Bongo Joe Switzerland レコード& CD

Review: .Geneva, Switzerland duo Bound By Endogamy are taking no prisoners with this collection of eight intense workouts that seem to straddle a multitude of genres and somehow emerge from the chaos with something new. Unsurprisingly, given what's here, the pair - Shlomo Balexert and Kleio Thomaides - are prominent figures on the underground punk and squat scene in their hometown, and there's plenty on this record that feels as though it's got to that time in the morning and you're still wandering around a disused labyrinthine building trying to remember where the front door was. Combining the ferocity of hardcore with the atmosphere and futurism of electro and rave, it's growling but crisp, distorted and DIY, dancefloor and weirdo all at once. An album that will not disappoint anyone who has been keeping an eye on this outfit as they emerged from strong successive cassette releases and a single 7" into this full throttle, self-titled long player.

Review: There is real fire and fury in this opening tune on the new drop from Bongo Joe Records out of Switzerland. A ceremonial chant opens up and is sure to bring dance floor delirium from the off over the high-speed dub rhythms and raw percussive sounds. The raw, high octane and primordial influence of techno looms large throughout with Chouk Bwa & The Angstromers really going for the jugular. Heft modern bass weight, deft electronics and traditional Afro-Caribbean polyrhythms all collide with trance-including and mind-melting results.

Review: Collignon brings some real class to this new one on Bongo Joe Records. It is a tidy two-track 45rpm that is best described as psychedelic tropical. Opener 'Viemos De Longe' is a dense and busy mix of warped synth wobbles and steamy jungle effects, humid pads and mystic melodies that take you deep into overgrown flora where all manner of birds and frogs await with their weird and wonderful calls. Add in some psyched-out rock guitars and a sense of 60s spy theme funk and you have a marvellous cut. Flip it over for further sonic fun in the form of the magical 'Visita Noturna.'

Review: The debut album from Amsterdam-based muso Donald 'Donny' Madjid (a member of The Mauskovic Dance Band) came after an unusual break in his often hectic touring cycle, largely thanks to the pandemic. Keeping himself sane with a plethora of vintage synths as well as a 60s era drum-machine, the resulting experiments gave way to 2021's retro-fitted disco meets new wave opus Pure Donzin. Now that tour-life has resumed and his schedule chock-a-block yet again, it's taken three years for another dose of pure Donny with the release of his follow up Zonder Pardon EP. Authentic swathes of machine-percussion, thick synth-lines and Madjid's own disarming croon (sung almost exclusively in his native tongue) channel the sonic iconography of Talking Heads or Roxy Music, yet transported by way of an Italo-Disco rave to the funkiest spots of inner-city Holland.

Review: Le Disques Bongo Joe's joint release with Calico Discos was a superb EP back in 2020 and it still bangs today, hence the reissue. It offers up four fresh cuts from L'Eclair, a self-styled "exogroove post-internet" six-piece with three must-check albums to their name. Musically, the four tracks offer a breezy, summery and mixed-up blend of Tony Allen style polyrhythms, tropical funk guitars, languid synthesizer sounds, psychedelic electronics and copious amounts of mind-altering dub effects. Our favourites include the low-slung deep Afro-psychedelia of 'Dallas', the rousing, horn-heavy EP opener 'Cebando' (a future dancefloor staple for sure), and the Moog-laden sunrise dreaminess of 'Atlantis'.

Review: Les Abranis are a pioneering Algerian band known for having mixed up traditional Berber music with Western rock, folk, disco and funk. At the same time they never lost sight of their Kabyle heritage and as such really made a mark on the Maghrebi music scene all across the world from Algeria to France. This new collection Amazigh Freedom Rock 1973-1983 comes five years after Chenar le Blues / Avehri and is a deep dive into the band's discography. It spans everything from their early garage-rock experimentations to lush orchestrations and North African fusion gems from the 1980s.

Review: Bongo Joe ventures into the Caribbean's musical heart here and spotlights the Dominican Republic's rich musical heritage on Merengue Tipico: Nueva Generacion! which uncovers the essence of Dominican merengue, a sound so often overshadowed in musical discourse. Curated by Xavier Daive, aka Funky Bompa, the compilation reveals rare 60s and 70s gems, unveiling a transformative era post-Trujillo. Daive's 20-year immersion in the Dominican Republic yields original 45s, capturing merengue's evolution in a creatively charged period. Influenced by pioneers like "Tatico" Henriquez, tracks like Rafaelito Roman's 'Que Mala Suerte' exude infectious energy, while Aristides Ramirez's 'Los Lanbones' injects some humour. This compilation transcends reissue norms, offering a deep dive into merengue's roots and thereby enriching global music landscapes.

Review: The sun has finally arrived here in the UK, the temps are rising and all our focus turns to the sunnier end of your collections. And there will of course always be more room for this scorching rhythms that heighten any summer get together, especially those as tropical and worldly as this collection from Swiss label Bongo Joe. This most heat baked record is a collection of outernational Latin and afro sounds put together by Coco Maria. The collection takes in many of the artist who have made her Worldwide Fm show such a vital one, from Nico Mauskovic to La Perla via Meridian Brothers y Grupo Renacimiento.