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: Le Funk
MIXTAPE: Tropical Sound Service (Latin Groove)
There must be thousands of mixtapes that blend cumbia with other rhythms, bouncing around all over the interwebs these days, but few of them have the technical precision and knowledge of the subject that are evident on Le Funk‘s Tropical Sound Service.
Leave it to a Colombian with a background in global funky break beats to approach cumbia and other Latin tropical sounds from a soulful angle. Leonard Urrego is a real master of the craft and has a delicate palate when it comes to selecting joints. I don’t know if he also produces some of those delightful cumbia/hip hop mash-ups, because the mixtape doesn’t come with a detailed playlist (bummer), but I’m gonna go ahead and assume he at least has put together a couple of them because I’ve never heard those anywhere else (and considering I pretty much spend all my awaken time following this kind of music, not much of it escapes my sonar).
Anyway, if you like this one I suggest you visit his own website, where he as plenty more mixtapes available for free download.
Tropical Sound Service [Latin Groove] by Le Funk