Shin Miyata and I have been friends for over ten years. He owns a record company called Music Camp Inc, which distributes such labels as Six Degrees and Nacional Records in Japan. But if you ask him, his true love is his own subsidiary label called Barrio Gold, dedicated to reissues of classic Chicano Rock and Soul artists as well as new Chicano artists coming out of the barrios of East L.A, San Francisco and Texas. Back in 2006, I was fortunate to go on package tour dedicated to promoting Chicano culture in Japan with the band Quetzal and writer Luis Rodriguez, author of the infamous book Always Running. It was an honor and something I’ll never forget. When Shin visits L.A., its always a great time. It’s about seeing lots of great music, going to his favorite Mexican and Japanese restaurants, having a few drinks and digging for vinyl. Truly, a man after my own heart!

Naturally, after the earthquake and tsunami hit, I contacted Shin. Even though he lives on the outskirts of Tokyo and far from the damage of the north, I was still concerned about my friend’s wellbeing, as are many of his friends across the U.S. All those horrible images on the news and the threat of nuclear fallout doesn’t help, either. After e-mailing back and forth over the last couple of days. I asked him if he wanted to do a quick interview just to let some of his friends know how he is doing. I thank Shin for taking time to do this in a very difficult time for him and all of Japan.

So where were you when the earthquake hit?

It took me a long time to warm up to flamenco music. My interpretation of Flamenco music came from living in the U.S. To me, Flamenco meant those awful guitar duos with white puffy shirts playing at restaurants or soft jazz instrumentalists such as Struntz & Farah or Willie & Lobo, who played what most Americans considered Flamenco. Then, there are The Gypsy Kings; do I really need I say more? On top of that, most Mexicanos have some sort of grudge against The Spanish for being one of our many oppressors. Even though I am first generation, I still held the grudge of my indigenous ancestors.

I soon discovered that Flamenco came from Spain’s Moorish roots and not from the awful Christians who conquered the Americas. In fact, the Christians hated it. The music was mostly improvised and lyrically has lots to do with love, life, death and sex, but mostly sex. Most Mexican music I love (Son Jarocho and Son Huasteco) has the same African and Arabic roots. I soon embraced Flamenco and dove into a much needed Flamenco listening session. My taste grew and I became a fan of Manolo Caracol, La Niña de Los Peines, El Agujetas, Camaron De La Isla and Paco De Lucia. I also became a fan of the new school flamenco: Buika, Radio Tarifa and Ojos De Brujo.

But until I started working at Amoeba, I had no idea there was a movement in the seventies that merged Flamenco with Rock, Funk and Psyche. The mixture makes perfect sense to me, as there are many similarities with the music. The minute I heard it I was an instant fan. Acid Rumba: Spanish Gypsy Grooves 1969-1976 captures that moment in time in Spain where the progressive movement met its past. Every artist on this collection is immensely talented. You can tell each singer and guitarist could kill it on the traditional front. From Los Amaya’s “Bailen Mi Rumbita” to the heavy meets sweet Morena Y Clara’s “Dejé De Quererte,“ there is no denying the fusion of fuzzed-out Flamenco Rock and funky rhythms. It was also a time when established Flamenco artists stretched out, as in Dolores Vargas "La Terremoto" and El Noi’s “Zorongo Rock.”

Join California Institute of Integral Studies and Amoeba Music Friday, March 25 at the gorgeous Paramount Theater in Oakland for Acoustic Africa, an exhilarating musical journey that focuses on the richness of the African guitar tradition. This spectacular event features performances by Habib Koité, the Malian superstar whose exciting concerts have endeared him to audiences worldwide; Oliver Mtukudzi, the best-selling artist in his home country of Zimbabwe; and Afel Bocoum, a guitarist, singer, and composer from Mali whose songs evoke the evolution of traditional Malian society. 
 
Get your tickets today right here OR enter to win a pair of tickets at the Amoeba San Francisco or Berkeley store locations. Enter before March 16th!

                                                                                      
   1. Afrocubism-S/T
   2. V/A-Rise Of Bossa Nova
   3. Celso Piña-Sin Fecha De Caducidad
   4. Serge Gainsbourg-Historie De Melody Nelson
   5. Eydie Gorme Y Los Panchos-Cantan En Español
   6. V/A-Psych Funk: Sa-Ra Ga!
   7. V/A-Sofrito
   8. Enrique Iglesias-Eurphoria
   9. Cristan Castro-Viva El Principe
  10. V/A-Pomegranates

Hands down the biggest world music seller over the last three months has been the Afrocubism CD. However, giving it a good chase is The Rise Of Bossa Nova compilation on Soul Jazz Records. There's a CD version, two separate double LP sets and a book (all sold separately) with all the classic original Bossa Nova tracks that DJ’s have brought back into circulation over the last ten years.

After confusing our poor customers for the last three years, we settled on a home for all World Music clearance CDs. No more moving the World Music clearance sections from one spot of the section to next, or for that matter, from the top bins to the under the bins. World Music clearance is now located smack dab in the middle of the section, between where the Latin section ends and where the Brazil/African section begins. An entire row of World Music clearance CDs priced to move -- nothing over 2.99 and as low a buck! For those who do not know the drill, if you buy four red tag clearance CDs you get the cheapest one free. That means on average you can take home four CDs for around ten bucks or less.

From Aterciopelados to Zulu Spear, the section is always full. We have a big selection of known and unknown gems on such World Music labels as Real World, Putumayo, Six Degrees, Nacional, Island/Palm, Ahi-Na-Ma, Rough Guide and World Circuit. It’s a great place to find out of print CDs without having to pay the ridiculous collectors' prices listed on E-Bay and Amazon. It is also a great place to find a promo CD of a fairly new release or some obscure group that is huge in Argentina but unknown in Los Angeles. Yes, there is plenty of gold in that sea of clearance CDs, and no one knows more than L.A. DJ and promoter DJ Tonearm.