The South American MiniPod

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Tracklist
1. The Bipolar - Maybe
2. Bluebell - The Fight in the Cafe
3. Hugo Linns - Lanca de Caboclo
4. Cecilia Zabala - Maravilla
5. Postal Blue - What you were meant to be
6. Lou Horta - A Grande Borbaleta
7. Brian Storming - Mermaid's Moans
8. Alvy Singer - Adios
9. Madcat Leo - Dirt Juke Hoodoo Jo

Bluebell hails from Sao Paolo, and her music has been described as "tears in a tupperware jar". If anything, her influences appear to be closer to the Shed than to those of her samba compatriots, which makes Bel Garcia something of a rarity. "The Fight in the Cafe" is an atmospheric track taken from her 2005 release "Slow Motion Ballet".

Indeed, not many of the artists featured can be described as typical of their country - The Bipolar from Buenos Aires are an all-out rock group in the true English tradition, while Postal Blue sound as if they have descended from Glasgow, Belle & Sebastian albums tucked underneath their arms. Brian Storming may be from Argentina but combines rock with psychadelia, and certainly no tango, while Alvy Singer's "Adios" is a music hall classic already in our eyes.

Argentine guitarist Cecilia Zabala impressed us with her guitar-picking skills - try a search for her on YouTube - and we loved Brazilian Hugo Linns and his Lanca de Caboclo, although we admit to not knowing exactly what that is. The same goes for Lou Horta's "A Grande Borbaleta", while Madcat Leo completes the podcast with some down and dirty blues.