Tags: Latin

Review: Having thrown somewhat of a creative curveball with the launch of Latin and soul-centered project Sol Set, John Beltran hands over the Detroit collective's debut album Ola De Novo to a list of impressive global talent for the remix treatment. Kiko Navarro, Kaidi Tatham, Blair Frech, Ezel, Cee ElAssaad, Chris Coco and John Beltram with John Arnold all line up to do their duty, incorporating the sun kissed, percussion-heavy and exotically instrumented vibes into their more house and techno productions. Highlights include Cee ElAssaad's remix of 'Get Away', its gloriously optimistic vocal retained and re-purposed over light and nimble beats, and Chris Coco's dubby slow motion samba take on 'Linda Sau Paulo', but like the label says, it's All Good

Review: James Gallardo & Sol released their collaborative debut album in 1975 in a burst of bright colour and next-level musicianship. There's a fiery, rockist spirit running through the over driven guitar cartwheeling through "Maranatha", but there's equal space for measured grooves and Gallardo's expressive horn playing. Mellower moments like "Patrice" let in a more soulful side of the project, while "El Que Se Fue" nods to the Latin roots of Sol. Expansive, bold and inventive, this is a treasure for jazz funk heads, marking the first official repress since the first copies slipped out many moons ago.

Review: This is a new compilation album by the German DJ and producer Rainer Truby, coming as the sixth installment of the Glucklich series, which aims to showcase the best in contemporary jazz and jazz-adjacent music on an international scale. It's the latest to top up a longstanding series, which has been going since 1994. What one might call nu-jazz, broken beat and nu-soul appears across as string of contributions from the likes of Kyoto Jazz Massive, Nicola Conte, Jazzanova, Quantic and more on this slinky curator's gem.

Review: Eagle eyed diggers might have spotted Camarao Orkestra's excellent Nacao Africa 12" single dropping last year on Favorite Recordings. Now the promise of that single has been followed up with this wonderful album - a scintillating blend of Latin jazz, funk, samba, Afrobeat and much more besides. The playing is second to none, not least the gorgeous Rhodes on "Dia De Verao", and the energy pivots nimbly across these seven tracks to make for a varied but cohesive listen. Uptempo "Guerreiro Yoruba" is an infectious stomper, while "Copacabana" captures a cool 70s funk vibe that wouldn't sound out of place on a Rufus & Chaka Khan record. With the title track bringing the perfect laid back party flavour too, there's a lot to savour on this album, not least while the sun is shining.

Review: German DJ and producer Rainer Truby first unveiled the Glucklich series of compilations way back in the 90s, when fusions of Brazilian music, jazz, soul, funk and electronic were making their very first commercial splashes. This reissue of the sixth edition of the series, first released in 2003, hears 14 tracks of nu-Brazilian groove by the likes of Azymuth, Marcos Valle, Sabrina Malheiros and Celia Vaz. You're not likely to hear a psychedelic acid downtempo version of 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine' anywhere else any time soon.