Afrosound — Tiro al Blanco

from Tiro al Blanco (1981)

The second track in today’s double feature: Massara’s ‘Margherita’ redone by Colombian psychedelic cumbia group Afrosound. It’s an absolute masterpiece of jungle dance music. If the song sounds familiar, it’s probably because Manu Chao sampled or copied the riff in a number of his hits.

Regarding the racy cover art—Afrosound was incapable of releasing an album without a partially naked lady on it. See for yourself at Super Sonido, one of my favorite blogs and the #1 spot for rare and obscure Central and South American 45s. (Thanks to Sonido Franko for this track!) Go give it a spin…

Alceu Valença & Geraldo Azevedo — Me Dá Um Beijo (Give me a Kiss)

from Alceu Valença & Geraldo Azevedo (1972)

Visits to the blog Super Sonido always yield a few equatorial treats. My last visit was no exception, turning up a brilliant set of psychedelic tracks from Brazilian composers Alceu Valença & Geraldo Azevedo. They hail from the state of Pernambuco, in the region of Brazil that juts eastward into the Atlantic.

Memo Rios — Memocotorreo

from Memotronic/Memocotorreo (1990)

Super Sonido delivers to us this musical pearl from the Mexican rapper/entertainer Memo Rios. This is almost too good to be true…

(and if you like it, you might want to give Soy Tan Sexy a spin)

Ernesto Torrealba y Su Conjunto — Cumbia Sobre El Llano (1981)

A slow chugging cumbia from Colombia, with fading organs and a racing harp that conjures up dusty visions of the llano. Sonido Franko describes it best over at his blog Super Sonido, a clearinghouse for all good things cumbia, boogaloo, descarga, garage:

In Colombia, Los Llanos (the plains)are the vast agricultural lands of savannah that stretch all the way to Venezuela. Both the vallenato and cumbia originated in the northern Caribbean coast - whereas a different type of music from the plain region developed around the instrument of the harp. Musica Llanera, or so it’s called, never really got the attention that other musical genres did of the day. However, Ernesto Torrealba seems to have melded the two genres together quite well.

Cumbia Sobre El Llano is a quasi-reflection of what typical Musica Llanera is about: music with a rhythmic drive and vocals that verge on over sentimentality. But what other instrument can actually sound like the wind hitting the brush and savannah like the harp can? Possibly a testament of how bounded a music is to its own environment. Enjoy!

Los Destellos — Tu Donde Estas

Los Destellos (“The Sparkles”), considered the founders of Cumbia Peruana, according to one of the most trustworthy sources out there, the great Super Sonido. Check his blog religiously for old vinyl rips like this. It’s great.

This particular track isn’t cumbia… more 1960s style love ballad with some great guitar.

If you want more Los Destellos, you got it, courtesy Super Sonido.