Songlines - "a captivating blend of jazz and Latin rhythms”

FarOut Magazine - “A beautiful menagerie of sounds and influences, awash with distinctive Latin funk and the spirit of 1950s NYC big band jazz. These songs are backed up by a roster of London’s most skilled and passionate jazz musicians, to create something utterly timeless and innately funky."

Patrick Forge - "Unashamedly retro, but done so well, High calibre rhythms and playing, some hot jams!”

Paul Bradshaw (Straight No Chaser) - "The delivers that 70's NYC bario vibe perfectly.... Kickin'!!!”

Francois K - "All great cuts, very well put together”

Announcing the debut album from one of London’s most electrifying acts, New Regency Orchestra. An 18-piece Afro-Cuban big band, inspired by the musical melting pot of NYC in the 1950s, but with the punch and power of a whole host of London’s best Latin and jazz musicians. Blowing new life into these compositions, the album is a reimagining of some of the finest music from that golden era. From early 1950s René Hernandez and Tito Puente, through to the 1970s salsa of Rafael Labasta and Orlando Marin, produced and performed with fresh fire.

NRO is the brainchild of its artistic director, and the man behind Total Refreshment Centre and Church of Sound, Lex Blondin. Through a long-held passion for jazz, Lex discovered the explosive Afro-Cuban rhythms of mid-1940s NYC via the godfather of Afro-Cuban jazz, Mario Bauzá. A time when two musical worlds collided in a fusion of creativity and energy, jazz luminaries like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker joining forces with Cuban greats like Machito and Chano Pozo. This vibrant sound was music to dance to and found a home at The New York Palladium, a formative space of freedom and expression that was key to the scene’s development.

Although dance-focussed in their makeup, those early recordings are not often heard in modern club environments and Lex dreamt of retelling their story with a contemporary dynamism. A slice of serendipity followed, as a slot at a new festival opened up and Lex jumped at the chance to make this idea a reality, an 18-piece big band breathing new life into these beloved songs.

Enlisting the expertise of some of the capital’s finest talent, Lex and co-captain Andy Wood, of Como No fame, put together a world-class line-up of talent. Bringing in Eliane Correa as musical director and bandleader, a fluid and interchanging 18-piece band was formed.

The album itself is a hand-picked selection of timeless Afro-Cuban jazz classics, reimagined with NRO’s unbridled energy. It contains ten incredible instrumental tracks including 'Pregon' with its anthemic horn stabs and the addictive head nod bounce of 'Mambo Rama', alongside two scorching vocal numbers in 'Papa Boco' and 'Labasta Llego'. Coupling a heavyweight rhythm section with a wall of horns, they provide a fresh spin on songs from Tito Puente and Chico O'Farrill, René Hernandez through to Rafael Labasta.

“Some of the tunes like Tito Puente’s ‘Mambo Rama’ and ‘Scarlet Mambo’ might sound like they went to a gym as extra drums and bass synth were added to them whilst the tune ‘Sahib & Tito’ is a mix of Tito’s ‘Mambo Buda’ and Sahib Shihab’s ‘Nus’. Our intention is to be both respectful to the innovators and inventors of this incredible music and to pay our dues, but also to add something special from London where the city’s new jazz scene connects with its Latin American musicians and the musical influences around us.”

This pure collective joy, shared experience and music you can’t help but move to.

New Regency Orchestra - New Regency Orchestra

Lost In Rio

Tanto Tempo

From the BAHAMA SOUL CLUB album "The Cuban Tapes", (c) Buyú Records 2013, www.buyu-records.com
Buy album: http://buyu.bandcamp.com/album/the-cuban-tapes
VIDEO: youtu.be/0Vp8CfPlgWw

COOKA RACCA ft. Telmary

Cold As Weiss

Pull Your Pants Up

We gave this Orquesta Flamboyan heater lots of extra bump and did lot's of stripping down to showcase the phenomenal percussion.

buy here: www.fania.com/products/funky-sabroso-mix

Bomba Criolla (Whiskey Barons Sabroso Mix)

Introducing the up-and-coming Melbourne producer, with a first listen of his new EP on Bradley Zero’s Peckham imprint, Rhythm Section.

