Various Artists - Explosivos: Deep Soul From The Latin Heart (Vampisoul) (2005)

A Latin Soul jukebox -- overflowing with great singles from the glory days of the Spanish Harlem scene! The vibe here is definitely on the dirtier end of late 60s Latin -- that groove that picked up plenty of funk and soul from other strands of the New York scene, and took it way way uptown where it was cooked up with a nice dash of salsa! And while there was certainly some work of the time that tried to cash in on the boogaloo groove and never really made the cut, the tunes on this set are all the real deal -- the hard-hitting numbers that stood out as some of the best cuts coming out from labels like Tico, Fania, Cotique, and Alegre. 

CD features a total of 20 great tracks, all of them cookers -- with titles that include "Soul Gritty" by Ralph Robles, "You Need Help" by Monguito Santamaria, "Deep" by Quetcy Alma, "Chicarrones" by The Latin Gents, "Fat Papa" by Charlie Palmieri, "Mama's Girl" by King Nando, "Chacon Pata Pata" by Chacon, "Get It Right" by Alfredito, "Apewalk" by Al Escobar, "Stand" by Harvey Averne, "King Of Latin Soul" by Joey Pastrana, "Kool It Here Comes The Fuzz" by Jimmy Sabater, and "African Twist" by Eddie Palmieri.

Tracklist:

01. Latin Soul Drive Is Here - Chollo Rivera & The Latin Soul Drives
02. King Of Latin Soul - Joey Pastrana
03. Psychedelic Baby - Joe Cuba Sextet
04. Stand - The Harvey Averne Band
05. I'm Gonna Leave You - Russel Cohen Y La New Yorkers
06. Soul Gritty - Ralph Robles
07. You Need Help - Monguito Santamaria
08. Kool It (Here Comes The Fuzz) - Jimmy Sabater
09. Use It Before You Lose It - Bobby Valentín
10. Fat Papa - Charlie Palmieri
11. Deep - Quetcy Alma
12. Electric Latin Soul - Flash & The Dynamics
13. Apewalk - Al Escobar
14. Get It Right - Alfredito And His Orchestra
15. Chacon Pata Pata - Chacon
16. African Twist - Eddie Palmieri
17. Lazy Boogaloo - George Guzman
18. Mama's Girl - King Nando
19. Hit De Bongo - Tito Puente & His Orchestra
20. Chicarrones - The Latin Gents

Download Link - Mediafire

Tipsy - Trip Tease (1997)/Uh-Oh (2001)

Tipsy first appeared on the San Francisco music scene in 1996 with a cartoonish mix of cut-up charity shop vinyl, twangy guitar and weird spacerock electronics.

Dave Gardner was an obsessive record collector who had gotten involved in the mid-80s avant/industrial/noise crowd in the San Francisco bay area, using tapes, record players, cheap samplers & broken guitars. He recorded a couple of albums and played with a dozen or so bands; during this time (while living at an art/music collective space) he first met Hawaii-born Tim Digulla.

Tim eventually moved to San Francisco, worked with robot performance group Survival Research Labs and recorded with the psychedelic spacerockers Imajinary Friends (on Bomp) before ending up with Naut Humon's Sound Traffic Control studio/soundsystem.

After hearing some low-fi cassette tracks mixing easy listening with harsh electronics that Dave was working on, Naut offered to sponsor an album on the then-new Asphodel label his wife had, and suggested Tim and Dave record together.

After a couple years work, they released the retro-lounge-themed TRIP TEASE (1997) which mixed cut-up exotica & electronics with real instruments in a slickly surreal, obsessively detailed way. By a lucky coincidence, it was released at the height of the brief lounge fad and turned out to be a surprise pop success, showing up in the background everywhere; indie movie soundtracks, international ads for beer, TV (MTV's Real World, the Sopranos, Sex in the City), the corner bar.

Working with producer/engineer/guitarist Alex Oropeza (Broken Horse, Tarnation), they recorded their next album, the excessively eclectic, dreamily cinematic, almost unclassifiable UH-OH (2001) with a set of renowned guest musicians, including classical percussionist William Winant, and the late Vince Welnick (Grateful Dead) among many others.

After years of changing membership, the live version of Tipsy eventually stabilized. In person, they are a much noisier, more unrestrained thing.

Download Link - Mediafire - Trip Tease (1997)

Download Link - Mediafire - Uh-Oh! (2001)

Ska Cubano - ¡Ay Caramba! (2006)

¡Ay Caramba! is the second album by London based group Ska Cubano. The band was brought together by manager Peter A. Scott, who "decided to create an alternative history in which Cuban ska had emerged". He travelled to Santiago de Cuba with Top Cats singer Natty Bo (Nathan Lerner) in 2001 and there they rehearsed and recorded the Ska Cubano album over a two-year period mainly with local musicians including singer Beny Billy (Juan Manuel Villy Carbonell).

