Commendable Comps: Round 3

Bossa 70 : Think
taken from the compilation “Jeff Recordings on Crippled Dick Hot Wax! (2002)

Bappi Lahiri & Salma Agha : Come Closer
taken from the compilation “Indiavision” on Buda Musique (2005)

Some really cool stuf on these two collections. The first one features 16 tracks all engineered by a German chiller named Jeff Nieckau. Not really feeling the scene in early 60’s Germany, he took off for sunnier, funkier places. First stop was Tanzania, but that proved to be so much fun that he decided to keep on trekking. All the recordings from this comp were made between 1972 – 1976 while he was working/living in Peru and Trinidad. The album has some great liner notes and cool pics that help paint the picture of this groovy man’s musical (and technological) adventures. Turns out he engineered a record I have by Lord Shorty which Jeff claims was the first Soca (soul + calypso) record ever – dope stuff.

If you’ve been checking my blog for a while, then you know I like to slip in a little bollywood stuff here and there, thing is, the really sick tunes are so hard to come by. That’s why I was psyched when Buda Musique (the same French cats that keep putting out bangers under the Ethiopiques series) decided to do this awesome collection of Hindi film songs. They’ve got a bunch of songs from the more well known soundtracks (at least to beat diggers), but then they dig up some gold like “Come Closer” (from the soundtrack to Kasam Paida Karnewale Ki, 1984) which is kinda in a league of its own. Smooth drum machine porno preparation music. When the horns slide in, just after the sitar solo, I’m definitely ready to get it on with melady – good thing she digs the bollywood too, haHA!