This week Sound Travels back to colombia to check out some of the best music from Colombia's coolest record label, Discos Fuentes. Every day, I'll single out one of their greatest performers to highlight album(s) whose importance to Colombian music is without doubt.
So we started today with the late, great Joe Arroyo who recorded almost all of his early and perhaps best work for Discos Fuentes. Discos Fuentes was crucial to the development of the Colombian musical identity in many ways. Not only did they lead the charge by adopting technologies and formats that would go on to become industry stadards worldwide while keeping their work contemporary to the times, but they also took gambles on quintessential Colombian musics like cumbia, porro and salsa. They helped fuel the rise not only of whole genres of music but the careers of the musicians that created them and kept them vibrant.
Like Joe Arroyo, a true Colombian legend. A gifted singer who got his start singing in brothels in his native Cartagena until he was"discovered" by Julio Ernesto "el Fruko" Estrada and started plaing with his Tesos (ie. the band Fruko y sus Tesos). Later he'd lead another band, The Latin Brothers, and craft a sound that was a unique amalgam of cumbia, salsa, zouk, kompa and soca, that would keep him working until his death last summer. Rest in peace Joe, and y'all should give these worthy cuts a listen, cause he was a legend...
Joe Arroyo "Baila Simon"
"Mis Zapatos Blancos"
"Donde Vas"
"El Conejo"
"El Nativo"
Plus, here's some actual footage of Arroyo performing one of his biggest hits "Tania"