Comments on: soundway comes alive!

By: Daniel, Esq.

Daniel, Esq. — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:29:41 +0000

The full song “Dreams” is available on the attached Podcast, at basically the 51-minute mark. Trust me, it’s everything I thought it was, and it wakes up that sleepy podcast of polite “world music” with some bite and groove. Check it out:

http://worldservice.podomatic.com/

By: Daniel, Esq.

Daniel, Esq. — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:15:06 +0000

Joe, have you sampled the new Soundway comp (Panama! 2)? I raved about Song No. 9 — “Dreams,” by The Duncan Bros. — on yesterday’s new arrivals thread, but I’m repeating it again here because I can’t stop listening to it. It’s hypnotic (and the tenth song — a cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine” — is almost as good (and sounds better to me than the original, frankly)). Link below.

http://www.emusic.com/album/Various-Artists-Panama-2-Latin-Sounds-Cumbia-Tropical-amp-Calyp-MP3-Download/11464653.html

It’s received some solid reviews: http://www.flyglobalmusic.com/fly/archives/latin_america_reviews/va_panama_2_latin_funk_and_cal.html (“Back in the 70s, Latin-electric guitar was Carlos Santana (in Europe anyway) but I now know that I need the funky-twang of The Duncan Brothers”).

By: Daniel, Esq.

Daniel, Esq. — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:39:13 +0000

That first Soundway disc was my gateway-drug into the Nigeria 70s compilations. But I think my absolute favorites from that genre/era are the two Strut compilations (Nigeria 70 and Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump), with the Nigeria Rock comp close behind. That rising, dreamy organ in the chorus of “Dododo (Ekassa No. 1)” (on Lagos Jump) is perfect.

Another one I’m dying to hear is “African Scream Party,” on the Analog Africa label (not on eMusic, unfortunately).

And can we talk about how awesome it is to have the Honest Jon’s label on eMusic? The Arab music comp “Open Strings,” is a revelation. I like how the guitars swerve from hard and dry to watery and textured. Hoping more Honest Jon’s titles debut here.

By: joe

joe — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:39:20 +0000

Hey Daniel -

I have a soft spot for the first one, but Nigeria Rock is a close second. I like the Disco one, too, but not quite as much. But for my money, the best of the SoundWay comps is the TP Orchestre PolyRythmo comp. Just amazing, kinda psych-y, really percussive — I keep hoping something by that group will show up on eMusic, but no luck yet.

The constant temptation for me is to drop the $40 it would take to get these things on vinyl. I haven’t caved…yet.

By: Daniel, Esq.

Daniel, Esq. — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:44:50 +0000

Hey, Joe! What’s your favorite of the Soundway Nigeria comps? At the moment, I’d say Nigeria Rocks. You can’t deny dreamy cuts like “Chant to Mother Earth,” with that coiled serpent of a guitar line and the echo-y wordless vocals on the chorus (tho, TBH, there aren’t many “dreamy” songs on the disc; mostly, it’s sizzling (psych) rock-funk).

By: porieux

porieux — Sat, 30 May 2009 01:23:12 +0000

awesome label

By: Tom Hilton

Tom Hilton — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:58:29 +0000

The trailer is great–basically a 5 minute history of Panamanian music.

As far as my musical taste is concerned, Soundway has the best batting average of any label–4 for 4, so far.

By: joe

joe — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:09:44 +0000

Hey, Daniel! So the way I understand it is that the label is in a state of “re-boot” right now. They mentioned that they did, indeed, have digital rights to the older titles — Ghana Soundz, etc — but (much like the Nigeria Special discs), we have no idea when we’ll see ‘em on the site. My guess is that one day we’ll all log in, and there they’ll be.

By: Daniel, Esq.

Daniel, Esq. — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:00:17 +0000

Awesome! Thanks, Joe. Not to be greedy (I haven’t even digested the three new Soundway discs we recently received), but is there more on the way from this label?

BTW: Picking up the Honest Jon’s label — also awesome.