World Circuit Records to reissue four landmark albums

World Circuit Records will reissue four of its cornerstone albums this Autumn. Remastered and available on vinyl for the first time, Ali Farka Touré's 'Savane' and Omara Portuondo's 'Buena Vista Social Club Presents' will be released on LP and digital formats on 6th September, followed by Radio Tarifa's 'Rumba Argelina' and Guillermo Portabales' 'El Carretero' which will be released on CD, LP and digital formats on 4th October. Both September reissues are available for pre-order now.

“It’s been an honour to work with so many amazing artists on World Circuit over the past 30 years. These four albums from Ali Farka Touré, Omara Portuondo, Radio Tarifa and Guillermo Portabales are each a special part of the label’s history and it’s great to be making them available for the first time on vinyl. We have plans for more next year, as well as some brand new releases which we look forward to sharing soon.” – NICK GOLD, World Circuit

Grammy-winning Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, Rubén González, Guajiro Mirabal and innovative albums from Cachaíto López and Angá Díaz, which took Cuban music into the new millennium and beyond.

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World Circuit is also home to a number of revered African artists. Malian blues pioneer Ali Farka Touré’s classic Grammy-winning ‘Talking Timbuktu’ album, recorded with Ry Cooder, brought the label early international acclaim. Malian divas and social activists Oumou Sangaré and Fatoumata Diawara, master kora player Toumani Diabaté, the illustrious Orchestra Baobab and musical iconoclast Cheikh Lôhave all established themselves as major stars across the globe. Tony Allen, Fela Kuti’s legendary drummer, co-creator of Afrobeat and founding member of The Good The Bad and The Queen joined the label in 2009 and continues to pioneer new African music.

Expanding their orbit far beyond Cuba & West Africa, the label released the breakthrough debut album ‘Rumba Argelina’ by Spanish group Radio Tarifa in 1996. ‘Rumba Argelina’ rocketed them to cult fame with its fusion of flamenco and Arabian sounds, placing them firmly on the map of world music innovators. Mbongwana Star scattered any traditional notions of Congolese music on their experimental and thrilling 2015 debut 'From Kinshasa'. With further reissues and brand new releases to come in 2020, World Circuit continues to bring diverse, genre-defying music to a wider audience.

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Omara Portuondo – Buena Vista Social Club Presents (originally released in 2000)

Remastered from the original analogue masters, ‘Buena Vista Social Club presents ... Omara Portuondo’ is a collection of eleven beautiful songs from one of Cuba’s most celebrated singers. Variously tagged the Edith Piaf or Billie Holiday of Cuba, Omara had a fruitful musical career in her home country, but came to worldwide notice as the only female singer on the Buena Vista Social Club album and film. Having recorded albums with other Buena Vista artists, Rubén González and Ibrahim Ferrer, World Circuit went back to the EGREM studios in Havana to record Omara. The result is an album resonant and evocative of the heyday of the big band era. The album drew international plaudits and was followed by a global tour with fellow Buena Vista stars Rubén González and Ibrahim Ferrer, giving a whole new generation the opportunity to see the illustrious trio live. Since then Omara has repeatedly embarked on sold out world tours appearing at major theatres and festivals across the planet including a headline performance at the One World stage at Glastonbury. Now 88, Omara is currently on her farewell world tour, a full list of upcoming dates can be found below.

‘Buena Vista Social Club Presents ... Omara Portuondo’ takes as its theme unrequited love. Her sonorous and expressive voice is set against a large sound-scape provided by the brilliant Cuban arranger Demetrio Muñiz, (director of Havana’s famous Tropicana cabaret). Muñiz introduced a rich and varied accompaniment to the recordings, including lush string sections, Compay Segundo’s clarinet group, traditional Septeto style, ‘50s style jazz big band and a string quartet, amongst other unusual combinations. The resulting sound could only have been made in Cuba. "The recording means so much to me,' reflects Omara. "My heart is filled with so many lovely memories and emotions. I am grateful to everyone who has accompanied and supported me on my beautiful musical journey."

Now available to preorder on LP & digital formats: https://worldcircuit.lnk.to/OmaraReissue

Ali Farka Touré – Savane (originally released in 2006)

Remastered and available on double vinyl for the first time, ‘Savane’ is the last solo album by the legendary Malian guitarist and desert blues pioneer Ali Farka Touré. Returning to his village in the desert north, Touré began writing for the record and assembled a traditional ngoni group featuring the virtuoso Bassekou Kouyaté. Recorded in Bamako and produced by Nick Gold, ‘Savane’ is Ali’s testament, a powerful reaffirmation of his umbilical link to Malian music and a potent reminder that the blues came from this part of Africa. The record occupied Ali right into his last weeks and he finally declared himself satisfied with it shortly before his death in March 2006.

