Vampi Soul Spain Vinyl & CDs

Review: Tito Puente's classic 'Guayaba' has been rerecorded by a plethora of artists over the years, but it's safe to say these two covers by Sonora de Lucho Macedo and La Logia Sarabanda are among the best. In their respective versions, we find two proper dancefloor shakers for all tropical heads out there, recorded under the influence of the early 70s Latino rock. Here Vampi Soul reissue this precious gemlike cut, with the two versions never paired together before, on 45 for the first time.

Review: Peru has enjoyed a thriving and exciting music scene since the mid-1960s. Bands such as Los Saicos, Los Shain's, and Los York's, to name just a few, released a number of brilliant records that drove young fans crazy and set an example for many to follow. The end of the decade brought about an evolution in sound and new music, as Peruvian bands kept an eye on the groundbreaking British and US artists. One of them was Traffic Sound, founded in Lima in 1967. Over a very short period of time the band managed to successfully develop their career, and by 1971 their Latin influences had overpowered the psychedelic prog vibe of their previous records. The song became a local hit and several versions were recorded by different Peruvian artists. On the other side of this single we find Black Sugar, a Peruvian band considered to be a pioneer group in Latin America in mixing funk influences with rock and Latin rhythms. In 1976, following their gig at Coliseo Amauta in Lima, opening the night for the legendary Spanish band Barrabas, they started to show a growing interest in disco music, resulting in some line-up changes with members leaving the project due to their lack of interest in the new sound and new ones joining in. Their own take on 'La Camita' was released in 1978, and adds a modern twist to the original song.

Review: Cumbia or chicha is a richly and widely infused sound that brings together a multitude of influences. It has styles from Colombia and Cuba, plus Western influences including the likes of 60s beat and psychedelic rock, plus an exotic array of indigenous melodies from the Amazonian jungle as well as a weakth of traditional Andean songs. The music that realists is vibrant and vivacious and packed with life and is all perfectly showered here on this superb new collection of tracks by the most important bands of the golden age of the sound.

Review: Vampisoul have always been loyal purveyors of Latin cumbia music, but no release so far has documented their love for the genre with quite so much commitment and dedication as their latest, Cumbia Cumbia Cumbia! This selection of 24 Colombian cumbia bangers is made up entirely of deep hauls salvaged from the deep-sea doomsday vault that is Discos Fuentes, the best remembered label of the golden age of the genre. Highlights from Combo Sampuesano, Lucho Campillo, Los Candelosos and Rodolfo Aicardi Y Su Tipica Ra7 make for a thoroughgoing, raw OG's cumbia favourite, with all tracks naturally carrying that original Fuentes flair and authenticity that could have only come from the genre's '60s and '70s heyday.

Review: Latin funk music's best and brightest recollector-reissuers Vampi Soul continue to do what they do best with this latest reissue of the debut self-titled album by Zulu. One of the last great albums of the first wave of Peruvian rock,and originally released in 1974, Zulu was infamous for its linking of psych-tinged rock with Afro-Latin American beats and folk pop. The enigmatic Zulu (real name Miguel Angel Ruiz Orbegoso) was best known during his lifetime as a member of the bands Traffic Sound and Los Nuevos Shain, but his only solo album commands a unique aura as a numinous rarity, immediately pre-dating his latter-career immersion in the religious community. Reissued for the first time with the collaboration of Zulu, including extensive liner notes and one extra track, the likes of 'Si en el cielo yo viviera', 'Laberintos' and 'Candela' are pastoral gems of folk-cumbia and salsa, playing back with a level of sensitivity and texture that could only be born of a worthy spirit.