Big Box of Afrosound

This eminently collectable box set of ten vinyl 7” singles will be a boon to any DJ overburdened by the back-breaking chore of lugging heavy loads of 12” vinyl discs to gigs. It might have been more accurately titled Big Box of Afro-Colombian Sound, since that is what's showcased here (notwithstanding the occasional excursion into Peruvian chicha and Dominican merengue) as typified by the fantastically slinky ‘Salsa Boogaloo’ of Sexteto Miramar.

Pablo e Yglesias, aka DJ Bongohead, was the compiler, and everything was sourced from LPs in the vaults of the Discos Fuentes label in Medellín. The most important criteria was the tracks had to be fun and/or crazy, as Yglesias explains in his often witty and informative liner notes, and plenty of the instrumental breaks and vocal cameos certainly fit the bill. Lurid, psychedelic keyboard sounds, spacey sound effects, natty guitar solos, batty conga breaks, shimmering vibes and quaintly tootling saxes abound as the cumbias trundle along. Few of the tracks chosen were actually released as actual 7” singles back in the day, and this compilation at times pairs different artists on imaginary A- and B-sides, such as the wonderful combination of Los Corraleros de Majagual's ‘El Vampiro’ (Vampisoul's unofficial anthem) backed with Jaime Ley's ‘Diablo’. While not all the tracks could be called indispensable to a DJ, there is plenty of material that beckons dancing feet and leaves smiles pasted across faces.