Ocote Soul Sounds - Taurus (2011)

After winning a Grammy Award in 2011 and backing the Tony Award winning broadway show “Fela!” with their respective bands Grupo Fantasma and Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Adrian Quesada and Martin Perna return to their sun-soaked Latin-psychedelia project Ocote Soul Sounds with their fourth studio album, Taurus.

Like its bullish namesake, their latest album smashes through sonic barriers with a heavy and dynamic mix of pan-Latin flavor, conscious political attitude, afrobeat and hip-hop rhythms. Taurus was produced by Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation at the Washington DC based ESL Music Studios and features vocal collaborations with fellow ESL Music regulars Natalia Clavier, Sitali, Verny Varela and Chico Mann.

With soaring vocal anthems like “Primavera,” bass-bin rattling groovers like “En El Temblor,” red-hot Latin jams like “Contigo Jamas,” and even pensive Italian folk excursions like “Nessuno”, Taurus is Ocote Soul Sounds’ most expansive and complete album to date!

Ocote Soul Sounds - Primavera by INgroovesmarketing

Ikebe Shakedown - S/T (2011)

Ikebe Shakedown, the self-titled album from the Brooklyn-based band, plays with elements of Cinematic Soul, Afro-funk, Deep Disco, and Boogaloo in all the right ways. After spending a few years together the group, named after a favorite Nigerian boogie record (and pronounced “ee-KAY-bay,”) delivers a driving set of tunes featuring a mighty horn section anchored by tight, deep-pocketed grooves.

Ikebe Shakedown - "Tujunga" by Ubiquity Records

Farewell, my lady...

Jill Scott - The Light of the Sun (2011)

The Light of the Sun feels like the sort of album made by someone who’s busy doing something else: in Jill Scott’s case her acting, bringing up her child and recovering from a broken heart. This doesn’t mean, however, that it feels as if her music is taking second place to all these other matters. In fact, the album feels like the rush of somebody being able to celebrate/commiserate while on the run. Hence the album has a looseness, an unfinished air, and it revels in its spontaneity. There is studio chatter and laughter left on the tape, capturing a freewheeling vibe.

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - From Africa With Fury:Rise (2011)

With the mighty new From Africa With Fury: Rise, Seun Anikulapo Kuti heads up Egypt 80, the extraordinary combo first fronted by his renowned father. The album follows Kuti's critically praised debut, 2008's Many Things, which was unanimously hailed for continuing Fela's musical legacy. From Africa With Fury: Rise sees Kuti finding his own idiosyncratic voice as songwriter, singer, and band leader, its songs and sonic approach marked by provocative edge and mature self-assurance.

Produced by Brian Eno, John Reynolds, and Seun Kuti, with additional production by Godwin Logie, and mixed by John Reynolds and Tim Oliver, the album captures Seun and Egypt 80's extraordinary power, fraught with the scorching rhythms and kinetic funk energy that has earned the band – as ever, under the leadership of alto saxophonist Lekan Animashaun – worldwide acclaim as one of today's most incendiary live acts. With Kuti's booming vocal stylings at the forefront, songs like "African Soldier" and "Mr. Big Thief" are fueled by call-and-response hooks, breakneck tempos, and combative, topical lyricism which firmly sets the classic Egypt 80 sound in the modern era.

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 : Rise by VMLive

The Echocentrics - Sunshadows (2011)

The Echocentrics is a new band from Austin-based two-time Grammy winning producer Adrian Quesada, a member of Grupo Fantasma, and one of the minds behind bands Ocote Soul Sounds and Brownout. Teaming up with Argentinean singer Natalia Clavier and Brazil-based Tita Lima, he has carved out a southern-fried, laid back, and psychedelic-tinged album.
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