Chusma At Juno Download

Review: This is an intriguing EP all round. Penned by Melbourne-based producers Moses and Soup under their Cumbia Cosmonauts moniker, Tribal Amazonica mixes the distinctive rhythms of Cumbia with the cut-up electro pulse of Buraka Son Sistema and the raw power of contemporary bass music. It's a unique but irresistible combination, particularly on the Man Recordings-ish title track, which should impress the likes of Sinden and Gilles Peterson. The Cero39 remix of "Troposphere" switches to triple time and sounds like some mental global fusion, but it's undeniably fun. There are also two free taster tracks, too, including the delightful melodies and cut-up riddims of "Cumbia Theme".

Review: Following recent teaser single, Tribal Amazonico, Melbourne's Cumbia Cosmonauts (aka Moses and Soup) now deliver their eagerly awaited long player. You know you're in for an intriguing ride when opener, "Colombia", fuses lolloping tropical rhythms with twangy 50s guitars. Beyond that Australia's first cumbia act give us the manic dubstep influenced "Radio Africa", eccentric xylophone joints, "Troposphere", monged-out electronic dub "Amor", anthemic cumbia, "Our Journey To The Moon and Back" and various bonus mixes, including a remarkable hyper afrobeat one by Galambo!

Review: He's been around for years but only now has Camilo Lara decided to call a tune "Mexico". Props for that. A less imaginative producer would've gone for that years ago. In fact a less imaginative producer wouldn't have come up with the great music Camilo comes up with. His first new material in over two years ago, "Mexico" is based on a sombre minor rhythm and blues riff with some of the saddest horns you've heard since that great trumpet mass suicide in 1989. The chorus might be sing-long but the tone of the Spanish lyrics suggests something much deeper than Camilo's previous party joints. A beautiful statement of intent.

Review: Not a week goes by without some kind of DJ Vadim release. This one has a killer back-story: Vadim and Spanish musician Mendoza were all set to release this EP some years ago. However the master copy disappeared on a flight to Peru (a virus also put paid to the back-up files). It seemed all was lost until by chance Mendoza heard his songs being played by a Peruvian bootlegger, which lead to shady meetings with all kinds of backstreet characters, eventually resulting in the release of this quality fusion of Latin vocals and hip-hop beats.