Brazil, Samba, Rock! (2012)

01 - intro - sivuca speaks

02 - os originais do samba - favela

03 - jorge ben - o telefone tocou novamente

04 - os mutantes - she's my shoo shoo (minha menina)

05 - eliseth cardoso - eu bebo sim

06 - ed lincoln - eu nao vou mais

07 - dedy dread - o bananeiro

08 - caetano veloso e gal costa - que pena (1969)

09 - sono rhizmo - o-telefono

10 - alessao vilhoso - sol de verao (7 samurai remix)

11 - elza soares - amor perfeito

12 - jorge ben - take it easy my brother charles

13 - maria bethania - mano caetano

14 - shantisan aquela - minha menina

15 - roberto carlos - mi cacharrito

16 - abilio manoel - luiza manequim

17 - jorge ben e trio mocoto - cosa nostra

18 - jorge ben - sou da pesada (7 samurai remix)

19 - gilberto gil - batmacumba

20 - gal costa - tuareg

21 - palov & panama cardoon - favelas

22 - os originais do samba - tenha fe pois amanha um lindo dia vai nascer

23 - d.angelo - muito incrementado

24 - trio tropical show - risada (meloda crise)

25 - os mutantes - baby

This compilation goes out straight to DJ Farrapo from Bologna/Italy! In 2008 I listened to a live mix of his from the Soul Sugar Party in Vienna - playing a Samba Rock set like no one else. Amazing tempo, amazing selection, amazing songs! You can still download the mix on his myspace site. DJ Farrapo is a musicologist, dj producer, samba lover and amateur cook. His ingredients: flavours from all over the world. His brand: a hot mix of pulsing club music. Knowing all this - track #1, the intro to this compilation makes even more sense: "In Brazil we use to call the Rhythm Section the kitchen, because they are the one's who cook. And - we have a beautiful kitchen here." And our main chef is Mister Farrapo, always cooking & brewing some tasty magic. Check out some of his older releases on Discogs or listen to the latest DJ Farrapo & Yanez release here. This is what Agogo Records has to say about their new Remix EP: "The musical spaceship of Dj Farrapo & Yanez is ready to land in the favela, bringing to you a genuine and fresh organic mix of electro-brazilian music. In their first LP, fifteen hot tracks, including their most popular songs, showing that not always aliens come to destroy the world: sometimes they come to dance! This 12" contains six brandnew remixes from this forthcoming double CD album ALIEN NA FAVELA. please enjoy !" And I am pretty sure I'm not the only one looking forward to the first Dj Farrapo & Yanez longplayer!

On this compilation I share some of my Samba Rock favourites from all over the years. Samba Rock is a style of music that was born in Brazil in the 1960's. It combines the sounds of samba, soul, bebop and jazz. In Brazil Samba Rock is a genre of samba and sub genre of rock and most importantly: it amazing music to dance to - whether you are in Brazil, Germany or China! Some of the pioneers of this great style of music are Jorge Ben Jor, Bebeto, Banda Black Rio, Tim Maia and Trio Mocoto. But Samba Rock is still going strong today, with new artists like Seu Jorge, Clube do Balanco, Sambasonics among others. Enjoy this compilation - and keep some cool drinks within reach, 'coz the summer heat is on...

DubMe

Oriental Discotheque - Disco Not Disco (2012)

01 - ahmed fakroun - njoom al leyel

02 - tanya - darladi ladada version

03 - antares - arabian dance

04 - orient express - abdullah dollar (jean pierre massiera '83)

05 - les mogol - madimak

06 - baris manco - aheste (baris k edit)

07 - rachid taha - agatha

08 - djamel allam - edit d'algerie (julian horn)

09 - bjork - crystalline (omar souleyman remix)

10 - elias rahbani - dance of maria

11 - abdul hassan orchestra - disco arab

12 - ait mislayene - el fen

13 - ahmed fakroun - yo son (prince language edit 'soleil soleil')

