Crazy obsessed with finding the rarest and deepest tropical gems to impress the dancefloor, Philippe Noel built his own club night 5 years ago in Montreal called Canicule Tropicale. With his partner in crime La Mano Peluda (Clément Jehan) they lead the vintage tropical dancefloor scene in this french canadian city known for its cultural diversity and eclectic tastes. Canicule Tropicale invites monthly very special guests such as Superfly Records own Paulo Gonçalves, Soundway Records’ Beto (Panama!, Colombia!), Fredrik Lavik (Kenya Special), Alex Figueira (Fumaça Preta), new cats like Sir Ramases (Afro Ritmo Records, DC) and Vik Sohonie (Ostinato Records) and local legends such as Andy Williams and DJ Kobal. For us, Philippe selects five gems of his rare collection.
Mestre Cupijo e seu Ritmo Siria
Pescaria no Mururé
« This is my favorite LP from Mestre Cupijo, Brazil’s god of the Siria rhythms in the NorthEast region. This is the harder to find LP and my absolute personal favorite. No wonder Analog Africa used 3 tracks from this album on his excellent compilation. Pescaria no Mururé is not on the compilation, yet it is killer killer, so imagine the rest! Recipe to kill a dancefloor. Period. »
Mansa Musa
Mama Maria
« Another personal favorite ( I have many!). Very rare late 70’s Trinidad LP with 2 pressings: Trinidad and Canada. It’s one of those crazy oddball records which is so hard to categorize… Is it Soca? Is it Folk? Is it Calypso? Is it Rapso? I don’t know but it’s an absolutely beautiful mix of spiritual jazz, fusion folk and soca-ish rhythms. Nothing else like it. Top shelf LP all the way (I have even got both pressings haha!). »
Muluken Melesse
Yemenjar Shega
« One of the most sought after ethiopian LP, and Muluken’s only full album. As much as I cherish ethio male legends such as Alemayehu, Mahmoud and Telahun, any vinyl recordings from Muluken must be buried with me once I pass way! Nuff’ said. Yemenjar Shega is a top notch driving ethio-jazz masterpiece with only the cream of the crop of ethiopian musicians. »
Les Boogaloo’s
L’Atiboniteo
« Very rare and obscure LP recorded at the late Chez Tonton night club Montréal in the 1970’s by haitian band called Les Boogaloo’s. Although not the best pressing quality, this album sounds like no other haitian bands I ever heard before. Definitively a crazy crazy jewel of a record, and even hotter cause made in my own city! »
Raphie Martinez and his The National Combo
We Taking Over
« My favorite boogaloo LP ever. Coolest late 60’s Nuyorican flavor from Brooklyn. Move over a bit Fania, this is the shit IMO! »
