For some time now, seeing Los Fulanos play live has been one of the best things to do in Barcelona, or anywhere else, for that matter. The band brought back that riffraff (dissolute) vibe of pre-Olympics Barcelona, when the great city on the Spanish East Coast wasn’t the safe haven of style, fashion and fine foods it is now, and things were a lot more gritty, sleazy and, to be honest, a whole lot funkier. Their concerts are wild parties, where Afro-Latin rhythms come together with a thousand other things, most of all, Soul, gaining Los Fulanos quite a reputation, whether they play on their own, or backing legends like Spanish rumba king Peret or Latin soul hero Joe Bataan (like they did on his Afro-Filipino tour).

It’s no wonder, either. Los Fulanos cut their teeth on the small but very lively Spanish Latin funk and soul scene, where a surprising amount of bands, most of them veteran stage warriors, battle for the attention of a crowd spoilt with weekly gigs by internationally successful local groups like the classic soul-funkers Sweet Vandals, Speak Low or Pepper Pots, or new school mestizo bands like Fundación Tony Manero and Muchachito Bombo Infierno.

The band’s previous phonographic endeavors have been quite fantastic, releasing several cover versions on 7” vinyl on labels like Vampisoul and Lovemonk (whatta label!!!), acclaimed by every self-respecting soul dude and dudettes, and backing aforementioned Joe Bataan on his latest album. But now it’s time to move forward, recording their own songs and punching the explosive energy of their live shows into the grooves of some thick black vinyl. Enter “Si Esto Se Acaba Que Siga El Boogaloo” (If All This Ends, Let The Boogaloo Go On).

Miguelito Superstar (from Barcelona band Fundación Tony Manero) took the helm and led the way for Los Fulanos to spread their wings and broaden their musical horizon. Yes, the Boogaloo is still there, but it’s developed a taste for the sweet honey Funk, Disco, Cuban rhythms and Bolero have to offer. Heck, there’s even a muy groovy rendition of New Order’s “Blue Monday”. While the Spirits of the Fania Ancestors look on in approval, the nine-piece band have taken just about everything they could distil from the musical melting pot that is their home town and cooked it up with a couple of spoons of humor. So pump up the volume and try not to break any tables… que se formó la rumba con Los Fulanos.

Buy Si Esto Se Acaba Que Siga El Boogaloo on the Lovemonk Shop.

Space Ranger is back on patrol. Moving house and a peaktime affair plus a couple of remixes coming from Moscow and Barcelona. This is a hell of a 12”!

Another set of remixes (the last one) off of their stunning debut album “What About The Magnetic Fields?” This time it’s Moscovians Lipelis & Simple Symmetry from the super hip Pompeya who team up for an El DeBarge-style cosmic funk-pop affair, while Barcelona resident Barbena takes things the deep-house way. You also get the original and house monster “Music” in the package. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Buy Nothing’s Wrong at the Lovemonk Shop

Sietepulgadas (seven-inch) is a collective bringing together some fo the best musicians for the ever-growing Spanish soul/funk scene. When you mix them up, you get combos that have brought us material all with a distinct flavor, but that are always on the good side of funk. This disc is a compilation of their first five references by five different groups (Límite 45, The Beignets, Octopus, Shulte and The Gigoletto Brass Band) with two tracks by each.

The two tracks by Límite 45 could be the soundtrack of a police thriller set in San Francisco in the 70s. Persecution funk, and mysterious corners reminiscent Shifrin and the best soundtracks of the genre. And of course, the priceless flute is courtesy of Chip Wickham.

The Beignets have recorded two great tracks full of groove, headed by the voice and guitar of Edu Bighands. J.K. Toole’s New Orleans vision of is rich like the music of Dr. John, Snooks Eaglin and The Meters. Just like this city’s typical dessert, the Beignet, it’s solid and strong, but at the same time subtle and delicate.

