A nice little blend of Brazilian and club-styled grooves – done by this Bah Samba offshoot with a similar feel to Bah Samba's own work! There's a wonderful London-meets-Rio vibe running through the whole set – a love of real Brazilian music that gets past the mis-steps of so many other attempts in recent years – but which has that great London ability to expand upon the original with a whole new feel. There's nice bits of older funk and club sliding in and out of the mix – coming into play with Brazilian elements and instrumentation in a way that's almost like some of the recent work on Far Out. Titles include "O Ronco Da Cuica", "Elephant Man", "U Got Me Spinnin", "I'm Missing You", "Omeriah", "And It's Beautiful", "Mozza", and a cover of Roy Ayers' "Running Away". CD

A set that's almost a back to basics effort for DJ Shadow, yet one that's also a strong step forward too – basic in that it's a record that's almost all instrumental, with no guests at all – but forward because it's got a leaner groove, and a style that shows just how far Shadow has moved past the more hip hop/turntablist style of his roots! There's almost a cinematic vibe to the music at times – a mode that fits the action adventure of the title, with plenty of cuts that would be right at home on classic soundtracks, especially of the 80s crime/cop/action style – served up with just the right sorts of beats, basslines, and keyboards to echo that era! Titles include "A Narrow Escape", "You Played Me", "Time & Space", "Forever Changed", "She's Evolving", "Reflecting Pool", "Free For All", "Ozone Scraper", and "Witches Vs Warlocks". (Hip Hop, New Grooves) CD

A cinematic blend of electronics and percussion – served up in a way that every bit as evocative as a vintage soundtrack, especially work from the 80s action years – yet handled with a sonic richness that often surpasses music from that generation too! The group's a duo – and features Latarnik on keyboards and piano, an artist you may know from other great titles on the Astigmatic label – working in collaboration here with drummer Cancer G, who also plays some keyboards as well – as the pair craft these tracks that open up with all sorts of subtle shifts in tone, color, action, and life. Titles include "Minus 10 Celsius", "Nadeszia Zima", "Zamrozenie", "Zamiec", "Roztopy", "Ostatnia Taka Zima", and "Lawina". CD

A baker's dozen of tracks from Ernest Saint Laurent, Phoenix, Oomiaq, Scenario Rock, Cosmo Vitelli, Riff HiFi, P.Jack, Rob, Bertrand Burgalat, ZFO, Bosco, Mellow, Sebastien Tellier. CD

A nice nice compilation of funky club and acid jazz tracks from the early 90s – back in the days when Dorado could be trusted to put out some of the most exciting and most soulful music of all the new British labels. There's a wide range of stuff on here, but the price is right, and there should be enough tracks to keep anyone happy. 13 cuts in all – including "Secret Place" by Jhelisa, "Soul Thing" by Ute, "Learn The Words" by Mesh Of Mind, "Kaleidoscopic Summer (King Tubby Revisited)" by Outside, "Tik Tok (Come On)" by Cool Breeze, "It's A Cool World" by Cool World Ensemble, "The Revolution Was Postponed Because Of Rain" by Brooklyn Funk Essentials, and "Qui (Flying Flute Inst)" by Schkoonk Heepooz. CD

London DJ Nik Weston put together this hip set of modern tracks – a 2CD selection of groovers that includes lots of singles we've stocked in the past few years, and a number of hard to find (and expensive!) Japanese titles! There's a total of 20 cuts in all – and titles include "Earth Is The Place" by Nathan Haines, "Spiritual War (Kaidi Tathham rmx)" by Fertile Ground, "Outside From The Inside" by Modaji, "Trash Da Junk" by Da One Away, "Buttamilk (Domu's Soya spread rmx)" by Oba Funke, "Spaces & Places" by Mitchell & Dewbury, "Going Down" by Joi, "Ladies" by Agent K, "Tempest (Atjazz rmx)" by Kabuki, "Meu Samba (Nicola Conte's Bossa Ahead rmx)" by Eli Goulart e Banda Do Mato, "It's You (Versione Tokyo Bossa)" by Sunaga't Experience, "Play Back" by Yukihiro Fukutomi, and "Bamboozled" by Watusi. (Funky Compilations, New Grooves) CD

A dozen tracks from Talvin Singh, Something Wonderful, Parviz R. Panah, Solferino & Ibis Babe, Jesse Cook, Tosca, Atman, Badmarsh, Gotan Project, Atman, Francisco Sotomayor & Nacho Sotomayor, and Oliver Shanti & Friends. CD