Upcoming Soundway Releases: Ghana Special & Panama! 3

The mighty Soundway label just released a nice collection of sounds from Guadelupe & Martinique called Tumbélé! “Biguine, afro & latin sounds from the French Caribbean, 1963-74”, check the Tumbelele mix by compiler Hugo Mendez here. The label's been pretty active lately (personally I can't wait to see the next epsisode in the Colombia! series, which they have been promising us for a while now) and November is gonna bring us some more exotic goodies (text from the soundway site):
Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds, Ghanaian Blues 1968 - 1981

Soundway Records step back into Africa with thirty-three original and previously un-reissued tracks from Ghana delivering a follow on of sorts from the hugely successful CD/LP Nigeria Special. Ghana Special comes as a double CD hardback case-bound book and 5LP vinyl box set. The CD features 44 pages of history, photographs and original record scans. Wow ..a 5lp box? This is serious. (release date november 16th)

Panama! 3: Calypso Panameno, Guajira Jazz & Cumbia Tropical on the Isthmus 1960-75

Volume 3 showcases more of the unique tropical music created in Panama in the fertile decades of the 1960s and ’70s. From bilingual calypsos to guajira jazz, from tropical guarachas to cumbia tamboreras, Panamanian musicians fearlessly combined and brilliantly executed styles that reflected their multicultural environment during a turbulent time in the young country’s history. This collection presents more of the golden age of Panamanian music and the music of the combos nacionales on rare recordings that have never been released outside the isthmus until now. (release date november 16th)