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The Caracas Sextet was born in the mid-60s at the initiative of the timbalero Jesús “Chui” Osuna, who conditioned his own house for the group’s rehearsals, and it established itself as it added concerts in that Caracas of great musical revelry until it reached its unique album, a collector’s item that El Palmas Music proudly recovers, faithful to its objective of cultural archeology and revaluation of artists who deserve a privileged place in history.
Salsa Suprema - En la conquista del mundo latino
El Palmas Music honors the legacy of Venezuelan salsa icon Larry Francia through the vinyl reissue of “In the Conquest of the Latin World (1979)” by the Salsa Supreme Orchestra. Miguel Álvarez, a Venezuelan musical collector, recognizes Francia’s unparalleled talent and underscores the importance of preserving his magnificent work. Despite facing challenges such as the discontinuation of his orchestra and piracy issues, Francia’s profound impact on Venezuelan popular music endures. With the collaboration of Álvarez and the Suicide Diggerz collective, El Palmas Music retrieves this hidden gem, describing it as a collector’s item of exquisite Venezuelan salsa. The label, founded by Maurice Aymard, is dedicated to promoting Venezuela’s rich musical heritage and proudly presents this reissue as a posthumous tribute to the great Larry Francia.
Jesús Gomez y su grupo
Jesús Gómez y su Grupo has been a vinyl jewel impossible to find for decades, a musical treasure ahead of its time with a prodigious voice. Jesús Gómez had not even reached the age of majority when he embarked on the adventure of recording and producing his own album, bringing together songs from the main Afro-Latin rhythms of the moment to which he contributed all his fantastic explosion of creativity. Not long ago, he had earned the epithet of “The Child Prodigy of the Song” which led him to explore and gain experiences in the paths of music since his youth, a passion, but also a craft, that his mother had instilled in him since his childhood and that he shared with other members of his family. Different rhythms, styles, and learnings hardened Jesús so that at only 17 years old he could deliver such a fantastic work, a clairvoyant sound of pure “Salsa” even before it became fashionable to call this type of music that way
Tabaco (Comp, LP)
Primarily known for his voice – which isn’t surprising considering his vocal nuances and the different registers he is able to reach – it can be said that he was also no slouch when it came to mixing up the rhythms. On this compilation there is a strong influence of African music (“San Juan Guarincongo”, “Imolle”) and jazz – just listen to the unforgettable beginning of “Arrollando”. Percussion, piano and wind instruments are high in the mix, but it’s the masterful voice of Tabaco that adapts effortlessly to the requirements of the melody and the lyrics, riding each groove masterfully. The lyrics also show the great social sensitivity of the Venezuelan maestro: “Una Sola Bandera” and “Cuando Llora el Indio” are two great examples of salsa’s power in denouncing social injustice, and Tabaco’s commitment to that ethos.
Tabaco is unmissable, a heady journey into the essence of salsa and the rhythms of the Caribbean.
La Jungla - De Borondo (LP)
An enigmatic group known for their song CUMBIA DEL DESIERTO on a 7-inch vinyl they share with EL DRAGÓN CRIOLLO at EL PALMAS MUSIC. This song was played with fury by music lovers and collectors worldwide.
Well, beautiful people La Jungla is back with the melody in this mini album DE BORONDO!!!
A cut of four songs where criticism, humor, experiences, and good vibes are present throughout all the songs.
Come and we’ll go DE BORONDO well, surely something cool will happen.
Andrés y sus Estrellas (LP)
Little is said in Venezuelan salsa about this musician named Andrés Moros, who was better known by the pseudonym “Morito”. He was a guitarist, his group was small and he was usually seen playing in bars or nightclubs, just as Nano Grant used to do, who served as vocalist in this unique musical work by Andrés y sus Estrellas, alongside a lady named Yira, of which we have no references.
El Palmas Music are reissuing a rare 1970s Venezuela salsa record that spotlights the work of enigmatic Caracas guitar maestro, Andrés Moros
Moncho y su Banda
Few artists worked as hard at their craft as Ramón Urbina. At the age of 15, and in thrall to the Latin jazz and tropical music he was hearing on the radio, he learnt to play tres guitar. Then he learnt bass. Then percussion, tumbadora, timpani drums, trumpet, trombone, piano, whatever instrument he could get his hands on. A true enthusiast and student of all the tropical music that was percolating through Venezuela and the rest of Latin America at the time, he wanted to understand the art of composition and arranging, and around 1972 he decided to put it to the test, forming his first group, Ramón y su Banda Latina.
Conjunto Ingeniería (LP)
On this compilation, simply titled Conjunto Ingeniería, El Palmas Music have cherrypicked a glorious selection of tracks from across the group’s career, capturing all the creativity and youthful excitement that made them one of the first titans of Venezuela’s tropical music history.