Formed by musicans from bands like Speak Low, Mamafunko and Vetusta Morla, Octopus goes from a neighborhood soundtrack sound to the explosive mix of latin-funk-jazz. They sound like Blaxploitation, Ennio Morricone, and Bernard Hermann, among thers. Two tracks that go straight to the groovadélica backbone to make your feet move.

Shulte, the more soulful side of Sietepulgadas, is reminiscente of soul classics like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers and Susan Tedeschi, but with a Folk aftertaste, like Terry Callier. This is the feminine touch of the album, featuring María Sánchez on vocals and Wurlizter.

Courtesy of Muchachito Bombo Infierno, we present their spectacular brass section: The Gigoletto Brass Band, who presents a single that sounds like Africa and the Carribean from the most urbano of Black music. One one side, there’s a Boogaloo with with the classic base: piano, bass, conga and timbale accompanied by a compact trumpet section, and on the other side, a foray into wild Africa with urban afrobeat.

More info:
Sietepulgadas is a music production company formed by Josué García, Jose “Funko”, Victor Frutos and Martín García. Its main activity is writing and producing music for audiovisual projects and production for artists.

Buy Sietepulgadas at the Lovemonk Shop.

Incarnations strike again with a fine batch of reworks of tracks off of the mesmerising “With All Due Respect” album. For starters, Lexx turns love ballad “Let Love Find You” into a haunting Balearic Jan Hammered beauty, keeping Bing Ji Ling’s vocals and adding some Nyabinghi drumming and spectral synths. Space Ranger then take the uplifting “Hindi Ko Alam” to jacking disco territory while sprinkling their cosmic dust all over it, and Kare Frisvold & Rune Lindbæk manage to transform the contemplative “Sunset On Punta Paloma” into a psychedelic dancefloor affair.

The digital bonus track is delivered by Pepe Link, who delivers exactly what he promises in the title of his rerub: slow-mo Balearic disco for “Let Love Find You”.

Also check out the previous remixes by Ilya Santana, Wareika and Rayko!

Artist info:

Incarnations are Daniel Collás (Embassy Sound Productions, The Phenomenal Handclap Band), Bing Ji Ling (Q&A, Tommy Guerrero, The Phenomenal Handclap Band) and Bart Davenport (Honeycut), three kindred spirits who one fine day decided to record an album together. They did so in a family-run studio in Tarifa, on the south coast of Spain, and ten days later they came out with nine shiny little gems on the crossroads of yacht-rock, Balearic and singer-songwriter pop, collected on “With All Due Respect”, an album that has gathered wicked reviews.

Buy Punta Paloma EP on the Lovemonk Shop.

Usually in the biography of a band, the writer talks about how great the band is, how fresh their music is, etc etc. But in this case we’re talking about The Right Ons, so all that is unnecessary. You’ve probably known about The Right Ons for a few years now, their live shows and songs, and maybe you’ve heard about their two previous albums, their tours of the US, how their records have been released both in the US and in Japan. You may have heard something about their avid fans and constant touring of venues and festivals in Spain. Maybe you’ve even caught wind that the’ve played at biker gang reunions. Or even that they have their own studio, where they not only write and rehearse their own music, but also record and produce other bands…

But what you definitely didn’t know is that The Right Ons are five awesome guys who believe absolutely in what they do and love what they play. They have all the right albums in their record collection, take their music seriously, but have a whole lot of fun playing it.

After four years on tour, the band parked their van in their studio and started writing new songs. Their previous albums were recorded in Puerto de Santa María (Andalucía, Spain) and Boston. This time they recorded closer to home, with their own amps and instruments, in Madrid (although interestingly, the studio is called “Reno”) They’ve sharpened up the guitars, converted from soul-funk to garage rock, and made their best album yet. Just as athletes strive to go further, higher and faster, The Right Ons have become even better on this album with its seven raucous rock’n'roll songs.

