Artwork borrowed from the cover of Teta Lando – Independencia.

CF: How and where was this mix recorded?

At home, on a Sunday. Using two Technics turntables and a mixer.

CF: Tell us a bit about the selection. How did you guys go about putting it together and is there a particular record that stands out above the rest?

Well, there isn’t really a “fetish” record that we had to include on this mix. The process of selecting the tracks began a while ago when our good friend Xabier Lombardero came back from Guinée-Bissau after working there for a few years and started telling us about José Carlos Schwarz; he played us some of his records and gave us a bit of the history about the revolutionary and anti-colonial struggles in Africa around the 60s and 70s. He also told us about Thomas Sankara, Amilcar Cabral, etc.

After that, and following on from a couple of trips to Portugal, as well as listening non-stop to Alex Figueira’s Febri Di Funaná mixes and a few purchases from Superfly Records, we decided we wanted to put together a mix focusing on African countries that were former Portuguese colonies.

CF: How and when did you guys started to collect records? Was there a specific moment or person that inspired you to become music heads?

Chez Ed: As a kid I always saw my mom and uncle buying and listening to their LPs on innumerable occasions and so from a very early age I thought it would be cool to collect records. By the age of 12 or 13 I was already buying a few and going to local record stores quite regularly, more often than not to browse and put aside a few records as my allowance wasn’t enough haha.

Abu Sou: I don’t consider myself to be a top collector, even though I have been buying records most of my life. If I had to name a few people that have influenced me the list would be quite long, to name a few: Jaime (Portobello Records), mi primo Pablo Barrós, Dj Tejón, Diego Casares, Gerard y Arnau (Discos Paradiso), Ignasi Molina, Dj Bruce Lee, Fari, Purito, Javi Bayo, Dj Zero, Gus Van Sound, Gabri, Osvaldo Wilson, Javi Der, Daniel Nellstrum and others that have escaped me right now.

CF: Do you have any tips for people who have an interest for collecting, but wouldn’t know where to start?

We’re not sure we could provide too many tips. If anything we are both music fans trying not to get bored with our day to day lives. I guess one thing we could say is to not underestimate the different mediums through which you could listen to music. There’s infinite ways to listen nowadays and every medium is valid, the important thing is to keep an open mind.

CF: What can you tell us about your Canela En Surco radio show? When was it born and how has it evolved to date?

Canela En Surco was born about three and a half years ago and it hasn’t really changed a lot since then. Our main goal with it is to play new discoveries and to have friends and fellow diggers coming by and doing their thing as well.

Every now and then we also come out from our cave to organize nights, usually at Lolita in Razzmatazz. Actually, we’d like to thank Christian Soares for his unconditional support in making that happen.

CF: What do you normally listen to at home? Could you share some of your favourite albums past or present?

Chez Ed:

Various – Terrace Industry: M Squared Box 1980-1983 (Ascension Records (5) – ANCD036)
Leon Lowman – Recordings 1980-87 (Vinyl-on-demand – VOD140)
I couldn’t name a third one as it varies depending on what I’ve bought in the past month.

Abu Sou:
Haku – Music of Haku
Teta Lando – Independencia
Be (Garth Be) – The Seven Movements

CF: What’s your favourite thing about living in Barcelona?

Chez Ed: Well I actually live in Terrassa, about 20 minutes away from Barcelona, but I almost feel like I live in Barcelona because I spend so much time there. The city does provide a lot to me personally and not just in recent times, but since forever. Nowadays all of my best friends live there and as Abu would attest to, the Lâvôkâ(s) on Rambla del Raval before we record each radio show are priceless.

Abu Sou: The lemon and ginger at Foni (a Gambian restaurant) and the avocado, milk and pistachio smoothies aka Lâvôkâ that Edu mentioned.

CF: Any individual or collective plans for the future you could share with us? Are there any dream projects you would like to work on?

Chez Ed: There are a few personal projects: to have a solid and stable natural pool and vertical garden company, but also to get to work on a few ideas Abu and I have for our radio show.

Abu Sou: Personally I would just like to keep living to be able to realize a few things I have in mind. On a more collective side I’m just hoping for a cease to migrant deaths in European borders and that we white-Europeans start questioning our position in the world more seriously. But on a lighter note, we hope to finish the new Canela En Surco website. Big thanks to Gerard Sanchís for the time and work he’s putting into that project. Once that goes live we can get to work on a few ideas that we’ve had on the back burner for a long time.

Tracklist

01 Virgilio Massingue – Va Mu Dhlayile Kaia (Chamunculo Chorando Pastor Manganhela Morto Pela PIDE/DGS) (Viva Moçambique 75 Lp – Orfeu 1974 Moçambique / Portugal)

02 F. Mukenga – Noite Longa ( Various – A Victoria é Certa JMPLA Angola / Netherlands)

03 Kola – Dsusper (Guiné-Bissau Lp – La Do Si Discos Guinée-Bissau / Portugal)

04 Teta Lando – Irmâo Ama O Teu Irmâo (Independencia LP – CDA Angola)

05 José Carlos Schwarz Et Le Cobiana Jazz – Na Colonia (Vol. 1 Guinée-Bissau – Sonafric 1978 Guinée Bissau / France)

06 Babylon – Mamae Sodade (Babylon LP – Not On Label Cape Verde / Portugal)

07 N´Kassa Cobra – Evoluçao de Cobras (Unidade, Luta e Progreso Lp – La Do Si Discos Guinée-Bissau / Portugal)

08 Adriano Bongue – Delfina (Paulinha 7″ – Merengue Angola)

09 Sangazuza – Pecadô Tê Manhá Lumá (Izaura Lp – Arsom Records Sao Tomé e Principe / Portugal)

10 Babylon – 10 Junho (Babylon LP – Not On Label Cape Verde / Portugal)

11 Frank Mimita acompanhamento Afrika Star – Forti Trabadja Palguem (Ja´Nô Tem Traboi Nâ Nôs Terra Lp – La Do Si Discos Cape Verde / Portugal)

12 Kubala, Tulipa Negra – Bar D´Avenida (Nôs Mudjer Emancipaçom Libertaçom Lp – Arsom Records Cape Verde / Portugal)

13 Pedrinho – El Se Vous Dancé (Aleluia Lp – La Do Si Discos Cape Verde / Portugal)

14 Nhú De Ped´Bia – Arbé de Cadjau (Nós Criola Lp – Babylon Records Cape Verde / Portugal)

15 Frank De Pina – Mi E Di Fora (Frank De Pina Lp – Ed. Autor 1984 Cape Verde)

16 Américo Brito – C´est Du Du (Fidjo Di Mizeria Lp – A Brito 1990 Cape Verde / Netherlands)