name for in the 60s – great percussion, a nice raw edge in the production, and that slight variation in groove that made Colombian music a really refreshing change from the sounds of Havana and New York! Yet the real difference here is that the singer is a kid – the lovely Aurita pictured on the cover – a vocalist who's got this unusual depth for someone her age, this rawness at times that really comes across in a striking way – almost the unbridled energy and emotion that you'd never hear from an adult. That quality livens up the grooves in this really unusual way – all the charms of a vintage Discos Fuentes album, but with a very different spin! Titles include "El Vaquero", "Las Polleras", "Mompoxina", "Chambacu", "Festival En Guarare", "Carino Lindo", and "Lamento De Sirena". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Early work from Colombian music legend Fruko, and a very different style than some of his later material – as you might guess from the album's cover image of a junkie shooting up in a graveyard! The sound here is more than dark enough to match that image – heavily percussion, with fast-snapping rhythms wrapped around deep basslines and lots of hard-edge piano – all at a level that feels more like early 60s Cuban descarga than some of the other Discos Fuentes material from the 70s! The horns are great when they step forward – and the vocals are wrapped perfectly around the excellent grooves – on titles that include "Descarga Fruko", "Bomba Africana", "Baho Kende", "Rumbo A La Cuidad", "Mi Verdadero Son", "A La Memoria Del Muerto", "Tihuanaco", and "La Fruta Bomba". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most hard-hitting early albums from the legendary Fruko – a set that really lives up to the powerful image on the cover and the title of the record – almost as if Fruko's trying to answer the badass energy of Willie Colon on the New York scene! The record definitely burns as hard as any of Willie's best from the time, but with that earthier groove that Fruko did so well – that quality that made his music from the time such a fresh, powerful new voice that showed the world that Colombia had plenty of great sounds of its own to offer – served up with styles that owned nothing to NYC or PR at all! Vocals are by Joe Arroyo and Wilson Saoko – and titles include "Salsa Na Ma", "Alma Navidena", "Mosaico Matancero", "La Nueva Bamba", "Vamos Pa'L Campo", "Rumba En Navidad", "Tronco Seco", "El Violento", "Nadando", and "Tu Solo Tu". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning tribute to one of the real giants of Colombian music in the 70s – the legendary Fruko, a man who almost singlehandedly kick-started a new groove for the decade! Fruko was clearly inspired by the hip late 60s sounds of New York – but his work here is almost headier and more powerful – as he seems to reach deep into the Colombian soil, to come up with a rootsy blend of piano and percussion that really drives most of the tunes – as the horns soar over the top, and the vocals urge the whole proceedings on with a sense of rawness that was almost disappearing from the scene up north as the 70s salsa boom took over. The collection is very well-done, with detailed notes on the man and his music – in support of 20 smoking tracks that include "El Coco", "Dame Un Break", "Bang Bang", "El Expresidiario", "Va A Llover", "La Loteria", "Fruko Presidente", "Caifaz", "Pa Los Bomberos", "Canto A Panama", "Algo Pa Goza", "Perlas Negras", and "Oriza". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the funkiest Colombian records we've ever heard – a set that really resonates strongly with some of the Latin funk experiments taking place up in the US at the time, and one that has a vibe that's very different than some of the cumbia and other styles you'd be more likely to hear on the Discos Fuentes label! The set was recorded in Spain, which might be part of its unique vibe – but the group are definitely Colombian, and mix some earthy elements in the rhythms with larger horn parts that really help their music soar – while also harmonizing on vocals, in a way that also really takes flight too! The whole thing's great – a sparkling gem from this key moment in Columbian music – with cuts that include "Carnaval En Barranquilla", "Nostalgia", "Simplemente Hombre", "El Fuego Del Padre No Quema A Sus Hijos", and "Tenmandumba". LP, Vinyl record album

A record with a cover that's a lot more hard-hitting than some of the later global efforts from The Latin Brothers – and one with a sound that definitely matches that image too! There's a raw sound here that's right in keeping with the best of Discos Fuentes at the time – music that clearly draws inspiration from the combo of Willie Colon up in New York, but which features backing from Fruko Y Sus Tesos, who have a style that's even more raw – with all sorts of great percussion next to the jazzy piano and soaring trombone lines! Piper Pimienta Diaz handles lead vocals – and titles include "Y Tu Que", "Echa Pa'Lante Camara", "La Perla", "Que No Pare La Rumba", "San Juan De Puerto Rico", "Son Dolores De Cabeza", and "El Picotero". LP, Vinyl record album