Some words that come to mind when we think about the The Right Ons include, but are definitely not limited to solid, dark, serpentine, sexy, luminous, dirty.

Buy Get Out at the Lovemonk Shop.

Gecko Turner’s fab “Gone Down South” albums just keeps on giving. New House-With-Soul heroe Ezel and French dub sorcerer Blundetto deliver two rather splendid remixes for the deep house and dubbed soul beats heads.

Ezel, the Dominican house wonder boy, emphasises the Prince-esque qualities of the funky “When I Woke Up” and adds some cosmic synth stabs and amazing house beats to it in the process. In the meantime the Afro Caribbean vibes of the wonderful “Ámame, mímame”, a track that has Gecko Turner written all over, gets an equally laidback, dubby work-over by Blundetto, a fantastic remix perfect for your lazing on a sunny afternoon in the summertime.

More info about Gone Down South (taken from Dusty Groove):

Laidback, yet quite adventurous songcraft from Spain’s Gecko Turner – a singer & songwriter joyfully blending genres and styles from acoustic singer-songer soul, to sun toasted bits of Caribbean inflections, bits of laidback funk, the sounds of Africa, Brazil and more – and he manages it all with charm and charisma. It has a carefree feel that’s hard to resist, and the instrumentation is pretty sweet, too. Gecko is a multilingual multi-instrumentalist, with guest vocalists, horn players and percussionists throughout the set.

Buy Gone Down South Remixes (Ezel & Blundetto Remixes) on the Lovemonk Shop.

Three folky tracks burned beyond recognition by three absolute masters of the beats: Damian Schwartz, Mwëslee and Charles Trees. All comes on a very limited transparent vinyl. And there’s some auto-tune on there, too!

Yuri Mendez Jr. has an amazing gift for composing good songs. He’s proven so over the years, with albums filled with carefully crafted, solid songs. Earlier this year he released “Old Goodbyes”, an intimate eight-tracker recorded with the band he has been playing with for the last two years, which got 4 out of 5 stars in the British Q magazine, quite a feat for a Spanish indie band. And now it’s time for the remixes.

And what remixes they are. All three producers burned the chosen tunes beyond recognition, leaving little more than the vocal tracks and hints of the melodies. Damian Schwartz takes “Ribbon” to slo-mo house territory with a minimal and hypnotising cadence and well-placed vocal snippets. This remix is closer to the sound of Four Tet or Floating Points than his releases in labels like Oslo. Spanish beat magician Mwëslee stays closer to the original melody of the stunning “Evangeline” but he turns the track into an eighties-like synth piece, with some auto-tune thrown in for good measure. Yes, that’s right, auto-tune. Charles Trees is a name you should watch out for. Coming from Ann Arbor, he remixes not one but two tracks: first off, he pushes the aforementioned “Evangeline” towards an eerie, dark area, where the original melancholy turns into downright desperation. The same goes for “Old Goodbyes”, although here a bit of spooky drum’n'bass comes peeping around the corner. Now we don’t know, or rather, we don’t give a rodent’s behind about styles or genres, but this is the sound we imagine when we hear people speak of “witch house”.

Buy Old Goodbyes Remixes at the Lovemonk Shop.

Regarding the album:
“This has not been off the decks since I first got it and have been hammering it to death on the show. One of the ESSENTIAL albums of 2011. Perfect in every sense and totally irresistable”
Craig Charles (BBC 6Music)

Two cover versions included on the essential album GITANO REAL.
I Believe in Miracles is an overwhelming take on the Jackson Sisters classic in a rumba funk fashion. Party stomper!! And on the other side, a longer trip departing from McFadden and Whitehead’s seminal Ain’t Non Stoping Us Now and touching the revered latin disco version of Charanga 76, only to end up as a fabulous clap-driven rumba stormer.

Two very necessary sun-soaked tunes for any self-respecting dj on neat black vinyl.
And yes, it’s a limited edition!