14 - raina rai - hagda

15 - les edits du golem - sumak

I have always liked the various forms of oriental music from the Middle East. Listening to my father playing some Mohammed Abdel Wahab (check out the classic Abdel Halim Hafez song Ya Albi Ya Khali produced by him) or Farid El Atrache tapes as a child was always deep and fazinating stuff! And the record covers of some of his Belly Dancing albums never seemed to disappoint. In recent years, whenever listening to some oriental music, I found myself mostly listening to music from Nickodemus, Zeb, The Spy From Cairo, Rachid Taha, Natacha Atlas - music which sometimes is summarized/described as global grooves (whatever that means) - music shared on many great Putumayo, Rough Guide to... or Turntables on the Hudson compilations and mixes. Today's compilation is a little different. Kind of Oriental Disco, Disco Not Disco, No Wave, Leftfield, Edit, Balearic, Italo Disco with an oriental theme, Pop-Boogie-Electro, Cosmic... I have always collected "oriental" songs which fit the above mentioned description. One of the first songs for this compilation might have been track #7, Agatha by Rachid Taha. Found it one a nice Balearic mix, whose name I have forgotten. Another early favourite is track# 10, Dance Of Maria by Lebanese musician and composer Elias Rahbani. What a stand out track with great drum breaks, killer organ, flutes... Too beautiful not to cry! Taken from his 1972 album "Mosaic of the Orient". Let me share what Little Danny, who is responsible for the great Officenaps blog, writes on soul sides - he did a great job describing the surroundings of the song: "In 1972 you’d still come across references to Beirut as "The Paris of the Middle East" in current issues of National Geographic; the city was, after all, the region’s nerve center of television, cinema, and radio. And Lebanese pop wunderkind Elias Rahbani was squarely in the middle of it all. His "Song of Maria" works precisely because of its cosmopolitan soul: it’s Eastern melody with Western circuitry, experimentalism with a sense of pop humor, and it’s crammed with flowing Farfisa organ lines, electric bass, keyboards that aren’t mizmars but sound exactly like them, bouzoukis, guitars, and even a few choice moments for you breakbeat aficionados. But, then again, this was 1972, a ravaging decade and a half of civil war was still a few years away, and, as far as Rahbani was concerned, there was room for all of it inside the pleasure dome.“ Read the rest here. The song that really got this compilation rollin' was track #13, the Prince Language killer edit of Libyan singer Ahmed Fakroun's 1983 hit "Soleil Soleil". Find the original here. John Storm Roberts, of Original Music, wrote that "among rai singers, the pop-oriented Ahmed Fakroun stands out on two grounds. First, he is influenced by Euro-pop and French art-rock (...) Second, he's a multi-instrumentalist in both traditions as well as a singer. He plays bouzouki-like saz, mandol and darbouka drum, as well as guitar, bass guitar and keyboards." This is what the jonosaudio blog had to say about Ahmed Fakroun, far the best introduction to this fine musicians I found on the blogsphere: "Multiinstrumentalist Ahmed Fakroun musical career started already in the early 1970's after which he had several lenghty recording and performance sejours in England and France. (In 1974 he recorded "Njoom Al Leyel", which is the first song featured on this compilation. Produced in England by famous BBC Radio producer Tommy Vance in 1974, it features some funky flute workouts over a deep groove. In 1977 he worked together with famous Greek composer and artist Vangelis resulting in the track "Nisyan". Listen to the Les Edits Du Golem edit of the same song on youtube.) In 1983 his Mots D'Amour album was released including the hit single Soleil Soleil to make his mark in world music circles, combining traditional Arab instruments and melodies with modern electronic music and dance rhythms. But then came the US aerial bombing of Libya in April 1986, followed by years of international sanctions and isolation, ...(which) seriously impeded its citizens' freedom of movement and Fakroun's international career plans were effectively put on ice." Here is another lengthy article about Ahmed Fakroun from the BBC website - well worth reading. If you want to further explore Fakroun's musical works, check out his website. Some of his original recordings can legally be downloaded through CD Baby here and here. Track #8 is another song I would like to mention. A brilliant edit of Djamel Allam's Fatiha from his 1974 album "Laissez Moi Rancorter" by Julian Horn. Julian Horn aka. Giulio DJ started his career DJ'ing in Vienna around ten years ago, bringing his love for authentic disco, balearic beats and cosmic leftfield sounds to the plates of many locals. Check out some of his music released on Is it Balearic...? and Elevator People. And don't forget to give this amazing song and video on youtube a listen. Pure feel-good-music! Educated as a sound engineer in London, Giulio's musical visions mostly expand on the themes of balearic disco, fusion jazz, and prog rock. I hope he will soon share another magical edit of a north african, arabic, oriental delicacy! I would have loved to include the 1978 song Do You Love Me by the Bendaly Family from Lebanon on this compilation, but I couldn't find a copy of it anywhere. So, you gotta watch the youtube version right here:

Amazing raw footage that leaves me jaw dropping stunned every time I watch it. And happy! For sure my favourite musical family out there - together with the Jackson 5... Doyo love me? Doyo Doyo...

