The Caribbean lowlands region of Colombia — where the rough northern Andes descend into the sea — is informed by centuries of conquest and cultural assimilation. The result is a vibrant melting pot as tangled and organic as the humid swamps that weave throughout the coastline. Descendants of slaves and…
This San Diego-based outfit is surely tired of the constant comparisons they’ve garnered to Ozomatli. But the similarities are hard to ignore; after all, both groups have brown people in their ranks … brown people who speak Spanish. And both groups put forward a power-to-the-people message via intoxicatingly effective live…
Thanks to the Diplo-inspired popularity of “favela booty beats” among U.S. audiences, there’s a certain expectation of unhinged rhythmic fire and verbal violence when it comes to Brazilian hip-hop… especially the type emerging from the slums of Rio de Janeiro. This multifaceted compilation from the upstart, “socially conscious” Verge label…
This Austin group is far from catholic in its approach to indie rock. Though pegged as “experimentalists,” the Octopus Project is more than capable of delivering the pop goods. And despite the members’ tendency toward vintage electronic equipment like theremins, the group’s passion for tweaking the capabilities of modern recording…
Whether you consider Dub Trio’s approach to be a King Tubby-influenced take on spazz-rock or a rock-laced assault on dub conventions, the essential fact remains that its disorienting attack is best appreciated live. Cool Out and Coexist was recorded over the course of two nights of Brooklyn concerts and is…
While his older brother and label-mate Madlib was digging around in the Bollywood crates for his latest Beat Konducta outing, Oh No came up with even-more-unconventional source material for Dr. No’s Oxperiment. The superpsychedelic rock records that emerged from the Mediterranean and Middle East in the ’60s and ’70s have…
If there´s one thing missing from the recordings made by most current neo-soul artists — besides, of course, an unprocessed rhythm section — it´s a sense of urgency. All too many of these contemporary R&B artists better hope the revolution gets televised, ´cause that´s gonna be the only way they´ll…
It´s important when discussing albums of unique provenance to distinguish those that are novel from those that are novelties. A sophisticated-sounding pop album from a man who conducts voodoo ceremonies may sound like the sort of thing that would fall into the latter category. The music of Erol Josué, however,…
In 1960, Jerry Butler left the Impressions. He probably figured he was making the best move. After all, the group he led had been unable to duplicate the massive success it had in 1958 with the Butler-sung ¨For Your Precious Love.¨ Although Butler´s departure inadvertently did wonders for the Impressions…
With the release of its latest album, Mirrored, Battles has proven unequivocally that it´s possible for noise-rock to have a heartbeat. And what a heartbeat it has. Driven by the percussive attack of ex-Helmet drummer John Stanier (whose mile-high cymbal setup is on must-see-it-to-believe-it status), Battles´ music careens around head-snapping…
Although a member of Buena Vista Social Club (in 2001, at the tender age of 26, he replaced Rubén Gonzalez) right up until the group´s final recordings, Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca is not at all interested in having his music viewed as nostalgia. Though certainly respectful of the various traditions…
There’s been something simultaneously low-rent and high-minded about the progressive funk that Aja West and his Mackrosoft co-conspirators have been churning out since the late ’90s. Total Recall 2012 nails that dichotomy beautifully. The retro-futuristic vibes evoke the loose-limbed weirdness that can come only from a skilled musician set loose…
Last month marked the 20th anniversary of the release of Sign o’ the Times, the album regarded by many critics and fans as Prince’s creative high-water mark. Due to the animus Prince feels toward Warner Bros. (the label that released the double-LP opus… only after insisting it be cut back…
