Ondatropica, Soundway *****

Colombia is surely the place where Afro-Latin gets its Afro – it's a veritable hot-bed of rhythm. The roots show through in a host of percussive accents from cumbia to champeta, swing to salsa. Will "Quantic" Holland and Mario Galeano gathered together 35 musicians whom they admired, ranging in age from 25 to 82, in the hallowed (and sadly neglected) portals of Medellin's Discos Fuentes studios, and created an exceptional musical encounter, captured on these two CDs. This is living, breathing, dancing, shaking musical heritage of a most glorious kind. There is tropical salsa and cumbia and funky roots a-plenty. There is master band-leader Fruko and veteran accordionist Anibal Velasquez; there are horns, congas, timbales, and a duet between a young beat-boxer and an 82 year old gaitero rapper. It does the heart – and hips – good. soundwayrecords.com

Download tracks: Suena, Rap-Maya, Mambo Loco Especial