For their follow-up to Panama!, the tireless Brighton globetrotters point their compass to Colombia and the whopping archives of Discos Fuentes, the country’s largest record label, minted in 1934. Attention is focused on its golden years, 1960-76, and the riotous cumbia, champeta and salsa they produced.
Perhaps indistinguishable from their Brazilian cousins to untrained ears (such as these), these sounds exemplify the boundless passion for music that’s often found in supposedly less ‘developed’ countries – so much more a way of life than for us rather sterile, indiscriminating consumers. The set jumps with over a dozen orquestas flailing barrages of percussion and blaring horns, every clash and blast ringing with purpose.
Thanks largely to the efforts of labels such as Soundway, these once ignored world music sleepers have seen value hikes of up to 50-fold – collectable stuff indeed. Try a fantastic, life-affirming sampler on the cheap.
