Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca: Isabela (Mopiato/Southbound)

 |   |  <1 min read

Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca: Kasongo Boogaloo
Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca: Isabela (Mopiato/Southbound)

Anyone wanting a quick injection of jazzy Afro-Latin grooves and palm wine warmth shouldn't go past this laid-back but lively outing by this LA-based but authentic band which is like a smorgasbord of Spanish, soukous, son, salsa, Congolese rumba and much more -- with the great guitarist Papa Noel appearing four tracks.

And the Cape Verde singer Maria de Barros drops by for a couple of songs.

Those are the kinds of bonuses you might expect to elevate a mediocre album but in this case they are right there among equals on this excellent collection whih invites you to hip-sway, and sigh along with the ballads.

If the Buena Vista and its trickle-down impressed you then you'll be signing on here.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   World Music from Elsewhere articles index

Natacha Atlas: Mounqaliba/In a State of Reversal (World Village)

Natacha Atlas: Mounqaliba/In a State of Reversal (World Village)

This great interpreter of Arabic music has made a number of appearances at Elsewhere for her sinuous voice and often remarkable songs. She could hold her own with TransGobal Undergrounds in the... > Read more

Bazurka: Novi Grad All Stars (digital outlets)

Bazurka: Novi Grad All Stars (digital outlets)

As Womad attendees would attest, bands that get people up dancing – Afrobeat, reggae, “jump-jump” hip-hop, madcap Hispanic and gypsy-jazz sounds – are always popular. On... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

WHAT LIES BENEATH: I'd like to be, under the sea . . .

WHAT LIES BENEATH: I'd like to be, under the sea . . .

Any honest writer will admit to this: another writer will express their idea better than they can themselves. The other day I came upon these words in the hypnotic new novel In Ascension by... > Read more

BILLY APPLEⓇLIFE/WORK by CHRISTINA BARTON

BILLY APPLEⓇLIFE/WORK by CHRISTINA BARTON

Although a jury of art critics and curators might reach a favourable consensus about Billy AppleⓇ's 1974 exhibition From Barrie Bates to Billy AppleⓇ1960-1974 – which occupied the... > Read more