Thanks to one super super blog (Bass Music blog) I discovered another super super blog (Cooliado) with some super music and thing. Grab the mix recommended on the Bass Music blog for the reasons stated, a really interesting mix of techno-minimal-house which drops into neo-cumbia and finishes with The Doors. It was mixed by Un Mono Azul who was amongst the winners of the Fauna remix competition held by ZZK Records.
The inclusion of Faithless, Ricardo Villalobos, Animal Collective, Fauna, Missy Elliot, Renaissance Man, Kraftwerk and The Rapture all in one mix should be enough to wet the appetite!
Karatekazulu?
The blog is full of good stuff and if you can wade through el español then there is a good read to be had and a some excellent music.
In their own words:
Congratulations for sniffing basslines. it's a good way to blow your mind. I wanna see you injecting yourself with harmony.Cheers
ZZK Records have just published the results of the Fauna Remix competition from a few months back. The tracks chosen are a mixed bag of remixes and cut ups from of the five tracks from La Manita de Fauna album by a group of relatively unknown artists.
Go check out the site and download the 10 remixes chosen by members of the ZZK crew. It introduces a whole host of new artists to get into; a whole afternoon's worth of Myspacing!
I am a fan of the Lagartijeando sea-shanty-cumbia remix of Las Mil Caras:
Diego Bulacio aka. Villa Diamante from Villa Diamante (a barrio of Lanus, Bs As) is set to release Empacho Digital on the 24th of June via ZZK Records. It is a mega compilation of more than 40 mash-ups and mixes available for free download from the 24th: Diamante Style and ZZK.
Disc one pairs some of ZZK's most known artists with anyone and everyone, e.g. Chancha Via Circuito vs Nelly and Intoxicados made cumbia! Disc two is a dubstep crossover inspired by Daleduro, one of the few dubstep producers/DJs in Bs As, and unites big tunes from big name dubstep producers with latin american artists. (Benga's anthemic Night meets Juana Molina?!) The third and final disc is a tribute to Rock Nacional Argentino in a way you have never heard before. Bound to offend Rock Nacional purists and down the line hip-hop heads alike for it's wonderfuly unimagineable pairings: (Abuelos de la Nada vs O.D.B. Charly Garcia vs Busta Rhymes!?)
This really is an "anything goes" affair, original in it's concept and execution. Empacho Digital is a statement on the mash-up culture, as Diego says on his site, the disc has "the intention of reflecting the excess of information that the internet era has brought about, it is no longer a privilege but rather a nuisance. We are in the age of hyper-communication and the possibility of having everything at the touch of a button."
Here is a little interview (in Spanish) with Villa Diamante, though it was filmed a while back you can see where he is coming from:
Another month passes and it is time for another Rhythm 'n' Roots mix. This time inspiration came from the latest ZZK Compilation and includes four tracks from the album as well as a few other ZZK tracks from other releases and a whole host of great music drawn from my collection and new discoveries from scouring the internet. It has lots of rhythm and lots of roots for the arrival of summer in the northern hemisphere and winter down here in the southern.
Another trip out to ZZK and another excellent night with King Coya the invited guest DJing/showcasing his new album. He was joined by La Yegros providing live vocals. The multi-talented man behind King Coya is Gaby Kerpel who produces and DJ's cumbia electronica under King Coya, appears alongside Julian Gomez under the El Trip Selector pseudonym and produces/sings/composes under his own name.
I did a bit of research on Snr Kerpel and found some interesting trivia. He got into music production while working for two renowned theatre groups(La Organización Negra y De La Guarda) where he was in charge of producing the sounds and music for the experience. He is also the brother of Anibal Kerpel who, alongside Gustavo Santaolalla, has produced albums for some of the biggest names in Latin American music (Molotov, Café Tacuba, Juanes, Julieta Venegas, Árbol etc etc.) They also co-produced Gaby's album Carnabailito.
Gustavo Santaoalla
On a side note, Santaolalla is famed for his work on film soundtracks. He composed the soundtrack for Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Motorcycle Diaries (winning a BAFTA) and won two Oscars for Brokeback Mountain and Babel. Quite the mentor then?
Last night was a taster for Kerpel's new album Cumbiasde Villa Donde as King Coya and it sounded fantastic! Though I could count ZZK's releases on one hand (Chancha Via Circuito, Fauna, El Remolón, the compilations) judging on the quality of these, King Coya's forthcoming album is much anticipated!
In the meantime here is a King Coya Remix of Petrona Martinez's Un Nino Que Llora en los Montes de Maria. Save Petrona Martínez's story for another day!
After heading down to ZZK's weekly extravaganza last night I grabbed a copy of their latest compilation album; ZZK Sound Vol.2. I am currently giving it the first listen and have to say I am impressed, the sound is progressing, it is not just stuck on Cumbia with electronic beats. There are of course some great sounding electronic cumbia tracks such as Uproot Andy's Brooklyn Cumbia but it is far more diverse. Another snapshot of what is going on in the southern hemisphere.
The styles are all over the shop and a fine and intriguing shop, bit like an antique shop: full of stuff. There are tracks which passed me by and then there are tracks which grabbed me and said: LISTEN!!! Which is obvious given it's size (19 tracks - value for money or what!) Give it a listen on ZZK's webiste where you can download individual tracks. I also snapped up the previously mentioned Chancha Via Circuito album, also recommendedededed!
I have picked two examples here for your listening pleasure but there is MORE, much more. You can buy the album (MP3) from ZZK themselves here: ZZK Volume II and apparently Amazon (they are going up in the world!) Though it says 23rd June is the release date? Hmmm. Watch this space, or ZZKs.
I just picked up the latest copy of Los Inrockuptibles, the best mainstream music magazine I have found in Argentina (feel free to enlighten me.) Inside there is an article all about the tropical electronica scene, of course concentrating on the ZZK crew, a good introduction to the scene covering all the bases. Anyway, on the second page they list the artists which are making the scene what it is today (shining in it's own light...) here it is:
A couple are new to me, worth checking them out, especially Chancha Via Circuito whose album Rodante is packed full of exciting music for trains and nightclubs.
This blog was set up in Argentina after discovering a world of music and the wonders the internet can offer. It is run by myself, part time student, music lover and hispanophile.
Please get in touch if you anything to say or would like music which appears here to be removed: rjperkins1@gmail.com
Karatekazulu?