Enjoy! DubMe

PS: This compilation fits perfectly on one CD - just click "NO PAUSE BETWEEN TRACKS" when you are going to burn it - and the CD will be exactly 79:59 minutes long...

The Reggae Disco Connection (2012)

01 - dennis brown - get high on your love (panama cardoon edit)

02 - derrick harriott - soul sister

03 - derrick harriott - dancing the reggae music (12inch)

04 - monyaka - go deh yaka (instrumental dub)

05 - peter tosh - dubbing buk-in-hamm

06 - richard ace - supernatural thing

07 - byron lee - the hustle

08 - beres hammond - music is a positive vibration

09 - the in crowd - back a yard (extented version)

10 - risco connection - ain't no stopping us now (version)

11 - la famille - all night long

12 - time unlimited - back fire (natural vibes intl.)

13 - jennifer lara - i am in love

14 - yellowman - world war (kill emil re-edit)

15 - willie lindo - drum song

Apart from the great SoulJazz compilation Hustle from a few years ago, Disco Reggae still seems to be a part of Reggae that is either frowned upon by Reggae purists - or has fallen under the radar of the many styles of DJ culture. I was planning to make this a compilation strictly showcasing some of the lost treasures of this "genre" - selecting some of my favourite Reggae songs in a Disco style. But actually I got carried away to include some soulful reggae grooves - as well as some Lovers Rock songs - smoothing out this compilation - and actually making it quite a nice player for your summer sunshine garden party, BBQ or beach day...

After finishing this compilation and having listened to a whole bunch of Reggae songs in a Disco fashion - I must say that the crown of Reggae Disco Grooves either goes to Joe Gibbs & his Disco Echo chamber - or the "more than soulful" Reggae producer and crooner Derrick Harriott, who was not only responsible for a series of classic Rocksteady productions in the late 60ies, but also for some grooving soulful and discofied Reggae songs in the 70ies, as you can hear on this compilation. I am opening this compilation with a Panama Cardoon edit of Get High On Your Love by Dennis Brown. Pure Disco Reggae with some good Greek bass & bounce! Find the Dennis Brown original here. Track #2 and #3: these two songs showcase some of Derrick Harriott's finest 70ies Reggae Soul and Pop sounds. Pure Reggae pop, love & groove. Derrick Harriott might also have been one of the first Reggae artists going Disco with his 1975 longplayer Reggae Disco Rockers, which includes the classic "Fly, Robin Fly", a cover of the Silver Convention original. Track #4 - Monyaka - Go Deh Yaka (Instrumental Dub) is a classic Easy Street Records disco reggae stomper from 1983. I prefer the Instrumental over the vocal version. The instrumental is heavily dubbed by legendary mixers Sergio Munzibal & John Morales. Monyaka was a funk group based out of Los Angeles, California, which among other great musicians had Reggae veteran Larry McDonald playing percussion and Val Douglas from the Skatalites playing bass. Track #5 "Dubbing Buk-In-Hamm" is the phenomenal dub remix of Peter Tosh's epic "Buk-in-Ham Palace" song over a bubbling disco rhythm, which was included on the 12inch of the same title. On the b-side of the same 12inch you will also find the prophetic The Day the Dollar Die, in which Tosh pleads his case for capitalism's demise over a shimmering reggae-pop groove. Track #7 takes things a little easier. Giving us an easy grooving cover version of Van McCoy's hit (Do) The Hustle. Pure 70s smooth-groove soul. Originally released on the Again! LP in 1975 on Dynamics Records. Track #8 is Music Is A Positive Vibration by Beres Hammond from his 1979 album Just A Man. Upbeat & Soulful. Can Disco Reggae get any better?! Track #9, the extended version of "Back A Yard" from The In Crowd Reggae band keeps things soulful and heartikal. A rejoiced Lovers Rock song about returning home to Jamaica to smoke some collie and celebrate love and life. Pure Chill-Out, love & sunshine sharing some "good time feelings". Track #10 is Ain't No Stopping Us Now by the Risco Connection. Already shared this song on the Palmwine Grooves & Disco compilation from 2011. But had to share it again. It just fits right into this selection. Risco Connection were a Jamaican band put together by Joe Isaacs (an original member of Jamaica's Studio One group "The Soul Vendors") in the late 1970s - which specialized in remakes of the hits of the day, with nice and dubby rhythms at the bottom, and some sweet moogy touches on the top! Another Risco Connection favourite of mine is their remake of Billy Stewart's "Sitting in the Park." Track #11, "All Night Long" by La Famille, gives us a lovers rock cover of All Night Long by the Mary Jane Girls. Track #13, I Am In Love by Jennifer Lara is a rare Studio One Disco joint produced by Coxsone Dodd in the early '80s. Check out the original by Evelyn "Champagne" King here. Track #15 - I am ending this compilation with Willie Lindo's cover of the classic Studio One Drum Song. Enjoy! DubMe

