Chicago’s own Numero Group have unearthed another sonic gem from the claws of obscurity, this time digging up a Latin soul/band from Lorain Ohio known as The Nombres. The story begins in the late 40′s when the Northern Ohio region became a second home to a large migrant community of Puerto Ricans who later established themselves in small cities like Lorain. Nicknamed “La Colonia” by the local Puerto Rican population, it would become the home to second generation teens like brothers Willie and Nelson Marquez along with close friend Pepe Rivera, who formed the band’s initial band members jamming out of their parent’s living room often with borrowed equipment and second rate equipment.

In time and with some support by mentorlike figures like Diego Martinez, the band matured along the way exposing themselves to more influences including a heavy dose of Motown as well as Santana who had exploded onto the scene in 1969. By the end of the decade the band lined up their first recording session with Cleveland’s seminal Boddie label cutting a single under the guidance of the multi-talented musician/producer Lou Ragland. (See the Numero Groups tremendous reissue of Boddie material)

In the years to follow the band continued to cut numerous singles on small indie labels and establishing their name in the local music scene, all while not forgetting their Puerto Rican roots. This release on Numero’s asterisk side label reissues a choice selection of singles, b-sides, and unrealeased material from the band. The disc brilliantly showcases the band’s unique sound, from the get get showcasing Willie Marquez’s tremendous vocal chops on cuts like “Loving You” to instrumentals that round out the set with some serious grooves that really make this set of cuts stand out. Like all Numero releases it is nicely accompanied by extensive liner notes and available on CD and high quality LP. Check out our exclusive interview with the disc’s researcher and compiler Jon Kirby above.

Click here for more sound previews and to buy.

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Listen/Download Exitos 2011 Podcast

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Ahh 2011…here’s our little podcast where we look back to the  grooves and sonic treats that left a mark on our ear drums this past year as we gear up for more Sonorama in 2012. We’ll look back to some very unique remixes for some of our favorite electronic artists, new acid folk music from Mexico, reissues of psychedelic delights from Peru to the soaring heights of Bolivia, funky re-edits, and new electronic fusions from Tijuana to Monterrey. Enjoy

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1. Angeles Negros–Como quisiera decirte (Murcof remix)  (Infine France)

First up is this really amazing rework of an already monstrously good track by Los Angeles Negros here getting the remix treatment by Mexico’s electronic auteur Murcof. Fernando Corona, the man behind Murcof has in the last decade established an awe inspiring sensibility for micro beats infused with classical experimentation that create aural landscapes that bring together the cinematic and the interplanetary . This remix comes as part of Murcof’s original soundtrack realeased earlier this year by France’s Infine label for Ivan Duenas 2009 film La Sandre Iluminada.

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2.Gotan Project–Epoca (Chancha via Circuito remix)

Ten years ago France’s Gotan Project’s released their seminal debut La Revancha del Tango onto the world a decade later they’ve enlisted some of the top names in Argentina’s digital cumbia scene to rework the album for 2011. There are some really big names on this release, Chancha via Circuito, Frikstylers, Axel Kryger, El Hijo de la Cumbia, Bomba Estereo, among others, but what also makes this remix album unique is that they’ve avoided the standard remix formula: taking a handful of tracks and  filling time with several (usually inispired) versions of the same track. Instead, each of the original tracks is only remixed once and the order of tracks is the same as the original Revancha, which nicely sequences the “remix” album and connects it to the orginal allowing the listener to experience the original album in a really fresh way. Our pick, Chancha’s remix flexes his usual love for bass heavy chunky cumbia beats with his usual sugically precise beats  infused with the lovely female vox of Cristina Vilallonga on Epoca.

