Alex Figueira is a man with a mission: to deliver the most exquisite and yet unheard sounds from places that don’t show on the musical map of most people. To turn the focus around and give credit to the amazing music that has been done in the past decades outside the Anglo-Saxon axis. To fulfill that mission, he built a recording studio from scratch (Barracγo Sound), started a record label (Music With Soul), organized the first Afro Tropical party in Amsterdam (Vintage Voudou) and opened a record shop in the heart of Amsterdam’s Red Light District (Vintage Voudou Records) where vinyl junkies from the four corners of the world get their regular fix of imported vinyl from Africa and Latin America.
He’s also a member and producer of the bands Fumaça Preta and Conjunto Papa Upa, both of whom have collected great reviews from the press for their singles (released on the Music With Soul label) and in the case of Fumaηa Preta, from all kinds of specialized publications, from Songlines to The Wire.
He’s traveled extensively to collect rare records around Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, an effort that requires endless patience and accurate detective skills. He loves sharing the gems he’s been gathering around creating DJ sets that are surprising and extremely danceable, proving that the term “dance music” does not necessarily have to do with modern computer-generated beats.
Links: Mixcloud / Vintage Voudou Boiler Room
