Hydroponic Sound System - Watch For Sound EP
(12") Alternate Take ATD1001, 2006-10-10

Review :
It seems like the Hydroponic Sound System have been flooding the market with singles and mixtapes, official releases and bootlegs for too long (6 years!) for us not to start investigating this collective. The sound system revolves around producers Rube and Ski, who invite friends into mashing-up sessions of hip hop, dub, any any other kind of dancefloor goodness. We finally discovered them through their massive 'Uptown Shaketown EP' on Bastard Jazz earlier this year (which we've planned to play in an upcoming 'Block Party Vol.2' on ParisDjs.com), thanks to a cool package from label owner DRM. This new EP on Chicagoan label Super Bro Records lists 5 new tracks, starting with latin soul/funk stormer 'Lone Star' featuring no less than Adrian Quesada and his Ocote Soul Sounds, one of our 2005 winners. 'OST For Zonin' then recalls not-famous-at-all Mancunians Strangebrew, Martin Brew's pre-J-Walk dubby days on Rob's records many years ago, while 'Shock The Spot' blends soul jazz, crunchy hip hop funk, handclapping and blaxploitation spirit to elevate the dancing mood. 'Inevitable Comedown' calms things down with some tuxedo instrumental downtempo hip hop and the EP closes on a short on a breaks part from the first track. All in all a rocking blaxploitation/hip hop/soul piece of wax.

Tracklisting :
01. Lone Star Uprising feat. Ocote Soul Sounds 4:44
02. OST For Zonin 5:19
03. Uprising Beats 1:43
04. Shock The Spot 6:57
05. The Inevitable Comedown 4:58

Links :
alt-take.com
myspace.com/hydroponicsoundsystem
...

Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada - El Niño Y El Sol
(CD) ESL Music ESL094, 2006-07-10

Update 2006-09 :
The album is finally distributed in France through ESL Music/Nocturne. Yeehaa!

Review (french) :
Hiver 2004. De retour du mexique en direction de Brooklyn, Ocote Soul Sounds, ou plutôt Martin Perna, flûtiste et leader d'Antibalas, LE groupe new-yorkais responsable de la renaissance de l'afrobeat de Fela, voit sa bagnole au colza tomber en panne et finit par passer 2 semaines à Austin, chez son pote Adrian Quesada, lui-même guitariste et leader de Grupo Fantasma, un big band latin/fusion, à mi-chemin entre Los Lobos et la Mano Negra. Le hasard faisant bien les choses, les deux compères assemblèrent le matériel disponible, mimimal: MPC 2000, flûte, percussions, guitare, basse et claviers, et se mirent au travail... Une dizaine de titres de cet album proviennent de ces sessions, dans un esprit très détendu, plutôt acoustique, mélangeant sans vergogne toutes sortes de saveurs hip hop, salsa, funk, jazz, afrobeat et downtempo. 3 morceaux de funk danceflooresque, enregistrés à New York avec l'aide de deux potes de chez Soul Fire, Nick Movshon (batterie) et Leon Michels (guitare), complètent parfaitement le tracklist et l'assemblage final est un feu d'artifice d'afro-funk latino-psychédélique complètement sidéral. Un petit bijou.

Tracklisting :
01. Tamarindio
02. Dedication T.V. | Download MP3
03. Esto No Se Acaba Aquî
04. Divinorum | Download MP3
05. Ora Como Rey, Mañana Como Qüey
06. Justicia
07. Vals de la Despedida
08. La Lucha Sigue
09. Where Is the Love?
10. Learn to Let Go
11. Greñudos
12. Look Sharp
13. Paz y Alegría

Links :
ocotesoulsounds.com
myspace.com/ocotesoulsounds
ESLMusic.com
myspace.com/eslmusic
airesolrecords.com
MP3 samples on antibalas.com

Antibalas Albums :


Antibalas - Who Is This America? (CD/2xLP) Ropeadope, 2004
Antibalas - Talkatif (LP/CD) Ninja Tune, 2003
Antibalas - Liberation Afro Beat Vol.1 (2xLP/CD) Ninja Tune, 2001
Antibalas - Liberation Afro Beat Vol.1 (CD) Afrosound, 2000


Antibalas Singles :


