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As a special treat Soundway here serve up three courses of Panamanian calypso-funk and Caribbean soul from down on the Isthmus. The 1960s and 70s were fertile times for Panamanian music as Soundway's three volumes of the much loved Panama! series of compilations has proved. Being the bridge between North and South America, Panama became a melting pot of musical influences, with local bands playing to entertain not only Panamanians, but also the hordes of sailors that passed through the canal from all over the world. Consequently, the Combos Nacionales (as the family of local bands became known) stuffed as many styles as possible into their repertoires from cumbia to salsa, reggae, calypso and funk. Order here: iTunes: Click here to subscribe to Soundway Records - MUSIC FROM PLANET EARTH: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE Soundway Records was conceived in 2002 by label owner Miles Cleret whilst returning from Ghana with a hoard of dusty old 45s and LPs that had mostly not been heard outside the former Gold Coast since their original release. Planned on a whim the trip was not one of the carefully planned research expeditions that Miles would later embark on to any number of far-flung tropical destinations. On the contrary he left England with no idea of what he might find or that it might be the start of a career in the record business. Although the label has it's roots in West Africa the scope has grown to include many other parts of the tropical belt with the aim of making available recordings that have in most cases never been available outside of their original countries and often not even there for over 30 years. Over the years Soundway's modus operandi has been to approach the music from a different angle from many of the more established “World Music“ labels. By focusing on more obscure artists as well as big names and often concentrating on progressive recordings more in sync with Cleret's generation and background in DJ culture and dance-music. Styles have included afro-beat, funk, highlife, ethio-jazz, molam, calypso, cumbia, champeta, biguine, latin-jazz and disco as well as many unclassifiable recordings. Since 2012 Soundway has begun releasing new material from a carefully selected handful of contemporary recording artists including acclaimed acts Ondatropica, Bomba Estereo and Ibibio Sound Machine