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3. Juan Cicerol–Si, Si

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4. Mandril–Sanza de los brujos    (Discos del Condor/Germany)

Discos del Condor unearth another stunning set of  psychedelic gems with this second volume of tunes from the mountainous lands of Bolivia. Like several explorations into South American psychedelia, Bolivia like other countries had their own unique shaking sounds often mixing local folklore and fusing it with fuzzed out workouts and rocking grooves and this comp. doesn’t skimp on delivering some top notch obscure psych treats. Mas Fuerza…

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5.Los Destellos–Onsta la yerbita (Secret Stash Records/USA)

We’ve been playing this swirling psychedelic trip of a track from various comps from the last couple of years and at last it fell in the hands Minneapolis’ Secret Stash which have given the original source album the due reissue treatment. Enrique Lynch y sus Destellos can probably without much contest be the group that exploded the electric fusion of rock music and tropical sounds into one creating that singular Peruvian cumbia sound. This album a mid career release features the band definitely in their tropical element unleashing cumbias, guarachas, pachanga, psych rock and more with this release. “Boys and girls…your attention please….”

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6.Bareto–No juegues con el diablo (Peru)

Mining the immensly rich catalog of Peru’s tropical masters like Juaneco y su Combo and Compay Quinto and infusing it with the raucous energy of ska this band has been rocking Peru for a few years now and are long overdue to tour the states.

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7.Kidgusto–Safari Salvaje

Brooklyn’s Bastart Boots label unleashed this little EP of tropical reworks by DC’s Kidgusto here taking some serious South American influence and working some monster tunes for today’s dance floor. Colombia’s Afrosound get their disco funk cut Tiro al Blanco a very nice refix, Armando Hernandez’s driving cumbia con accordion gets a nice bossa rhythm track that gives it new life and Peru’s Enrique Lynch and his track Safari Salvaje gets down in a heavy Latin funked grooves full of chunky breaks and tasty horns.

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8.Ocote Soul Sounds–Primavera

Led by Martin Perna and Adrian Quesada this cut from their latest LP Taurus finds the group further diving into new depths of dubbed out Latin sounds creeping into slinky funk territories with superior musicianship and production.

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9.Pedro Sacedo y su orquesta–La vaca y el caporal

Quantic’s love affair with Colombia and it’s musical forms continues to express itself in more and more ways and thanks to this labor love he in conjunction with UK’s Soundway records bring the rest of the world a treasure trove of Colombian delights across 55 tracks. Mining dusty basements, old jukeboxes, and the deepest corners he’s managed to unearth some fiery hot rhythms that will definitely reward the listener. Considering that some of the sources were original 78 RPM discs you wouldn’t believe how insanely heavy and good some of these recordings sound years later. Cuuumbia..!

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10.Maria y Jose–Rey de reyes

Tony Gallardo the virtuoso behind Maria y Jose has been scorching up many botas y guaraches with bumping percussive monsters since his 2010 debut Espiritu Invisible. This track possibly an early single from his next release could be seen as a definitive nod to  the booming 3Ball scene continues to be shaking dance floors from Monterrey  (hmmmmm “Rey de reyes”)  all the way up to Texas and beyond.

Saturday, Dec 31, 9pm – 2:30am
The Co-Prosperity Sphere
3219 S Morgan Street.
… $40

This will be an Epic All You Can Drink Craft Beer Party featuring flagship beers from Dogfish Head, Three Floyds, Half Acre and Stone Brewing company. It includes the best beers of the season, an all you eat banquet of food catered by Maria’s, a bubbly toast, and a cash rare draft bar ($3 pours) along with some other secret stuff. Enjoy live musical performances by the Chandeliers, Valis, Deep Sleep, Beats, and Sich Mang. And dance with the sonic libations of the Sonorama DJ Collective and DJs Le Deuce & Quick Paw.

Entry to this party is $40 in advance. Admission can be paid by paypal or at Maria’s or at the door for the event. Visit this link to get to paypal:
http://community-bar.com/?m=20111231&ec3_listing=events

or go here directly to paypal;
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=GCQUVEFPVJR3L

Featured Beers at Co-Prosperity Sphere:
Dogfish Head Bitches Brew
Dogfish Head Faithfull
Dogfish Head Burton Baton
Dogfish Tahenket
Dogfish Head Immort Ale
Dogfish Head Chicory Stout
Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre
Half Acre Avena Sativa
Half Acre/Lumpen The Chairman
Half Acre Daisy Cutter
Stone IPA
Stone Vertical Epic 11.11.11
Stone Russian Imperial Stout
Three Floyd’s GumballHead
Three Floyd’s Alpha King

