Various Artists
EDNA MARTINEZ PRESENTS PICO: SOUND SYSTEM CULTURE FROM THE COLOMBIAN CARIBBEAN
(2LP)
Strut Records / STRUT218LP
2LP
World Music
Colombian DJ and Berlin-based curator Edna Martinez pays vibrant homage to the Caribbean Pico tradition with this raw and electrifying collection. Drawing on decades of sonic exchange between Cartagena, West Africa and the wider Caribbean, the selections move from the Ghanaian coastal bounce of Wulomei's 'Takoradi' to the joyous Angolan sway of Conjunto Ana N'Gola's 'Puxa Odoette'. Edits by Martinez breathe new energy into Zaiko Langa Langa's 'La Tout Neige' and Erick Cosaque's 'Ajaccio', extending the dancefloor potential without diluting their essence. The highlife pulse of Peacocks International's 'Igbala Oso' sits alongside Colombian staples like Los Corraleros De Majagual's 'Remanga' and Claudio Y Su Combo's 'Como Sea'. Each track carries a unique local identity-like Pico Sin Fronteras' 'Abel Llinas'-but together they hum with transatlantic movement. A deeply researched, brilliantly sequenced journey through a scene where the speaker box becomes a passport.[info sheet from distr.]