In late 2004, Scott and Bo decided to go for a less Cuban sound and formed a line-up in London mainly using UK-based Cuban and other Caribbean musicians (three of whom were/are also members of Top Cats, Natty Bo's traditional ska band ). After some experimentation, with Natty Bo as leader and vocalist, the permanent core of Ska Cubano became :

Natty Bo (Nathan Lerner) - vocals

Carlos Pena - vocals and minor percussion

Beny Billy (Juan Manuel Villy Carbonell) - vocals

Miss Megoo ( Megumi Mesaku ) - alto and baritone saxophones

Trevor Edwards - trombone

Kico Cowan - tenor saxophone and flute

Rey Crespo (musical director) - double bass and marimbula

Jesús Cutiño - tres (Cuban 3x2-strung guitar)

Ernesto Estruch - piano, organ and violin

Oresta Noda - congas and pailas

Dr. Sleepy (Reuben White) - drumkit

Tan Tan ( Eddie Thornton ) - trumpet

Jay Phelps - trumpet

In 2006 Carlos Pena gradually took over as co-lead singer, although Beny continued to record and occasionally tour with Ska Cubano. Upon it's release ¡Ay Caramba!, was nominated for a BBC World Music Award in the "Culture Crossing" category. The album was described as "imaginatively crafted, brimming with melody, wit and a joyous fusion of rhythms, this album’s about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on". A statement which I wholeheartedly would second. Enjoy!

Leave it to a British band to combine Latin rhythms, Jamaican mento, and ska beats, all dressed in retro zoot suits. The group is fronted by Cuban vocalist Ben Billy and London-born singer Nathan "Natty Bo" Lerner, with Jamaican trumpeter Eddie "Tan Tan" Thornton, Japanese saxophonist Megumi Mesaku, and Havana bassist Ray Crespo. For the most part, the music is a surprising melange of Beny More-type vocals and upbeat ska rhythms made famous by The Skatalites, as evidenced by the snappy instrumental "Jezebel," the hypnotizing mid-tempo "Soy Campesino," and the humorous title track. Also included are the Colombian cumbia "Tungarara" and Miguelito Valdes' "Babalu." Before purists attach the gimmick flag to the ensemble's second CD, they should please note that a few of the creators of ska were born in Cuba, and since African descendants are the prime creators of Caribbean music, this effort represents a reunion of kindred rhythms.
-- amazon.com

"Altogether a triumph: if Ska Cubano didnít exist, it would be imperative to invent them, and these public-spirited musicians have saved the world the trouble. Sincere gratitude is in order."
-- SongLines

"A triumph of musical imagination!"
-- London Independent

Tracklist:

01 Istanbul (Not Constantinople) 02:34
02 Tabu 03:32
03 Oye Compay Juan 03:35
04 No Me Desesperes 03:34
05 Tungarara 03:50
06 Big Bamboo 02:59
07 Cachita 04:31
08 Soy Campesino 03:42
09 Jezebel 03:20
10 Marianao 03:52
11 !Ay Caramba! 03:02
12 Chispa Tren 03:22
13 Bobine 04:57
14 Cumbia En Do Menor 04:41
15 Natty No Dead 02:36
16 Jezebel (Instrumental) 03:18
17 La Boquilla 03:14

Download Link - Mediafire (.mp3)
Download Link - Mediafire (.flac)

Takeshi Terauchi & The Bunnys - The Singles Vol. 1 & 2 (2001)

Takeshi Terauchi (also known as Terry), is a Japanese instrumental rock guitarist. Terauchi started his career playing rhythm guitar for a country and Western act "Jimmy Tokita and The Mountain Playboys", which had bassist Chosuke Ikariya. In 1962 he formed his first group, The Blue Jeans. However, in 1966 he left the group and formed The Bunnys with whom he played. The band consisted of:

Takeshi Terauchi - lead guitar

Hiroshi Kurosawa – guitar, harmonica, vocals

Yoshiyuki Suzuki – guitar, vocals

Tatsuya Ogino – organ, vibraphone

Hajime Ono - bass

Tadashi Inoue – drums, shakuhachi

 

He won the "arrangement award" with the song "Let's Go Unmei" at the 9th Japan Record Awards in 1967. He left the Bunnys in 1968 and reformed the Blue Jeans in 1969 and the band has been active until today.

With The Bunnys he covered many popular genres, from garage, fratrock and surf guitar instrumentals, through sentimental ballads, via his own inimitable take on the popular classics. After pursuing his early rhythm guitar country style music Terry swapped to the hip new ‘eleki’ style in 1962, with the formation of The Bluejeans. The band’s 1964 LP KOREZO SURFING (‘This Is Surfing’) was a huge hit, enabling Terauchi and his wild whammy-bar stylings to support both The Ventures and The Astronauts on their Japanese tours. However, the coming of The British Invasion saw Terauchi jump ship to the vocal sounds, and he formed The Bunnys in early 1966. 