Buy I Believe In Miracles/No Nos Pararán 7″ at the Lovemonk Shop

Lovemonk joins forces with Discoteca Oceano for this 12”!!
A surprise coming from Madrid, this EP holds three delicious pop gems by Linda Mirada, remixed by Nite Jewel, Part Time, Ruby Suns and Sabore Bicoro. Hotter than two bears fighting in a forest fire.

More info:

Linda Mirada is a Spanish artist based in Madrid. She released her first record during 2009, “China es otra cultura” (“China Is Another Culture). Her music is a mix between kitschy eighties pop and Spanish boogie with touches of Italo disco and synth-pop. This is her second release. Ana is preparing her new album, to be recorded during this summer in San Francisco.

Buy Fabuloso San José at the Lovemonk Shop.

San Sebastian, in the North West corner of Spain, is the home of the best tapas in the country. It is also home to Makala, a DJ and producer that’s been making waves over the last few years with tasty club rocking tunes that fuse old school rumba, salsa, reggae, swing and mambo with breakbeats and chugging 4 to floor beats. This June Lovemonk is proud to present Makala’s 2nd long player ‘Unexpected Tapas’, where his fusion of traditional music with contemporary club productions reaches it’s zenith.

The album collects his previous singles “Partió La Tabla / Cartoon Tune” (2009, Lovemonk) and his killer second double 7-inch called “Vamos a Comer” (2010, Lovemonk) and adds a load of new tracks and remixes from DJ Farrapo (Agogo), Dusty (Jazz & Milk) and Dubben (GAMM). It’s an extremely varied album taking in the reggae and ska flavours of ‘Ska Con Booglaoo’, ‘Máquina De Amor’ and ‘Friendly Fire’, the swinging breakbeats of ‘Cartoon Tune’ and ‘Happy Sound’, the latin-beats dancefloor gold of ‘Meneíto Magistral’, ‘Vamos A Comer’ and ‘Partió la Tabla’ and many more!

Makala’s strapline line is ‘Happy Sound’, a fitting and self explanatory term, you can clearly hear joy in his music. And just like any of the many tapas bars in the old town of San Sebastian, with a myriad of tasty delicacies covering the bar, this album is full flavoured, exciting and very satisfying! Perfect for the summer’s parties ahead, throw it on the turntable, grab a cocktail and swing baby!

Buy Unexpected Tapas at the Lovemonk Shop.

Played out by Mylo and picked by Chris Baio (Vampire Weekend) as a Pitchfork best of 2010, German trio Space Ranger release their eagerly awaited debut album What About The Magnetic Fields? on 9th May.

Italo influences, lustful synths, suggestive vocals, psychedelic pop, sultry electronic layers, heavy beats and fat bass lines: all these elements are masterfully combined for a 21st century discothèque odyssey.

Most of the time, talking about a club song means talking about peak-time stuff. But the secret life of a club unfolds before the dance floor is filled and after the sweaty dancers have ebbed away. This is a record that connects with the times when club music meant just that: “music played loud in a club”. Like those sets of the early heroes way back when a DJ session included more than one style, more than one tempo, when it was just a work of love.

Featuring the vocal skills of Captn K (Picnic Records), adding an irresistible indie disco twist to both on Nightmoves and Plastic Romance. Aromabar and Pollard Barrier collaborate on Nothing’s Wrong, a beautiful and deep, deep, deep cut. The Revenge adds that in your face feel that is always in his productions, with a rubdown of Herbal Cake.

By the way, the album features some remixes because it’s 2011 and the trio thought it would benefit the record and well, it certainly does. Italian disco meisters Ajello leave their unique footprint with a vocal approach to Shave Me I’m Famous and Rayko does his thing with Superstring, ace as usual.

This album is the perfect soundtrack for the complete discothèque experience. Suggestive warm-up melodies, searching moments, hot love stories, dancefloor stormers, aftermath tunes, soothing vibes… but most of all hedonistic music.

