Here we have part 2 in a series, with even more artists performing at Coachella this year who have stopped by Amoeba and performed, been interviewed or taken part in one of our What's in My Bag features! To see Part 1, with Boots Riley, Dave Grohl, Sia, Vampire Weekend, Girls and more, go here!

These are the forty World Music releases that Los Angeles shoppers went gaga over the last year.


1. Zoe-Reptilectric
2. Aventura-Last
3. Amadou & Mariam-Welcome to Mali
4. Mahssa-Oyun Havasi Vol.1
5. Eydie Gorme Y Los Panchos-Cantan En Español
6. V/A-Nigeria 70 (re-mastered)
7. Rodrigo Y Gabriela-11:11
8. Manu Chao-Clandestino
9. Shakira-She Wolf
10. V/A-Panama Vol. 2
11. V/A-Legends Of Benin
12. V/A-African Scream Contest
13. Mexican Institute Of Sound-Soy Sauce
14. Bomba Estereo-Blow Up
15. V/A-Nigeria Rock Special


16. V/A-The Sound Of Wonder
17. Poncho Sanchez- Psychedelic Blues
18. Serge Gainsbourg-Histoire De Melody Nelson
19. V/A-Black Rio Vol.2
20. Rodrigo Y Gabriela-Live In Japan
21. V/A-Colombia!
22. Mulatu Astatke-Inspiration Information
23. Bebel Gilberto-All In One
24. Buika-Niña De Fuego
25. V/A-Nigeria Disco Funk
26. Arthur Verocai-S/T
27. Los Amigos Invisible -Commercial
28. Os Mutantes- Haith Or Amortecedor
29. La Excelencia-Mi Tumbao Social
30. Buika-El Ultimo Trago

Lately I have been doing interviews for the Amoeba website, mostly for the "What's In My Bag?" section. In the last few weeks, I have interviewed Camilo Lara from Mexican Institute Of Sound, members of Zoe, and Gil Cerezo of Kinky & Chico Sonido. I have enjoyed talking to different musicians about what they are listening to these days. My conversation with Camilo Lara lasted beyond the time we interviewed him for the segment. We discussed the future of music and how the internet has leveled the playing field, which is great for indie bands from Mexico. We discussed his audience in the U.S., who he describes as "mostly Anglos who listen to music on NPR or public radio, world music enthusiasts and Mexican nationalists who check out every band from Mexico..." Finally, we discussed his somewhat unusual day job as the Chairman of E.M.I. Mexico. He once dropped the band Zoe from Sony after their first record didn't do so well, only to resign them once they became bigger as an indie band. Sometimes you are just too ahead of the curve.

I found him to be an interesting person and quite knowledgeable about music in general. Check out my segment with Camilo below:

Amoeba Hollywood World Music Top 10 For 2009

1. Zoe-Reptilectric
2. Amadou & Mariam-Welcome To Mali
3. V/A -African Scream Contest
4. Orchestre Poly Ritmo-Vol. 1- The Vodoun Effect: Funk and Sato from Benin's Obscure Label
5. Eydie Gorme Y Los Panchos-Cantan En Espanol
6. V/A-Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump
7. V/A- Vol.1-Nigeria 70
8. Rodrigo Y Gabriela -Live In Japan
9. Manu Chao-Clandestino
10. V/A- 78's From The EMI Archives: Sprigs Of Time

About some of the artists:

Zoe, a rock band from Mexico City, is on the top of Amoeba Hollywood's World Music chart for 2009. I wrote about Zoe in the beginning of this year in a blog entitled, Music Latin Music Majors Don't Want You To Hear, which was about how late in the game U.S. labels are when it comes to releasing popular Spanish rock artists domestically. To avoid being outsold by download sites, we ordered the import version of Reptilectric and sold out of all the imports we bought way before their U.S. release. Their in-store performance at the Hollywood store on 4/24 also fueled sales, far exceeding sale expectations for that evening. In short, Zoe fans came in vast numbers and Amoeba Hollywood was not fully prepared. Hey, it happens sometimes.

Every day there is another release by a Latin Rock artist that will not be released domestically. The Latin major labels, after a few great years of experimentation, have returned to their practice of repackaging greatest hits by their established artists or releasing god-awful pop artists. The public yearns for and deserves better. As I mentioned in past blogs, I feel that Amoeba is the great equalizer. This is the store where imports from groups as Zoë or Porter will outsell rejects from La Academia Nuevo Generacion, even with all their stadium tours and television time. The following are imports that Amoeba Hollywood carries that I feel that the majors should release domestically...That is, if they didn’t have their collective heads up their asses.

Austin TV-Fontana Bella

This instrumental band from Mexico D.F. are more akin to groups such as Slint, Joan of Arc and Sigur Ros than anything currently on Univision. This five piece rocked all over the U.S. this year, including an appearance at Coachella that had many people asking, “Who are these guys?” If Juana Molina can be successful on a label like Domino, there is no reason why a strong indie can’t do well with Austin TV. The fact that they are from Mexico is irrelevant for marketing this group. Would one market Can or Kraftwerk as German Pop? Didn't think so.


Enrique Bunbury-Hellville En Deluxe