Juno Recommends International: June 2022

Review: "Orchestre Massako" is the 14th compilation in the Analog Africa Limited Dance Edition serie. This project focuses on Afro Sounds from Gabon's mighty National Orchestra and its legendary band leader, Jean-Christian Mboumba Mackaya known as Mack-Joss, literraly the baobab of Gabonese music. Two songs also feature the singer Amara Toure, whose voice is impossible not to recognise and who has already been in the center of the previous compilation "Amara Toure 1973-1980" released back in 2015.

Review: Some compilations are clearly a labour of love. That's certainly the case with Sharayet El Disco, a superb collection curated by Amsterdam-based Egyptian DJ Disco Arabesquo (real name Moataz Rageb). It dips into his ever-expanding collection of hard-to-find Egyptian disco and boogie cassettes released between 1982 and '92, offering up a selection of colourful dance tracks that frequently add Arabic vocals and instrumentation to authentic, American style disco and boogie grooves. Highlights are plentiful, from the stomping disco surge of Afaf Rady's 'Tany Tany' and the glossy, fretless bass-sporting synth-pop of 'Merci' by Simone, to the low-slung Arabic synth-funk of Frikit El Azdeqaa's 'Eqleb El Sheret', and the dreamy boogie brilliance of Americana Show's 'Yom Wi Lilah'.

Review: Originally released in 1980 on the Alberika label, Orchestre Les Volcans du Benin Vol. 1 has long been a 'holy grail' LP for Afro-Cuban aficionados. It now sees it's first official reissue on Acid Jazz Records, with four infectious tracks across the two sides, including Oya Ka Jojo - latin dancefloor dynamite and a DJ must-have. Remastered by Nick Robbins at Sound Mastering and presented in a wonderful colour sleeve, it's an opportunity to finally own this special and highly sought after LP.

Review: Angolan guitarist and musicologist Mario Rui Silva is under the microscope on this fantastic new reissue from Time Capsule. It is a retrospective of 80s recordings that take in myriad style including jazz, acoustic, Mexican cantina, swinging serenades and folky village sing alongs. The whole record is delightfully summery and airy, with feel good grooves and subtle funk styles all making it a perfect accompaniment to a lazy afternoon in the sun or an evening drinking with friends. While analogies can be found in Brazilian artists like Jorge Ben, Lo Borges, and Milton Nascimento, Rui Silva is in a world of his own as he worked to preserve traditional musics.

Review: A rarity on our shelves, 'The Coastal Invasion' is a giant tour through the work and career of Lucho Bermudez, who together with his own personal orchestra, recorded some of the most eminent Colombian cumba music of his day. Bermudez was a formidable composer who led the state's many big bands so innovatively that he came to be known as the musician who modernised Colombia's most important folk music style, bringing it into a new age through his various collaborations with his wife, Matilde Diaz.

Review: Utilising the same hard-to-pigeonhole approach as his previous (and excellent) Magic Carpet Ride compilation, Milagros Del Ritmo is effectively a showcase for the depth of DJ/producer Jose Manuel's record collection. That's no bad thing though, because the cuts on offer here - mostly European, but some Middle Eastern, and all made between 1988 and '91 - is full of arresting, ear-catching gems. For proof, check the chugging, arpeggio-driven late-night sleaze of 'Yoshua' by Danton's Voice, the Balearic deep house tactility of Debbie McKayle's 'Necessito Del Amor', the Arabic EBM throb of Bandana's 'Ganzo', the glassy-eyed dream house of Ambiosonix's 'Waves', and the body-popping Middle Eastern freestyle excitement of 'Radio Arabesque (Saudi-Club Version)' by Ethno League. A genuine must-check release.

Review: Just when you think that the well of obscure music from around the world has run dry, Analog Africa returns to put the record straight. Pop-Makossa shines a light on a glorious but largely overlooked period in the story of Cameroonian makossa, when local musicians began to replace funk and highlife influences with the rubbery bass of classic disco and the sparkling synth flourishes and drum machines of electrofunk. The resultant compilation, which apparently took eight years to produce, is packed full of brilliant cuts, from the heavily-electronic jauntiness of Pasteur Lappe's "Sanaga Calypso" and horn-totin' Highlife-disco of Emmaniel Kahe and Jeanette Kemogne's "Ye Medjuie", to the dense, organ-laden wig out that is Clement Djimogne's "Africa".

Review: Sitar and Sistrum tessellate wildly on this fusion album from Baligh Hamdi, the prolific composer and hitmaker behind many Arabic chart-topping songs. 'Indo-Arabic Variations' hears him break from his focus on pop music for an instrumental album that consciously blends the musical traditions of India and Egypt, bringing together Indian sitar player Magid Khan and Abdel Halim Hafez's orchestra in re-reading some of the former's compositions - overall, sitar and tabla dance together with arghoul, ney and other Arabic instruments to produce a strikingly beautiful pandemonium.

Review: Naya Beat Records is launching a new series of compilations which it hopes will shine a light on unknown scenes and hidden electronic gems from the 80s and 90s in and around South Asia. Volume one is a real banger with what will surely become future classics from Pakistan, India, Canada, Guyana, Suriname, the UK and Canada. Many of the tunes have never before been on vinyl, and some have but are hard to find and expensive. The genres are familiar - disco, funk and synth-pop - but the stylings are super fresh, with hooky melodies and soaring vocals taking you to brightly coloured and exotic worlds of tropicalia.

Review: A fresh album from Maga Bo, the Rio producer has seen 20+ years of experience in the electronic music game, and has translated this experience to world-class Afro-Brazilian fusion club music. Since the project's inception, Bo's mission has been to search for "rhythmic common denominators with an Afro-Brazilian-centric focus", manifesting as crystal-clear bass music fusions of styles including samba, dub and cumbia. Through a relentless 19 tracks, there's both ancestral respect and future joy contained therein - not least thanks to contributions from an array of collaborators including Baianasystem, BNegao and Russo Passapusso.

Review: Alisa Takigawa & Ryusenkei are Japanese pop and soft rock stars who hook up to great effect here. 'Highway Flyer' is one one of those gloriously uplifting tunes that lifts you off your feet and gets your head amongst their lovely lush melodies and gentle strings. The vocals, in Japanese of course, are unintelligible to most lyrically, but in terms of sound they are pure and heavenly. 'Warmth' slows down a little, with a more sedate vibe but still plenty of soothing synths, crystal clear chords and soothing harmonies.