Friday Sidestepper

I wanted to dedicate today to Miti Miti's new record, Altar Espandex, which is dropping today, the auspicious 08/08/08. But the gals are video-less, so I'll just have to write about it when I get a hold of it.

But another must-listen record that came out this week is Sidestepper's Buena Vibra Sound System. The Richard Blair-Iván Benavides et al project has always been one my favorite post-salsa projects, with kickass Colombian musicians adept at the traditional and the modern, the pop and the costeño.

I have to admit, the record disappointed me a bit, as I expected a new song list, and this is mostly remixes of songs that came out in More Grip and 3 AM: In Beats We Trust. But there are a couple of tunes previously unreleased in the U.S., like "La Paloma," which you can hear here. And the mixes are pretty slammin', especially the dancehall remix of "Más Papaya" and a stripped, dubby "tripeando" version of "La Bara," which makes me dance even at 3 am, when I ain't got no mo' juice.

No videos for the record out yet that I could see, but here's two versions of "Deja" -- a music video and a live performance. The tropics infect the steel-armored city.