His self-referential songs included the December single ‘Terry’s Theme’ and the LP LET’S GO TERRY, which featured wild performances including their legendary mind death riffothon ‘Test Driver’. Then came Terauchi’s commercial masterstroke, an eleki version of traditional Japanese songs for the LP SEICHO TERA UCHI BUSHI, which included the hit single ‘Kanjincho/Genroku Hanami Odiri". Sales topped over 100,000 copies and made the LP the all-time best-selling Group Sounds album. With their street credibility less important now than sustaining a high level of commercial success, Terauchi unleashed the pitiable album LET’S GO CLASSICS, featuring eleki versions of popular classics. 

In 1968, when Terauchi quit his own band, he left them to record an instrumental version of the then popular HAIR soundtrack(!). And, as the Group Sounds wavered, 1970 saw the guitarist dressing as a WW2 Japanese commander and singing Japanese war songs in an ironic style on the LP ELEKI IPPON GUNKA DE SHOBU TOTSUGEKI. However, Terauchi had by now squeezed the last remaining drops of patience from his fans, and thereafter was forced to call it a day.

The following two albums are mostly surf guitar sounding and feature a collection of his singles from over the years. They are an interesting gem in the wide repertoire of musical sounds that constituted the sounds of the late 60's

Both albums are bundled into the same archive as each other for convenience sake. Enjoy.

Tracklist:

Bunnys' Singles Vol.1 - Little Devil (Akuma no Baby)

01. Terry's Theme
02. Test Driver
03. Irrevocable Vow
04. Dream In The Ocean
05. Kanjincho
06. Genroku Hanami Odort
07. Let's Go Dance
08. Shake No. 1
09. Rising Guitar
10. South Pier
11. Little Devil
12. Hey? You Stop !
13. Symphony No. 5
14. Unfinished Symphony
15. Al No Remember
16. Futari No Izumi
17. Taugaru Jaongarabushi
18. Dark Eyes
19. Czardas I

Bunnys' Singles Vol.2 - Taiyo No Hana

01. Taiyo Yaro
02. World Boy
03. Feedback Guitar
04. Omoide No Hoshizora
05. Taiyo No Hana
06. Seishun Wo Kakete
07. Let's Go Bugalu
08. Summer Bugalu
09. Tokyo No Sunset
10. Hono No Koi
11. Tasogare
12. Samishisona Shojo
13. Usukudara
14. Dark Eyes
15. Blue Star
16. Unchainned Melody
17. Jingle Bell

Download Link - Mediafire

The Ragga Twins - Step Out! (2008)

The Ragga Twins are the link between UK dancehall reggae, jungle and hip-hop. This is a retrospective of their classic (and now very rare) early tracks produced by Shut Up and Dance at the start of the 1990s.

The Ragga Twins (alongside producers PJ and Smiley, AKA Shut Up and Dance) revolutionised UK dance music at the start of the 1990s bringing Reggae and Hip-Hop styles together to create Jungle. As drum and bass approaches its 20th anniversary and as new developments such as Grime, UK Garage - and most recently Dubstep – create artists and producers who continue to cite Jungle as a pivotal moment in the UKs musical history, Ragga Twins Step Out, chronicles one of the most important groups of this time. The Ragga Twins (Deman Rockers and Flinty Badman) began their careers as MCs for North London’s legendary Unity reggae sound system. The Ragga Twins were born after Shut up and Dance sampled the pair’s introduction on a dancehall mix-tape and then offered them a deal. At the height of rave culture, The Ragga Twins found themselves playing at raves up and down the country. With one album (Reggae Owes Me Money) and a steady stream of killer singles over the next couple of years the Ragga Twins’ musical blueprint of basslines, breakbeats and ragga defined Jungle music in the years to come.

As well as a serious overview of The Ragga Twins tracks with Shut Up and Dance, this album also features the super-rare bonus tracks “Iron Lady” and “Hard Drugs”, dating back to their pre-Ragga Twins, Dancehall days with the Unity Soundsystem. The album comes with extensive sleeve-notes, photographs and interviews. Essential!

“Relive the early-90s Reggae-Rave Soundclash. High speed dancehall chat, tough breakbeats and dub-reggae spliced together to still-exhillarating effect” Q

“Before dubstep and grime there was drum ‘n’ bass, before that there was jungle and before that The Ragga Twins. A brilliant retrospective.” Guardian

Tracklist:

1. Ragga Trip
2. Illegal Gunshot
3. Spliffhead (Remix)
4. Love Talk
5. The Homeless Problem
6. Rudeboy
7. 18" Speaker
8. Tan So Back
9. Bring Up The Mic Some More
10. Juggling
11. Spliffhead (Original)
12. Hard Drugs
13. Shine Eye
14. Wipe The Needle
15. Iron Lady
16. Good Times
17. The Truth
18. Hooligan 69 Remix
19. Paro 69

Download Link - Mediafire