FORT KNOX RECORDINGS PRESENTS...

International Velvet: Sitargazer
From The New Gold Standard 2 (Fort Knox Recordings , 2009)

Fort Knox Recordings is a record label based out of Washington, DC, and they've assembled another compilation featuring a mishmash of styles – reggae, funk, Latin, Indian, and more.

“Sitargazer” by International Velvet is the standout track on the compilation. With its bass heavy rhythm, the sitar gives it some Eastern flair creating an amalgamation of disparate styles that blend quite well together. If it had more aggressive drum programming, you'd almost think it was the Chemical Brothers. International Velvet also has a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's “Sundown” that features another sitar solo (certainly not a phrase you hear often) and is a modern twist of the adult contemporary original.

Other highlights include the South American “Cumbia” by the Empresarios with its skitterish synth sounds hiding behind a Latin-styled piano and impressive bongo work; Speedy Consuela's “Number One Fan” with its pouncing bass and keen record scratches; and the uptempo “The Sax Pusher” by the Fort Knox Five with the sax player taking center stage – it's enough to make Oliver Sain proud.

While it lacks cohesiveness as a whole, when taken individually many of the songs themselves work quite well. In the age of digital downloading, pick the songs that work best for you and get an early start on preparing your summer BBQ mixtape. It's not all golden treasure stored inside, but there are enough nuggets with luster in here that prove it's not fool's gold either.

OCOTE SOUL SOUNDS SHOW US HOW A COCONUT CAN ROCK

Ocote Soul Sounds: The Revolt Of The Cockroach People + Cara de Yo No Fui (Ancient Astronauts Remix)
From Coconut Rocks (Deluxe Edition) (ESL Music, 2009)

Antibalas founder Martin Perna and Adriana Quesada of Grupo Fantasma have once again come together as Ocote Soul Sounds. Their latest album “Coconut Rock,” most recently released today in a digital-only deluxe form (the standard version can still be found at your local music store), finds their blend of various stylings really turning up the heat. Tacked on to the end of the standard album are 5 remixes of the standard version's original mixes.

From the opening baritone sax lines that repeat its catchy riff in “The Revolt Of The Cockroach People,” your ears have been prepared for the next hour or so. Fans of the El Michels Affair or the Menahan Street Band will immediately put this track on repeat as it has a spunk about it that resonates well after its all-too-short 3 minutes is up.

The reggae rhythm of “Cara de Yo No Fui” gets the remix treatment courtesy of Ancient Astronauts, another member of the ESL Music family. The remix starts with a spaced-out feel as you're given a sense of stepping out of the spin cycle before the drums kick in and set you straight. Those drums, which are not in the original version, give the track a real sense of urgency that complements the reggae stabs very well.

The album is a great blend of instrumental prowess that, even aside from its accompanied vocals, more than stands on its own as an accomplished work. There's a fuzzed-out electric guitar on “Return Of The Freak,” the aforementioned baritone sax riff, and even a light flute that permeates throughout that show Perna and Quesada, along with their other 5 bandmates, aren't going to be restricted to one style or sound. We, the listeners, are the greatest benefactors of their gifts and hard work.

HOLY HAVANA!

Los Caneyes: Suspirando por el Chikichaka
From Si Para Usted Vol 2: The Funky Beats Of Revolutionary Cuba (Waxing Deep, 2009)

Cuba has such a rich and proud cultural diversity. As shown on the latest installment of Si Para Usted, there are such varied styles of music. It was interesting to read the liner notes and learning about how the music industry was run by the state. Record sales meant virtually nothing, and there was no rhyme or reason as to music distribution around the country.

Some bands are more well-documented than others. Los Caneyes, a band of which little is known, displays an uncanny ability to mix it up in “Suspirando por el Chikichaka.” What starts out as a nice polyrhythm and a fuzzy guitar coming in and out of the mix stirred in with building horns turns into a bed for a smooth-voiced singer and those two elements fall out completely before being brought back in about 20 seconds later and then dropping out again. It's an exercise in building up tension and then releasing it. Before you know it, that fuzz guitar is back midway through the song and leads into a repetitive chant by the rest of the band exclaming, “Chikichaka!” Meanwhile, the rhythm section is just going to town. And who is that guy on bongos/congas?

Orquesta Cubaan de Musica Moderna turns in a rousing cover of Ides of March's “Vehicle,” flipping it on its head with a Latin arrangement. The vocals are replaced by an organist who is playing like his life depends on it (and who knows, it may have?), and again, we are treated to a nice fuzz guitar solo. At the end, the organist returns, and if you were to start it right at this part, it almost sounds like an episode of Church For Shut-Ins before a hi-hat chimes in and the horn section bops you over the head and exits out of the jam. This is one of the few times that we get to hear a song with American ties; typically, the government repressed such a recording.

Juan Pablo Torres' has a quasi-disco, quasi-jazz record called “Y Aparecio el Trombon” that sounds in part like “Think Twice” by Donald Byrd in the first 45 seconds. The song, believe it or not, appeared on a record that was intended for aerobics classes. If that's what they played at my local YMCA during classes, I'd be tempted to sign up.

For a country that held such tight control of its music industry, the government also gave their musicians a surprising bit of latitude, although it had the final say of what was recorded and released. This compilation is an excellent starting point for the world to catch up on what was going on in Cuba in the '70s. The revolution may not have been televised, but it was certainly captured on wax for the rest of us to listen in.

THE BEAUTY OF MUSIC FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES

Mulatu Astatke: Ebo Lala
From New York, Addis, London: The Story Of Ethio Jazz 1965 To 1975 (Strut, 2009)

From Afro-Latin to jazzier rhythms, Mulatu Astatke has been there, done that. A celebrated figure to his native Ethiopia and to record diggers the world over, he has been a crucial figure to world music and jazz alike.

The importance of this collection cannot be overstated. Much of this music hasn't been heard by the masses simply because it never had great distribution. Fortunately Strut has compiled this set for the rest of us to catch up.

My first introduction to Ethiopian music came only within the last 5 years. I was in a wedding for a friend from college who was marrying a girl whose family was originally from Ethiopia. He had told me that her family was having the DJ play some of their native music throughout different parts of the reception. I was intrigued because I had never heard any of this music and my curiosity was piqued. Now, of course, the DJ in me thought, “This could flat out kill the dancefloor.” Having DJ'd a few receptions in my lifetime, I've seen when the family wanted something out of the norm and the dancefloor either never quite recovered or never even started. This night proved to be much different; so color me all shades of wrong.

The global grooves actually ended up not only complementing, but enhancing the night's festivities. There were ceremonial danceoffs between various family members and close friends, not in a battle sense but in an expressive, joyful one. Before you knew it, everyone else was joining in, too. What I noticed even more was how it all fit together. The music transcended. There was a pride to not only the musicians playing the music but in the family listening to it. There was a cultural significance to it all – something that 9 times out of 10 we miss out on here in America in our Bentleys and boomboxes society. We're listening loud but hearing nothing.