I may have mentioned Busy Signal is on a rampage. Since I commented on his non-stop production and mad eclecticism two weeks ago he has dropped about ten new 45s, including a version of the Bmore club track "Just Wanna Fuck" and a song incorporating the hook from George Kranz’s "Din Daa Daa." A Bam Bam throwback mix was guaranteed as soon as he licked back the beat from Murder She Wrote on the amazing "Tie & Dye Face" where he manages to reference Boy George and Kunta Kinte in the space of a few bars. But it was the club joint (where he manages to say "fuck" 33 times in the intro alone) that really dictated the direction of this week’s blend.
Ghetto Palms Tropic blend:
Sly & Robbie, "Santa Barbara"
Nardo Ranks, "Them A Bleach"
Busy Signal, "Tie & Dye Face"
Busy Signal, "Just Wanna Fuck"
Amadou & Mariam, "Sabali" (Uproot Andy refix)
Sergio Mendes, "Magalenha" (Paul Devro edit)
Caetano Veloso, "Ilê Ayê"
Download: Ghetto Palms Tropic Blend
For one thing, it made it easy to segue into Uproot Andy’s Bmore refix of Amadou & Mariam’s "Sabali" which I heard him premier at Friday’s NY Tropical Party. Bamako vs Bmore sounds weird on paper but for some reason it so works. Look for an Uproot guest palmcast some time in the not too distant future, but meanwhile if you like the vibes you can check him alongside Mexican sonidero legend Toy Selectah at Santos on Thursday. You will, in effect, be paying him back for making this drum song available as free download, along with another excellent "Sabali" remix I tracked down via the Masalacism blog. It’s labeled as a kuduro mix, even though its not really kuduro tempo and it was made by some dudes in France. But it’s good anyway and starts with a nice atmospheric build up that was entirely too classy for this Bmore segment.
Then since we was refixing things I threw in Paul Devro’s edit of Sergio Mendes (which is on some Bmore type stuff also). This has already been on the Mad Decent site and we linked to it back when Devro did a FADER event but I just really like it. Plus the resurgence of "Magalenha" totally underscores that this tropical thing that’s in the water lately is not just my imagination. In the last year or so this 1993 Grammy-winning piece of samba genius has been mashed with the Kopa riddim, chatted over by Busy and now gotten the Mad Decent look. The fact that Pitbull has not touched it (TO MY KNOWLEDGE) just doesn’t sit right, actually. I mean what, is he too good for Sergio Mendes? That’s fucked up.
Just to end on a positive note I used Caetano Veloso’s "Ilê Ayê" (full title: "Um Canto de Afoxé Para O Bloco do Ilê (Ilê Ayê)" as a sort of tropicalia epilogue. Seems random but consider the facts: It happens to be included on the compilation Beleza Tropical: Brazil Classics which just happens to be on Luaka Bop which just happens to have been founded by David Byrne who just HAPPENS to be on the cover of the current FADER icon issue. Also my headbone’s connected to my neckphone. Good night.
Download: Amadou & Mariam, "Sabali" (Uproot Andy refix)
Download: Amadou & Mariam, “Sabali” (Dakunt/Candongueiro Kuduro refix)
