This compilation from the Luaka Bop label comes with a small poster featuring nine cartoon drawings (from Paul Hornschemeier). It is titled ‘The Story of Luaka Bop’ and it neatly manages to convey all the key pieces of information about the label’s formation and history you need to know. Namely, the label developed from David Byrne making cassette mixtapes of Brazilian music to give to friends (the first proper compilation on the label went on to sell 350,000 copies); David starting working with Yale Evelev to grow the label; over its 21 year history the label was supported or owned at various times by Warner Bros, AOL, Virgin and V2. And despite some of these majors disappearing or downsizing as the music industry implodes, Luaka Bop is still with us. This is particularly important because the label has cared about and supported genres of music or artists when “no else cared”. This last point might be slightly disingenuous – there are other labels that have supported Cuban, Brazilian and African music – but that should not take away from Luaka Bop’s achievements. As well as championing different genres of music, Luaka Bop has also been key to reviving careers and bringing new music to the world from neglected or over-looked musicians like Tom Zé, Shuggie Otis and Os Mutantes.
Such a single-volume compilation (21 years, something like 80 records) is never going to be a definitive overview of the label’s output, more a quick snapshot. So over 15 tracks from South America you get the Brazilian samba-rock of Jorge Ben, Venezulan dance band Los Amigos Invisibles and the 60s Tropicalia of Os Mutantes and Tom Zé; from America and Europe the R&B funk of Shuggie Otis, southern story-teller Jim White and the bossa-nova 80s pop revivalism of Nouvelle Vague; from Africa the Malian 70s funk of Moussa Doumbia.
If it all sounds maddeningly eclectic, somehow it makes a satisfyingly coherent listen – it’s more like a mixtape from a friend with a great record collection.
This won’t be for everyone but if want a single point of departure to broadening your musical listening horizons, this makes a great launch pad.
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