Posts Tagged ‘sofrito’

Sofrito Tropical Soundclash!!!

Monday, February 15th, 2010

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As I opened my front door to a spine-chillingly cold blast of Arctic air this morning I found myself thinking ‘When the rass is this winter going to end?’ Thankfully, the warmth and wellness of an equatorial existence was closer than I’d imagined as my inbox opened and a warm breeze carried news of the next Sofrito Tropical Warehouse bash!

Those that know tend to know about Sofrito’s functions, their heavyweight bills, heavier dubplates and contrastingly light-footed crowds have brought them much attention on these shores and beyond. Add to that a scorching release schedule and a propensity for rooting out excitingly unknown locations for their events and you have all the information required to confirm your attendance at their next session.

March the 6th is a big one, here’s the blurb:

“For our first party of 2010 we are very proud to present an exclusive DJ appearance from QUANTIC alongside many special guests!

Taking control of an amazing new two room warehouse space in the heart of Dalston, we’ll be playing the best in hot and heavy Tropical sounds in a costeño style!

We are bringing together the peerless Family Atlantica (featuring Luzmira Zerpa and Jack Yglesias) and Quantic to present the heaviest Vallenato and cumbia sounds in an exclusive live set that you won’t be able to see anywhere else!  The raw sound of the Caribbean coast, bringing together Afro-Venezualan sounds and the folkore of Colombia.

All this alongside a live set from Afro Latin masters Drymbago, DJ action from Quantic himself and the Sofrito Soundsystem plus some special guests!

Tickets are £10 in advance (plus £1 booking fee)”

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So there you have it. Cheat winter and get your heat on. In the meantime, here’s a mix lovingly sculpted by the soft hand of Sofrito, taking in rhythms from Colombia, Benin, Trinidad, Angola as well as an exclusive track from Quantic’s Sonido del Valle project…

Download Tropical Warehouse Mix

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News: Tropical Funk

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

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Keeping it diaspora, but moving across to what Christopher Colombus (or ‘Christopher Colon’ as he signed his name) erroneously named the West Indies, we’d like to point you towards Sofrito’s site/blog where you’ll find details of their forthcoming Tropical Funk Experience CD lovingly compiled by Hugo Mendez. Anyone who’s had the pleasure of his audio companionship over the past few years, will know that this is an album definately worth checking. Having earnt his digging stars on numerous trips to Africa (birthing the Ghana Soundz series) and Latin America (resulting in the Panama! compilations), Hugo is adept at unearthing long lost nuggets of funk with a tropical theme. Having recently released two 12″ edits (feat. Frankie Francis and Simbad) aimed at a slighly more House/Disco crossover market Hugo’s latest Tropical Funk offering is the offspring of his recent trips to the Eastern Caribbean Island of Dominica where he dug hard and deep for long forgotten funk from the island’s past.

I’ve got relatives in Dominica myself and I’ve gotta take my hat off to him for this latest comp. I know from personal experience that vinyl records are pretty hard to come by over there…and licensing them….rather him than me! Anyway, click here to check out the album, here to read this in-depth interview with Hugo over at excellent music journal Musik Line and see below for a clip of Dominica carnival 2009 (big up WCK!) to remind you of what life can be like when the sun shines….

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