Antibalas - Government Magic (CD) Afrosound, 2005
Antibalas - Che Che Colé (12") Daptone, 2003
Antibalas - Tour EP (CD) Afrosound, 2001
Antibalas - N.E.S.T.A. (12") Afrosound, 2000
Antibalas - Uprising (7") Afrosound, 1999


Antibalas Exclusive Tracks on Compilations :


Various - Let Rhythm Provide (CD) Antibalas Auto-Production, 2005
Various - Genocide in Sudan (CD) Waxploitation, 2004
Various - ASAP - The Afrobeat Sudan Aid Project (CD) Modiba, 2004
Various - Red Hot and Riot (2xLP/CD) MCA, 2002
Various - Ouelele - Another Collection Of Modern Afro Rhythms (CD/2xLP) Comet, 1999


Antibalas Collaboration & side-Projects :


Ocote Soul Sounds - Tamarindio (7") Freestyle, 2005
Ocote Soul Sounds - Electric Tides (CD) Ocote Soul Media, 2005
Amayo's Fu-Arkist-Ra - Afrobeat Disciples (CD) 2005
Connie Price & The Keystones - Wildflowers (CD/2xLP) Now-Again, 2004
Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada - El Nino Y El Sol (CD) Airesol, 2004
Ocote Soul Sounds - Divinorum (7") Fruitmeat/Giant Step, 2003
The Daktaris - Soul Explosion (CD/LP) Desco, 1998
...

Various - Let Rhythm Provide
(CD) Antibalas Auto-Production, 2005-12-07

Press Release :
Antibalas and Ocote Soul Media release compilation of side projects to raise money for New Orleans grassroots reconstruction

Antibalas and Ocote Soul Media present 'Let Rhythm Provide', a compilation to benefit progressive grassroots organizations working in New Orleans. The compilation, assembled a few days after the floods, features unreleased material from eight distinct musical projects led by members of Antibalas, encompassing afrobeat, dub, ecstatic jazz, avant-garde pop, rock, and futuristic folk.

100% of the profits go directly to New Orleans Network (www.neworleansnetwork.org) Get Your Act On (www.getyouracton.com) and SHONOF (www.noahleans.org) a group specifically dedicated to helping New Orleans musicians find work and housing.

"The government has let us down, but we have each other", says Martín Perna, Antibalas founder, and organizer of the project. "It is crucial that we send our money directly to community groups working in New Orleans. The culture, legacy, and future of New Orleans will be distorted and ruined unless the people of New Orleans themselves are able to rebuild it. We put this together in the first week of September while we were in Chicago making a record with John McEntire at Soma studios. We couldn't do any benefit shows during the time, so we put this together instead."

The groups represented on 'Let Rhythm Provide' include:
Fu-Arkist-Ra (Amayo)
Speakerphonic (Marcos García)
Volney Litmus (Stuart Bogie)
Beyondo (Eric Biondo)
Ocote Soul Sounds (Martín Perna)
Roots Combination/Ticklah (Victor Axelrod)
Fire of Space (Jordan McLean)
and Small and Medium (Chris Vatalaro).
Soundbites of the songs, as well as links to the artist webpages are online at www.ocotesoulsounds.com/lrp.

The compilation will be available at Antibalas performances, online at www.antibalas.com, and directly from the artists represented on the project with the goal of minimizing all overhead and middlemen.

Please do you part and get some great music!

Click Here to Purchase 'Let Rhythm Provide'...

The 150 Best Records Of 2005 - Part 1

14 JAZZ, SOUL & FUNK GROOVES ALBUMS FOR 2005 PART 1 (+ MP3 DOWNLOAD LINKS)

01. The Five Corners Quintet - "Chasing The Jazz Gone By"
02. The Quantic Soul Orchestra - "Pushin' On"
03. The Mackrosoft - "Antonio's Giraffe / Flash & Snowball / The Dawning Of Aja Aquarius"
04. Jon Kennedy - "Useless Wooden Toys"
05. Connie Price & The Keystones - "Wildflowers"
06. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - "Naturally"
07. Nostalgia 77 - "The Garden"
08. Funkadelic - "Maggot Brain"
09. Ray's Music Exchange - "Blue In The Face / Ray's Reels Vol.1 / Ray's Reels Vol.2"
10. Drums & Tuba - "Live"

