“Here Come The Lords” Mix by the Salsa Brothers (Christian Martir & Safe Stadick)

If there is one thing I’ve always respected about Sociedad Records’ Christian Martir is his unwavering commitment to culture specifically his own patria of Puerto Rico. Wether its through informing us about the past here on MIMS or releasing incredibly important records on Sociedad Christian takes the uptmost care in representing his culture’s complexity and impact in his own words.

He has teamed up with Safe Stadick (forming the Salsa Brothers) for an ambitious mix in celebration of the legacy of The Young Lords, 1960’s / 1970’s political organization which fought for the liberation of all people. From the opening lines and the sick rework of the Ghetto Brothers ”Viva Puerto Rico Libre” I knew this mix was going to be special. I have tried myself to dabble in vinyl-political mixes but this has set the bar extremely high. Amidst its important objective, the mix is really funky and well paced. For the rest ill let your ears do the listening and Christian do the talking.

“The Young Lords were able to capture the soul of the people.” explained Christian Mártir who along with Safe Stadick provide the release the perfect musical compliment to put proper context to the meaning of The Young Lords. “This is clear in the way they mobilized thousands of people to act in collective action for the various causes they represented. These ranged from occupying hospitals and churches to better serve the community to even occupying the Statue of Liberty and draping her with a large Puerto Rican flag calling for the release of political prisoners and the independence of Puerto Rico. They were able to do so because of their strong connection with the people.”

The mix keeps in line with the Young Lords use of music as a way to create dialogue. As Christian explained “One of their greatest tools was their use of culture and in particular music to bring people together. Felipe Luciano, their president, was an original member of The Last Poets and best understood the power of culture to empower people. He would go on to host various concerts which featured everyone from Eddie Palmieri to Willie Colon, Hector Lavoe and Ray Barretto.“

Safe Stadick wanted to make sure the sounds were as powerful as the revolutionary times “I wanted to capture the overall vibe of the era. The revolutionary dialogue that was happening everyday definitely seeped its way into the texture of the mix”. This was a time when the whole country was ready for change and many of the artist were directly speaking to that. “One of the songs I put on the mix” said Safe “by Frankie Dante talks about what he would do if he was president. I think its dope the way the artist were as much a part of the conversation about change as was the community. I think that was what made the people love them more, because they felt there wasn’t any separation. Their struggles and hopes were one in the same.”

Another point to mention is that the mix was all vinyl. Both DJs take great pride and are amongst the best when it comes to their vinyl collections. “We had to represent with the all vinyl selections to make sure we kept it authentic and properly represented the era we both love” said Safe. In selecting his songs for the mix Christian explained “The songs I chose represent the soul and sound of the era the Young Lords ruled the hearts and minds of the people. An era which saw the flavors of El Barrio move the world.”

Tracklist

1. Young Lords Intro
2. Ghetto Brothers “Viva Puerto Rico Libre”
3. Brooklyn Sounds “Chango Santero”
4.Eddie Palmieri “Justicia”
5. Ray Barretto “De Donde Vengo”
6.Tony Pabon “Soy Boricua”
7. Joe Bataan “Fuego”
8. Orquesta Dee Jay “Yemaya y Obatala”
9. Willie Colon “El Malo”
10. El Barrio Interlude
11. La Conspiracion “Tengo Poder
12. Orquesta Revolución 70 “Llego La Revolución”
13. Paul Ortiz & La Orquesta Son “Despierta Puertorriqueño”
14. Frankie Dante & Orquesta Flamboyan “Presidente Dante”
15. Toro “Going to Borinquen”
16. Tempo 70 “Sing Sing Sing”
17. Eddie Lebron “Te Lo Dedico”
18. Orquesta Capri “Lo Que Soy”
19. Orquesta Harlow “La Revolución”