stimulating the economy - june edition

I went music shopping at the fetus this weekend and picked up a couple of new CDs and one old one.

First up is The Alchemist Manifesto by Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada. For those that don't know this is an offshoot of Antibalas co-directed by Adrian Quesada from Grupo Fantasma. I didn't notice until I got the record home that it was released on ESL, but despite that I was expecting more of a mix between the latin sounds of Grupo Fantasma and the afrobeat sounds of Antibalas or a kind of Harlem River Drive feel. That is not what you get from this album. For anyone familiar with the ESL sound you will not be surprised or disappointed. Loungish, latin-influenced mellow grooves that are perfect for summer and will probably be added to soundtrack of coffee shops and wine bars all over.

Next up is the Nigeria 70 Lagos Jump comp. Where the first Nigeria 70 comp focused almost exclusively on Afrobeat and Afro-Funk, this new comp includes more Highlife in the mix making it more of a kindred spirit to the Lagos Chop Up comp on Honest Jon's. I am a big fan of all the sounds represented on this comp and from this era in general, but I am not knowledgeable enough to give much more info that could be easily found with a simple web search. Suffice to say that if you enjoy Afrobeat and Highlife from the 70s you both know what you are getting with this collection and you know you need it. Awesome summer sounds.

The in my triumvirate of CD purchases is Hootenanny by the Replacements. Since all their Twin Tone records have been re-released I found my self a used copy of the remaster from just a few years ago. I will be honest that it is not my favorite Replacements album (that is a tie between Let It be and Pleased to Meet Me) but how can you go wrong with any album that includes Color Me Impressed and Within Your Reach?