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Geko Jones Ushers In Fania's Return with a Focus on Latin Dance Music

Ralfi Pagan's long-lost 1969 album 'Latin Soul' gets brought to the club with a remix album and vibrant new video.

Along with artists like Tito Puente, Willie Colon, and Celia Cruz, Bronx-bred Latin soul artist, Ralfi Pagan, helped fuel the explosion of salsa music in 1970s New York as part of the roster of the Fania Records, the legendary label that put salsa on the map and into dance clubs around the city. While many of his once-label mates went on to lengthy, fruitful careers, Pagan's reign was cut short after he was murdered while on tour in Colombia in 1978, a mystery that's remained unsolved to the day.

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Ralfi Pagan

Now decades after his death, Pagan's music is being given new life as the label he once called home has relaunched and rebranded with a new focus on modern electronic artists who specialize in worldly latin dance sounds. They'll be kicking off their new dance-focused vision with a remix album of Ralfi Pagan's seminal 1969 release Latin Soul, compiled by NYC producer and DJ, Geko Jones. You may know Jones as the brains behind the Que Bajo global bass party that hosted an event this year during RBMA's spring festival. The release's title track also includes a remix from another local New York artist, Banginclude, as well a vibrant music video that's overflowing with Latin flair, vogueing, and more awesome stuff we want to be a part of.

As part of an overhaul that's helping bring Fania out of years in quasi-slumber, the label will also be turning to a number of artists that specialize in Latin dance music, scene-leading names like Giles Peterson, Nguzunguzu, and Louie Vega, all who will provide remixes to Fania classics in the coming months.

*Fania Records is on Facebook*
Geko Jones is on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter
Banginclude is on Facebook