Old school cumbia tunes – with plenty of raw rhythms and acoustic instrumentation in the mix! The package is a wicked batch of rare numbers from Colombia's legendary Discos Fuentes – most of which are from the early and mid 60s, recorded at a time when the imprint was really making some great waves in Latin music – coming up with a regional sound that was quite different than the popular New York modes of the time – and than the host of other scenes that tried to copy it! Instead, the tunes here work in these romping rhythms that really get to the heart of the cumbia vibe – often touched with a blend of jazz inflections and folkloric instrumentation, wrapped up beautifully together. Titles include "Lorenza" by Los Gavilanes De La Costa, "Cumbia Costena" by Alejandro Duran, "Ocaso Marino" by Los Satelites, "La Pollera Colora" by Los Corraleros De Majagual, "Remolino De Oro" by Abel Antonio Villa, and "Al Amanecer" by Los Cumbiamberos De Pacheco. LP, Vinyl record album

Easily the greatest collection of Colombian grooves we've ever seen – a beautifully-done package from Soundway Records, and one that lives up to the high standard we first found in their compilations of African and Panamanian funk! This time around, the focus is on the legendary Discos Fuentes – a label as important to Latin music in Columbia as Fania was in New York – but also one that's got a much richer history, and much deeper range of grooves! The tunes here are all from the 60s and 70s – and the set focuses on Fuentes tunes that have a current appeal to crate-diggers around the globe – the kind of hard-edged Latin cuts that are finally getting some respect after years of New York dominance on the record collecting scene. Styles here range from salsa to cumbia to descarga modes – and the collection is far different than any previous Fuentes compilations that have hit the market – thanks to a focus on the harder side of the groove! The package features great images of classic Fuentes releases, notes on each track, and even a great essay about shopping for vinyl in Cali – the mecca for Colombian collectors. 2LP set features 17 tracks that include "Salsa Na Ma" by Fruko Y Sus Tesos, "Hong Kong" by Michi Sarmiento Y Sus Bravos, "Cumbia En Do Menor" by Lito Barrientos, "Tifit Hayed" by Wganda Kenya, "La Samaria" by Orquesta Nunez, "Cumbiamba" by El Sexteto Miramar, "Las Calenas Son Como Las Flores" by The Latin Brothers, "La Picua" by Pedro Laza Y Sus Pelayeros, "Improvisando" by Fruko, "El Mondongo" by Los Corraleros De Majagual, "Pacifico" by Afrosound, "La Piojosa" by La Sonora Cienaguera, and "La Pata Y El Pato" by Climaco Sarmiento. LP, Vinyl record album

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Very very well indeed – a crackling little set from Lito Barrientos, and one that moves through a range of 60s Latin style with a very lively vibe! There's certainly some of the spirit of early Discos Fuentes in the mix – but the record also moves with a wider-ranging spirit, as it leaps from Cuba, to Puerto Rico, to New York – then back again town to Colombia with the groove! Production is great – really bringing out that sharp rhythm that makes Discos Fuentes albums so great – and titles include a very cool mish-mosh of styles on the "Mosaico" track that takes up most of part two – plus other titles that include "Kijis Konar", "Cumbia Costena", "Charanga Pa Gozar", "Cumbia Que Te Vas De Ronda", "Caracol", and "Rubiela". LP, Vinyl record album

A cracker of a set from 60s Colombia – a record that certainly has plenty of the cumbias promised in the title, but which also features other lively grooves in a guaracha, charanga, and montuno style! The rhythms are upbeat throughout, and recorded in a great way that really gets at all the subtle inflections in the various percussion elements – which are mixed with hard-driving piano, occasional accordion, and vocals that really work hard to keep up with the groove! Titles include "Cumbia De Sol", "Noche Y Cumbia", "Lelogua", "Cumbia De Estrellas", "Moler La Cana", "Mensaje Guajiro", "Gaita Turca", and "La Pompita". LP, Vinyl record album

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A triple-time killer from the Colombian scene at the start of the 70s – one of those rare gems on Discos Fuentes that had the label setting a new sort of fire on its own, in comparison to the New York Latin generation! In addition to the cumbia tracks you might expect, the set's also got some killer guaguanco and descarga tracks – super-jazzy, and filled with lively interplay between the percussion at the core, and the criss-crossing of piano, tenor, and trumpet on the top! Peter Scott handles the vocals with Piper Diaz – and titles include "Hacha Y Machete", "El Mico", "Atiza Y Atala", "Ven A Colombia", "Cali Querido", "Guaguaco Supremo", and "El Cuento". LP, Vinyl record album

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A completely different side of Colombian music than you'd know from Discos Fuentes and some of the other mainstream outlets from that scene – as the tracks here are all from the contemporary underground, and represent a really rich flowering of creative grooves and soulful modes! In truth, most of this work might hail from any hip spot in the global underground – save for the fact that the lyrics are often in Spanish, and many tunes have some slight reference to older musical modes – sometimes an acoustic element mixed in with more electronic instrumentation, sometimes a more direct reference! The quality of the tracks is wonderful – a really strong surprise to our ears, as we never would have discovered this music otherwise – and it represents a really great alternative so some of the more staid, often boring attempts to create a global fusion of elements in the mainstream. Titles include "Cada Paso" by Liannia, "Cumbia Lobina (ext mix)" by Dragao featuring Nidia Gongora, "Aquazero" by Systema Solar featuring Pedro Ramaya, "Oyele" by Jimena Angel, "Cuando Canto Grito" by Cerrero featuring Lucia Pulido, "El Leopardo" by El Leopardo, "Mujer Divina" by Salsangroove, "Gualayo" by Radio Rebelde Soundsystem, "La Negra Y El Fantasma" by Bareto, "Nunca Termina" by David Caneva Akle, "Manana Sera" by Ruzto, and "De Donde Vengo Yo" by Los Transatlanticos featuring Pilar Matarola. CD