Buy What About The Magnetic Fields at the Lovemonk Shop.

Another slice of funk from Lovemonk & Marula Café’s 7” series Marula Soul Food.

Barcelona’s hip, Barcelona’s beautiful, Barcelona is funky. If you don’t believe us, check out these fantastic tracks by Cardova. On one hand there’s the speedy “Baccarra”, the ideal soundtrack to your anxious search for the last tickets for the footy, with a nice little nod to the Fab Four. And then there’s that doo-woppy and soulful cover of, err, OMD’s “Enola Gaye” Now this is what we call “calité”!

This soul nugget comes in a limited thick sleeve with original artwork by Ojo Frito and of course a recipe this time courtesy of Barcelona’s favorite Italian restaurant Le Cuccine Mandarosso.

Buy Bacarra/Enola Gay 7″ at the Lovemonk Shop.

Yuri Mendez Jr. has an amazing gift for composing good songs. He arranges them and records them brilliantly, and then groups them together on an album in an unpredictable yet cohesive way (his last album had 22 tracks; this one only has 8).  Yuri Méndez Jr. is a true artisan in the best sense of the word.

This is Pajaro Sunrise’s third album, and although the essentials haven’t changed (good songs, great songs), the rest has certainly evolved. Yuri’s voice sounds more and more emphatic, and with an extensive register full of nuances, he sings a story in every song.  In doing this, he covers a stunning vocal range that dazzles from the first listen.

Yuri has been playing together with the same fantastic band for some time now.  With them, he has rehearsed the tracks (many of which they were already playing in concerts), and then gone into the studio where almost everything was recorded with everyone playing live. The benefits of having a group that has already travelled together, as well as shared stages and life experiences are evident.  And, if this disc breathes anything, it’s travel, highways, and familiar stories stolen from faraway places that also feel nearby.  It’s a grandiose yet intimate album that thrills and grows with each listen.

Buy Old Goodbyes at the Lovemonk Shop.

Dancing with tears in your eyes on the remixes of “Plastic Romance”, one of the ace tracks off of “What About The Magnetic Fields?”, Space Ranger’s debut album on Lovemonk.

The German outfit returns with it fourth single on Lovemonk, the wonderful “Plastic Romance” featuring the chilly vocals of Captn K, who can also be heard on previous single “Nightmoves”. Bonar Bradberry throws some beef on the barbie and turns the slo-mo disco original into a ultra-funky dancefloor stormer, while the fabulous Rimshooters, a.k.a. Massimiliano Pagliara and Rotciv, speed it up and take it back to the eighties. Motorcity Drum Ensemble shift into fifth gear as well and undress the tune while they’re at it, leaving Captn K sounding even chillier. Groove Attack & Innervisions hero Marcus Worgull liked the MCDE remix so much, he decided to do his own edit of it. A fabulous package if ever there was one.

Buy Plastic Romance EP at the Lovemonk Shop.

Gecko Turner’s fab “Gone Down South” albums just keeps on giving. Claremont 56’s Mudd and Natural Self deliver two excellent remixes for the slo-mo disco and future hip-hop heads.

The laidback Jamaican vibes of the wonderful “You Can’t Own Me”, a track that is all Gecko Turner, in every possible way, gets an equally laidback, slo-mo disco work-over by one of the Claremont56 bosses Mudd, a fantastic remix perfect for your lazing on a sunny afternoon in the summertime. Natural Self, in the meantime, emphasises the hip-hop qualities of the funky “When I Woke Up” and adds some cosmic synth stabs to it in the process.

More info:
Gecko Turner’s music is hard to define, but the adjectives we hear most when people refer to his music are “sun-drenched” and “effortless”. Our man has his own style, built from a lot of different influences ranging from The Velvet Underground to reggae, everything on the good side of soul.

Buy Gone Down South Remixes part II (Mudd & Natural Self) at the Lovemonk Shop.