The word mixtape has plenty of different interpretations. It used to be that mixtapes were actually DJ sets recorded on cassette tapes, but with the coming of the digital music age, the name remained the same, but the definition expanded. Nowadays, people call mixtapes many different things, some of which are not necessarily mixed and most of which were never taped. Here we try to cover them all. In this column, Juan Data gives you a worthy one every week.
DJ: Greenwood Rhythm Coalition (GRC)
MIXTAPE: GRC Digs Colombia
Greenwood Rhythm Coalition is not a DJ or a band, at least not in the usual sense we use those terms. It’s a sort of shape-shifting studio band led by two savvy DJs and their main purpose is to manufacture super dope funked-up remixes and covers of dance floor-oriented Afro-Latin tracks which later are pressed on vinyl by the Brooklyn-based label Names You Can Trust (the same guys who introduced Frente Cumbiero to the rest of the world).
Recently, the main players at GRC traveled down to Colombia for a short tour where they shared a few dates with Frente Cumbiero and they came back from that tour with a splendid split 7” release titled Brooklyn a Bogotá plus a humongous pile of dusty old records of Afro-Colombian music.
As a result of that deep digging operation they put together this mixtape for Brooklyn Radio, an almost-hour long set of classics and ultra-rare Colombian tracks by the likes of Aníbal Velázquez, Alfredito Linares, Fruko and many other legends, all real vinyl, masterfully mixed together by experts. Download it for free here!
NYCTrust Special – GRC Digs Colombia by Brooklyn Radio on Mixcloud