Carruseles

Waaahaaahaaaa! From deep within Colombia's Discos Fuentes vaults comes another Vampisoul resurrection… But Afrosound's 1974 release stands out from the crowd like an alien from Planet Zog. Produced by the ubiquitous, ever-dependable Fruko – perhaps with an ear for the popularity of Andean chicha music – Afrosound's third LP is brimming with interstellar organ, fuzzed-out electric guitar and the kind of chattering nonsensical exhortations associated with inane TV game shows. A track like ‘Banana de Queso’ captures the album's crazy spirit: as loco as a cheese banana. ‘Me Voy de la Vida’ and the fabulous ‘Negua’ confirm that the group can equally serve their cumbia straight and with none of the quirks that make the madcap ‘Zaire Pop’ sound vaguely like Isaac Hayes’ Shaft remixed by Bronski Beat. The very funky piano on ‘Salsa con Tabaco’ marries Colombian salsa with the soulful feel of the Ramsey Lewis trio's ‘In Crowd’. It's all quite bonkers, but the final ‘Mi Soncito’ underlines that, for all its eccentricity, this is an album aimed at dancers. It doesn’t let up from start to finish and any collector of Discos Fuentes memorabilia should put this right at the top of his or her list.