PS: This compilation fits perfectly on one CD - just click "NO PAUSE BETWEEN TRACKS" when you are going to burn it - and the CD will be exactly 79:57 long...

Beatz & Carrots #8 (May 2012)

01 - howie b, sly & robbie - ballistic squeeze (edit)

02 - doug hream blunt - gentle persuasion

03 - lee perry - jungle lion (instrumental)

04 - ranil y su conjunto tropical - chinito rulo (dengue dengue dengue! cumbiaton refix)

05 - sierra leone's refugee all stars - mother in law

06 - cal tjader - mamblues

07 - liam bailey - when will they learn
08 - c.love and aretha - say.a.little

09 - mi##ael jackson - rock w#th you (reeno 12 mix)

10 - the reflex - b.b. king - the thrill is gone (the reflex stems re-vision)

11 - the soul session - hamjam (tofu mix)

12 - stan getz - girl from ipanema (n.a.s.a. remix)

13 - leon - da gypsy groovy (exteneded mix)

14 - pbr streetgang - j2thab (original mix)

15 - donnie & joe emerson - baby

16 - outro - mikey dread in action

Hi everyone! I am back with another Beatz & Carrots compilation. But first I want to thank everyone who left a comment. It's good to get a little feedback, know that there are other people out there who enjoy some of the same music – especially if one lives in China, which musically is still a bit of a wasteland. Compared to other countries and places I have stayed at – musically there isn't happening much in China (well – it's been getting better. But there are still too many other things that held much greater importance for most Chinese I know). I am currently living in Chengdu, which is the 10 million people capital of the Sichuan province, south-west of Tibet. 10 Million people – and there are hardly any places where one can listen to good music or do some crazy dancing. Still – if you should ever come to China – go to one of those super-big-luxury-other-world night clubs full of sexy women, fake (and super expensive) whisky mixed with red tea, gangsters, businessmen, prostitutes, rich kids (or second-generation-rich, as they are usually called here) and more and more white-collar workers who are trying different ways and places to spend their hard earned money. It definitely is worth an experience! When I first came to China in 2003 I had my share of crazy nights in some chinese night clubs. But if you go out to listen and dance to good music played by a good DJ, then even 9 years later you will most likely be disappointed. Most clubs play the same „Happy House“ sets every night of the week... many places even every night of the year. You can basically set your clock to the songs the DJ is playing. I was once asked to dj in a Chinese club – not because of the music I play – but just because I was a foreigner; tall, blond hair, blue eyes – and that still "sells" in China. But then again - I was not even allowed to play my own music. I had to play their CD's according to their fixed playlist. I guess I was still „lucky“ - I knew some people who had to play a Mix CD for 2 hours and pretend they were mixing, while making „cool moves“ a DJ is supposed to make. Well – I could tell you more stories – but we are here for the music. Beatz & Carrots #8: find some of my favourite songs from the month of May here. Fresh discoveries & exciting re-discoveries. Compared to the other Beatz & Carrots compilations so far, this one seems to be more on the mellow & soulful side. Nevertheless, you will still find some songs in here to get yourself groovin' or movin'... Track #2 is Doug Hream Blunt's Gentle Persuasion which I first came across via the James Pants - Disco Mix, which is full of rare and obscure disco gems. „Gentle Persuasion“ is an incredible song, which blends some hazy lo-fi jazzy aesthetics with early eighties boogie funk/RnB grooves and has Blunt singing macked out sexual innuendos while noodling away on his guitar: “like ice your butt is the dice . . . now dance”. Go here for more info. Track #6 – „Mamblues“ is a fiery 1958 Latin Jazz groover from vibraphonist Cal Tjader, backed with the funked-up 1972 remake for the adult cartoon 'Fritz The Cat' featuring Bernard Purdie on drums. Heavy heavy heavy! Track #7 - „Liam Bailey - When Will They Learn“ - thanks to fellow blogger Duendiness for sharing & introducing me to this soulful beauty, backed by some heavyweight dubby bass sounds! If you liked „Griz - You Got To Change“ from Beatz & Carrots #7 – track #8 - C.Love & Zombies – Say.A.Little might be something for you again. A deep & soulful re-write and re-work of Aretha Franklin's „I Say a Little Prayer“ by the mysterious C.Love. Just the right combination of soul & electronics! Track #9 - Mi##ael Jackson - Rock W#th You (A Very Special Reeno 12" Mix) is an extented 12inch remix of this 1979 classic. Amazing track to chill to. Track #12 is a N.A.S.A. remix of the classic „Girl From Ipanema“ by Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz. Originally to be found on the „Getz/Gilberto“ album, which together with Stan Getz's „Jazz Samba“ album is a record I never get tired listening to. Track #14 - J2thab (OriginalMix) is a heavy going funk meets electronics James Brown tribute by Pbr Streetgang. My kind of dancefloor! I am fading out this selection of Beatz & Carrots favourites with track #15 – the haunting, slow groove „Baby“ by Donnie & Joe Emerson, which is beautiful blue-eyed soul at it's finest. Someone on Soulstrut described this song, “as if Shuggie Otis and Roy Orbison had a baby together” - Well, I can't describe it any better than that! And we are lucky! It just got re-released on Light In The Attic Records. Also check out Ariel Pink's cover here.

Enjoy; DubMe

Beatz & Carrots #7 (April 2012)

01 - combo de la musica - angola

02 - musi kal - el yaibi

03 - jurassic 5 - canto de ossanha

04 - ariel pink's haunted graffiti - fright night (nevermore) (dam funk remix)

05 - testpattern - techno age

06 - pino daniele - yes i know my way (special 12inch version)

07 - lloyd parks - mafia (parks 45)

08 - barbara lynn - i'm a good woman (maxey & fred spider mix final)

09 - los graduados - ese muerto no lo cargo yo (dj still life edit)

10 - solo moderna - dance cleopatra (solo moderna balkumbia remix)

11 - monetrik - mambo grodo

12 - griz - you got to change

13 - pastor t.l. barrett and the youth for christ choir - like a ship... (without a sail)