Ray Perez y El Grupo Casabe (LP + 7'')
Grupo Casabe can lay claim to being Ray Pérez’s last great group. Fresh from the successes of Los Dementes and Los Kenya, Pérez was at the forefront of salsa in the mid-70s, and still experimenting with música bailable and all the danceable horn- blazing styles that were beginning to be known collectively as salsa. The finest tracks of this short-lived combo, active from 1974 until 1975, are now being celebrated by El Palmas Music on a new compilation simply titled Ray Pérez y El Grupo Casabe.
Estos son Los Calvos (LP)
Few have done as much for salsa in Venezuela as band leader, composer, and pianist Ray Pérez. He burst onto the scene in the mid-60s with his group Los Dementes, creating the blueprint for guaguanco, pachanga, and boogaloo in Venezuela. When the name salsa began to be used as something of a catch-all-term he was still at the forefront, recording two hugely-popular salsa albums with Los Dementes in 1967. Remarkably, that very same year, he also recorded two albums with a brand new group, Los Calvos. This would be their spectacular debut.
El Dragón Criollo - Sentencia/La Número Uno (Single 7'')
“Sentencia ” goes beyond the ordinary, it is the product of the countless styles that Paulo Olarte has perfected throughout his career as a producer, at a sound and musical level, it has innumerable elements that have influenced his entire personal life and that, without a doubt, comes to shake us with its extreme flavor
Los Calvos -...y que calvos
A mixture of styles on amazing instrumentation, scat vocal shrapnel with rumba, guaguancó with drums, salsa brava with Venezuelan jazz, in short, the expression of its name: sandunga, Latin spark, the Caribbean flavor that is discovered by dancing. By the time Ray Pérez exhibited this project for the first time, his talent was known to be inexhaustible, among the myriad of albums in which he has participated throughout his extensive career as a musician, composer, arranger, and pianist, he launches this project overwhelming, Los Calvos, a musical gem between different eras, with “el negrito Calaven” on vocals, a perfect mix between popular expression and high caliber music with an innate naturalness.
Acid Coco - Camino al mar
Stories that could have spilled out of Cali’s salsatecas, Cartagena’s picós, or any club the world over, yet through Paulo’s canny production there is no doubt where we are. Dembow, cumbia, reggaeton, even on the spiky Caribbean folk of final track “Por Las Venas” or chiptune melody of “Aquí y Allá”, there is nowhere we can be other than on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. It’s music that comes from lived experiences, from growing up in Colombia’s clubs, and through its violence and daily realities. Culture is being passed forward.
El Dragón Criollo - Pase lo que Pase
On his debut album as El Drágon Criollo, Colombian producer, musician and singer Paulo Olarte Toro finds a meeting place between bouncing Caribbean cadences and dance floor- ready beats that threaten to propel your body into motion.Pase Lo Que Pase (translating as Whatever Happens, Happens) is one of those albums that threatens to take you some place new, in this case to the Colombian Caribbean some time around the 80s or 90s, when analog synths, punchy drum machines and Afro- Caribbean guitar melodies ruled the roost.
Sabor Surf (Venezuelan Surf Compilation)
A historical moment for us as a label, for the first time, we bring in one LP the most important surf-rock Venezuelan bands from the ’60s. This is a curatorship that has never been done before and here you will find music from Los Supersónicos, Los Dangers, Los Impala, and Los Blonders. Sabor Surf was selected by Bandcamp as one of the best records and compilations from 2021.
Frank y sus Inquietos
Frank y sus Inquietos is a little-commented Venezuelan treasure in our time, an amazing, almost unknown jewel of Venezuelan hard salsa, treasured with zeal by music lovers of all times. This group is evidence of the musical communion of the young Caracas of the late sixties with the sounds of the Caribbean in their nascent marriage with urban aggressiveness. The repertoire of songs by the homonym Frank y sus Inquietos (1969), has an exquisite imagination, brims with vitality, authentic vocals and choirs, overwhelming percussion, strong bass, and fierce piano conducted by Frank González.
Contento - En Lancha Pal Futuro
Those two über-hip expatriate Colombian ‘salsapunks’ are back. Contento’s first album, Lo Bueno Está Aquí, was an artistic and critical success: chosen, for example, by the UK’s discerning national newspaper, The Guardian, as their global album of the month in November last year. Their follow-up, En Lancha Pal Futuro, builds seamlessly on its predecessor adding more Salsa, Cumbia, Champeta, and Guajira. Yet it could not have been recorded in more different, and difficult, circumstances. Given such extraordinary circumstances, En Lancha Pal Futuro is a remarkable follow-up. Fans and devotees can expect another sure-fire album of the month.