23 ELECTRONIC ALBUMS & SINGLES FOR 2005 PART 1 (+ MP3 DOWNLOAD LINKS)

01. Ark - "Caliente"
02. Afx - "Analord Series"
03. Atom™ - "CMYK / iMix / Acid Evolution 1988-2003"
04. Treva Whateva - "Music Is Made Of Memories"
05. Amon Tobin - "Solid Steel Recorded Live / Chaos Theory"
06. Fort Knox Five - "Get the Party Started Right / To The Breaks Of Dawn / The New Gold Standard"
07. Jamie Lidell - "Multiply"
08. Isolée - "We Are Monsters"
09. Luke Vibert - "Lover's Acid"
10. David Last - "Push Pull"

12 HIP HOP ALBUMS FOR 2005 PART 1 (+ MP3 DOWNLOAD LINKS)

01. Edan - "Beauty & The Beat"
02. Flevans - "Make New Friends"
03. McEnroe - "Five Years In The Factory"
04. C-Mon & Kypski - "Static Traveller"
05. Boca 45 - "Pitchsounds / Boca Plays his 45s / Down To Mexico"
06. Quasimoto - "The Further Adventures of Lord Quas"
07. One Be Lo - "S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M."
08. Roots Manuva - "Awfully Deep"
09. Giant Panda - "Fly School Reunion"
10. The Herbaliser - "Take London"

11 FOLK ROCK POP ALBUMS FOR 2005 PART 1 (+ MP3 DOWNLOAD LINKS)

01. Jerry Garcia - "After Midnight 2/28/80 Kean College"
02. Gomez - "Out West (Live)"
03. The Real Tuesday Weld - "Return Of The Clerkenwell Kid"
04. Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band - "Your New Best Friends"
05. Kyle Hollingsworth - "Never Odd Or Even"
06. Perpetual Groove - "All This Everything"
07. Umphrey's McGee - "Anchor Drops"
08. North Mississippi All Stars - "Instores & Outtakes" / "Hill Country Revue"
09. Teenage Fanclub - "Man Made"
10. Sound Tribe Sector Nine - "Artifact"

10 REGGAE DUB & WORLD ALBUMS FOR 2005 PART 1 (+ MP3 DOWNLOAD LINKS)

01. Ghana Soundz - "Afro-Beat, Funk And Fusion 70's Ghana - Volume 2"
02. Psyco - "There Must Be A Revolution Somewhere"
03. Lone Ranger & Carlton Livingston - "Rudie EP"
04. Antibalas - "Government Magic EP"
05. Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada - "El Nino Y El Sol"
06. Diesler - "Diggin' It Somethin' Rotten"
07. Afro Baby - "Evolution Of The Afro Sound In Nigeria 1970-1979"
08. Carl Harvey Meets The Dub Masters Bunny Lee & Prince Jammy - "Ecstasy Of Mankind"
09. World Psychedelic Classics 3 - "Love's A Real Thing - The Funky Fuzzy Sounds Of West Africa"
10. Bossacucanova - "Uma Batida Diferente"

11 COMPILATIONS FOR 2005 PART 1 (+ MP3 DOWNLOAD LINKS)

01. Tru Thoughts - "Shapes Yellow" / "Shapes Red"
02. Mind - "The Real Thing - Selected by Rare Moods"
03. Kajmere - "Impeach The Precedent"
04. Now Again - "Cold Heat - Heavy funk Rarities 1968-1974 Vol.1"
05. Ninja Tune - "Keep In Time - A Live Recording"
06. Ninja Tune - "Dj Kentaro- On The Wheels Of Steel"
07. Compost - "Future Sounds of Jazz 10"
08. Truth & Soul - "Soul Fire - The Majestic Collection"
09. Ninja Tune - "Dj Food - Raiding The 20th Century - History Of The Cut Up"
10. Dj Z-Trip - "Z-Trip - Live In Los Angeles"
...

Ocote Soul Sounds - Tamarindio
(7") Freestyle Records FSR7009, 2005-08-18

Tracklisting :
A1. Ocote Soul Sounds - Tamarindio
B1. Ocote Soul Sounds - Ora como Rey, Mañana como Güey

Press Release :
During a eco-utopian pan-american roadtrip, involving a Mercedes Benz and a whole load of cooking oil, Martin Perna (Antibalas) became unexpectedly stranded in Austin, Texas for a couple of weeks. It was here that he hooked up with musically like-minded Adrian Quesada (Grupo Fantasma) and what you have here are the fruits of this chance collaboration.