14 - jungle by night - ethiopino

15 - ras michael & the suns of negus - wicked men

16 - thomas mapfumo - hokoyo

17 - shimi sonic - beat of a preacher man

18 - ernest ranglin - in the rain

Resurrection! It's been a long time since my last post. Might have been the longest in between posts ever. Hopefully I will be able to post more regularly now. During the last 2-3 months writing my thesis occupied most of my time (just graduated this Friday), but nevertheless I was still able to sneak in a few minutes of music every day. No shower without loud music blasting out of my speakers. So there is still quite a bit of music I wanna share with you all. Let's start with the April Beatz & Carrots selection which I was finally able to compile! Song #1 is „Angola“ by the Combo De La Musica. Baaam! That song hit me straight since I first heard it in a mix somewhere. Beautiful song. Don't know how to describe it – but it has all the right ingredients: Jazz, Afro-Latin sounds via Sweden, real instruments (and a lot of them!), a powerful singer, a bit of a Quantic feeling - AND - the music is energetic, it’s funky, it makes you want to sing and dance. They just released a 7inch on Traveller Records and you can listen to it here. Song #2 is El Yaibi by Musi Kal, a sweet little bouncing tune that uses Quantic's great „Mas Pan“ sample as an intro - and from there it goes Cumbiaaa!!! Makes the summer sun shine even nicer! Track #4 - has Dam Funk giving us a little remix treatment of Ariel Pink's „Fright Night (Nevermore)“ - adding more funk and bounce to this ghostly tune. I like the feeling of the song: surreal lo-fi, leftfield, pop, punk, electronic, fast, slow aesthetics. Track # 5, Testpattern's „Techno Age“ from the album Après-Midi (1982) continues with similar aesthetics: „Gorgeous technopop from Japan… half video game soundtrack, half zen meditation“, using a sample from an 80ies Hongkong Kung-Fu movie. Thanks to yerdarlingdaily for sharing this one. „Pino Daniele - Yes I Know My Way (Special 12inch Version)“ - track #6, is another recent favorite of mine. Not much info available on this soulful & funky boogie disco song from Italy. Apparently from 1985. Thanks to DJ Prime for introducing me to this one. Looking forward to his edit as well - give it a listen here. Track #8 gives us a killer edit of Barbara Lynn's classic „I'm A Good Woman“ by Maxey & Fred Spider. Next to the original - this is probably my favorite version of „I'm a good Woman“! More groove, more funk, more boom! Play it out loud! Maxey & Fred Spider are part of Los Chicos Altos, who have released some brilliant electronic World Music on UrbanWorld Records and Spring Strut Records. Track # 9 gives us some uptempo Cumbiaaa! madness. DJ Still Life's edit of „Los Graduados - Ese Muerto No Lo Cargo Yo“. This is what DJ Still Life says about the song on his soundcloud page: „Heavy dancefloor business from Colombia's Los Graduados, w/ lyrics about being wrongly fingered for a murder. I added some extra percussion, beefed up the low-end, and extended the intro and outro for easier addition to DJ sets. You can check out the original (and super silly video) here.