Abstract Index Playlist - May 21/08

I'm not often a fan of the monochromatic chillout music of the Eighteenth Street Lounge folks. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the scene Rob Garza and Eric Hilton have created with their club in Washington - there should be more places like it. I also appreciate that the Latino sounds they're putting out are coming from a pretty unique place. That said, I find if I'm DJing, ESL stuff merely keeps a set going rather than taking it to another level.

Not so with the new Ocote Soul Sounds disc. OSS is largely the work of Martin Perna, though The Alchemist Manifesto is aided by Adrian Quesada (from Grupo Fantasma, see playlist below, and Brownout, also well represented of late). This might be the best disc I've heard on the label. Psychedelia has been an increasingly prominent influence in ESL recordings, but even Garza's recent Dust Galaxy release didn't approach the inviting hallucinations contained here.

I first encountered this week's track "El Pescador" in a version by Afro-Colombian folk powerhouse Toto La Momposina. The detuned hippy flutes and equally nauseous vocals suit the "fisherman" theme quite well, along with obvious but still effective surf sound efx. Meanwhile, the keyboard & rhythm loop stasis doesn't feel underdeveloped; it just keeps stretching out to the horizon.

Hour 1 podcast
Hour 2 podcast

gente simple - yusa (tumi)
rumba y guaguanco - grupo fantasma (aire sol)
ay papa - pupy y que los son son (egrem)
jolly joker - alter ego rmx. by dj koze(klang)
walk 6 - doppelmoppel (intakt)
givers - lucky dragons (marriage)
holding sway - feuermusik (standard form)
mark's disco dub - tony allen rmx by mark ernestus (honest jon's)
el pescador - ocote soul sounds feat. adrian quesada (ESL)
london bridge - lal (PTR)
68th dimension - gb feat. mike holden (ubiquity)
amours vacances et baroque - paul guoit & paul piot (lo)
puppet on a chain main theme - piero piccioni (DC)
loaded to the gills - michael liggins & the super souls (numero)
big boo boo day version - gladiators (studio one)
let's love - kc white (city line)
love in my heart - leroy smart (moll selekta)
in the ghetto - dubmatix feat. sugar minott (7 arts)
like a o - frost & wagner feat. paul st. hilaire (best seven)
natural progression - aswad (mango)