Jose Carlos Schwarz

• HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL

• GATEFOLD EDITION

Really powerful music from Jose Carlos Schwarz – both a singer and a key fighter in the movement for independence in Guinea-Bissau in the 70s – so much so that he spent a few years in prison, after recording most of the work on this set!

The style of the music is a bit hard to describe – definitely with some familiar Guinean modes, but also dominated by the message-oriented vocals of Jose Carlos, who comes across almost with the mix of culture and politics that you'd hear in a Chilean artist of the time – save for the difference of language.

There's a moody, brooding feel to the tracks – even though the group Cobiana Djazz still provide plenty of groove – and the music has a much more righteous vibe than so many other African records of the period, which is really saying a lot.

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Indicativo
• A2. Estin
• A3. Po Ka Ta Bida Lagartu
• A4. Lua Kata Kema
• A5. Dispus Ke E Lebal
• A6. Tiu Bernal

• SIDE B
• B1. Na Kolonia
• B2. Mindjeris De Panu Pretu
• B3. Pintcha Kamion
• B4. Pena Di Galiña
• B5. Amigus Ka Bali