Edition 12
Welcome,
I'm Stefan, and this is edition 12 of Looking For The Good Stuff, conceived and written at my HQ in Berlin, Germany. Just like Oscar Wilde, I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.
Easy living
Almost two months ago, Sirius XM started to release episodes from Lucille Ball's radio show Let's Talk to Lucy as a podcast. It was originally aired on CBS Radio in the U.S. from 1964 to 1965.
She had conversations about everyday life and career with some of the greatest names in showbiz in the show. Today it's the time for the ninth episode of the podcast: three conversations with Barbra Streisand, a few months after her success with the stage version of Funny Girl.
That day
In 1968, an American cargo ship carrying cutting edge synthesizers from Moog and Korg crashed near the coast of Cape Verde Islands on its way to an exhibition in Brazil. The Americans never came back to fetch the synthesizers, and after a while, they were equally divided between local schools. Some of the students learned to master the instruments, and in the '70s and 80's, a new musical genre emerged: a cosmic disco sound based on local music, Latin rhythms and influences from funksters like Parliament/Funkadelic.
Read the fascinating story in Far Out, watch The Vinyl Factory's documentary on Youtube and listen to the compilation Space Echo - The Mystery Behind the Cosmic Sound of Cabo Verde Finally Revealed!, released by the German label Analog Africa five years ago.
Jumping with Symphony Sid
The 4-CD and 7" box set It's A Good, Good Feeling: The Latin Soul of Fania Records will hit the streets in about a week. The box set is curated by the British record collector, DJ and compiler Dean Rudland.
Until then, don't miss Stevie Chick's article in today's The Guardian: Everybody salsa! Fania, the ramshackle New York label that sent Latin rhythms global!
That's all for today. This week's last edition will arrive tomorrow.
All the best.
Stefan