Juno Recommends International: October 2022

Review: Tomede Ehue and Tp Orchestre Poly-rythmo are giants of the global afro scene and to have them together on one 12" is a masterstroke. This third offering from Canopy features the title track from a hard to find Afro 7" that was initially only put out via private press in a Benin label in 1980. Little his known about Tomede Ehue but she is an undeniable talent, and in cahoots with Beninois powerhouse TP Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou they are unstoppable. Bosq and Sam Redmore provide remixes to this superb package.

Review: David Byrne's Luka Bop label does a wonderful job of serving up some superbly obscure and unknown sounds but in a accessible and enjoyable fashion. Next up for the tirelessly digging label is a third volume of their World Spirituality series: The Muslim Highlife Of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah is an international collection of Afro rhythms that cut deep. Alhaji Waziri Oshomah hails from Edo State in southern Nigeria and is someone who holds sermon and serves up lyrics that warn about the vice of jealousy but the grovers also make his gathered crowd want to get down. He brings together both Muslims and Christians and this record will too.

Review: The Gama brothers are the pair behind the Son Rompe Pera band and are recognized as having brought all-new musical updates to the traditional Mexican Marimba sound which has helped bring it right into the here and now. They were first taught by their father and have explored punk and rockabilly but are now mainly making cumbia. This pair of tunes show off their lively, ever-evolving and percussive sound with a couple of irresistibly sunny and shuffling grooves to bring some sunshine and good times into your life.

Review: The Son Rompe Pera band is made up of the Gama brothers and is known for having reinvented the traditional Mexican Marimba sound with their own perspective and energy. As such it is now a contemporary genre in their hands and hot on the heels of their last 7" on Barbes comes this follow-up with plenty of carnival overtones. 'El Saleroso' is a slow and swaggering tune with rich layers of percussion and stunning melodies all topped off with a Spanish vocal. 'Proteus' has more contemporary synths next to the traditional instrumentation and overflows with colours and cultural charm.

Review: El Palmas Music is on a mission to shine a light on a short-lived but brilliant band, Ray Perez y El Grupo Casabe. It was active from 1974 until 1975 and is often said to be the last great group in which Ray Peres was involved. He came to it from big success with Los Dementes and Los Kenya which had placed him at the forefront of the salsa movement. He continued to experiment and lead the genre forth front with this new group as this compilation shows. Big drums, bigger horns and driving rhythm make each track a fiery workout with plenty of vocals from the likes of Rodrigo Perdomo and Rafael Morillo.

Review: Brazilian saxophonist and composer Glaucus Linx and French percussionist and composer Antoine Olivier are a long-standing and fruitful musical pair. They are known for their unique mix of Afro-Brazilian Candomble rhythms and jazz, and they never sound better than on this album Kan. For the first tie ever the album is now on vinyl and it comes on Brazilian DJ, producer and MIMS resident, DJ Tahira's brand new label in collaboration with Memoria Discos. The sounds manage to be ancient and ancestral as well as contemporary and futuristic. The brilliant 'Canto de Xango' is a standout tune here amongst many.

Review: Garrincha Dischi's sub-label Garrincha GOGO welcomes Fanfare Station for a fantastic new album here. It is a ready-made and worldwide party which brings big brass band energy, compelling rhythms and the chants of the Maghreb along with stylish electronic music designs. The band features Tunisian multi-instrumentalist, Marzouk Mejri with Charles Ferris, an American horn player and last of all Italian DJ and producer Marco Dalmasso aka Ghiaccioli e Branzini. The album was recorded in Tunisian and captures plenty of cultural richness as it balances between studio album and live recording. One of the best international albums you will hear all year.

Review: London-based archive label Majazz Project specialise in reissuing and remixing vintage cassettes of music from the Arab world, and they've done a sterling job on their alternative research mission once again by presenting this DIY curio from Palestine to the world. Riad Awwad recorded The Intifada just one week after the First Intifada began as Palestinians protested against Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. The charged socio-political backdrop is bedded in these homemade synth pop songs, which Awwad committed to tape and distributed in the Old City of Jerusalem and across the West Bank. Most copies were captured by the Israeli Army and Awwad himself was arrested, but the music survives and now receives the due care and presentation such an important historical artefact deserves.