After 20 years digging the depths of Afro-diasporic styles, Soundway turn their attention to the ends of South America with typically astute selection skills. Comparable with the classic levels of their ‘Onda De Amor (Synthesised Brazilian Hits That Never Were 1984-94)’ session, the 19 nuggets on ’Síntesis Moderna’ are defined by a tougher machine momentum that echoes EU & US styles of the time, but with a certain sass and Tango rhythms that lend much of the material a vital below-the-belt thrust.
First conceived five years ago by diggers Ric Piccolo & Ariel harare, the set touches on a spectrum of styles spanning Italo Disco to post punk, jazz-fusion, Afro folk, ambient and techno pop, much of which has never been issued beyond Argentina’s borders. It all hails from the post-Falklands War era and the end of military dictatorship, reflecting a new found youth identity and links forged with the rest of the world, paralleling aspects of Spain’s late bloom grasp of machine/body music, too.
This guided tour kicks off with steely Sheffield-skooled electro echoes of Clock DVA and BEF in ‘Operative’ by Carlos Cutaia, and runs the voodoo down Latin America’s spine to El Signo’s slinky shuffle, twinkle-toed jazz-fusion from Adalberto Cevasco, cuboid sampler funk from Los Músicos Del Centro, Delight’s puckered disco swag and a class cut of slo-mo acidic electro-funk by Bad Girls. There’s an ESG-esque post-punk zinger in Carla Rab’s ‘Sexy Films’, and a Schulzian synth flare ‘Fuego’ to exemplify the range.
Track List:
- Operativo – Carlos Cutaia
- Dimensiones Ocultas (Ric Piccolo Edit) – El Signo
- Running Away From You – Ultimate Warriors
- No Es Computable – Abaddon
- Ain't That Better (Harari Edit) – Toby
- Vamos A La Playa – The Originals
- Secuencia Sin Consecuencias – Mike Ribas
- Reencuentros N° 2 – Adalberto Cevasco
- Esquirlas – Los Músicos Del Centro
- Méditerrané Club – Divina Gloria
- Como Son Los Retratos (Harari Edit) – Mike Ribas
- I Wanna Make You Mine – Delight
- Mueve Tu Cuerpo – Gaita
- A Ver, A Ver (Ric Piccolo Edit) – Donald
- Dance To Dance – Bad Girls
- Sexy Films – Carla Rab
- Aire De Trópicos – Los Músicos Del Centro
- De Mamá Candombe – Jorge López Ruiz
- Fuego – Jorge Alfano
