KOTJ Radio | Episode 3: Sonido Del Principe - Arriba Las Manos!

Head honcho of Generation Bass, Sonido Del Principe has been most people's window to the world of cumbia, kuduro and pretty much all non-western music for the past couple of years. Their persistence in uncovering lost gems and relative unknowns has made the GB crew one of the more impressive bloggers.

So in light of that sycophancy, Sonido Del Principe has kindly contributed a mix of his favourite beats and pieces. Drawing together elements of cumbia, baile funk, kuduro, hip hop, bassline, dancehall and grime; this upsettingly good mix features everything from 2Pac to Neil Landstrumm.

This wasn't going to be the next episode of the series but with summer's being what they are I just had to post it before the sun went away and all the pretty ladies starting wearing their thick duffel coats again. That, I will not stand for.

So tuck in, head over to the Generation Bass blog and show them some of that special lovin' us bloggers love.

KOTJ Radio Episode 3: Sonido Del Principe by Kickoutthejam on Mixcloud

Tracklist:

01. Le Freak Selector - Get Hi Cumbia (SDP Refixx)
02. La Verdolaga (SDP Refixx)
03. Sonora – Ciclone (DJ Melo vs. SDP Remix)
04. Sonidero Nacional – Eresparami (SDP Refixx)
05. Orion & DJ Dusty– Mal Creada
06. Negra Navidad – SDP Refixx
07. Lewis Can Cut vs. SDP – CanCumbia
08. O.B. – Steal Ma Flow (SDP Remix)
09. Neil Landstrumm vs. SDP – Por Todos Las Chicas
10. The Peronists – La Haitiana (SDP Remix)
11. Stephan Bodzin – Bremen Ost (SDP Remix)
12. Moodymann vs. SDP – Detroit Riot Cumbia
13. Daniel Peixoto feat. Carol Texeira – Flei (SDP Remix)
14. Tupac Shakur vs. SDP – Dear Mama
15. Sonidero Nacional vs. Jay-Z vs. SDP – Roc Boyz Cumbia

http://www.myspace.com/sonidodelprincipe
http://generationbass.com

Download: KOTJ Radio Episode 3: Sonido Del Principe

Sonido Martines

I don't know very much about Los Destellos, but I've been getting into Cumbia a little recently having read the blog that Sonido Martines contributes to alongside DJ /rupture, La Congona.

Martines, known for his ability to fuse hip hop and funk with latin and cumbia, is based in La Paz, Bolivia and he can always be relied on to take obscure and often old Cumbia tracks and making them very dancefloor-friendly.

Like vampisoul explains:

"The metamorphosis of cumbia turns it into a genre that seems to voraciously cannibalize acoustic traditions and modern technologies. There wasn’t an innovation that tropical guitarists didn’t add to their sound: delay, fuzz tone, overdrive, wahwah, reverb, modulating effects typical of rock bands are assimilated into a stunning sonic cocktail.

"In this context, cumbia reached the top of the charts in popularity. Cumbia replaced rock as the urban sound. The groups would slowly develop an ethnic sensibility inspired by native Shipibo motifs and an astonishing and bewitching sound that seemed to drink from all the mysteries, secrets and myths of the jungle."

Download: Los Destellos - Elsa (Sonido Martines Remix feat. Fefe)

DJ Donna Summer - Raw EP

Just as 2006 belonged to electro, 2007 and 2008 to dubstep, and 2009 to bassline, so too will 2010 belong to UK Funky. So what better way to kick off the year in funky (even though it's March, for fuck's sake) than to review DJ Donna Summer's first release on Nightshifters in 2 years?

I wouldn't say I'm a convert yet, but the possibilities within the genre have been opened up to me. Tracks like 'Wood' remind me of the old glitchy records that tigerbeat6 used to put out back in the day. The percussion-oriented tracks seem to allow for more irregular time signatures, which is encouraging, but the RnB element that never seems to die still exists in funky. Which is gay.

You can always rely on Donna Summer to do something exciting with a genre or style of music. Hopefully, the jungle element will come to the fore and BPMs will go up again. He's bagged a good bunch of producers for remix duties as well: Noise Floor Crew and Hostage deliver as expected, and Bok Bok delivers what some are describing as his best tune yet, but Sonido Del Principe are the surprising little gem with a Cumbia-inspired take on Funky.

Stand out tracks: Raw, Wood, Fighter
Download: DJ Donna Summer - Fighter

Title: Raw (NS013)
Artist: DJ Donna Summer
Out now on Nightshifters

Grab it at: Beatport, iTunes, Juno Download

DJ Donna Summer - Raw EP

"Nightshifters label head Jason Forrest is back with a vengeance as DJ Donna Summer! Hot off his Pitchfork-approved remix for The Arcade Fire, he’s here to shake asses and (gasp!) even make you think a little bit. 'Raw', his first EP for Nightshifters and first release in 2 years, is filled with syncopated drums, far-out bass, and hybridized house organs to take you well into the next morning.

The title track “Raw” is an expansive bass tune with enough sexual innuendo to keep a nun awake for a week and 'Fighter' an explosive house-dubstep 1-2 punch that will surly call for many rewinds. 'Back' is caught between deep house organs and a touch UK Breaks, whereas 'King' uses Forrest’s Star6 iPhone app to shred police sirens over a driven beat. But it is the surprise last minute addition “Wood” that really pushes the boundaries between dubstep, house, and proto-Jungle! Save it for your year-end lists!

And then we have our remixes! Emerging UK star Bok Bok delivers what we think is his finest tune to date with a remix of 'King', which builds from an organic organ melody to a massive crescendo. Sonido Del Principe surprises with a deep, raw Cumbia mix that is sure to turn heads, and the Noise Floor Crew from Chicago go deepest with the lowest bass line we’ve yet to hear. Lastly our Scottish hero Hostage shows up in fine form fresh from his live BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix with Annie Mac."

You can grab a copy at Beatport, iTunes and Juno.

Download: DJ Donna Summer - Raw :: DJ Donna Summer - Back (Yobkiss Remake)

Cumbia: Scorchio!

Good old DJ /rupture's been busy of late preaching the gospel according to Cumbia and working on new material with Matt Shadetek on a new 12" that comes out very soon and features DJ Kiva and is sure to include Cumbia deliciousness.

DJ /rupture is one of those really solid artists you can really rely on to put out forward-thinking, intelligent music; from jungle to hip-hop and ragga. And on top of all this, he runs a radio show on WFMU that you can catch up on by clicking on that link over yonder. You should definitely listen to the most reason show because it opens with a tune by Einstürzende Neubauten, which makes him sexy by my count.

He's also a really prolific blogger and always has a lot to say about Cumbia on Negrophonic and La Congona, particularly so on the latter. It really is one of the only places to read about Cumbia, and /rupture's an incredibly well-versed teacher. If it isn't the only place to read about Cumbia, it's definitely the best.

Oh, and he asked me to ask you to ask yourselves to add him on Twitter. If you know what a Twitter is his username is @djrupture. Then, once you've done all of those things you should download the following track by Grupo Estrella:

Download: Grupo Estrella - Muevelo