1. Feria - Intro - tuning up is pretty cool as a beginning for a mix. Chris says:Thanks, I thought so too
2. Titiman Flores - Nana Gunbei - this is alright. i wish the percussion had a little more depth, though. it sounds a little flat.Chris says:this and several--hey, all-- of the Belizean artists are produced by the same studio, and I agree, have some issues with certain aspects of production, to be sure
3. Mana - Clavado en un Bar - i'm guessing this is like mexico's equivalent to indie-rock? this isn't so bad. this has some good riffs. the guitar solo is cheese, but there's some caribbean influence in the ska-related hooks.Chris says:you are correct, but mana is not so indie, they may be the Green Day(in terms of popularity) ethier way-ubiquitous in all of Latin musica
4. Ziggy Marley - Dragonfly - eh... this is vanilla. and it's way too long.Chris says:true, but good production values make this song (for me) a good reggae tune, most reggae outta Jamaica and the carib lacks strong production--see track 2 notes[b/]
5. [b]Grandmaster - Puppet on a String - again, kinda boring. perucussion is alright, but there's barely anything else to it. and the fake patois is annoying. Chris says:Ok, cool. maybe you gotta know the guy, he's the real deal, the accent is honestly pure Belizean patois, albeit with an unheathy dose of phelgm(sp) from ganga, and the CD resonates with good poetry about situations in Belize..no problem, man, it could be a local thing 8)
6. Michael Franti - Stay Human - is this from an open mic? this drags on and on. i don't really care for the freestyle approach in anything.Chris says:yep, I love MF, and it's an acquired taste, fair call
7. Kevin Johansen - La Tangomana - i like this, finally. the music and vocals fit and it works well together.Chris says:everything about this CD rocks, go and buy it immediately, this is a weaker track
8. Chavela Vargas - Paloma Negra - hmm, this is alright. i wish the music were a little more prominent instead of being way in the background because this girl's voice may be good, but it's not carrying the song for me. it ends on a good note.Chris says:I love this song, and the lyric is basically "fuck all of ya'll, I'll live my life on my own terms, which in itself is great,but it also sounds like the songs floating out of the old folk's houses here where I live
9. Super Feria - La Muñeca - this began and i was like, "oh, c'mon." but now it's growing on me. everything's sounding good together now. i like it. i think it was the horns that won me over. Chris says: me pandering, but it's home town heroes so, there it is
10. Kymani Marley - Kinky Reggae (Pressure Drop Mix) - this is a little dull.Chris says:this is the sound of heavy dread reggae clubs in the city and in Jamaica, and then, my kitchen when the staff has just come in in the a.m. all stoned. this music carries through walls of lead.[/b]
11. Seu Jorge - Cotidiano - these vocals sound really familiar, but i can't place it. this is pretty good, i guess, because it's at least not too flat. Chris says:Seu's the guy who did the tunes in (most popularly) Life Aquatic, but a fantastic musician and his work in one fine film Cidade de Deus is A-mazing again, good production values make this track stand out
12. Grandmaster - Different Different - i can't get into this at all.Chris says: fair
13. Ry Cooder - Cruising with Rafe - this is alright, but i think i may just be saying that because it's ry cooder and i like his work. it doesn't sound like anything special. Chris says:this mix was made for Obner, but with an ear to the dining room of my restaurant, and this song makes everybody happy...cept you, 'course
14. Campo - Mi Corazon - i like the percussion, but not the vocals.Chris says:Brazilian tango is the new "chill" for latin type restaurants, mark my words
15. Manu Chao - Me Gustas Tu - this is pretty good, at least the music and vocals. the lyrics are kinda bad, but i can hear past them if everything else is going to sound this good.Chris says:manu chao is a grower

[at this point, the music and tracklisting don't seem to be synchronized. what i assume is #16 does not sound at all like the ethiopian group it's listed as, Chris says:Yep, that's my fuck up in photoshop, this track is a Belizean artist, titiman, same artist as track 2but #17 does.Chris says:you are correct, sir-the ethopians rock this track so, what is #16? and #18 is not the michael franti that is listed. there're 22 songs on the tracklisting, but only 21 songs. i listed the songs the way i think they're supposed to be, but that's also difficult because this is one 74-minute track.]

16. [unknown] - i'm glad this is an instrumental. i can only imagine some vocals ruining it. the horns and organ make it.Chris says:I remixed this a couple of times, I'm sorry, but the horns and organ tip me off that its the etheopian stuff, I know it doesn't go anywhere, but I like its meandering vibe
17. Mulata Astatke - Yègellé Tezeta - this is alright - doesn't really go anywhere, though. percussion is good.
18. Southern Culture on the Skids - House of Bamboo - scots! nice. this is good. i really like this girl's voice.
19. Juni Aranca - Mingigili - i like this music, but not the vocals so much. and i think the backing vocals sound better than the frontman's.Chris says: This is Garifuna music, based largely on afro-slave-carib call and response, the production could have brought the vocals forward more. Really, again: being in a pool hall and seeing this music performed (by the crowd, there's no "band") is something to be experienced.
20. [b]Aterciopelados - Luz Azul - here's another female voice that i really like. the music is sounding good too. i like the guitars here. it's making me hope the mix ends on an up note.
21. Aterciopelados - Chamánica - is this is the same band? [edit: seems like it.] i usually abide by a strict "one song per band per mix" Chris says:This falls into the buy this immediately category, aterciopelados(translation:velvety) rock. Later in the eves here at the restaurant we slip into more electronica and this was a couple of transition tracks, but worked because I want everyone to run out and get this disc rule, but this is also a good song... [two minutes pass] yeah, i really like this a lot.

hmm... what can i say about this? well, it threw me off a little at first because it's one long track. some of the songs are mixed, so it's kinda difficult to figure out where one song ends and the next begins. fortunately, that became a little more apparent as it progressed. this is primarily latin- and caribbean-influenced, which gives it a whole different listen than any other mix from this exchange. i didn't really like much of the first half. Mana, Kevin Johansen, and Super Feria were good, but the rest was a mix of either not my thing or mediocre. the Manu Chao song was when it started to come together for my ears. i've heard billy g and dmb04 discuss mano chao, but never heard him/them before and i really liked that jam. the SCOTS song was a nice surprise in a mix where i didn't expect anything rock-based. and the last two songs by Aterciopelados were good too. they weren't really great closers, but i'd never heard their music and came away liking it a lot. so, after initially thinking i'd dislike it, the last string of songs sounded like a good recovery.