Youthful cumbia from Los Golden Boys – a combo with a spirit that really lives up to their name – and which is served up here with some very cool use of organ next to more familiar cumbia rhythms! The instrument is lean and spacey – almost otherworldly – and the quality makes for a record that's very unique, almost as if Saturn Records had decided to do a co-release with Discos Fuentes! In addition to the "boys" in the group, the lineup also features some vocals from female singer Amparo Muniz – on titles that include "Cumbia Y Beso", "Cumbia De Juventud", "Cumbia De La Mariguana", "El Buena Vida", "Si Me Quieres", "A Volar Moscas", "El Ano Viejo", and "Vengan A Baila". LP, Vinyl record album

Massive rhythms from this legendary 70s group – one created in the Discos Fuentes studios in Colombia – as a way to combine some of the bigger African and Caribbean rhythms of the time! The sound is very percussive, and very raw – lots of acoustic elements in the rhythms, mixed with occasional guitar lines here and there – and topped with vocals that are often collaboratively chanted – creating this really strong vibe to the set as the grooves roll on! There's never a dull moment on the set – plenty to please fans of classic Discos Fuentes, and also echoes of other South American scenes – on titles that include "Por Una Negrita", "El Yoyo", "Bayesta", "Fayab Fayab", "El Evangelio", and "An Naus". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer cuts from two different studio groups led by the legendary Fruko – work that bristles with all the best raw energy from the more underground side of the Discos Fuentes label in the 70s – plenty of percussion, really rootsy basslines, and a fair bit of electric guitar and keyboards snaking through the mix! Wganda Kenya serve up cuts that are every bit as great as the material on their other records – while Kammpala Grupo work in plenty of cool moogy keyboards, almost creating some sort of sound library blend with more earthy Colombian rhythms! Titles include "El Nativo", "Chao Amor", "La Riphyta", "La Trompeta Loco", "El Gallo Africano", "La Yuca Raya", "King Kong", and "Caimito". LP, Vinyl record album

A dozen heavy groovers from the legendary Discos Fuentes – pulled from a time when the Colombian label was really finding its sound and strengths – mixing together older strands of Afro Cuban inspiration with a special vibe that would soon make their scene rival the Latin music power of New York and Puerto Rico! The percussion is pretty darn heavy on most of these tracks – almost a fusion of the rootsier modes of early years with some of the more sophisticated musical elements developed in the small combo years of the New York 60s Latin scene – but also touched with some styles that are completely Colombian, yet still in a formative early moment that's never predictable or commercial at all. Titles include "Atiza Y Ataja" by Los Supremos, "El Vidriero" by Fruko Y Sus Tesos, "Coco May Ma" by Combo Las Vegas, "Cumbia En Do Menor" by Lita Barrientos, "Manue" by Michi Sarmiento Y Su Combo Bravo, "Cumbia Loca" by Conjunta Miramar, "Safari Safari" by Tita Duval Y El Nuevo Ritmo De Bobby Ray, and "La Pluma" by Peregoyo Y Su Combo Vacana. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

(Funky 45's, Latin) 7-inch, Vinyl record

Cool cuts from CAMPOS – a name that stands for "Cumbias And More Psychedelic Original Sounds" – which is a very good way to describe the music on the set! There's an update of older Colombian modes going on – served up by Joshua Camp, who handles all instruments and programs in the set – mixing acoustic elements with keyboards, samples, and other sonic delights – all in a mode that echoes some older styles that you might have heard on Discos Fuentes back in the 70s, but with a delivery that's very contemporary overall! Titles include "Rise Up Shapeshifters", "Cumbia VIP 600", "After The Flight", "Last Star In The Aubergine Sky", "The Saddest Of Parties", "The Eigth Door", and "Cumbia De Alpha Centauri". (Global Grooves, Latin) LP, Vinyl record album