Maria’s will be also open for a sister party and with no cover charge. We will enter the new year with an insane tap line-up. Maria’s will be serving: Dogfish Head Bitches Brew, Dogfish Head 120 minute, Dogfish Head Hellhound, Dogfish Head Fort, Three Floyd’s Dreadnaught, Three FLoyd’s Arctic Panzer Wolf, Dogfish Head Immort Ale, Half Acre/Lumpen The Chairman, Founder’s Backwoods Bastard, Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti, Stone Double Bastard, Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela, and many more..

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Buy a ticket to the Party via pay pal Update the number of tickets you wish to purchase from this link. You can also buy ticket at Maria’s before the event and at the Co-Prosperity Sphere the nite of the party. We will keep your name on the RSVP ticket list. You must be 21 or over and show your ID for entry
Proceeds benefit Public Media Institute, a non profit grass roots arts organization.

Remember is a free party with an amazing Soundsystem and free pizza for the first ones.

THALIA HALL

Today we think of Pilsen as the heart of Chicago’s Mexican community. But if you look closely at the buildings housing taquerias and panaderias you will notice that they tell a different story: many seem more in keeping with the architecture of Prague than Chicago or Mexico. During the mid to late 19^th century Chicago attracted a growing number of Bohemians. They settled in Pilsen, named for Plzeň – what was then the second largest city in Bohemia (today divided between the Czech Republic and Slovakia). By 1915 Chicago was home to the largest population of Bohemians in the world next to Prague, and much of that population was concentrated in Pilsen. Right in the middle of Pilsen sat Thalia Hall – the center for Bohemian culture, theater and political activism.

John Dusek, a native of Bohemia, understood the need for a community center in Pilsen and made it his priority to provide the area with one. Dusek hired the architectural firm of Faber and Pagels to design Thalia Hall. Completed in the spring of 1893, Frederick Faber and his partner William Pagels designed a Romanesque Revival style building characterized by a sense of massiveness, rusticated stonework and prominent rounded arches. It was built as a mix-used building with 21 apartments on the upper floors and a few ground floor commercial spaces providing the income to support the theater.

The design for the theater was modeled after the Old Opera House in Prague. A large proscenium arch frames the stage that was equipped with a full fly loft for the storage and changing of scenic backdrops. A second floor gallery wraps around three sides of the room terminating with ornamental roofed boxes on either side of the stage. No expense was spared in building Thalia Hall and its impressive theater. The cost of building similar public halls at the time were typically between $75,000 and $100,000. Dusek spent $145,000 – making it one of the greatest public halls in all of Chicago. With such a grand theater centered in a lively Bohemian community, it’s understandable that the Ludvic Players (a popular traveling theatrical group originating in Bohemia) performed only a handful of times at Thalia Hall before deciding to make it their home stage during the following decades.

Much more than theater was conducted on the stage of Thalia Hall. The Hall was a central gathering spot of patriotic meetings supporting the effort of creating a Bohemian state independent from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Chicago was home to the Bohemian National Alliance that merged with other groups to form the Czech-Slovak alliance. It was the efforts of this group that pressured President Woodrow Wilson to propose Bohemian statehood to the Allies in 1915. 1918 marked the birth of Czechoslovakia.

Today much has changed in Thalia Hall and its surrounding community. Now Mexican immigrants make up most of the population (even that is changing as the area is going through rapid gentrification). And Thalia Hall has changed too. Though the exterior has been restored to its original grandeur, the interior has suffered. The building fell out of use for a number of years leaving the interior spaces subject to water damage and disrepair. The current owner, Dominick Geraci, has taken great care in renovating the apartments (of which there are now eight) and commercial spaces. An Italian restaurant, Ristorante Al Teatro, is now the focal point of the lower floors. Though not restored to look just like the original saloon of 1893, it is in keeping with the style of that era. The stained-glass doors depicting stylized lily pads are one such new and welcome addition to the building. The theater, in great need of repair, is the missing piece of the puzzle. Perhaps a little heavenly intervention could help? Let’s call upon Thalia, the Greek muse of comedy and pastoral poetry, for whom this building was named, to restore the theater back to a state of splendor.

text by Caroline Nye (blueprintchicago.org)

No cover for entry! / Entrada gratis!

