Our favourite Venezuelan polymath Alex Figueira is back with another full length album of burning hot ‘tropical’ psychedelic dancers. For once, he doesn’t do everything himself, inviting the members of the live incarnation of his Conjunto Papa Upa band to bring their instrumental magic to his ever-improving songwriting and vocal chops. With over two dozen genres mashed into this Latin music charged feast, ‘Fruta Madura’, has fire, wit and groove in its belly. Read / Listen.
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Empanadas Ilegales 'La Danza Del Vampiro' (We Are Time) - preview
The Canada-based psyche-cumbia outfit Empanadas Ilegales have a new live album out in April that showcases their irresistible party-starting chops but for now we have this zinger of a first single to enjoy. 'La Danza Del Vampiro' buzzes and vamps with energy and unhinged groove. Read / Listen
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Coco María presents Club Coco ¡AHORA! The Latin sound of now (Bongo Joe) - a review
The acclaimed DJ and radio host Coco María has curated a second compilation of contemporary Latin sounds for Bongo Joe but this time she has passed her cultured eye over the more untamed pan-global proponents of the music and it is brilliant! With contributions from Truth & Lies favourites Alex Figueira and Acid Coco via tracks from scene godfather Eblis Álvarez and wild grooves from Guess What and Candeleros to moments of joyful melody from Las Mijas, this is an essential record for lovers of Latino or tropical psychedelic sounds. Read / Listen.
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Alex Figueira 'Mentallogenic' (Music With Soul) - a review
Considering the amount of other projects he has headed, it is surprising how it is only now that we have a debut solo album from the Tropical-Punk auteur Alex Figueira! Written, performed and recorded over a nine day sleepless session, the Venezuelan Amsterdam-based one-man bandito has created an hallucinogenic funk album that draws as much from African, Caribbean and South American music as it does weirdo European cinematic and krautrock ingredients. Read / Listen
Read MoreEmpanadas Ilegales 'Luna Modular (Creepy Mambo Single Version)' - T&L PREMIERE!
We are pleased to premiere an exclusive single version of ‘Luna Modular’ from the Vancouver based psychedelic cumbia and salsa outfit - the hilariously named Empanades Ilegales. On the eve of the release of their second album, ‘Creepy Mambo’, it has that infectious psyche-surf-cumbia abandonment of acts like Meridian Brothers and is sure to shake those hips hard! Read / Listen / Buy here..
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Elijah Minnelli 'SLATS' (Breadminster County Council) - a preview
Elijah Minnelli creates dub that effortlessly brings cumbia, western and eastern folk idioms into the sound and it is brilliant. His new single is out in August on the Breadminster County Council label. Here is a preview. Read / Listen
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Various Artists 'Color de Trópico Vol. 2' (El Palmas Music) - a review
A top shelf compilation of impossible to find music from Venezuela’s boom years (1966 - 78) touching on cumbia, salsa, folkloric and even localised versions of Fela Kuti and Desmond Dekker to get you moving and smiling… Read / Listen here
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Various Artists 'Covers 3' (Tru Thoughts) - a review
Tru Thoughts bring out the cover versions once again in the third installment of their ‘Covers’ series and there are beauties within. Hot 8 Brass Band, Quantic, Mark de Clive-Lowe, sUb_modU and J-Felix amongst many stirring up the ingredients and coming up with something fresh! Read / listen….
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Deep Stuff on Music and Life with Acid Coco - an interview
Acid Coco are a white hot new duo hailing from Colombia whose first singles off their forthcoming long player on El Palmas Music have been getting plenty of radio play from us here at T&L with their hybrid of tradition and stripped down electro shock sounds. We couldn’t think of anyone better to interview them than our man in Dominican Republic - Mauro Ferreiro.
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