Blurring the boundaries between afro-latin funk, hip hop and movie soundtracks, the pair enrolled the help of friends and musicians from bands such as El Michels Affair, The Mighty Imperials and the Soul Fire label roster to inject the live funk into the samples and loops they crafted. Taken from the full length "El Nino Y El Sol" album, we’re sure these 2 tracks will find favour in most DJs boxes.
...

Ocote Soul Sounds - Electric Tides
(CD) Ocote Soul Media, 2005-06

Tracklisting :
01. Ocote Soul Sounds - Vampires | Download MP3
02. Ocote Soul Sounds - How Can I | Download MP3
03. Ocote Soul Sounds - Electric Tides | Download MP3
Complete tracklisting coming soon...

Press Release :
Some of my solo solo stuff like on the "Electric Tides" and forthcoming "June Tunes" records is very folky, stripped down as far as the number of instruments, but very heavy on effects and processing to shape the sounds. The music of Victor Jara, Jorge Ben, Baaba Maal, Baden Powell and Alice Coltrane has been very influential to me in my solo compositions....

Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada - El Nino Y El Sol
(CD) Airesol ASCD006, 2004-08

Info :
Hiver 2004. De retour du mexique en direction de Brooklyn, Ocote Soul Sounds, ou plutôt Martin Perna, flûtiste et leader d'Antibalas, LE groupe new-yorkais responsable de la renaissance de l'afrobeat de Fela, voit sa bagnole au colza tomber en panne et finit par passer 2 semaines à Austin, chez son pote Adrian Quesada, lui-même guitariste et leader de Grupo Fantasma, un big band latin/fusion, à mi-chemin entre Los Lobos et la Mano Negra. Le hasard faisant bien les choses, les deux compères assemblèrent le matériel disponible, mimimal: MPC 2000, flûte, percussions, guitare, basse et claviers, et se mirent au travail... Une dizaine de titres de cet album proviennent de ces sessions, dans un esprit très détendu, plutôt acoustique, mélangeant sans vergogne toutes sortes de saveurs hip hop, salsa, funk, jazz, afrobeat et downtempo. 3 morceaux de funk danceflooresque, enregistrés à New York avec l'aide de deux potes de chez Soul Fire, Nick Movshon (batterie) et Leon Michels (guitare), complètent parfaitement le tracklist et l'assemblage final est un feu d'artifice d'afro-funk latino-psychédélique complètement sidéral. Un petit bijou. Le disque n'est pourtant pas distribué en France mais heureusement il est possible de le commander sur le site d'Antibalas et dans quelques boutiques en ligne...

Tracklisting :
01. Ocote Soul Sounds - Tamarindio
02. Ocote Soul Sounds - Dedication T.V. | Download MP3
03. Ocote Soul Sounds - Esto No Se Acaba Aqui
04. Ocote Soul Sounds - Divinorum | Download MP3
05. Ocote Soul Sounds - Ora Como Rey, Manana Como Quey
06. Ocote Soul Sounds - Justicia
07. Ocote Soul Sounds - Vals de la Despedida
08. Ocote Soul Sounds - La Lucha Sigue
09. Ocote Soul Sounds - Where Is the Love?
10. Ocote Soul Sounds - Learn to Let Go
11. Ocote Soul Sounds - Greniudos
12. Ocote Soul Sounds - Look Sharp
13. Ocote Soul Sounds - Paz y Alegria

Discographie Ocote Soul Sounds :
Divinorum/Look Sharp 7" (2003) Fruitmeat/Giant Step
El Niño y El Sol with Adrian Quesada (2004) Airesol
Tamarindio/Ora como Rey, Mañana como Güey 7" (2005) Freestyle
Electric Tides (2005) Ocote Soul Media

Liens :
Ocote Soul Sounds Blog : Ocotesoulsounds.com
Downloads MP3 samples : Antibalas.com

Ocote Soul Sounds - Divinorum / Look Sharp
(7") Fruitmeat/Giant Step FRJ7, 2003-05-13

Tracklisting :
A1. Ocote Soul Sounds - Divinorum
B1. Ocote Soul Sounds - Look Sharp
...