For more info head to: http://www.gillespetersonworldwide.com/gpww-premieres-prequel-the-test-dream/

Pre-order link: https://wearerhythmsection.bandcamp.com/album/polite-strangers

@dj-prequel
@bradleyzero
@gillespetersonworldwide

Order Now

Prequel - The Test Dream (Worldwide Premieres)

The next single from New Regency Orchestra’s self-titled forthcoming album comes in form of Manuel Sánchez Acosta’s salsa sensation, ‘Papa Boco’. Originally written by the Dominican physician and composer, the band took inspiration from a different 1962 arrangement, made by bandleader and timbales maestro, Orlando Marin. 

For this fresh reimagining of ‘Papa Boco’, the 18-piece big band of New Regency Orchestra keeps the essence of Marin’s arrangement whilst adding their explosive flair to proceedings. An Afro-Cuban-flavoured warmth washes over you from the off, with Latin percussion and a swell of peaking horns kicking the song into gear immediately. Stepping forth, Jose Cesar’s commanding vocals give a distinctive depth to the recording that sets it apart from Marin’s version. 

With bandleader Eliane Correa on the keys and at the helm, the salsa energy is amplified through her scintillating and syncopated chords. As the track peaks, the groove swaps from 4’s to 3’s for the breakdown slipping into sensuous territory before bursting back into the dynamism of the full orchestra’s power.

A respectful yet contemporary take on a salsa gem from one of London’s most electrifying new acts.

New Regency Orchestra - Papa Boco

Starbuck - Fool In Line (Eclectic Journeys Edit)

Believe In You

Believe In You (feat. George Jj Flores)

New Regency Orchestra - Para Los Papines

New Regency Orchestra - Fiesta Time

New Regency Orchestra - Mambo Herd

New Regency Orchestra - Sambaroco

New Regency Orchestra - Pregon

Laiteron

V/A - SOUL SOK SEGA: Sega Sounds from Mauritius 1973 - 1979
Compiled By La Basse Tropicale. Out 5th February 2016 on Strut.
Order: http://lnk.to/SoulSokSegaSo

Frankie Francis of deep-digging tropical DJ duo Sofrito offers up a custom dancefloor-ready edit of a highlight from our latest collection, documenting the heyday of sega music in Mauritius between 1973 and 1979. The album is compiled by La Reunion-based DJs La Basse Tropicale with extensive sleeve notes by Mauritian cultural authority, Percy Yip Tong.

Claudio Veeraragoo is one of the biggest stars of séga music of the 60s and 70s. His stroke of genius was to marry séga rhythms with qawwali and Bollywood styles. He scored his debut hit, ‘Nou Manz Nou Larak’, in 1966, playing the accordion, and broke through as a major star with his cassette release, ‘Bhaï Aboo’ which exploded across the island upon its release. His songs were subsequently covered by French star Maxime Leforestier and Bollywood singer Shaan. Claudio has since brought séga to the four corners of the globe and, of all of the ‘70s artists, has remained one of Mauritius’ biggest live draws. Today, his son Michael, a drummer and producer, manages his father’s activities via their own production house, Kabana Music.

For more info:
http://www.strut-records.com
http://www.sofrito.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/StrutRecords


Soul Sok Sega

FREE DOWNLOAD

Claudio - Bonom Chinois (Frankie Francis edit) [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Raúl Monsalve y los Forajidos find common threads between funk, Afrobeat and traditional Afro-Venezuelan music on “Bocón”. Lauded Family Atlantica frontwoman, Luzmira Zerpa, guests on lead vocals, transforming a traditional song from the coastal region of Barlovento about liars, big mouths, or “bocones” into a diatribe against national and world leaders with a dangerously loose grip on reality, “Bocón” makes it clear there’s no hiding from either the truth, or los Forajidos. As they hammer the ground with bamboo tubes, layering the horns and low-end synth bass with the powerful polyrhythmic quitiplás percussion native to Venezuela.

Bichos

Raúl Monsalve y los Forajidos - Bocón ft. Luzmira Zerpa

Record label. Record shop. Film label. Since 1989.

New Regency Orchestra - Papa Boco

Mr Bongo

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