Long consigned to Strictly Come Dancing and other black holes of Saturday evening television, for some people Latin music means a lot more than watching Brucie two-stepping his way through a cha-cha.
Founded in 1964, Fania was a bad-ass label providing the best Hispanic sounds emerging from the ghetto. A seething boiling pot of styles, merging together Caribbean, traditional Spanish and soul rhythms, Fania’s output has, for those in the know, become the holy grail of latin music.
This new collection gathers together some of the finest releases ever pressed to wax by the label. Opening with Peter Rodriguez’s take on the title track, what follows is a fourteen track invitation to get down and dirty – barrio style. Amongst the standouts are Dave Cortez’ “Happy Soul With A Hook” (later ripped wholesale by Christina Aguilera) and Ray Barretto’s “O Elefante”.
A bonus disc of remixes sees acts such as Bonde De Role, Bugs In The Attic and long time latin aficionado Gilles Peterson re-tool these tracks for the modern era. Yet what surprises is how little re-mixing the cast need to do, as if the Fania recipe is capable of tickling the musical palate in any era.
The sun is shining, what better soundtrack do you need? Just slip this on and forget all about Brucie…
