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Sonic Sounds genre-spanning global grooves

06/03/2025

DIGGING DIARIES: CHOLULA

At the foot of the imposing active volcano, Popocatépetl - spewing smoke above the Tlachihualtepetl temple - lies the ‘Pueblo Magico’ of Cholula. Digging for records was not what brought us here, but nevertheless after watching the Danza de Los Voladores swinging through the sky, Andy stumbled across a garage sale in the backstreets and found a handful of Cumbia cassette tapes!

Question is….Should we pack a cassette player for Friday night?! 😀📼❤️

01/03/2025

DDYD GŴYL DEWI SANT HAPPUS IAWN! 🌱🌼🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
The sun has got his hat on and he’s coming out to play! It’s one week until ‘CWMBIA’ our first event of the year at celebrating the music of central and South America. & will be bringing the tropical pressure to Aberteifi via the sunny shores of the Mexican Pacific coast and the jungles of Columbia.
If you can’t wait until then you can check out playing tunes in Carmarthen tonight warming up for at
Book you CWMBIA ticket now via the link in our Insta bio or website.

09/02/2025

A BRIEF HISTORY 🔊🌎🪩
was born a musical collaboration between & in a bid to create a platform to share their love for records from around the world at . Bringing lesser heard rhythms to the dance floor and eclectic cuts you wouldn’t hear anywhere else!
The duo quickly expanded into a collective of music lovers, DJ’s and selectors from the local community of St Dogmaels. Each member bringing something completely unique to the line up; ._.spooks silky beat matching skills rooted in bass music, and his uncanny ability to fill any dance floor & finally Spike of who’s discerning selections, handpicked from years on the London record shop scene really hit deep.
Over the past year Derw and Andy’s record digging antics have taken them throughout Europe in Barcelona, Lille, Bruge and Milan. Most recently to Mexico where they met at record store in Oaxaca. Within a few minutes of arriving the Mezcal had been pulled out by a local customer who was singing along to Derw’s tunes. It wasn’t just the selections that were HOT!!! 🥵
Join us on Friday 7th March where Derw & Andy will be playing some of their favourite records from their recent trip to Mexico. Expect a smattering of sounds & colour from across Caribbean, Central and South America 🌴🕺🏽🪩
CWMBIA 🇨🇴 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
07/03/25
8PM - 1AM
TICKETS NOW ON SALE
via or link in bio

07/01/2025

Happy new year, blwydddyn newydd dda... Did we miss a couple of days over the celebrations?

Our final end of year record round up is Spike's:

Various Artists, Mr Bongo Record Club Vol. 7 ()

"I’ve loved Mr Bongo ever since I used to frequent their shop in Soho in the late 90s to stock up on indie hip-hop records. lt was my first taste of Latin music too, and I’m happy to see they are still smashing it with this compilation, which goes through Latin music into some killer global funk and disco selections.

I especially liked the first few samba tracks on this compilation, Eloia by Dudu Moraes has a beautiful melody and feel, Nago Nae by Romeu Fernandez is another fave with hints of the divine madness of Yma Sumac and a slight touch of calypso. Manguiera E Cancao by As Sublimes, with those haunting backing vocals reminiscent of Os Afros Sambas by Baden Powell, an old favourite of mine. What a sound!"

31/12/2024

Tom's pick for our end of year record roundup:

Various Artists, Ghana Special 2: Electronic Highlife and Afro Sounds in the Diaspora 1980-93 (Soundway)

"Back in April, me and Andy were getting hyped about the impending release of this compilation. When the compilation finally dropped I was blown away! The rabbit hole went far deeper than I thought, uncovering some artists I hadn't heard of, and I found myself jamming out to a sound that was at once familiar, but at the same time totally fresh and exciting.

To think of the UK in the 80s, with the latter stages of disco and funk in the clubs, and the New York and Chicago House scene arriving and giving birth to rave culture, I could hear the same electronics, synths and drum machines being used in Ghana at the same time. There's so many bangers on here, and I continued to dive down the rabbit hole for months afterwards and the Highlife sound of 80s Ghana soundtracked my summer.

Thanks, Soundway, for showcasing all these incredible
artists and snapshotting this special, special time in African music."

30/12/2024

Here is Gwyn's pick for our end of year record round up: Nídia & Valentina, Estradas ()

"This album is a collaboration between two solo musicians: London-based experimental drummer and composer Valentina Magaletti, and Lisbon-based Nídia,
associated with the Príncipe Discos label, which has blown a lot of minds with new Afro-Portuguese music. Visiting Lisbon at age 20, I discovered a rich African culture: people, music, food and drink - a result of colonialism in Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe.

This album's unique sound is informed by Angolan styles like batida and tarraxinha: raw constructions of sub-bass and SO much syncopated percussion. Sampled sound and vocals are deftly worked in to add colour and feeling, occasionally reminiscent of grime. Even with the heavy focus on rhythm and drums, songs are structured in interesting ways, with much warmth and life within. I look forward to people dancing in new ways to these tracks."

