Ocote Soul Sounds- Taurus

Do you like your rhythms sweaty with a pungent dose of percussion? Do you wanna take a trip to exotic locales but don't have enough money for the airfare? Let Ocote Soul Sounds bring the Latin party to your ear steps. Adrian Quesada and Martin Perna, bandleaders of Grupo Fantasma and Antibalas respectively, spent downtime in Austin trading song ideas for an undetermined project that would eventually become Ocote Soul Sounds. Taurus, the duo's fourth collaboration, is loosely structured on the zodiac signs, with liberal doses of social and political commentary, sung by guests vocalists in both English and Spanish, providing the backdrop for groove oriented soundtrack pieces. Both of the musicians are American-born, Perna from Philly playing Afrobeat revival and Quesada from Laredo, TX playing Latin music, so their bastardized mix of genres provides a comfortable, yet refreshing stylistic blend.

Buy this record to accompany a bloody mary as you read the NY Times Sunday travel section.

www.ocotesoul.com

Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers- Heat!

I think the album's name has had a subliminal effect on me because I can't help thinking about the summer streets of 125th and Adam Clayton Powell in Harlem when listening to this late 60's slab of funky Latin soul. The busy percussion of the ever-mingling crowds, the darting horns of traffic flow, and then there's the Heat!, enveloping, relentless, ultimately forcing you to slow your pace and engage your senses before succumbing to the hallucinatory elements while you search for ways to quench that exquisite thirst. This record pretty much sums up a typical summer day in NYC for me.

Buy this record when the sidewalk melts and the shaved ice truck is in sight.

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pucho_%26_His_Latin_Soul_Brothers