Flying Dutchman/BGP (UK), 1975. New Copy
Lost Latin funk from the Bay Area scene of the 70s – and an album that may well blow away better-known work by groups like Malo, Azteca, or El Chicano! The album's near-perfect right from the start – and brings in plenty of New York elements to the groove, thanks to the inclusion of a ...
Pavillion/Vampi Soul (Spain), 1972. New Copy (reissue)
Orquesta Olivieri cut one fantastic late 60s album for the legendary Speed Records – and this set is much more obscure, and maybe even greater than that Latin classic! Bobby Marin's at the production helm, and he's still holding onto some of the best elements of the Latin soul era, while ...
Ghetto/Nature Sounds, Early 70s. New Copy (reissue)
An obscure salsa set from the start of the 70s, and a stone cooker too – thanks to top-shelf production from Joe Bataan – a great artist in his own right, and a surprising choice to helm this set! Yet the credit here really goes to leader Paul Ortiz – who plays piano and leads ...
Ghetto/Now Again, 1970. New Copy (reissue)
A smoking set from Eddie Lebron – a singer and pianist who worked with a variety of other groups, but who really shines here on this rare date up front in the spotlight! The set was one of a handful issued on the tiny Ghetto label, and features production from Joe Bataan – and a nicely ...
Inca/Craft, 1975. New Copy (reissue)
Sparkling Puerto Rican salsa from trumpeter Tommy Olivencia and his super-hot group of the 70s – an ensemble that features lead vocals from Chamaco Ramirez over some totally tight lines from the rest of the group! Tommy's trumpet is in some very brassy company here, but the sound is still ...
Fania/Craft, Late 1960s. New Copy (reissue)
The first of Roberto Roena's Apollo Sound albums for Fania – and one that links his group a bit more towards the Latin Soul generation than you might expect! Roena's definitely displaying that percussion-heavy take on salsa that made him such a huge star in the 70s – but the group also ...
Fania/Craft, 1972. New Copy (reissue)
A fantastic classic from Latin percussion legend Ray Barretto – one of his most sophisticated albums of the 70s, and a set that's different than some of his later salsa hits! The album mixes together rootsy percussion and smoother jazzy arrangements – in a manner that keeps things ...
Fania/Craft, 1971. New Copy (reissue)
Killer early work by the Fania All Stars – caught live at the legendary Cheetah club, which was the heart of the New York salsa scene at the start of the 70s! The album is easily one of the best by the group – and features long tracks that really capture the jamming intensity that ...
Egrem/Mr Bongo (UK), 1976. New Copy (reissue)
The group name's a bit obscure, but the grooves are pretty darn great – a wonderful take on the sorts of Latin funk sounds that were brewing up north in the New York scene of the mid 70s – but served up by a killer combo from Cuba! There's some mighty nice basslines on the album – ...
Daptone, 2024. New Copy
A contemporary record, but one with a very timeless vibe – music that seems to evoke a vintage Havana, almost in the years before the revolution – as Orquesta Akokan deliver a wicked mix of percussion, basslines, and horns – all topped with fantastic vocals from Kiko Ruiz and a ...
Daptone, 2024. New Copy
A contemporary record, but one with a very timeless vibe – music that seems to evoke a vintage Havana, almost in the years before the revolution – as Orquesta Akokan deliver a wicked mix of percussion, basslines, and horns – all topped with fantastic vocals from Kiko Ruiz and a ...
Mr Bongo (UK), 2024. New Copy
A contemporary Latin group from the London scene, but one who really focus on the strongest modes of the past – as you might guess from the way they interpret songs by older giants like Chico O'Farrill, Tito Puente, and Kenny Graham! The ensemble is large and bold, and work with a great ...
Columbia, Late 70s. New Copy
Some of the best of the best of The Fania All Stars – magical music from that short stint when the combo were recording for Columbia Records in the late 70s! While at Columbia, the group grew even more than the styles of their roots at the Fania label – picking up some hipper touches ...
Vampi Soul (Spain), 1970s/Early 1980s. New Copy 2LP
Really incredible work from Litto Nebbia – a sometimes-overlooked Argentine artist from the 70s, and one who's got the genius of Brazilian contemporaries like Marcos Valle, Edu Lobo, or Arthur Verocai! As with all three of those giants, Litto's music exists in a space that's all its own ...
