Just in time for the warmer summer months, New York-based Frederiksberg Records have recently released a fantastic retrospective EP celebrating the tropical sounds of legendary Caribbean Mocko Jumbie and musician Hugo Moolenaar.

Born in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, Moolenaar was not only a great musician and vocalist, also a highly skilled Mocko Jumbie — a performer of the carnival stilt- dancing tradition which has had a presence in the Virgin Islands for several hundred years, and which historians consider to have been brought to the Caribbean by enslaved West Africans. During his remarkable career, he performed the Mocko Jumbie on many neighboring Caribbean islands, as well as in the US, in New York, Portland, Oregon, and at the 1979 Super Bowl show in Miami, alongside the Grammacks band from Dominica.

This superb four track EP recording includes the best selections from Moolenaar’s two early 1980s albums High, High, High and Mocko Jumbie Jamboree, featuring an energetic mix of funky tropical dancefloor vibes, blending together many Caribbean rooted influences, from jump-up calypsos and kaisos to more modern sounds including 80s era drum machine beats, soulful vocals and feel-good disco/boogie grooves.

Hugo Moolenaar sadly passed away in 2012, however thanks to the great work by Frederiksberg Records, his legacy will continue to shine and reach new audiences through this fantastic retrospective.

Hugo Moolenaar — ‘The Mocko Junkie EP’
(Frederiksberg Records)

1. Children Children
2. We Can Live Together
3. Big Man Cry
4. Give It Your Best Shot

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• Tropical Grooves