Instrumental Gems Vol.1 - Spanish Funk & Groove 1974/1977

Limited to 500 copies. 8 page booklet included. Same booklet for both volumes. During the 70s, an important number of orchestras and dance bands popped up in our country but not many of them released their own songs or covers on vinyl, so we can’t say that our music library has bulky volumes, rather it’s just the opposite. You have to dig deep in the catalogue of obscure record labels to find some quality pieces, which we will usually attribute to Tinglado 13, Conjunto Nueva Onda, The Matches, Conjunto Don Pelegrin, Rafael Martínez, Carlos de Ros, Salgado y su Grupo, Mesié Bató, Pedro González, Jorge Enrique. Most orchestras played bossa nova, soul, some lounge and easy listening, and a usual mix of light music with wind section and keyboards, something like “spanish-soul” or “rythm’n’blues-pasodoble”. It was a time when the bands survived playing shows with a repertoire based, mostly, on Spanish popular songs and international hits. Many artists recorded with nicknames, many others used licensed songs paying rights to the original authors and some orchestras changed their names when they pressed their records, in an attempt to appear modern or simply for pure commercial purposes, that’s why it is difficult to trace accurately the musical path of many of these artists. This scene was especially intense in Aragon and Catalonia, where a bunch of labels emerged, often simply as platforms for bands to promote their own music. This compilation aims to discover to a wider audience some of the most sought-after instrumental gems by disjokeys and disco music collectors, eager for soul, groove and hot sounds.