Jaguar - Madremonte
Jaguar debut album with heavy zouk-inspired groove, encapsules the down-home sound of Colombia’s Caribbean Coast Minimal cumbia, funk Caribe, post-disco salsa, Afrobeat meets Arthur Baker; there are many names that could be given to the music made by Colombian duo Jaguar, but none of them quite do it justice. Here is their debut single “Síguele el paso”
Color De Trópico Vol 2 out Now
Musical Gems from Venezuelan´s hedonistic 60´s and 70´s fro the first time on vinyl is finally out. We also have in stock a few last item of the Vol 1. Head to pur website or you our bandacamp.
News
El Palmas + El Dragón Criollo Radio Show
On their monthly show El Dragón Criollo & El Palmas bring us old fresh and new fresh melodies and sounds from all over the tropics. They will also let us take a deep dive into the El Palmas Music Label.
Upadesa on digital and reissue
El Palmas Music presents the first digital release of one of the most innovative albums from Ángel Rada, one of the most interesting music experimentalists of Venezuela. He met Kraftwerk when they were recording at Kling Klang Studio, and also knew Klaus Schulze–who would become an example for him to follow. Our friends from Wah Wah Records have released a vinyl reissue of this collector piece, definitely an item you want to take a look at. Here we still have some copies on our Bandcamp, don’t miss it.
An Interview with El Palmas: Digging into Venezuelan Music Gems
Maurice Aymard (a.k.a El Palmas) lives in Barcelona but was born in Venezuela. Music represents an important part of his life both as a fan but also as a record shop and label owner, DJ, and industry professional. His first step in the business was opening a store in Caracas called Galaktika Records that soon became a label with a sub-label, too (this last one called Apersonal Music).
Los colores de aquel trópico
Dos cosas llaman la atención de este álbum recopilatorio desde el primer momento: su nombre y su carátula. Sobre el nombre, Color de Trópico, uno de sus dos productores, Paulo Olarte aka El Dragón Criollo, anota: Hay un momento en que yo me digo: bueno, estamos enfocados en el trópico, en un lugar que es Venezuela, pero que abarca mucho más, que se refleja en países como Colombia o Panamá. Y en efecto, es todo un colorido de sonidos diversos, salsa, jazz, funk, cumbia, rock, pero envueltos por el calor del trópico.
Contento - Lo Bueno Está Aquí
Contento like to label their music “salsapunk” – smart, witty stuff with a deceptively simple home-made aesthetic. It’s salsa of a kind, but not necessarily as we know it. It could be salsa played by AI robots, but conceived by a duo with the playful sparkle of those Swiss master producer-musicians, Yello. “The sound comes from what we have to hand in order to make the music…”, says the group.
Global album of the month
Blending salsa with electronic elements, Afrobeat and lo-fi vocals, the Colombian duo bring infectious positivity to a classic genre
Directed by: Gabriel Bonnefoy
Art Direction: Daria Mechkat
La Jungla / El Dragón Criollo
The rhythms, rhymes and rumbas of Africa and Colombia, via the Caribbean, come alive on this new 7” featuring Colombia’s El Dragón Criollo and a mysterious new outfit simply known as La Jungla.
Filmed and edited by Alejandro Bernal Rueda.
Written And Produced by El Dragon Criollo.
Rada: Tropical Cosmic Sounds from Space
Compilation made from the Albums Viveka, Impresiones Etnósonicas, Upadesa , Armagedon & The Third Wave Revolution Revolution and Continuvm .
Compiled by El Palmas.
Includes unlimited streaming of Tropical Cosmic Sounds From Space via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Daniel Grau "Freedom"
El Palmas Music is pleased to announce the release of “Freedom” the first single from the iconic Venezuelan producer Daniel Grau in more than 30 years. The song will be released in the forthcoming album El Mágico Mundo de Daniel Grau this year.
MUSIC WITH A HUMAN SOUL
El Palmas music is a record label, a DJ set and an expansive project to revere and inspire through passion for the living music, music that moves. We’re intertropical but we embrace every fusion and mixture as well because is in our nature. In this way, we try to bring in sounds with spirit, artists old and new, forgotten gems, flourishing talents of tropical, funk, disco, salsa, dub/reggae, afro, hip hop, bossanova, original and reissues in physical (12’’, 7’’) and digital formats. After 20 years in music, whether in mixing sessions or conquering the dance floor as a DJ, El Palmas combines the determination required for a unique set with a desire to contribute in music with great artists, releasing them on vinyl and selling their work around the world. El Palmas music, a tropical devotion.
