SARA TAVARES - Xinti (2009)

Great sunshine Soul from Sara Tavares, brimming with Cape Verdean guitar licks, angolese rhythms and warm portuguese vocals!! Sara never sounded more intense like this startling collection of songs, packed with surprises that displays how progressively richer and more expansive Sara Tavares vocal repetoire has become since her previous album!! Her songs are lyrcial, sensual and more textured. They are intimate but also wrapped in irresistibly funky rhythms drawn from the Cape Verdean, african, brazilian and caribbean diaspora!!

Tracklisting:

1. Quando Dás Um Pouco Mai
2. Sumanai
3. Ponto De Luz
4. Caminhanti
5. Pé Na Strada
6. Di Alma
7. Bué (Você É...)
8. Keda Livre
9. Só Imagina
10. Minino
11. Voz Di Vento
12. Exala
13. Fundi Ku Mi
14. Manso Manso

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QUANTIC AND HIS COMBO BARBARO - Tradition In Transition (2009)

Quantic really blows the roof off with this one, taking us even farther on a musical journey than ever before, and making us bow to his mighty talents in ways we never expected!! The album's a really unique session recorded in Colombia, with help from an international batch of musicians and studio talents, a wicked extension of the Latin grooves that Quantic added to his funky mix a few years ago, but with far more sophistication and live instrumentation than he's ever used before!! This album's not just a simple blend of Salsa elements and funky grooves, and instead, it's a richly complicated tapestry of music, one that not only draws from colombian sounds, but also some of the more sophisticated aspects of other Latin American scenes too, no surprise, given that performers here include Alfredo Linares on piano, Freddy Colorado on congas, Fernando Ovejo Silva on bass, Angel Hernandez on trumpet, and Arthur Verocai on arrangements. Mighty Malcolm Catto is on deck with some heavy drums, and most of the instrumentation here is acoustic, and richly varied throughout. Sublime, amazing, and a record that wins us over way more than we ever might have expected, and dammit, we already had a hell of a lot of respect for Will Holland!!

Tracklisting:

1. The Dreaming Mind (Pt. 1)
2. Mas Pan
3. Linda Morena
4. Undelivered Letter
5. Un Canto A Mi Tierra
6. Mambo Los Quantic
7. Albela
8. New Morning
9. I Just Fell In Love Again
10. Cancao Do Deserto
11. Arianita

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ZAP MAMA - Re-Creation (2009)

The Zap Mama groove is alive and well, almost the new creation promised by the title, and a leaner sort of style than you'd expect from previous albums!! As before, the lead vocals of Marie Daulne are the main focus of the set, and they're set up here in a hip blend of contemporary beats and world music influences, kind of a trans-global groove that crackles with lots of post-colonial energy, and some nice contributions from guests who include Tony Allen, Meshell N'Degeocello, G Love, Bilal and Vincent Cassell!!

Tracklisting:
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1. ReCreation
2. Vibrations
3. Singing Sisters feat. Sabine Kabongo & Sylvie Nawasadio
4. Hello To Mama
5. Do You Wanna?
6. The Way You Are feat. Bilal
7. Paroles Paroles feat. Vincent Cassel
8. Drifting feat. G. Love
9. African Diamond feat. Me'Shell Ndegeocello & Tony Allen
10. Harlem
11. Togetherness
12. Non, Non, Non feat. Vincent Cassel
13. Chill Out

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