Review: Mr Bongo's Brazil 45's series brings us two Brazilian classics: Rita Lee & Tutti Frutti's 'Agora E Moda' and Pete Dunaway's 'Supermarket'. 'Agora E Moda' from Lee's 1978 album Babilonia is a psychedelic disco-boogie groove highlighted by squelching guitar licks, funk drums, and cosmic vocals. Rita Lee, the former lead singer of Os Mutantes and a key figure in the Tropicalia movement, left a lasting legacy upon her passing in 2023. On the flip side, Dunaway's 'Supermarket' is a rare groove/AOR gem with a standout bassline, swaggering guitar, and lush strings, showcasing his talent as a composer and multi-instrumentalist. This release celebrates the enduring influence of Brazilian music.
Review: This a unique release that features a song that was released by two different bands during within the same year. The song 'Meshkalina' was by a psychedelic and prog band from Peru called Traffic Sound and then, soon after, by Latin duo Paco Zambrano and Reynaldo Murrieta under the name Paco Zambrano Y Su Combo. The latter version is more traditional and Latin while the Traffic Sound version is more psychedelic garage rock band-like. Two formidable and very different versions featured on limited splattered 7" vinyl.
Review: Fresh from dropping another essential seven-inch with his regular Sound Combo band, Misha Paniflov has joined forces with fellow multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee for a string of collaborative singles. This "45" sports two genuinely impressive cuts, each full to bursting with quality live instrumentation. It opens with 'Sigmund Jahn Bossa', a superb fusion of late 1960s library jazz (think Roy Budd's score for Get Carter and you're in the right ballpark), bustling bossa-nova and spiralling psych-funk. Over on the flip the pair continue to deliver lounge, influenced, tongue-in-cheek thrills via the cheap, Sideman drum machine rhythms, tumbling guitars, elongated Hammond organ chords and hazy backing vocals of 'Aquaria'.
Review: We really have a soft spot for the Four Flies late out of Italy. Their mix of world, Latin, library, jazz and plenty of other cultured in-between sounds always brings a smile to our face and dancers to our dance floors. This new 7" takes the form of a second single to be taken from Psyche's (aka Naples collective Marcello Giannini, Andrea De Fazio and Paolo Petrella) debut long player which is due in May. It's a compelling cut that offers a rich exploration of rhythm and the movements of an imaginary ritual dance. Synths and drums, guitar and bass and percussion all interplay delightfully.
Review: The Pambele band's debut album blends Afro-Colombian influences taken from their shared heritage with the vivid sounds of 60s psychedelic rock. It's a work rich in "Caribbean creolisation" with traditional Colombian percussion, joyful, rhythmic vocals and intricate guitar melodies all underpinned with wild organ tones. This powerful cross-fertilisation creates a transatlantic but also distinctly Caribbean sound that draws you into a world of exuberant musical atmosphere. The tunes often get you into a trance-like state while combining raw improvisation and dancey rhythms. It's an authentic escape to a very distant part of the world but one with a universal sense of rhythm that cannot be escaped.
Review: Modern psych master Misha Panfilov unleashes yet more fresh psych heaven under his new outfit Penza Penza, laying down the unbridledly satisfying new album Electrocolorized. In the words of its chief endorser Matt Chandler, the album is chock-full of Stax, Motown and Blue Note-esque notes, circling in and around the thematic cornerstone that is the funk jam, though not succumbing to its cliches and pratfalls. Finding joy in the imperfect - the sonic wabi-sabi - the likes of 'Der Himmel Uber Kakumae' and 'The World Of High Voltage Badgers' are instrumental exemplars of the vintage, basking in the style's psychic, sun-beaten buzz.
Review: Penza Penza, led by Misha Panfilov, is back with a fourth LP, Alto E Primitivo, which was recorded at private events in Funchal, Portugal, and Tallinn, Estonia. The album underscores Panfilov's genre-blending prowess on Detroit's Funk Night Records across 14 tracks that blend deep grooves, intricate guitars, and soulful rhythms from psychedelia to garage rock. The dynamic tracks showcase the groups' newly matured sound with refined production that will find favour with fans of Khruangbin and The Budos Band. Tracks like 'Wacky,' 'Pterodactyl,' and 'Boo Hoo Boogaloo' highlight their instrumental prowess while occasional distorted vocals add texture. Alto E Primitivo then is another gem from Penza Penza.
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