Type: Compilation
Genre: Lounge/Chillout/Ethnic
Date: 2004
Quality: MP3 VBR (~203kbps), Joint Stereo
Label: Union Square Music / OCHO
Size: 213MB
Ripper: BPM
Covers: No
Description:
AGENT DU MONDE
THURSDAY – 7.00PM
SAGRADA FAMILIA, BARCELONA
A breather at Barca’s funky cathedral, halfway through a jamon baguette. That dude Gaudi had a mad imagination for buildings, kind of twisted but brilliantly constructed, a bit like the music here on THE BARCELONA FILES. An interesting mission, this one, with no end of surprises – so many musical toriadors out there injecting some "aurora Espagnola" into their music!
Started my mission in Paris – I had been tipped that the flamenco energy was ‘Solar-powered’ in the romantic capitale, courtesy of Solar Sides, two Espagno-philes holed up in their studio designing some dastardly flamenco fusions. At our Charles De Gaulle meet-up, they handed over an exclusive piece fresh from the studio - the ultra-chilled ‘Estrella Do Mar’ - along with their broken classic, ‘Organic Duende’. Supersolarsonic!
Jetted off to Barcelona and hooked up with a molto bella chicita called Marina – told me about her combo Ojos De Brujo, which evidently means ‘Eyes Of The Wizard’. And she certainly had me spellbound – some bellissima Espagnola dance fusion! Marina knew everyone. I arranged a rendez-vous with Nando, main dude from Lumbalu – Colombian cats based in Barca mixing Espagno beats with lyrics telling of their homeland’s history. Sharp like Freddy Kruger. Or Axel Krygier, for that matter, Barca’s hot new twisted jazz kid. Some simmering Barca business from him on this album. Worth checking his other music - straight from the Planet Zorg. His label, Hi-Top, are right on top of their game and labelmate Javi P3Z even numbers Coldcut amongst his fans. Talking of ‘the game’, had to feature the dynamite ‘Futbol In’ - pure football carnivale recalling the days of Rossi, Kempes and Maradona – gooooooaaal!
Encountered some other interesting studio hermits. Pep Llado is more known for his animated film scores but this beautifully mellow guitar-drenched piece surfaced through Barca’s Cool Sound Music. Intriguingly, I also discovered many Barca musicians with interesting facial hair. Long-standing Barca beatniks Polvorosa go for the ‘mad beard with stetson’ look, backed up with true Electro-Latino goodness. By now, I was thinking, ‘So much talento Espagnola. But what of the Divas...?’ Sure enough, I was soon introduced to some guapa chicas, including Digitano’s amazing Eva Duran. Oozing hot digitalia energy with DJ Juanjo Valmorisco – Juanjo calls the music ElectrOle (!) - she shook my maracas from the start. Listen to ‘Donde quiera que estes’ and experience the magic.
Juanjo set up a series of meetings with DJs. Mentioned Miguel Picasso - like his namesake Pablo, he’s made some abstract classics, mainly for Madrid’s Weekend Records and ‘Southern Nights’ is a soothing Miguel moody masterpiece. Lentejitas, which I think is Spanish for ‘chocolate sweeties’, are also in the Weekend stable and DJ Bomba from First Recordings slipped me a padded envelope with his ‘Esuma’ epic, a big one for those mellow trance cats.
I quickly warmed to the UK’s Dr. Rubberfunk too – international jetsetter and DJ of slippery styles – drops everything from Biz Markie to the Beta Band in his sets. Got hold of his ‘Latin Player’ – featuring great guitar work from hot strummer Jim Oliver and some nice crispy beats. Turns out that even back home in good ol’ Great Britain, they’re burnin’ the flamenco flame if you look in the right places. Take London label Defected, throwing the Barca beat into the mix with the classic ‘Guitarra G’ by G Club & Banda Sonora. Bumped into some guys from loose fit combo Up Bustle & Out – they’ve consistently pushed some fluid funky pieces out there and are now serious advocates of the latinista vibe. And I was surprised to see that even drum & bass embraces guitarra goodness. DJ Suv divides his time between Spain and the UK these days and it shows – ‘Flamenco Cybernetico’ is immersed in ‘La Passionara.’ .
Discovered that it’s not all about the young pretenders, either. Take guitar daddy Pepe Habichuela. A long-standing maestro of flamenco fusions, he most recently tried India as a musical bed-mate. And it works – the Bollywood Strings guest here for a beautful piece. And while we’re on ‘the older generation’, hearing those original beach café classics on my trip brought back preciosa memories. Some think they’re a load of old Balearics but, upon hearing Sueno Latino, my hands were in the air as that old Manuel Gottsching melody drifted through the sun rays. The old Rey De Copas classic ‘Frontera Del Ensueno’ sounded great too with its new re-rub and I found out that the old fox Raul Orellana is still around, another name from yesteryear’s ‘smiley’ days, still wielding his funky flamenco axe.
