NEW YORK/MIAMI 1983-1992

Description

Latin Freestyle was a dizzying, passionate, ultra-modern sound. It was the sonic equivalent of a refreshing can of Quatro or a Harlem Spanish dance-off, and became the electronically-built bridge between disco and house.Freestyle evolved from the early 80s electro sound, combining crisp, staccato beats with Morse-code synth hooks, and supplementing them with emotive, usually female, often Latin vocals. There was plenty more besides: proto-house piano lines, Cuban percussion, emotion and drop-dead gorgeous synths.Assembled and annotated by Bob Stanley (who also compiled the celebrated “The Daisy Age” and “Fell From The Sun”), “Latin Freestyle” is the first compilation to cover the full spectrum of Freestyle, from its breakthrough in the early 80s to its early 90s renaissance.So many classics… Lisa Lisa made the British top ten with the 808 joy of ‘I Wonder If I Take You Home’. Stacey Q’s ‘Two Of Hearts’ was a 1986 smash, while in 1987, Company B’s ‘Fascinated’ and Exposé’s ‘Point Of No Return’ became enormous British club hits. – Today, Freestyle is a scene with a robust collector’s market, and rarities like Janelle’s ‘Don’t Be Shy’ sell for hundreds of dollars.It’s a classic summer soundtrack, finally condensed into one Ace Records compilation – “Latin Freestyle”.