The Four Winds And Dito-'65 Mallorca Spanish garage-NEW EP 10"

REISSUE

The Four Winds And Dito

    1
    Tijuana
    2
    Bamma Lama Bamma Loo
    3
    You're No Good
    4
    Give Your Lovin' To Me
    5
    Recuerda
    6
    No me dejas vivir en paz
    7
    El juicio universal
    8
    Yo ya no te comprendo

Although they shone in the sunniest islands of the Mediterranean, Majorca’s Four Winds And Dito were one of the most obscure and unfairly least celebrated bands of the golden age of Spanish garage. We hardly know a few details of the names of the band members, found here and there: Jordi L Pando, Lucio San Eugenio, Nieto Vidal, Dito… There’s a mysterious halo around this band formed in 1964 in the El Terreno neighbourhood of Palma de Mallorca. They were launched that same year through a matinee festival called A lo Beatle, after which they were immediately signed by the Regal label. An enigma still unresolved even decades later when I found out that vocalist Dito had managed one of the legendary dives of psychedelic Deiá (Majorca) during the 70s, “El Bar de Dito”.

Possessing an odd sense of modernity which started with their name, their garage beat – probably like the immense majority of their Spanish peers – developed the raw and extreme side of their musical personality after constant playing at the beach clubs along the coast, in the shelter of the new social customs that foreign tourists and their enriching presence brought over during 60s Spain. The repertoire of the two fabulous EPs they released between 1965 and 1966 shows the exquisite and unusual taste that would take them to support The Kinks at Majorca’s bull ring when the English band visited the island: excellent covers of little known classic songs – some wrongly credited on the records – by Little Richard (‘Bamma Lama Bamma Loo’), The Mojos (‘Give Your Lovin’ To Me’), Betty Everett (‘You’re No Good’), The Byrds (‘Turn, Turn, Turn’), Peter, Paul & Mary/The Hollies (‘The Very Last Day’), The Persuaders/Los Seven Days (‘Tijuana’) and The Kinks (‘Something Better Beginning’).

And then there’s the exceptional ‘No me dejas vivir en paz’, the only song written by the whole band. A real nugget prototype that should be taught at schools: the insidious guitar riff, the suggestive Farfisa in the background, the out of control drums and the cocky attitude of the singer that the genre demands. A classic. The latest joy the band has given me occurred when I found out that their second EP was actually released in Bolivia on the Discolandia label. Yes, Four Winds And Dito went far.

Vicente Fabuel