Guest Mixes

MIMS Guest Mix: New Regency Orchestra (TRC + ¡COMO NO! / London, UK)

Ahead of their first London show since playing the main stage at We Out Here, this coming Friday at London’s Colour Factory, we are excited to share a special mix by TRC founder and NRO curator Lex Blondin celebrating the musical influences of London’s premier Latin jazz big band, New …

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Exclusive Premieres

Exclusive Premiere: Raúl Monsalve y los Forajidos “Cafunga” (Forthcoming on Olindo Records)

Something is cooking. Afro-Venezuelan rhythms meet James Brown inspired funk on “Cafunga” by Raúl Monsalve y los Forajidos. Over hip-shaking bass guitar, big brass chords and the beat of the clarín drum, we hear how to make the best cafunga, a very old Afro-Venezuelan recipe made with plantain and cheese. …

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Forgotten Treasures

Roberto Roena Y Su Apollo Sound “II” (1970, International/Fania)

About eight years ago a good friend (shout out to Hector) and I put together a mix as a promo for a store we had established back in Orlando, Florida. Rather than handing out flyers, we felt it was more effective to make some mixes and add a commercial at …

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Forgotten Treasures

Forgotten Treasure: Ray Barretto “Que Viva La Musica” (1972)

Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls had “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project as their intro music. Puerto Rico’s 1972 Island wide Basketball champions, Colegio San Antonio in Isabela, had “Que Viva La Musica“. My father was the starting point guard that year. Decades years latter when I was a …

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Forgotten Treasures

Forgotten Treasure: Los Yorks’ “Cielo” (1967)

As a Latin-American Uruguayan girl, contributing to a North America-based website, I feel the need to re-discover and share with you some music from my surroundings. A few miles (2000) away from where I live is a country called Peru. You may instantly think about bright strong colours, markets, people chatting loudly, …

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Forgotten Treasures

Forgotten Treasure: Cortijo & His Time Machine “Y Su Maquina Del Tiempo” (1973)

Music is the greatest time and space traveler so when the snow and cold of New York has me needing to be somewhere warmer, I always turn to Cortijo. Rafael Cortijo’ career spanned over 50 years and countless genres. The beauty of Cortijo was his ability to balance the traditional …

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Forgotten Treasures

Forgotten Treasure: Eddie Lebron “Ghetto Records presents Eddie Lebron” (1970)

Every record digger has albums that simply elude them. Doesn’t matter how many rat feces infested basements they rummage through or how many pounds of sweat they have lost digging through piles upon piles upon piles of Herb Albert albums, certain albums just seem to never show up. Ghetto Records …

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Forgotten Treasure: Joe Bataan “Singing Some Soul”
Forgotten Treasures

Forgotten Treasure: Joe Bataan “Singing Some Soul” (1972)

Joe Bataan, the Afro-filipino vocalist and self-proclaimed King of Latin Soul has released many classic records during an illustrious career that includes 15 albums covering a variety of musical stylings from Boogaloo (Subway Joe) to Disco-Rap (Rap-O-Clapo). However even if Bataan is famous for uptempo dancefloor hits (Latin Strut), I …

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In Memoriam: Raphy Leavitt – Puerto Rican composer, founder of “La Selecta”

I first heard “Jibaro Soy” on the “Pa’lante! Siempre Pa’lante” documentary about the Young Lords Party back in the day. As a kid who was strictly a Hip-Hop head I had no idea who was singing on the track. I actually thought it was Celia Cruz due to the singer’s …

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Mix of the Day: Daptone Podcast by Christian Martir

I was honored to have been asked by Daptone Records to do a mix for their Podcast series. It was the first time a “non-soul” mix was featured, so I had to represent. The mix goes from straight guaguanco to mozambique to plena. Essentially the soul music of Puerto Ricans. …

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Forgotten Treasures

Forgotten Treasure: Eddie Palmieri “In Concert At The University Of Puerto Rico” (1971, Coco Records)

After watching Eddie Palmieri perform last week, I posted a picture on Instagram with the caption “I want to put Eddie Palmieri in a time capsule. So in case thousands of years from now Puerto Ricans no longer exist and they speak of us like they do of lost civilizations, …

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Dj Mixes

Mix of the Day: Discos Alma “Pana-Soul”

Latin rythms have influenced music throughout america but less is discussed about Soul music’s influence on latin music. Panama is a region overflowing with some of the finest latin soul ever put to wax but to put together a full mix of these songs is quite a digging feat indeed. …

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