Ary was the most celebrated of those singers and songwriters emerging from Belem do Para in the 1950s, with deep Afro-Brazilian roots. He kick-started the sixties with his best LP Aqui Mora O Ritmo, The Rhythm Is Here. One year later his album Cheguei Na Lua (I Landed On The Moon) revealed his passion for space travelling and for the moon in particular. He released one LP per year till he left RCA in 1966. He made a ton of money and lived notoriously large.
The sleeve-notes of his 1958 debut Forro Con Ary Lobo are quick to nail his accomplishment: ‘An absolute master of Baiao, Coco, Batuque and other related musical genres, and the owner of an art one hundred percent his own, Ary Lobo is the ideal
interpreter of northeastern songs.’

Also sub-titled ‘Kinshasa/Brazzaville 1969-1982’.
‘These new sounds emerged at a time when the Congolese record industry – previously dominated by European major labels – was experiencing a period of decline due to rising production costs.The void was filled by dozens of entrepreneurs willing to take chances on smaller scale releases. It was the beginning of a golden age for Congolese independent record labels, and the best of them – Cover N°1, Mondenge, Editions Moninga, Super Contact – preserved the work of some of the region’s finest artists, while launching a generation of younger musicians into the spotlight.
‘Congo Funk! is the story of these sounds and labels, but also it is the story of two cities, separated by water but united by an indestructible groove. The fourteen songs on this album showcase the many facets of the Congolese capitals, and highlight the bands and artists, famous and obscure, who pushed Rumba to new heights and ultimately influenced the musical landscape of the entire continent and beyond.’

‘Returning from Paris home to Côte d‘Ivoire in 1974, Ernesto began looking for like-minded musicians to form the mighty Ziglibithiens. Diabo Steck (drums), Bamba Yang (keyboards & guitar), Léon Sina (guitar) and Assalé Best (saxophone) would become the core of the group and together with Ernesto they began thinking of ways of combining the rhythms and chants of the Bété people together with makossa, funk and disco. He called his experiment Ziglibithy and his first two albums — recorded at the EMI studios in 1977 in Lagos and released on the Badmos label — took West Africa by storm, turning Ernesto Djédjé into an icon overnight, and one of the all-time legends of African music.
‘The song Zighlibitiens, brought to Colombia by an aeronautical mechanic in the early 1980, would become a huge hit on the Caribbean Coast. Renamed El Tigre by locals soundsystem operators, it attained holy-grail status in Barranquilla and Cartagena. Setting fire to innumerable local parties, it has become one of the most sought-after albums in that part of the world. And so while Ziglibithy has mostly disappeared from the airwaves of its country of birth, on the other side of the Atlantic, its fire continues to shine bright.’

‘The city of Belém, in the Northern state of Para in Brazil, has long been a hotbed of culture and musical innovation. Enveloped by the mystical wonder of the Amazonian forest and overlooking the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean, its Amerindians, Europeans and Africans pioneered musical genres such as Carimbó, Samba-De-Cacete, Siriá, Bois-Bumbás and bambiá.
‘There was a radio station, a recording studio, a music label and a deep, cross-genre roster of artists. Beginning as simple gramophones connected to loudspeakers tied to lamp posts or trees, the aparelhagem sonora of Belém evolved into sophisticated setups, drawing thousands of revelers.
‘The music and tales found in Jambu are stories of resilience, triumph against all odds, and, most importantly, of a city at the edge of the Amazon which has always known how to throw a damn good party.’

‘The area’s best club music from the mid-‘70s, an exuberant, carnival-esque mishmash of local carimbó and siriá styles with big-band brass and frenetic Afro-Latino percussion. Best of all there are the three hip-swivelling cuts by Pinduca, founding father of lambada and king of Carimbó’ (Q).

The full Analog Africa treatment at last for the star of their Legends of Benin compilation, back in 2009. A thrilling, utterly unique blend of Agbadja, Cuban fon, jerk, highlife, and other African rhythms, sung in Fon, Mina, Yoruba, French, English, and Spanish,
Warmly recommended.

An insurgent blend of rock, rumba, soul and traditional grooves.
Including never-before-released recordings by legends like Thomas Mapfumo and Oliver
Mtukudzi, amongst many others.

The kind of expert, dancefloor-attuned compilation we take for granted from this label; with a generous fanzine-style booklet, stuffed with snaps and interviews. That opening track, though, is one step beyond… Bim!
LP back at last.

Bangers drawn from the bootleg compilation LPs — ‘pirata’ — which were all the rage in 1980s Mexico City, The hottest, rarest hits from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and beyond — edited, tweaked, EQ-manipulated and pitched-down, to suit the sonideros running the city’s mobile soundsystems.