new album by legendary dj little louie vega!

taken from the full length >africa caribe< project produced by joaquin joe claussell.

vinyl edition to the fania release! stock will be very limited!the project is a marriage between old and new,a fresh take on classic sounds from the fania archives.late last year, fania records hand-delivered the original multi-tracks in a battered cardboard box to joe claussells nyc studio.each track was approached and assembled differently, each on its own terms. as joe says,some songs were edited,some were time-stretched many parts were re-recorded some new parts were recorded on top.the first disc features nine classic fania tunes from lou perez, celia cruz,eddie palmieri, ray barretto and more,all re-worked with the joe claussell touch!

following the first ep taken from the album mechanical traction ep , supported by the likes of charles webster, chloé, naughty, jimpster, rob mello, tim paris, thugfucker, geoffroy, alex attias, c-rock, unambombers… this time, including a killer remix from amnaye, whom you may know from his releases and remixes on kif, innercityvisions (secret weapons pt.1) and franck rogers real tone, delivers here a powerful remix that should make more than one dancefloor scream.

hard-hitting latin-tinged super-group grupo magnético formed from backgrounds in funk, hip-hop, punk and soul, united by a love of eddie palmieri, tito puente, ray barretto, fania and classic new york salsa. working with legendary musicians from cuba, venezuela and america (who had played and recorded with many of the names who d originally inspired the group), the circle was complete as the album was mixed in new york by grammy winning latin producer aaron levinson.

considered by many as -the motown of salsa,- fania records is probably the most transcendental label in the history of latin music. by bringing together the eclectic vision of dominican bandleader johnny pacheco with the business savvy of impresario jerry masucci, fania created a sound: the apex of tropical music, combined with the swing of big band jazz and the gritty vibe of american r&b. the label provided an artistic heaven for a young generation of musicians who were inspired to experiment with new musical formats. the albums recorded by willie colón, héctor lavoe, rubén blades and eddie palmieri from the early 70s to the mid- 80s went beyond the parameters of so-called -salsa- - taking latin music to unsuspected levels of sophistication. when you think latin soul you relate to a mélange of r&b and mambo rhythms intermixed culturally by and for the youth of america. it was 1974, and a brash youngster by the name of ralfi pagan walked into the offices of fania records and demanded to be heard. fania president jerry masucci allowed ralfi that opportunity, and ralfi auditioned for jerry right there in his office. it took only a few moments for masucci to realize that he was in the company of his newest recording artist, he put ralfi in touch with recording director, johnny pacheco, who hurried him into the recording studio for ralfi’s first fania recording session.

after last year’s acclaimed bb boogie album “standing on the wall”, darren benjamin aka daz-i-kue returns with this incredible slice of latin jazz futurism. between 2012 and 2016 daz travelled to puerto rico to record with an array of talented musicians, laying down the framework percussion, bass and horns to be worked on when he returned to his studio in atlanta. “crash boat party” is his collaboration with ex fania all stars percussionist hector “tempo” alomar and features atlanta-based trumpeter dashill smith, (who’s worked with roy ayers, janell monet, and miguel atwood-fergurson to name but three), and accomplished bassist mamaniji azanyah. already licensed to feature in bobbito’s forthcoming documentary “rockrubber 45s”, this is timeless latin-jazz fire. the single is backed with “esto es candela con ritmo nene”, also from those sessions, taking things firmly into bruk-jazz territory.

acid jazz is pleased to announce that it has teamed up with the legendary fania records for our latest 7 inch release. june 1st will see us release ray barretto’s “mercy mercy baby” lifted from his classic album “acid” produced by harvey averne. it is backed by an astounding and previously unreleased instrumental version, which is longer than the released version and has a stunning trumpet solo making it a summer dance-floor cooker. released on a specially designed label, which pays tribute to the first gold fania labels, this will be limited to a run of a 1000.

back in print by popular demand, strut bring back the debut compilation by sofrito aka djs hugo mendez and frankie francis
- limited reissue of debut sofrito compilation lp from 2011
- mighty shadow ‘dat soca boat’ subsequently used on malibu tv ad in 2012
- includes exclusive edits of tracks by victor uwaifo and safohene djeni
- cover and package artwork by lewis heriz
for fans of:
fela kuti, orlando julius, quantic, mighty sparrow, lord kitchener, nyboma, franco, nemours jean-baptiste, analog africa, soundway, fania records, invisible city, gilles peterson