Acclaimed as his finest album, ‘Savane’ was nominated for a Grammy in the 'Best Contemporary World Music Album' category and remained at No. 1 on the World Music Chart for three months. The album completes World Circuit’s Hotel Mandé Sessions trilogy alongside ‘In the Heart of the Moon', an album of duets by Ali and Toumani Diabaté (also Grammy-nominated), and Toumani Diabaté’s widely acclaimed ‘Boulevard de l’Indépendance’. Touré's legacy and impact is hard to overstate. His genius has been recognised by the likes of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Santana and his music continues to awe and inspire a host of new artists, including The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach.

Now available to preorder on LP & digital formats: https://worldcircuit.lnk.to/SavaneReissue

Radio Tarifa – Rumba Argelina (originally released in 1996)

Remastered specially for this first-time LP release and with accompanying new CD & digital formats, 'Rumba Argelina' is regarded as a world fusion classic. Founded in the early '90s, Radio Tarifa combined Flamenco, Arab-Andalusian music, Arabian music, Moorish music and other influences from the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. In fact, the band's name is taken from Cape Tarifa, the southernmost tip of Spain and closest European point to Africa, where the local radio station receives sounds from across the straits. As core member and percussionist Faín Sánchez Dueñas explains, "Tarifa is a little bit borderline, nobody's land, and most of all, a balcony to the Mediterranean".

'Rumba Argelina' was originally recorded by Faín in his bedroom on an eight track recorder. As the depth and originality of the music became apparent, Faín, alongside fellow band members Benjamin Escoriza (vocals) and Vincent Molino (flute) were able to call on some of the finest artists in their field to help fill out and produce a complete album. Much to the band's astonishment, 'Rumba Argelina' rocketed them to cult fame and placed them firmly on the map as world music innovators. An irresistible fusion of exotic melodies, it kicks in with the pattering of percussion and drums, undulating pipes and funky guitars, before the smoky flamenco-esque rumba voice of Escoriza grabs you and never lets you go. It’s a music whose vitality and emotions you simply never tire of.

Guillermo Portabales – El Carretero (originally released in 1996)

'El Carretero' is now also remastered and available on vinyl for the first time, alongside new CD & digital formats. Guillermo Portabales (1911 - 1970) was a unique performer of the Cuban guajira rhythm, whose distinctive voice and guitar style helped define and popularise the easy swaying style. 'El Carretero', one of Portabales' most famous songs, has been covered by a variety of different acts, including Senegalese artists Orchestra Baobab and Cheikh Lô. His music had a significant influence on the artists who eventually came together as Buena Vista Social Club. Born in Cuba, Portabales divided his time between his homeland and Puerto Rico, where he eventually settled in 1953. Performing for the first time in 1928, Guillermo would become hugely popular in both North and South America and more recently in West Africa.

In the beginning, Portabales sang everything - canción, tango, bolero, son - until he discovered that guajira pleased his listeners most. This he performed in a unique style, with added melody and cadence and stripped of the typical stridence of the guajiro. In a word, elegantly. Because of this he was named the creator of 'guajira de salon', the new version heard and danced to in the city and which tells of the life, suffering, love, fiestas and work of the peasant. This collection of his classic 60s recordings was compiled by Nick Gold specifically for release on World Circuit.

OMARA PORTUONDO ON TOUR

• July 5th – Madrid, ES – Palacio Infante de Don Luis
• July 7th – Vienna, AT – Jazz Fest Wein
• July 11th – St Moritz, CH – Festival Da Jazz
• July 13th - Moscow, RU – Usadba Jazz Festival
• July 15th – Athens, GR – Athens Technopolis Festival
• July 19th – Vitoria-Gasteiz, ES – Jazz Vitoria
• July 20th – Nice, FR – Nice Jazz Festival
• July 25th – Marseille, FR – Marseille Jazz
• July 26th – Fouvière, FR – Théâtres Romains de Fourvière
• July 28th – London, UK – Barbican Centre
• August 1st – Sète, FR – Fiest’a Sète
• August 3rd – Istanbul, TR – Lifepark City Forest
• August 8th – Antwerp, BE – OLT Rivierenhof
• August 24th – Helsinki, FI – Huvila Festival
• August 30th – Paris, FR – Philharmonie de Paris-Amphithéâtre