Toño Quirazco

Artist: Toño Quirazco
Album: Bailando Con Toño Quirazco Y Su Conjunto, Vol. II
Label: Orfeon
Year: 1969

1. Maria Isabel
2. Cotorreando
3. Te Vi Llorando
4. Enciende La Luz Del Amor
5. La Casita
6. Minotauro, Pt. 1
7. Matame De Amor
8. Comiendo Ciruelas
9. El Astronauta
10. Eres Maravillosa
11. Minotauro, Pt. 2

I found this one in the "about-to-donate" pile at a record store in Burbank, California. I can't tell you too much about Toño Quirazco as an artist, except for the fact that he was from Mexico and he must have some avid fans, because he has an entire blog dedicated to him.

I was able to translate some of the biography section from the aforementioned blog, and apparently he was born and raised in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. He seems to have done all sorts of things, from medical school, mechanics, engineering, electronics, and eventually music when he moved to Mexico City and signed with the Orfeon label.

Though the same biography mentions he gained popularity when ska music became big in the mid-60s, this album has much more of a Joe Cuba/Hugh Masekela/boogaloo flavor to it. "El Astronauta" and both parts of "Minotauro" have some very interesting sound effects that seem to be made with a pitch-shifted organ (Maybe a synthesizer? Not sure though).

The standout track is clearly "Enciende La Luz Del Amor," or "Turn On Your Love Light" in English. This song, written by Deadric Malone and Joseph Scott, has been recorded by many blues and rock artists. This version, however, is easily the funkiest take on this oft-covered track, with an outstanding (and sample-able) four bar drum break at the beginning.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps (mp3). Download the album here.


Much love,

This Mutha

Shin Jung Hyun & Yup Juns

Artist: Shin Jung Hyun & Yup Juns
Album: Shin Jung Hyun & Yup Juns
Label: Jigu Records
Year: 1974

1. Beautiful Woman
2. Think
3. There Must Be Someone
4. Long, Long Night
5. I Love You
6. My Girl
7. Excitement
8. Nothing To Say
9. I Don't Know
10. Again, This Feeling

I really wanted to get started, so I thought I'd put one up tonight.

This is a great "psych-rock" gem from Korean guitarist Shin Jung Hyun (considered to be the "Godfather of Rock" in Korea). I won't get into a biography of the man, but you can read about him here.

Though considered to be a psychedelic album, the tracks on this album definitely vary. The first four songs have many funky rhythms, reminiscent of the Meters or early Funkadelic. "I Love You" consists of only percussion and vocals, and is a repeated, somewhat-tribal chant. The calmer and washy sound of "Excitement" would fit easily with the works of King Crimson and early Pink Floyd, and the instrumental closer "Again, This Feeling," has almost the same feel and sound as Hendrix's "Third Stone From The Sun."

As a preview, here's a video of Shin Jung Hyun & Yup Juns performing "Nothing To Say" from the 1975 Korean Film Miin ("Beauty"). Unfortunately, the version in this video is quite a bit funkier than the version on the album:



The track titles were translated for me by a friend whose Korean was admittedly rusty. If you think any of them are grossly incorrect, let me know and I'll fix it.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps (mp3). Download the album here.


Much love,

This Mutha

Initiation

Hello.


My goal is to upload and share vinyl rips of whatever obscure and eclectic albums I can find. I will include my synopses, reviews, album cover scans and whatever other information I can provide (for foreign albums this will obviously be more difficult, but I will try my best to translate what I can).

I will try to consistently update by posting a new album at least once a week.

I hope that through this medium, I can share some music that you may not normally expect to find online.

I'll be posting my first album soon.


Much love,

This Mutha