Color de Trópico Vol 2

For a short album, this packs a mighty punch. Variously a crate digger’s delight, an ode to the hopes of a newly democratic Venezuela and a testament to the passion and commitment of the Barcelona-based DJ El Palmas and his colleague El Dragón Criollo, Color de Trópico Vol 2 is eight tracks’ worth of funky, freaky splendour, cherry-picked from the cutting edge 60s and 70s. Opener ‘Empecemos (Let’s Start)’ by Los Kings, is a slice of chugging, Afrobeat-informed, keys-guitar-and-cowbell-driven optimism, a tune that explains the era as one in which Venezuelan music absorbed crazes from elsewhere, refreshing itself with elements of jazz, salsa, disco, ska and funk while still maintaining its identity. And its humour: Orquesta La Playa’s ‘Negro Soy’ opens with a pantomime laugh and heartfelt cries of ‘Africa! Africa!’ before mariachi trumpets give way to percussive rhythms under a pathos-laden bolero. Elsewhere, the glorious ‘María La Bella’ by Nelson y Sus Estrellas finds golden salsa horns soloing and interweaving with cowbell, clave and male choruses that zing; ‘Santo Domingo’ by Mario y sus Diamantes is a classic cumbia given left-field smarts by Mario Carniello’s vibing, snaking Hammond organ and the steady screech-screech of a handheld guiro.

A grab bag of fabulousness.