Reverberation #419

Next up in our Record Club Guest Mix series is Slowe (AKA Sophie Hawes), bringing the heat with a music of Colombia special! 

We've known Sophie for some time now and it is fantastic to see her musical career take flight. There's a debut album on the way titled, 'Where The Mind Wanders'. Released July 28th on Tru Thoughts, it's a cross-genre beauty, packed with modern neo-soul songs, psychedelic moments and more traditional jazz, soul and hip hop sounds. We thoroughly recommend checking it.

Sophie's contribution to our Record Club Guest mix series is best summarised in her own words...

"When I first started listening to and being interested in music from South America, a huge part of how I first started exploring the vast world of latin music was Mr Bongo. I bought their first mr bongo presents compilation and was hooked. I ended up reaching out to Mr Bongo and traveling down to Brighton to stay for a few weeks to intern with them, during the time that their shop first opened. I was welcomed with open arms and left with armfuls of vinyl!
 
I ended up travelling to Colombia a few years later and spending a month exploring the country, and although my budget and backpack didn’t really allow me to return with heaps of rare vinyl, what I did leave with was an immense love and expanded knowledge of the music that Colombia has produced. 
 
In this mix I’ve picked my favourite songs from Colombia, with genres ranging from Salsa, Cumbia, Bolero, Champata, and funk/soul." 

Thanks so much to Sophie for the mix.

Find her here:

Soundcloud: @slowe-music
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slowemusic

New single 'Stay Right Here' out now - slowemusic.bandcamp.com/track/stay-right-here

Mr Bongo Record Club Guest Mix - Slowe: Colombia Special

Jazz harpist and Alice Coltrane acolyte Brandee Younger pays tribute to her hero with a live harp performance. Featuring Brandee Younger on harp and Rashaan Carter on double bass, recorded at Younger’s home studio in New York, NY.

"I specifically chose these three pieces for NTS Radio to pay tribute to the groundbreaking work of Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby, while also integrating my own voice. The set reflects their profound influence on my music and the continued evolution of harp music, which remains a significant source of inspiration for my work today." 
Find the full tracklist and related episodes on NTS: https://www.nts.live/shows/alice-coltrane-special-2025/episodes/alice-coltrane-special-2025-brandee-younger-live-performance-9th-february-2025

Alice Coltrane Special: Brandee Younger Live Performance 090225

Moskito—Why Wena

Intro : [Les Enfants Terribles - Bravo Bambuck, Merci Bambuck]
Guy Alcindor Sextet Avec Dolor Meliot - Mionette Cherie
Remy Monde, Claude Monteil Et Les Gentlemen - Faut Pas Ou Trop Pressé
Jacques Caloda - Femm' A Conmèce
Émile Volel - Maxel's Compas
Raymond Cicault Et Son Orchestre Volcan -  Cha Cha Cha En Vacances
Joseph Lacides - Miel 
Casimir Létang Et Ses Bongonzons, Georges Tinédor - Difé En Paillasse
Daniel Forestal - Fênand
Gérard Valton Et Élie Benoit Et Son Orchestre - Conseil Bien Bon
Edouard Benoit Et Son Groupe, Georges Tinédor - Méfiez Zot De Madanme
Raphaël Zachille, Son Groupe Avec Michel Yéyé - A Si Bouleva La
_
Mixed by LuckyRobin Records / Vinyl Only
www.instagram.com/luckyrobinrecords
www.youtube.com/@luckyrobinrecords

'Zèklè! 5' Stormy Sounds From The West Indies

Presenting the third single ‘Ron Song’ taken from Melbourne/Naarm multi-instrumentalist Don Glori’s forthcoming third album, Paper Can’t Wrap Fire. An ode to Brazil’s musical heritage, it’s Don’s nod to icons and influences including João Donato and Seu George. Samba-flecked, yet with a distinctive Don Glori groove, it’s doused in buttery Rhodes, hazy vocal harmonies and acoustic guitar riffs. Combine that with a serving of long majestic horn lines and the instantly recognisable cuíca and it’s a one-way ticket to Rio’s sunshine-soaked shores. 
 
Speaking about the track, Don mentions, “The thing I love about ‘Ron Song’ is all the ear candy. The Rhodes was routed through the preamp of an original suitcase Rhodes to give it the proper stereo trem it needed. The guitar just breaking through the ribbon mic contrasts against the very digital chorus on the bass. The bass is pushed out to the sides, using every dial tone sample at once. Texturally it feels like an ear massage. 
 
Alcides Neto laid down cuíca throughout the track and fans of Azymuth/Brazilian music in general will appreciate the partido alto underneath the trumpet solo. It’s as if the cuíca and Rhodes are having a conversation in the outro.”


Don Glori - Ron Song

A small network of DJs in the suburbs of Lisbon, Portugal has been consistently producing some of the world’s best dance music. The children of African immigrants, these young musicians have combined a hemisphere of musical influences and distilled them down into a single astonishing style. But how did Lisbon start to make such great African music? And what does that say about the identity of the city, or the country, or the continent? On this special Hip Deep edition, we take you on a journey to Lisbon, a city facing both the sea and 600 years of its own history. We’ll go to African club nights, hang out with obsessive record collectors, learn how to dance kizomba, and visit the projects that have produced a musical revolution. And through it all, we will try to answer a seemingly simple question: Just where did this music come from? 

Produced by Sam Backer
APWW #722

Afro-Lisbon and the Lusophone Atlantic

In the 1930s, infamous Dominican dictator Rafael Truillo ordered the burning of the country’s palos drums, hoping to erase the powerful vestiges of African culture in the Dominican Republic. Luckily for us, the breakneck, trance-inducing sound of palos still reverberates at Afro-syncretic religious parties across the Caribbean nation almost a century later. In this episode, Afropop revisits the home of styles such as merengue and bachata, but this time we’ll be looking towards the most deeply African side of Dominican music—little known outside of the island. Afro-Dominican music is a secret treasure, filled with virtuosic drumming styles, heart-stopping grooves, and mystic dance parties. We’ll listen to traditional genres like palos, salve, and gaga, a uniquely Dominican take on rara music from neighboring Haiti. Throughout, we’ll be looking at artists who have drawn on Afro-Dominican styles to make infectious pop music, from wizened veterans of the folklore movement such as Luis Dias, to a host of hip young bands who use Afro-inspired rock, reggae and hip-hop to redefine what it means to be Dominican. We’ll also check out the Afro-Dominican scene in New York City—home to more than a half-million Dominicans—where we’ll find a Dominican gaga group in Brooklyn that is mending cultural fences at a Haitian celebration.

Produced by Marlon Bishop
APWW #579

Afro-Dominicana: Music from the Other Dominican Republic

The Recording Angel on NTS - Episode 14 - Moktar - 04.06.25

lavaflow

After some years of searching for records, I bumped a few times with songs dedicated to a certain lady called Carolina.

Who is she?
Where is she? 

This is a mix of songs from Latin America & Brazil. All of them are called "Carolina" for all the Carolinas we have met and who have inspired us. Teachers, sisters, lovers, neighbours, friends of friends, and even institutions!  
Dedicated to all of them.
Enjoy!

Oh, Carolina!

Afropop Worldwide is an internationally syndicated weekly radio series, online guide to African and world music, and an international music archive, that has introduced American listeners to the music cultures of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean since 1988. Our radio program is hosted by Georges Collinet from Cameroon, the radio series is distributed by Public Radio International to 110 stations in the U.S., via XM satellite radio, in Africa via and Europe via Radio Multikulti. 