“ Crazy crazy fast crazy uptempo cumbia tune. I love it! Check out more great music and freebies on his soundcloud page. Track #10 is Solo Moderna's balkumbia remix of Dance Cleopatra. Originally a Ska song (and what a Ska song!!!) by Prince Buster, Sono Moderna created something totally new and beautiful out of it. Well - anything with Solo Moderna, Balkumbia and Dance Cleopatra in it is a not to be missed winning-combination! This track gets better with every time I listen to it. Hugely addictive. And the Sister Nancy sample really kills it! So good! Definitely a song that is going to be shaking up the dancefloors this summer. Track #11 - Mambo Grodo is one of those simple feel-good-songs. Monetrik giving Xavier Cugat's Mambo classic some good greek loving! Beautiful! Track #12 - Griz's You Got To Change is another winner! A deep burning version of Willie Bobo's Evil Ways. Track #13: „Pastor T.L. Barrett and the Youth For Christ Choir - Like A Ship... (Without A Sail)“ - You may or May not be into it. But it’s been killing me the last couple weeks. What a song! What music! Living in China in 2012 - where perfect materialism covered up with fake Chinese communist attributes (sing me the song of „The Emperor's New Clothes“) is sucking out the last bit of soul and spirituality that Mao left after his mad reign - a bit of spirituality and soul is much needed. And if it is only a strong message shared in a little Gospel song! Beautiful & Uplifting! Track #14 has been a song and album on my want- and wish list for quite some time: Jungle By Night's Ethiopino. Listen to the first 10 seconds - and you know this song is good. 2012 - Afro-Beat, Afro-Funk, Jazz never sounded more fresh, raw & real. Check this review on my ever-favourite parisdjs.com or check out their website for more. Track #15: "Ras Michael & The Suns Of Negus - Wicked Men". Rasta got the message. Reggae got the message. "With a bif baf bif bif boof - people shall unite..." If you listen carefully to a lot of Reggae songs, old and new - so many of them share a message which is now more true than ever. And more needed than ever! Play it loud and spread the message! (I am currently working on a compilation of songs - with powerful music and even stronger lyrics: Sharon Jones - What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes, Yami Bolo - Babylon Is Out A Control, Tom Fire - Brainwash, Charles Bradley - The World (Is Going Up In Flames), Manu Chao - Politik Kills. If you know any similar songs I should know and put on that compilation - please post them in the comments! Thanks!!!). Track #16 is Thomas Mapfumo's "Hokoyo" which means "Watch Out!" in Shona, and Mapfumo was eventually arrested and jailed for the overtly political lyrics of the song, which were a warning to the white government of Rhodesia, today known as Zimbabwe. Musically the song is a straight and upbeat R&B shuffle, the only tip-off to its non-American nature coming from the lanky Shona vocals tossed back and forth between Mapfumo and the members of his Band. Track #18 goes out straight to my friend and fellow blogger Duendiness: Ernest Ranglin - In The Rain. I know he will like it ;-) A deep Reggae cover of The Dramatics In The Rain from 1971 with some far-away vocals and Ernest Ranglin on guitar. Chill deluxe! Taken from Ernest Ranglin - From Kingston JA to Miami USA (1983).