All-you-can-drink wristband/cup: $15 presale or $20 at door
Get yer wristband here!: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1756891911

Gozamos (www.gozamos.com) and craft beer purveyor 5 Rabbit Brewery (www.5rabbitbrewery.com) present the best Día de los Muertos party ever! The Chicago Art Department gallery will be stocked to the gills with 5 Rabbit’s latest creation, the Vida y Muerte Ale.

A full lineup of Chicago’s finest vintage cumbia, Afro-Latin, house, electronic, bugalu, world and tropicalia DJs are also on deck:
DJ Reyna - http://soundcloud.com/reyna
(((SONORAMA))) - http://sonoramachicago.com/
Ghetto Division - http://ghettodivision.com/
Sound Culture - http://soundculturechicago.com/
SOULPHONETICS - http://soulphonetics.com/

Listen/Download Mini Mix: Bugalu Baby!
Listen/Download Mini Mix:  Con Soul!!!

Listen/Download Mini Mix: Fresa y Chocolate

Listen/Download Mini Mix: Diskoteke

Here’s a group of short non-stop mixes from last week’s show, Bugalu Baby drops some boogaloo and Latin jazz grooves along with some tasty salsa, Con Soul!!! blends some Latin soul and funk grooves from the 60′s and 70′s, Fresa y Chocolate blends soul, pop, rock, and some bugalu, and lastly Sr. Charly’s Discotek spins from spacey disco with plenty of heavy percussive  before hitting some batucada beats. Enjoy

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Listen/Download (((Sonorama Podcast))) Chicas! Part 1

Listen/Download (((Sonorama Podcast))) Chicas! Part 2

Hey Sonoramicos, here’s a podcast we recently aired on our old school airwaves, dedicated to the wonderful femme sounds of the 60′s and 70′s. Partly inspired by Vampi Soul’s own comp of Spanish female singers similarly titled Chicas!, our journey takes you even deeper in the crates digging up some sweet gems from all over Latin America. There’s some sweet latin pop gems from Monna Bell to , bangin’ boogaloos, Mexican cumbias, fuzz driven Brazilian psych, even some disco treats to wrap things up. Of course there’s so many lovely ladies we’ve left out, hmmm La Lupe, Celia,…we’ll have to leave them for another time, but don’t worry there’s plenty new names to discover and dig. Enjoy!

playlist: to follow

As the summer heat continues to boil our blood and the environs of Chicago, Austin’s own Brownout is set turn up the heat even more with their own sweaty blend of latin funk rhythms at the Mayne Stage with Sonorama opening up the night with our own blend of funky joints. An offshoot of Grupo Fantasma, Brownout has has been blowing up clubs around the globe through either of its various manifestations even backing the mighty Prince at Coachella if that doesn’t prove that this band can funk. Taking its cues from some of the best funk and latin bands of the 70′s this is going to be a night of  heavy latin horns, tasty percussion, snaking basslines, and psychadelic grooves. Don’t miss it. Aug.19th @ The Mayne Stage.

more info click here.

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If ever a band could boast having a complex genealogical tree, that band is Brownout. The eight-piece, Latin funk ensemble based in Austin, Texas, is both offspring and germinating seed to Grammy-Winner Grupo Fantasma. The latter in turn traces its roots to when Austin based Blue Noise Band and The Blimp, from booming border town of Laredo, Texas, converged in its conception.

Brownout may well be Grupo Fantasma’s psychedelic Latin funk little brother, an offshoot of the collective that regularly backs Prince, its latest incarnation, or even its alter ego. What they are not is the sprawling conjunto’s side project. Brownout has taken Grupo Fantasma’s funk roots and blown them up. In the process they’ve taken on a life and developed a unique sound all their own. Aguilas and Cobras, the group’s new album on Six Degrees Records (9/15/09), stands as testament to their one of a kind evolution.

