First things first: Mathew Warren’s We Like It Like That: The Story of Latin Boogaloo is finally available for home download. I’m biased – since I’m in it – but as the first documentary to really plumb the history of the music, I think it’s absolutely worth checking out.
Second, I had been meaning to post this for a while anyway, so what better timing than now?
Les Play-Boys: Play-Boys Boogaloo (Aux Ondes, 196?, S/T)
The group hails from the French Antilles, having recorded on Aux Ondex/Disque Cellini which had offices in both Martinique and Guadeloupe. Boogaloo, as I’ve written about in the past on the site, spread in popularity all throughout North and South America as well the Caribbean, so it’s not at all surprising to see a West Indian band tackling the genre.
What I love about this is how it captures the classic essence of the boogaloo but filters it through a smoky, Afro-tinged surf rock vibe (I’m sure there’s some Peruvian boogaloo that likely sounds very similar). The use of organ on here, especially, is killer and not something that many groups in East Harlem would have done. Viva la boogaloo!
chatter