El Palmas (Spain), 1968. New Copy (reissue)
A sharp little cooker from the Venezuelan scene of the late 60s – a record that's filled with great grooves, and done in a style that's very much like the Joe Cuba Sextet of a few years before – a combo that the group is likely trying to evoke with their name and image on the cover! ...
Music With Soul (Netherlands), 2024. New Copy
A really cooking combo, and one who sound even better here than they did on their last album – working in a style that revisits older Latin and tropical grooves, yet tweaks the sound slightly to open up new corners – all while sticking to a very classic vibe overall! This isn't a Latin ...
Sono Radio/Discos Monterey (Spain), 1971. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)
The second great album from Peruvian funk legends Black Sugar, and a set that's every bit as great as the first – perhaps even more so from a keyboard perspective, given that there's plenty of sweet organ and moog that filter through the set! The record's got the group sounding even tighter ...
Guerra Company/Mad About Records (Portugal), 1975. New Copy (reissue)
Killer Latin funk from the mid 70s – a totally rare little set, but a masterpiece all the way through! Sol is a combo headed up by keyboardist Joe Gallardo – and they've got a groove that blends together some wonderful elements – including jazz funk, straight Latin, and a bit of ...
Pharaway Sounds (Spain), 1975. New Copy (reissue)
The completely smoking second album from this legendary Nicaraguan group of the 70s – an album that's even more fully-formed and Latin-styled than their first – served up with long tracks delivered in a stunning blend of percussion, jazzy instrumentation, and just the right touch of ...
Discolando/Pharaway Sounds (Spain), 1977. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)
Killer work from this Latin funk combo from the 70s – a group who were supposedly formed to open for Santana at a concert in Nicaragua, then went on with a searing legacy of their own! The music definitely owes a bit to the Bay Area Latin sound of the period – a blend of traditional ...
Analog Africa (Germany), Early 70s. New Copy Gatefold
Stunning sounds from the early 70s Peruvian scene – a really unique take on the cumbia mode of the time, and one that's topped with plenty of psychedelic touches as well! In truth, the rhythms here are often as Cuban as they are Colombian – a really great hybrid of both, used alongside ...
Mag/Vampi Soul (Spain), 1961. New Copy (reissue)
A vocal gem from the Peruvian scene of the 60s, but one that's also got some killer rhythms too – really romping piano and percussion, topped with some tight horn work – all of which really sets the singers on fire! The set's got that nicely offbeat vibe of some of the best Mag Records ...
Vampi Soul (Spain), 1971. New Copy (reissue)
A rare set with a very unusual vibe – as the group features vocal harmonies that seem to echo Cuban and Mexican modes of the 60s, but set to grooves that are much more in keeping with their Peruvian roots! There's some especially great electric guitar in the mix – of the sort you'd ...
DCM/Vampi Soul (Spain), 1967. New Copy (reissue)
A really cool blend of familiar Latin rhythms and South American electric guitar – use of the instrument that's more typically associated with genres in Peruo and other scenes on the west of the continent – but used here in a very cool set from the late 60s Venezuelan scene! The music ...
Ruben Blades, 2023. New Copy 2LP
Singer Ruben Blades scored a big early moment of fame on the Siembra album by Willie Colon – and here, he works with the larger ensemble of Roberto Delgado to pay tribute to that classic record from the late 70s! The album's a live one, recorded before a very enthusiastic crowd in Puerto ...
Discos Fuentes/Vampi Soul (Spain), 1974. New Copy (reissue)
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 ...
Mag/Vampi Soul (Spain), Mid 60s. New Copy (reissue)
A complete killer from the Peruvian scene of the 60s – a set that shows just how special it is when the leadoff descarga track breaks into a searing saxophone solo within the first few seconds! Things don't let up after that – and Al Valdez keeps things moving and grooving at a level ...
Verve, 1973. New Copy (reissue)
An incredible album of Latin funk – the only-ever record from this west coast combo headed by the legendary Benny Velarde! Benny's a name that you might recognize from earlier, straighter Latin dates for Fantasy – or for countless studio work during the 70s – but here, he's ...
Discos Fuentes/Vampi Soul (Spain), 1975. New Copy (reissue)
Wganda Kenya were one of the most unique groups to record for the Discos Fuentes label in the 70s – and they were maybe also one of the coolest, too – as they never stopped in their pursuit of a groove, and were always able to mix together so many different styles at once! This gem of ...
Discos Fuentes/Vampi Soul (Spain), 1976. New Copy (reissue)
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 ...