29/12/2024

Here's Andy's pick for our end of 2024 record round up:

Various Artists, Congo Funk! Sound Madness From The Shores Of The Mighty Congo River ()

"Congo Funk is a compilation documenting the rise of funk in the two capital cities of Kinshasa (then Zaïre, now Democratic Republic of Congo) and Brazzaville (Republic of Congo), on opposite banks of the Congo river. These tracks emerged in the 1970s & 80s following the Zaïre 74 festival of music, which saw artists such as James Brown perform at a 3 day event, leading up to the historic ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ of Ali vs Foreman (side note: an excellent documentary on this is available with incredible footage.)

With multiple shifts in melody and tempo within each track, this is a unique sound that owes as much to the older Congolese Rumba as it does to the funk all stars of the 70s. I’ve been loving playing these tunes and getting lost in the groove. My highlight track being Sungu Lubuka with its incredible buildup, raw vocals and an uplifting
charge towards the end which always leaves me waving my hands in the air uncontrollably behind the decks.

This is a fascinating and funky slice of African music history, on two discs housed in a beautifully presented gatefold sleeve and extensive liner notes, as always with Analog Africa releases."

Available on vinyl, CD or digital via Bandcamp: analogafrica.bandcamp.com/album/congo-funk-sound-madness-from-the-shores-of-the-mighty-congo-river-kinshasa-brazzaville-1969-1982-analog-africa-no-38

28/12/2024

Nadolig llawen a blwyddyn newydd dda pawb!

We're ending the year with a round up of our favourite records of 2024, starting with Derw's pick

Flammer Dance Band, Gynger (Lyskestrekk)

"Having only discovered them this year, I have been fascinated by Flammer Dance Band's playful, psychedelic approach to making music, influenced by vintage African funk. The Norwegian band's latest EP has been a big favourite of mine due to its rhythmical flare and infectious melodies.

My favourite track on this is Trenger Ikke Dra. The record has a spontaneous and creative edge, which could easily lead you to believe that it was recorded in a single take. It is beautifully recorded, with a smattering of stereo panning and tripped out vocals and synthesisers."

20/12/2024

Tonight (20th Dec) is our SONIC NADOLIG. Join us at to celebrate a year of dancing and good times. Party in the tipi, it’s gonna be cosy, we can’t wait. Get there early because we’re all packed up at 11pm!!

No plans for dinner? No pizza at the tipi tonight but don’t fret - Grab a takeaway from one of our delicious neighbouring food establishments - etc and bring it to the tipi, where you can wash it down with a lovely pint of beer

Set times:
6-8: b2b Sonic Sounds allstars
8-9: Spooks
9-10: My Friend Andy
10-11: Tom La Bomba

Nadolig Llawen, Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel to you all 🎄###

19/12/2024

Percussive and uplifting warmup set from last month at Yr Cellar - listen back to set on our mixcloud. Gwo Ka, Zouk, Cumbia and more! See you on Friday night (20th December) for our last dance, Sonic Nadolig, we can’t wait 🥳

mixcloud link: https://www.mixcloud.com/Sonicsoundsfromplanetearth/my-friend-andy-live-at-yr-cellar-29th-nov-24/

12/12/2024

Throwback to early summertime, our first sonic sounds at the White Hart community inn. Spooks got things well warmed up with some deep & esoteric cuts of soul, jazz, boogie, house and afrobeat. Listen back on the mixcloud, link in bio

Catch ._.spooks and on 20th December for our seasonal special dance, Sonic Nadolig. Fiver on the door, proceeds to cardigan food bank, 6-11pm

04/12/2024

So great to bring Sonic Sounds to the cellar! Such a unique venue and we are very lucky to have it right here in Aberteifi. A proper underground grassroots venue, it’s so important to keep these places alive - so keep an eye on their listings as they have some great nights and live music down there. We will be back. As always, an amazing crowd in the dance and also it was so nice to have join us for this one - thanks Billy, excellent tunes!

25/11/2024

Here’s another recording from our May Sonic Sounds at Clwb Mwldan, this time it’s with his genre-spanning global selections. We had the best time, so happy to share these sets with you and relive the memories. Looking forward to more good times this Friday 29th at Yr Cellar for our big basement boogie! Ticket link and mixcloud in bio. See you on the dancefloor

17/11/2024

Another one up on the mixcloud 🤩 Derw tha Damaja got the floor moving instantly with this one, what a vibe! More of this to come at our next night, 29th November, Yr Cellar, Aberteifi. Join us for a subterranean sonic sounds discotheque party 🪐

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https://www.mixcloud.com/Sonicsoundsfromplanetearth/

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So much fun last night at Bar45!! Thank you to everyone who came along and filled the room and dance floor with such energy. We will be doing another one for sure. Next up is Good Nature Party next Saturday 12th August where you can catch a whole line up of local DJ’s including My Friend Andy at Boy Ashore in aberporth during the day then the afterparty at Mwldan with Tom La Bomba making an appearance.