Caja Y Guacharacha

Mixed by Quantic

I do love these mix cds put out by Mochilla.  On this one, which is a single track lasting 45 minutes, Quantic mixes up some very nice examples of traditional cumbia music from Colombia and Panama.

It's similar to his mix of Ethiopian music, Addis to Axum, which came out over a year ago.  I'm finding myself more and more drawn to Latin American music; perhaps it's just a nice accompaniment to the ridiculous heat we've been enduring of late, but this mix feels very right on days like today.

I would like to be able to discuss this piece in more detail, but unfortunately, since I don't know much about this type of music, I'd rather limit how I expose my ignorance.  This is a very nice companion to Madlib's Speto da Rua Brazilian mix for the same label.

Cartagena!

Curro Fuentes & The Big Band Cumbia and Descarga Sound of Colombia 1962-72

In terms of sheer enjoyment, and the warmth of the big band Colombian sound, you can not do better than this 19-track compilation from the wonderful people at Soundway.

Curro Fuentes was a prolific producer in the Colombian scene during the 60s and 70s, working for his family's Discos Fuentes label, and later for Philips.  This disc gathers together a number of the best examples of Fuentes's oeuvre, and as usual, presents them with exhaustive liner notes (of which I'll admit I haven't bothered to read much).

This album really swings, and I've had it in pretty steady rotation for a while now.  I don't know too much about the South American scene, but this compilation makes me hungry to learn more.