That's it! Hit the download button and leave a comment if you enjoy the music... DubMe

And! If you burn this compilation to CD - click "NO PAUSE BETWEEN TRACKS" before you burn it. Best way to keep the groove and flow...

Beatz & Carrots Special (June 2011)

Hi Everyone! For the next 5-6 weeks I will be really busy writing my thesis which I have to submit at the beginning of June. And I still need do a lot of writing & researching. I am usually the kind of person who leaves everything to the last minute - but I guess that's not a too good thing to do with one's thesis... Nevertheless - I still will be trying to post a new compilation every week. Less writing. Just a tracklist - and the music. Expect some Beatz & Carrots favourites from last year, a Gnawa & Reggada compilation I did two years ago, maybe some obscure Cumbia - and a compilation of Chinese favourites: „Chinese Rock & Pop - Golden Favourites“ as I named it - focusing on some good Chinese Pop, Rock, Indie & Folk songs... 

Today I share a Beatz & Carrots compilation which includes some of my musical favourites from June 2011:

01 - intro - tony rebel - one love

02 - chic - open up

03 - the jacksons - blame it on the boogie

04 - king kennytone and his western toppers band - suzzy twist

05 - rhythmagic orchestra - fish market dance

06 - henfield and shadowman - babatunde

07 - michael jackson - we've got a good thing going

08 - the eliminators - loving explosion

09 - hackney colliery band - africa

10 - rene hall - twitchy

11 - jackie mittoo - mission impossible

12 - leela - dread dub

13 - mungos hi fi - haffi rock

14 - j. boogie's dubtronic science - try me (people under the stairs remix instrumental)

15 - panama cardoon - tres reinas

16 - niles philips - what'cha doing

17 - quantic - sol clap

18 - stevie wonder - sir duke

19 - dennis brown - the world is troubled

20 - tommy mccook - sweet lorna

21 - rocky dawuni - freefall (jeremy sole remix ft. ticklah)

22 - aged in harmony - you’re a melody

23 - simon resoul - entre (ft kormac)

Enjoy & spread the music; DubMe

Beatz & Carrots #6 (March 2012)

01 - joubert singers - stand on the word (hot coins remix)

02 - sly & robbie - burru saturday

03 - ali hussan kuban - hanwil tanza (izzywise remix)

04 - johnny clarke - none shall escape the judgement (orig. egyptian reggae riddim!!!)

05 - king tubby & the aggrovators - a social version

06 - ely camargo - taieiras

07 - buena vista social club - chan chan (dj yamin remix)

08 - quintette guinenne - douga

09 - watusi - oio gere (alkalino rework)

10 - captain planet - samba radiante 2011 (chris read remix)

11 - eddy grant & the coach house rhythm section - timewarp

12 - banderas ft bouloukou - mogomake (lack of afro remix)

13 - the temptations - papa was a rolling stone (b.cause jamming dub edit)

14 - ray vs. beatsy collins - i got a woman

15 - razika - why have we to wait

16 - the pussycats - why have we to wait

17 - booker t & the mg's - hip hug-her (danny massure mastered)

18 - haruomi hosono, suzuki shigeru, tatsuro yamashita - passion flower

19 - jimmy cliff - sitting in limboton (dj theory remix)

20 - tall black guy - what's good (james brown - i feel good flip up)

