Monna Bell & Aldemaro Romero - La Onda Nueva

This is the second time this cult little monster has been reissued, but we didn’t feature it last time (no one did, anywhere) and we all feel a bit guilty about it. This hot slice of Latin-fuelled joy has remained a well-kept secret since its inception in 1970. We won’t go into names and line-ups here, but what we will say is that this is one of the most sublime clashes of sound, cultures and talent we’ve heard in years. Traditional Mexican music sung by sexy Chilean vocalists and arranged by a fairly eccentric Venezuelan may sound like a musical mess but, believe us, it fuses together like a wild salsa sauce, a type you’ve never tasted before, and once you’ve had a mouthful you want lots more. A breath of fresh air, an uptempo celebration of many things: is it Latin? Is it jazz? What the hell is it? Well, just buy it, love it and work it out for yourself.