Wild, psychedelic, salsa-spiced, Peruvian cumbia.

In the late 1960s, the coastal city of Paramonga, just a three-hour drive north of Lima, gave rise to a vibrant music scene shaped by surf, rockabilly, and tropical sounds. Blending cumbia with guaracha, salsa, and guaguancó, and emerging styles like chicha —with their psychedelic guitars, Fender amplifiers, hot percussion, and wah-wah pedals —  Los Orientales would shape the musical identity of the region.
Drawing from the LPs Con Sabor Tropical in 1972 and Tremendo Ritmo the following year, plus numerous 45s, this is a comprehensive review of the sound and spirit of Los Orientales de Paramonga at their peak.

‘You’re never too old to learn something new. Reed credits bebop with keeping him and his friends out of reform school because they were too busy listening to records to get into trouble. Finding fame as a writer, he returned to music circuitously, eventually taking the plunge at aged 60 to study jazz piano. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006 he hastily assembled a quintet to fulfil a lifelong ambition of recording an album. He made the record (and recovered). Cash-strapped during COVID, he became a composer to generate funds money for his plays, enlisting his daughter Tennessee as narrator. 
‘These humble origins and a genuine love and natural talent for music are what underpins The Hands Of Grace.  Consisting of works written for Reed’s play The Slave Who Loved Caviar alongside new original compositions, it brings in close friends and family to accompany his casual, unvarnished playing style that’s so genuinely heartfelt it feels as if you could be sat alongside in their living room. The music carries a lived-in simplicity yet it also holds something ambiguous that draws it away from the predictable. Music papers rustle, a living room chair is dragged up to the keys whilst Reed’s wife Carla contributes violin and daughter Tennessee recites her poetry on standout How High The Moon.  This is a poignant family affair with no-one left out, ending on a touching tribute and voicemail from their late daughter Timothy.’

Surveying 1974-1978 at King Tubby’s studio, with Scientist in particular coming through. Randy’s and Channel One rhythms — Anywhere But Nowhere,  No No No — featuring the likes of Robbie Shakespeare, Lloyd Parks, Sly, Carlton Barrett, Augustus Pablo, and Chinna. A bouquet of exclusive cuts, only issued once before, in the mid-nineties, by Zola & Zola.

Max’s masterpiece & prime Upsetter.

The only LP by this vocal trio; originally out on Creole in 1985. Recorded at Dynamic Sounds and Music Mountain; produced by B.B. Seaton.
Glads and Culture vibes.

Masterfully produced by Niney in 1979, the same year as Bobby Bobylon.

Twenty-one songs, running right back to 1971: assured, lovely, intelligent, good-humoured singer-songwriting, mixing up Americana, folk, pop, art rock, and gentle experimentalism.

Originally released in 2007 this redux edition includes new masters from a recently found pristine tape reel and was remastered by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Mastering in Portland, OR. Revised artwork;  extensive liner notes by Arthur’s partner Tom Lee.

From seventies Guinea-Bissau, a captivating, poignant blend of anti-colonial militancy and the knot of homesickness, regret, loss and melancholy at the heart of saudade. Sung in Guinean Kriol, and reviving traditional musical genres like Gumbé, lavished with jazz, Latin, funk and general dancefloor nous, José & Cobiana Djazz went down a storm nationally, hugely influencing local bands like Super Mama Djombo, and hailed by giants like Orchestra Baobab, Letta Mbulu and Miriam Makeba (with whom Zé Carlos recorded his only solo album).
Lua Ki Di Nos, The Moon Is Ours, is a mixture of thumping, blistering high-life, with burning horns and mesmerising guitar lines, for dancing, and sublime, swaying, moodily contemplative body-rockers. The mournful Na Kolonia, for example, is knockout. Locked up for his politics on Ilha das Galinhas, a few miles off the coast of Bissau, the singer wonders what has become of his friends. ‘Where is Sara? Back at the colony. Where is Saidu? Back at the colony. Uncle Malam, tell them not to cry, not to suffer. One day we’ll be back in Bissau, a day that is slow to arrive. Our brothers from Bissau, don’t forget about us. If you think that we’re dead, we haven’t died, we’re waiting here.’
Ace.

The CD is from Fontana / Decca France; with a sixty-page booklet.