21 - yusef lateef – passacaglia

This Beatz & Carrots #6 compilation should have been posted here like two weeks ago – a nice & fresh selection of musical favourites from the month of March - songs which I have listened to a lot, some brand new – some old and dusted – but nevertheless fresh and exciting. As usual - a colourful, eclectic mix of different styles... We start with a nice wonky dubbed out Hot Coins remix of the gospel disco classic „Stand On The Word“ by the Joubert Singers – probably one of the best and biggest Disco gospel songs ever made. According to Soul Sides and discogs.com: "Stand On The Word" was first ever recorded live in the First Baptist Church in Crown Heights, NYC, in 1982. Soon after the church pressed up a couple of hundred copies for the congregation," upon which, it was discovered by local DJs at places like Garage, The Loft, etc. and ended up getting a promo-release on Next Plateau (on both 12" and 7"). There's some disagreement over who actually remixed the song - there's a bootleg 12" you can find that credits Larry Levan but the actual record nods to Tony Humphries so go figure. Either way, it's just great.“ Track #2 „Burru Saturday“ - is a beautiful dub song - having one foot in the past, and one in the present - from Sly and Robbie's latest production Blackwood Dub. Track #3 is a izziwise remix of „Hanwil Tanza“ by the great Nubian singer and bandleader Ali Hassam Kuban. Love this remix! Beautiful raw, powerful, funky, fresh... And those vocals. Perfect combination!!! Check out his website for more. Track #7 was another soundcloud find: Buena Vista Social Club's song "Chan Chan" covered by The Mattanoll Brass Band Review and remixed with a bit more of that hard hitting Hip-Hop feel by DJ Yamin. Love the original, but this review and remix is definitely adding its own class to the original without dominating it - both songs forming a close union... And then comes track #08 – which must be one of the most beautiful, sweet, haunting songs I have listened to in a while - a kind of joyful ballad by the Quintette Guinenne – merging older African roots and modern jazz music. Its addictive!!! Track #9 is another joyful song which I think is from Brazil: Watusi - OioGere (Alkalino Rework). Musical Sunshine! Track #11 is „Timewarp“ by Eddy Grant's backing band „The Coach House Rhythm Section“. It's hard to compute this disco not disco monster came out in 1977 (the same year as Kraftwerk's „Trans Europe Express“). The vocal version of this song is called „Nobody's got time“ and you just need to listen to where he takes the instrumental to understand why it was labeled 'Timewarp'. Heavy Heavy Heavy Stuff! Eddy Grant – for having released so many classic tracks – he definitely deserves to get more credit! Huge artist! Track #13 - The Temptations - Papa Was ARolling Stone (b.cause jamming dub edit) gives us a well deserved break. Deep & beautiful Song! What a great idea it is to mash up the Temptations classic with Bob Marley's Jamming! Track #18 takes us to some exotic Pacific Island via Japan: „Haruomi Hosono, Suzuki Shigeru, Tatsuro Yamashita - Passion Flower“. I found this little disco gem on yer darling daily - which must be one of my favourite blogs out there – sharing such a variety of exiting & eclectic music. This is what he had to say about this song: „Aw yeah. Three incomparable instrumentalists, one sparkling disco rhinestone. You might call this elevator music. But it’s the kind you’d hear as you breeze out of the elevator at your Hanalei Bay resort, hiding behind your Ray-Bans, and someone hands you a coconut with a straw in it. Oh yes.“ - couldn't have said it better! If you want to get into more good Japanese music – try „JAPS ONRY 4: WAKARIMASEN“ at Ying Yangs. Track #19 – and we are slowly coming to the end of this months Beatz & Carrots selection – is DJ Theory having some fun with Jimmy Cliff's summertime classic „Sitting in Limbo“. And not only he is having fun and feeling much better! A1 remix!!! Everybody „Feeling Good“ now?! Then we can listen to track #20: What's Good (James Brown – I Feel Good Flip Up), a dope dope dope instrumental by the independent hip hop producer Tall Black Guy from Detroit, Michigan. That's it! Hit the download button and leave a comment if you enjoy the music... DubMe

PS: If you want to know more about the record which I used for the cover of this months Beatz & Carrots compilation – have a look at Beatz & Carrots #4.

And! This compilation fits perfectly on one CD - just click "NO PAUSE BETWEEN TRACKS" when you are going to burn it - and the CD will be exactly 79:43 long...