Mr Bongo’s eclectic finds enter their seventh volume by the way of ‘Mr Bongo Record Club Vol.7’, guest reviewer Jimmy Coultas takes it for a spin.
Mr Bongo‘s journey started digging for beats back in Venezuela three decades ago, lifting the finds he found across the Americas to bring back to share with Europe. That eventually turned into the much-loved record label showcasing hard-to-find sounds from across the planet, rapidly establishing itself as a source of quality for DJs and music lovers across funk, disco, cumbia, soul, world music and much more.
Nothing has been more reflective of the goodness the imprint represents than its annual Mr Bongo Record club compilations. The seventh instalment is now here, and for fans of more Balearic and horizontal sounds, this compilation is absolutely perfect. Starting with the lush ‘Eloiá’ from Brazilian singer Dudu Moraes, there are similarly dreamy downtempo numbers from Chico Evangelista, As Sublimes and a gorgeous bossa nova version of Bill Wither’s ‘Lovely Day.’
It’s not all slower sounds; Willy Chrino goes for percussion heaven on ‘Africa’, The Duncan’s early boogie pumper ‘Too Dam Hot’ makes an appearance, while Gitte & Inger’s ‘Ud Af Buret’, a brilliant Danish cover of Creative Source’s ‘Can’t hide love’, is the sort of never-heard anthem you’d expect Nick The Record to blow your socks off with. In the next few months, you’ll hear DJs raiding this compilation everywhere, from Tottenham to Tisno. We’d encourage you to do the digging yourself, particularly as Mr Bongo has already done the hard work.
Buy ‘Mr Bongo Record Club Vol.7’ on vinyl now here.
