Top 10 World Music Sales for the week of July 20th-26th

1. V/A – Analog Africa No. 5: Legends Of Benin
2. Mahssa - Vol.1-Oyun Havasi
3. V/A - Sound Of Wonder!
4. V/A - Panama 2!
5. Amadou & Mariam - Welcome To Mali
6. V/A - Rudo Y Cursi Soundtrack
7. Goran Bregovic - Welcome To Bregovic
8. Joyce - Visions of Dawn
9. Selda - S/T
10. 11 albums tied at 10



Top 10 World Music Sales for July (so far)

1. Mahssa - Vol.1-Oyun Havasi
2. V/A – Analog Africa No. 5: Legends Of Benin
3. V/A - Panama! 2
4. Bebe -Y.
5. Chico Sonido - S/T
6. V/A - Black Rio 2 : Original Samba Soul 1971-1980
7. Eydie Gorme - Cantan En Español
8. V/A - Sound Of Wonder
9. Goran Bregovic - Welcome To Bregovic
10. 4 albums tied at 10

Do to an unforeseen glitch in the Amoeba Hollywood database, the mix CD by Amoeba Hollywood’s very own Mahssa was accidentally omitted from all the World Music charts up til now. A thousand apologies go out Mahssa and all those who have been deprived of her Middle Eastern Psychedelic mix CD, Oyun Havasi Vol.1. Released by B-Music in May, this tasty treat of Turkish, Persian and Arabic Psyche rockers could serve as a guide to explore the many gems hidden in Amoeba Hollywood’s Middle Eastern section. Only drawback to the mix CD is there is no track list. So if you love the sound of Turkish Rock and Iranian Psychedelic Folk, one has to dig, just like Mahssa has. No cheating allowed!

Speaking of B-Music, the latest installment in their Finders Keepers series is Sound Of Wonder!, focusing on Pakistan's little known-to-westerners “Lollywood” sound. What is Lollywood, you say? Lollywood was a tongue in cheek term made up in the late 80’s by Glamour Magazine gossip columnist Saleem Nasir because the Pakistani films that rivaled the Bollywood films were all filmed in the city of Lahore…get it? The Pakistani film industry thrived, much like India’s film industry, but had little success outside of Pakistan’s borders. The music on this compilation sounds like a low-fi, spaced out version of Bollywood music with more edge and Urdu lyrics. Most of the tracks on this compilation are done by composer M. Ashraf and singer Nahid Akhtar, with one track containing the legendary Noor Jehan, the legendary Pakistani singer who recorded over 10,000 songs in her lifetime and was the first female Pakistani film director. Of all the Finder Keepers releases, I feel this one is their strongest to date. Also available on LP.

I tend to go on and on about Mas Exitos and Chico Sonido, so I won't bore you too much. Chico Sonido has turned into one of my favorite deejays. I've been to clubs where he is spinning with deejays with big names and he is blowing them out of the water. His vinyl collection runs deep.

What makes Chico Sonido unique is his mixture of obscure covers en español with the funkier side of Spanish language pop music from the 60-80's. Top that off with some Cumbia and Spanish Dancehall and damn, you got a party! So now you can take that party to your home, car or gym. Better yet, take it to your tiá's house and have her take you through memory lane! "cuando estaba joven..."

Chico Sonido will have his debut album out very soon. I'm sure it will be a funky Mexican freak-out for sure. Meanwhile, you can get his mix CD, Paisadelic, by clicking here.

In anticipation of Chico Sonido’s DJ set for Worldwide Underground. I wanted to post up some of my favorite videos. What does this have to do with Chico Sonido? Well…he, along with his crew of DJ’s Ganas, Enorbito, Hoseh & Lengua, have a night called Mas Exitos. They describe Mas Exitos as “a bi-weekly event that traces the connections between the music made on both continents of the Americas. Think of it as a National Geographic documentary on sound that will take you from the Andes of Peru to the East Side of LA. From fuzzy cumbias, to funky jazz oddities, to psych freak-outs and janky beats...”

I call it the best DJ night currently in L.A. The next Mas Exitos happens 8/12
@
The Verdugo Bar
3408 Verdugo Rd.
Glassell Park 90065
Free


Anieto Molina "La Cumbia Sapuesana"



El General "Muevelo"