VARIOUS ARTISTS – VENEZUELA 70 – COSMIC VISIONS OF A LATIN

Description

Originally released by Soul Jazz Records in 2016 and now returning to vinyl, *Venezuela 70: Cosmic Visions Of A Latin American Earth* is a groundbreaking collection exploring one of the most overlooked movements in Latin American music. The compilation documents the explosion of experimental rock that emerged in Venezuela during the 1970s, when a new generation of musicians fused psychedelic rock, progressive music, electronics, jazz, funk and traditional Venezuelan rhythms into a uniquely forward-thinking sound.

Featuring visionary artists including Vytas Brenner, Ángel Rada, Miguel Ángel Fuster, Pablo Schneider and Un Dos Tres y Fuera, the collection draws fascinating parallels with Brazil’s Tropicália movement and the experimental German groups of the era such as Can, Neu! and Harmonia. Yet these Venezuelan artists forged their own path, combining Moog synthesizers, fuzz guitars and cosmic improvisation with local folk traditions and Afro-Venezuelan percussion.

From the transcendent folk-prog of Vytas Brenner’s “Araguaney” to the sprawling space-rock explorations of Miguel Ángel Fuster’s “Polvo Lunar” and the electronic experiments of Ángel Rada, *Venezuela 70* remains one of Soul Jazz’s most celebrated archival projects. A vital document of a rich musical scene that remained largely unknown outside Venezuela for decades.