The Professionals + Lord Rhaburn Combo: Belize Reconnection
posted by O.W.
The Professionals: Theme From The Godfather
Lord Rhaburn: Disco Connection
- Both from Belize Boil-Up (Numero Group, 2006)
Lord Rhaburn: Disco Reconnection (snippet)
From 12" (Numero Group, 2007)
Belize? Yeah, Belize.
I need a late pass - Numero Group (aka the best reissue label out there) put out their compilation of Belizean (Belizoid? Belizer?) soul, funk and Latin last year but I didn't really become aware of it until much more recently. Just like that excellent anthology of Panamanian sounds from the same era, Belize City Boil Up introduces listeners to the heretofore unknown sounds of American soul and Latin exported to Central America and then reinvented. The diversity of styles and sounds is amazing and it makes you wonder how deep the soul crates run throughout Central and Southern America (hint: pretty damn deep we think).
Of the various songs off the comp, the Professionals fuzzed out, funked up take on the theme from The Godfather is probably the best known - the group had decent distribution in the U.S. and the album this comes off of, The Professionals On Tour is in the low three digit range - not cheap but not crazy either. Their take on it is pretty bugged out; it's like Nino Rota scored a blaxploitation flick (or maybe the other way around).
As for "Disco Connection," talk about a fusion of styles. The Latin + Disco element isn't anything that folks in the States didn't also play with but there's something distinctly south of the border with Rhaburn's take (not the least of which is that it reminds me a lot of some of the disco era material by Peru's Enrique Lynch). Call it discoxotic.
Numero Group has also begun to release 12"s on their label and in the first batch includes a single with that "Disco Reconnection" edit (plus the original) on one side, plus a nice Latin burner called "Guajida" by Jesus Acosta and the Professionals on the b-side (which has its own remix of sorts too). DJs looking for that next flavor - here it is.
