Amoeba Music

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Aztlan Unearthed is an extension of the group Aztlan / Anahuak Underground. As Aztlan Unearth, they set their electric instruments aside and play acoustic with traditional Indigenous instruments. Side one is the band playing instrumental with native percussion and flutes, with side two manifesting as a collaboration with Carlos Niño, who most recently was responsible for the sounds behind Andre 3000's New Blue Sun. Aztlan Unearthed enters the same territory as other experimental Indigenous artists such as Jorge Reyes, Luis Perez, and most recently, Humazapas. Traditional yet psychedelic, it is a journey into a spiritual realm that is a welcome relief from the chaos of the modern world. Read more

I will not bore with what little I know about where the music came from. Once you have Super Disco Piratas, you can read the liner notes for yourself. What I can tell you is that I heard most of these bootleg Cumbia tracks on the decks of Mas Exitos, a long-running deejay extravaganza in Los Angeles that continues to this day. Mas Exitos deejay roster, Chico Sonido, Tropicaza, Ganas, Lengua, Hoseh, and Enorbito, dug up the deepest Psychedelic and Cumbia tracks from Mexico and South America. Every Mas Exitos had me asking the deejays, “who does this song?” Cumbia versions of Bee Gee's songs, orquestas with heavy percussion and brash horns. Cumbias that had more in common with Sun Ra than Sonora Dinamita. I am sure they were tired of me interrogating them, but they were happy to share their love of music with anyone. Super Discos Piratas reminds me of when it was all new and fresh to my ears. The rawness of this record brings back memories of friendships made, the awkward dances, the spilled beer, and the longing for travel so I could dig for these records myself. I was once blessed to have a conversation with Joe Strummer about his love of Cumbia. I asked him what the Cumbia scene was like in England, to which he replied, “Cumbia scene? There is no Cumbia scene, just me and my mates dancing to Cumbia records in my attic!” I think Joe would have loved this record, and so will you. Take it to your next attic/basement/backyard/apartment/bedroom party Read more

Using the moniker, Marinero, songwriter Jess Sylvester continues where his last album, Hella Love, left off. If one can say Hella Love was goodbye to Jess’s hometown of San Francisco, La La Lais his new adventure in Los Angeles. La La La plays out like a movie, somewhere between The Long Goodbye, Boulevard Nights, and a James Bond film if it was set to a soundtrack created by Joe Bataan, Brian Wilson, Ennio Morricone, and Perez Prado, artists that have a deep impact on L.A.’s musical landscape. Songs such as, “Dream Suite” “Cruz” and “Sea Changes” are gorgeous, while songs like“ Taquero” and “Pocha Pachanga” are in the tradition of Spanish wordplay that is the root of every great Tropical song. La La La is smart as it is beautiful. Read more

he timing for Jessica Hoppe’s first book could not have been any better. At a time when immigrants are vilified by half of the country, the tendency for those who support immigration is to shuttle the “model” immigrant into the forefront to show that they have value. Firsts for the “perfect” immigrant are displayed in terms of “the first to graduate college” or “first to get a high-paying job” which can be stressful and often unrealistic. Hoppe’s book explores other firsts for immigrants, such as the importance of being the first in the family to confront generational trauma by going into recovery. Hoppe’s recovery is made on her terms, tackling the stigma of what addiction looks like for a person of color, often coming to a head with the very people in recovery that look at immigration and race as “outside issues” From the days of being referred as “Tequila Cha Cha” by her co-workers for her prodigious love of alcohol, to writing what might very well be the “Autobiography of Malcolm X “ for BIPOC addicts, Hoppe’s book humanizes both the immigrant experience and those on the road to recovery. Read more

Of all the Fania vinyl reissues, I was most excited about this one. Triago De Todo highlights one of the greatest Salsa singers on the Fania label, which, on a roster with singers such as Hector Lavoe, Ruben Blades, and Ismael Miranda, is saying a lot. Originally released in 1974, it continues to sound fresh, with Javier Vazquez excellent arrangements and Rivera’s improvisational “sonero” style in full force. My favorite track is “ Satelite,” a lost-in-space song that lyrically rivals David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” Side note: I gave my original copy to a woman that I had a major crush on, and I regret it to this day. Let that be a lesson for you kids. Read more

Hey, good is good. I don't care how many other people will recommend this album on the Music We Like list. I've been looking forward to getting my hands on this record since I saw Cindy Lee perform their songs from Diamond Jubilee last year at Zebulon. It was worth every second of being stuck in a packed room with a bunch of Silver Lake nepo-babies and their cigarette smoke. Read more

Certified Detroit deep soldier Patrice Scott comes through on his own Sistrum imprint with his first solo 12" in years, and it was worth the wait. "Solitude" features a heartbreaking piano solo, and a mean bassline gluing the tense chord work together, with relentless undulating percussion. An instant classic IMO. B side is good too. Read more

LA based electro luminary Gabriel Reyes aka Gifted & Blessed returns to his The Abstract Eye moniker, a personal favorite since 2011's "Cool Warm Divine" EP, with a new double LP. GB has been doing his thing for quite a while now, and while more recent releases have often taken a more experimental turn, here we see a bit of a return to a more dancefloor orientation while retaining his unique balance of palpable consciousness, spirituality, and sensuality rarely heard in any form of modern electronic music. Read more

Gerard Hanson, better known as Convextion is an artist that has earned their status among the most revered names in techno and electro. On "Faded Caprice" as E.R.P. (Event Related Potential for the uninitiated) Hanson's basslines and arrangements shine on this double LP that deftly blends elements of both his more dub techno and hardcore electro production styles. Essential listening for fans of music with atmosphere that doesn't neglect attitude. Read more

This LP comprises the band’s first two demo sessions which were mailed out via cassette to labels in 1991. Originally the band had intended to release these demos as their debut LP with the title "Mayfield", but instead they scraped it and released "Delaware" a year later. Read more

Although Davidson has been making music for nearly twenty years (since 2007, initially as half of experimental duo Les Momies de Palerme), she remains relatively unknown in the US. This her sixth LP reverberates throughout with jagged "strange" sonic sounds and sultry vocals. Read more

On this Penelope Trappes fifth release she continues explores sound as an expression of chaos, loss, anger, and grief. A balance between a heaven and hell, A sonic harmony of nightmares. Read more