The band member’s musical journey began as a revolt against the Mexican cumbias and Tejano music of their parents. Opting instead to immerse themselves in the worlds of Sly Stone, James Brown, and Mandrill, they were nurtured by soulful staccato drums, deep-in-the-pocket guitar riffs, and bawdy bass lines, elements that would provide the overriding arch for their sundry musical explorations. Eventually they migrated out of the garage and flocked four hours north into Austin’s thriving music scene. Away from home they embraced their Latino heritage and as Grupo Fantasma they explored the cumbia rhythms they shunned as teenagers.

Playing over 150 shows per year, including backing Prince at Coachella and on the “Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” Grupo Fantasma has performed in eight countries, in music festivals such as Bonnaroo and the New Orleans Jazz Festival, and played for U.S. troops stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. Somehow they even found the time to release a Grammy-nominated full-length, Sonidos Gold.

Then came Brownout, a return to their coming of age forays into funk. Mostly instrumental, the band takes its cues from James Brown’s J.B.’s and San Francisco’s Malo, the Seventies act fronted by Carlos Santana’s brother Jorge, but they infuse it with their particular vibe of border music hybridity and generous brushstrokes of trippy psychedelia.

“It’s funny because we can be rehearsing with Grupo Fantasma one night and then the next night the same group of guys can go back to the rehearsal room and rehearse as Brownout and the music is completely different,” Guitarist Adrian Quesada says.  “We’ve been lucky enough to be performing sometimes, where there’s a whole audience that’s not even familiar with Grupo Fantasma when Brownout is playing and vice versa. We’re definitely trying to keep the two separate. At the same time there’s no point in trying to hide the fact that it’s the same band.”

With soulful backbeats, psychedelic exploration, tough grooves and brassy streetwise accents, Brownout can already claim the kind of bona fides needed to stand on their own. 2008 saw the release of the crew’s critically acclaimed debut album Homenaje, on the influential UK label Freestyle Records. Three years in the making, the album is a nod to the group’s musical influences, hence the name, which means homage in English. To Brownout’s surprise Homenaje became a cult-favorite and sparked the attention of international DJs, tastemakers and fans of cutting-edge music. The Austin Chronicle called it “the sleeper hit of the year” and lifestyle magazines such as Wax Poetics stated, “Brownout has elegantly bridged their multiple musical universes,” while XLR8R touted, “A band like this restores faith that all may not be lost…If this doesn’t get the party started, y’all must be D.O.A.”  Even the online urban authority Okayplayer weighed in, “Reverence for the music of the Latin diaspora equal to that for dusted Funk, Soul, Jazz & Rock.”

To cut their sophomore effort Brownout wasted no time and rode the unstoppable wave of momentum right into the studio.  Band members hunkered down this past winter to record Aguilas and Cobras, a fifteen-track disc that’s as dynamic as it is expansive. Brownout recognized their funk forbearers on Homenaje and on Aguilas and Cobras they’ve deftly avoided the pitfalls of being trapped in retro revival formulas. The new music is an adventurous amalgam of psychedelic haziness, anchored by the driving percussion of Afro-Latin-funk and vocal arrangements inspired by psychedelic Motown arrangements like The Temptations.  Brownout decided to purposefully omit the typical funk growler, opting instead for the unexpected vocal guest.

“With this particular record we tried to take it in different directions trying to use vocals and certain things on the songs that you wouldn’t expect on a funk song or on a Latin funk song,” Quesada explains. “Almost every tune with vocals on it was trying to really take the music on a wide left turn. We feel like we’ve already paid homage to the music before us and all of our influences and now we’re really trying to see if we can actually take the music somewhere and put our own stamp on it.”

Enjoy this downloadable remix from Brownout’s latest CD a collection of remixes and regrooves from Aguilas and Cobras.

Brownout- Olvidalo (J-Boogie Drumapella Remix) by SixDegreesRecords

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Brownout- Olvidalo (J-Boogie Drumapella Remix) by SixDegreesRecords