Colombia, one of the countries in the Americas with the richest musical heritage, comparable only to probably Cuba and Brazil, owes a lot of this richness to the African communities along its both coasts...

Bands like Grupo Niche, Guayacán and recent supertars such as Shakira and Juanes have put Colombia at the forefront of the “international” Latino movement. Strong elements of Colombian blackness is found in the music of all these artists. But this is nothing new. Luckily, Colombia for decades has been recording its local movements. Listening to this compilation is listening to that history.

The Afrosound of Colombia Vol 1 consists of 43 tracks taken from the Discos Fuentes archives. I have not heard a compilation as good as this for a very long time. DJ/Compiler Pablo Yglesias did not go for your usual selection but a greatly researched playlist, combining the rarest and funkiest tracks of four decades of Colombian black-influenced music - from Funk and Salsa to Bugalu and Cumbia - and featuring the who is who of Colombian music: Fruko, Joe Arroyo, Wilson Mayoma, Rodolfo y Su Tipica and some lesser know acts such as Afrosound (an Afro-Chicha band) and Wganda Kenya that are only familiar to collectors.

This is a must for DJs, dancers, collectors or anyone interested in Latino music. I could not recommended it enough, get a copy. I cant wait for Vol 2 to be out!

Favourite track: La Sampuesana (AfroSounds)

By DJ Jose Luis