Solar Sides’ French connections led me to the European mainland. Stopped off in Switzerland – and there was no hint of fromage anywhere. Veteran DJ Dany Le Rouge passed me a fresh tape of a nifty musical tapas he’s been working on. Brand new and exclusive. Journeyed onwards to Germany – my old friend, Rainer Truby, laughed when I asked about any German / Barca connections. His Truby Trio project had spawned their first album and the main single was the supremo Gypsy groove of ‘Jaleo’ . Right on cue!
As always, the Italians wielded some molto bene music - the masters of Spanish influences within chilled, loungey soundscapes. Pure Italiano romantico! Francisko from Mystic Diversions passed me the beautiful ‘Beneath Another Sky’ and Tito Rossell and Carles Sanchez, a.k.a. Stigmato, Inc. hit me with the sublime ‘My Deep & Magical Ambient’ from ‘93. They’ve been composing great film and ad music for enough years and boast a Barca connection with their singer, Danna Leese. Washington-born but now a Barca babe .
To prove that this music is now truly international, I was put in touch with DNA. An Italian and an Argentinian on an American label with a track called ‘Turkish Flamenco’. Bring it on! Another great team mixing DJ culture and proper musicianship. And the Barca links go much, much further. Had been told of some Espagnola gold as far afield as the Land Of The Rising Sun. Tucked away in Tokyo is electronic mastermind Joe Takayuki, aka No. 9, purveying his own intricate soundscapes – check ‘For Sister’ for an undiluted electro siesta-scape.
From the East to the East Coast and As always, New York can never be ignored. My assignments to the Big Apple have always thrown up open-minded music and Zeb, of Codek Records fame, is more open than most. Drawing on Afro, Arabic and latino styles, he also cut ‘Brasilenco’ for Italy’s Irma label. Canada too makes an appearance – top Toronto R&B vocalist Jazmin joining Face for a flamenco / dance hybrid on electronic uber-label Om Records.
Another mission completed. Think I’ll stay in Barca a few more days – a short break before my next mission to Marrakesh. Now that will be very interesting...
Agent du Monde
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THE RETURN OF AGENT DU MONDE... Union Square Music’s globe-trotting, cutting edge musical super-sleuth and all-round class act continues on his mission to uncover prime nuggets from the world’s dance music melting pot. The second mission sees the Agent touching down in Spain for THE BARCELONA FILES.
MISSION #2: BARCELONA. Featuring some of the hottest new Spanish beats and freshest flamenco flavas, the album covers a wide range of styles from the Truby Trio’s jazz beats and Ojos De Brujo’s unique fusions to Up Bustle & Out’s quirky funk and DJ Suv’s intricate drum & bass stylings.
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The finest barca beats and hottest flamenco flavas including
anthems,rarities and exclusive unreleased tracks.
CD1 Downtempo:
01. Ojos de Brujo – Ventilaor R-80
02. Axel Krygier – Yuelan las Hojas
03. Dr. Rubberfunk – Latin Player
04. Pepe Habichuela & The Bollywood Strings – Yerbaguena (Oriente)
05. Lentejitas - Te Alejabas De Mi
06. Miguel Picasso - Southern Nights
07. Digitano feat. Eva Duran & Nano Garcia - Donde Quiera Que Estes
08. Solar Sides – El Duende Organico
09. Mystic Diversions – Beneath Another Sky
10. Up Bustle & Out – The Dance Of Caravan Summer
11. No. 9 – For Sister
12. Stigmato Inc. – My Deep And Magical Ambient (Guitar version)
13. Raul Orellana feat. J. Bonell – Entre Dos Aguas (The New Millenium Chill mix)
CD2 Uptempo:
01. Truby Trio feat. Concha Buika – Jaleo
02. Javi P3Z Orquesta – Futbol-In
03. Lumbalu – Te Van A Matar
04. Rey De Copas – Frontera Del Ensueno (Jerez de la Frontera mix)
05. DJ Bomba & J. Paolo with Shovell’s Percussion Frenzy – Esuma
06. Jasmin & Face – Flamenco Fusion
07. G Club presents Banda Sonora - Guitarra G (Chill Out mix)
08. Ojos De Brujo – Tiempo De Drumba
09. Suv – Flamenco Cybernetico
10. DNA – Turkish Flamenco
11. Polvorosa – El Amor Se Demora
12. Zeb – Brazilenco
13. Sueno Latino – Sueno Latino
14. Brother O’D – Sleek Jack
15. Solar Sides – Estrella De Mar (Chill Sunblock mix)
VA-Agent_Du_Monde_Pres_The_Barcelona_Files-OCHODCD017-2CD-2004-BPM.rar