for over 40 years orchestre poly rythmo de cotonou has combined traditional beninese music with soul, funk, afrobeat, rhumba and cuban rhythms to create this infectious soundà hailing from benin, west africa, orchestre poly rythmo de cotonou has been churning out incendiary afro grooves since 1966. on bosq meets poly rythmo uptown, bosq tastefully reworks 4 of orchestre poly rythmo s legendary recordings. as a die-hard fan, bosq took a subtle approach to the project. according to him orchestre poly rythmo has been a strong influence on his work and he wanted to be respectful to the original tracks. bosq focused on making the tracks dj friendly by beefing up the low end, rearranging and stretching parts out, and adding in extra percussion and a drum machine. the result is a 4-track ep of bumpy afro disco, psychedelic funk, frenzied afrobeat, and sunny soulful grooves. based in medellin, colombia, bosq has released a collection of music on ubiquity records, soul clap records, fania records, razor-n-tape, and more. since 2015, sol power sound, out of washington, dc has released deep sounds inspired by rhythms and traditions from around the globe. the label s output includes afro-latin stompers, re-edits of lost disco grooves, heady percussive tech workouts, and other sonic treats. four stone-cold classic orchestre poly rythmo de cotonou tracks re-shaped by bosq for the dancefloor today..

since its release last year, the grammy nominated album louie vega starring…xxviii has reached unfathomable heights, after 8 single vinyl releases and two full triple set album releases, we still have one more up our sleeve. today, here we are in the third and final installment of the louie vega starring…xxviii vinyl album release series, this time taking it to another level with unreleased and lost mixes. when making an album there are usually way more than the number of songs allocated for the project. in this case there were over 50 songs and tracks created for the louie vega starring…xxviii album. vega has selected 14 unreleased and lost tracks from the recordings and put together dj friendly versions with these super talented artists involved: funkadelic, nick monaco & soul clap, kenny bobien, cindy mizelle, maphorisa, berita, wanda baloyi & kabomo (south african top talent), roberto roena (of the fania all stars), brutha basil, jesse jackson (blues rock artist), sara devine, luis salinas (argentinean guitarist), duane harden (song/hitmaker), & 3 winans brothers featuring the clark sisters. the packaging is lovely with an open gatefold huge picture of a mural painted by none other than richard wilson uk artist. mastering by the great walter coelho, for sonic perfection & pressing manufactured by optimal in germany.

originally released on track mode in 2003, nu forms is a musical nod to all things fania and afro-cuban jazz. malik alston shares keyboard duties and delivers a blazing flute solo on beautiful brown people along with alton miller on percussion. a definite groover reissued on inner muse!

london’s 22a follow up their sell-out tenderlonious / al dobson jr split ep with nine more exclusives from henry wu and jeen bassa. originally limited to just 100 copies, this has become a hugely sought after 12”!
henry wu applies jazz infused hip-hop sensibilities to these synth-boogie, and deep house tracks. this was wu’s debut release and set the platform for further massive releases on eglo and rhythm section. on the flip jeen bassa goes in deep with percussive house infused afro-beats laden with jazzy hip hop rhythms. haling from a family of talented musicians (mo kolours and reginald omas mamode iv) he has since gone on to similarly large releases, including last years sterling time waves ep on 22a.

london/venezuela production duo juan laya & jorge montiel aka los charlys orchestra take influences from salsoul, fania, donna summer, cerrone, herbie hancock and even jamiroquay and blend them with their very unique style of production in order to deliver their latest anthem of neo latin disco. after a few months of experimentation across different sounds los charlys are back into their main arena with an outstanding new single entitle everlasting love. los charlys orchestra were first known by their initial disco/funk period and more recently by their infectious latin/funk sound, which has been buzzing all around the place for the past couple of years. this new single expresses a cross road in between the two periods of lco bringing up a new perspective for the future of this outfit.

soundway continue their journey into colombia with this limited edition 45 featuring two bolts of colombian dancefloor thunder. both songs were originally released on the legendary discos tropical label and are re-issued here for the first time out of south america.!side a features a version of the party standard ‘tequila’ by orquesta tropicana. blaring horns, hand claps and shouts for tequila combine for a latin dancefloor classic. side b is a version of the legendary fania salsa track ‘lluvia con nieve’ that was originally released in 1964 on the new york label. sonora tropical re-recorded the track for discos tropical and has remained unavailable outside of colombia until now.

stiring the melting pot, the multicultural congregation of los charly s orchestra (lead by juan laya & jorge montiel) keep crafting their unique fusion of funky grooves and tropical disco vibes.
containing 4 tracks on a limited 12 inch vinyl edition, this release is definitively the consolidation of 4 years development of a sound which has finally accomplished their optimum point and its ready to take off. uk soul singer stuart lisbie delivers the vocals on >dancing on the scene<.
think in roy ayers meets salsoul orchestra, earth wind & fire & fania all starts, the fusion is all in there… from a contemporary point of view…

cheeky fania style re edited 7inch. part 1 turns willie colons plastico intro into a fully fledged disco cut, simple and effective. part 2 kicks off from where part 1 ended in an original salsa style. two copy pressure could be required.