Global Grooves — In Stock — LPs  

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Funky, freaky, and freewheeling – a killer 70s set from Baris Manco – and quite possibly the greatest realization of his unique blend of sounds! Some tunes are short, while others are much longer – and Manco seems really set free to experiment here – still using the cool... read more

An obscure bit of Afro-soul from Chicago – recorded by a group that includes a young Hamid Drake on percussion, Jali Foday Musa Soso on vocals, kora, and shaker, and some guest trumpet work by Don Cherry. Cherry's kind of buried in the mix here, but the overall sound is similar to some of... read more

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Overall, the sound on this album's very 80s, with lots of electro and synth moments poking through, and a very disco base to the rhythm. The best example of that is the big single, "Don't Go Lose It Baby", an awesome club track, popular with the deep house heads and loft scene here in... read more

Funky sitar work – but recorded in pre-revolution Iran – a really amazing blends of scenes and sounds from the legendary Abbas Mehrpouya! Abbas' music has hardly been heard outside of his own nation – especially given the cultural crackdown of the past 30 years – and this... read more

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This is definitely not your father's calypso – no living room limbo or Harry Belafonte cliches – and instead, a smoking batch of Caribbean grooves from The Mighty Sparrow! Sparrow was very much on the edge of the best styles in the 60s and early 70s – and although his basic... read more

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Pure insanity from the mighty Mulatu – one of his few American albums from the 60s! The record's an incredible blend of New York Latin and some of the more Afro-styled grooves Mulatu explored more freely on his Ethiopian recordings – served up in a jazzy style that has plenty of vibes... read more

Nice wife!... read more

Early work from a group who later grew into the famous Ikenga Super Stars Of Africa – recording here in London with a great raw sound – and an unusual mix of modes that's part Afro Funk, part something else entirely! The set's got that unique post-colonial vibe of some of the other... read more

Pan-African rhythms from Ray Stephen Oche – topped with some great jazzy elements as well! The set's one of Ray's classics from the Paris scene – a set that draws heavily from his Nigerian roots, yet also takes full advantage of the wider cultural vibe going on in France at the time... read more

A blistering set of Afro-Funk from the 70s – the debut of Ofege, a band of high school students at the time! There's a really trippy sound to the set, as the guitars figure strongly in the groove, and are often recorded with some slightly psychedelic touches – similar to Blo or some of... read more

US issue of some of Sonny's African recordings from the early 80s. The groove here is afro-pop, with crisp guitars and a lighter beat than Fela's style of afrobeat, but with similar cascading horn parts. The production's a bit slicker too, with the vocals pushed way forward in the mix. Titles... read more

Easily one of the greatest albums recorded by Olatunji in the 60s – a set that's even more hard-driving than his classic records for Columbia, with an incredibly percussive groove all the way through! The group features an assortment of percussionists all driving along with Olatunji –... read more

A classic session of pounding percussion – quite possibly the most successful entry into this earthy genre that hit the recording scene at the end of the 50s! Babatunde Olatunji is joined here by a great assemblage of players – including Montego Joe and Baba Hawthorne Bey on percussion... read more

Babatunde Olatunji's two classic percussion ensemble albums for Columbia collected in one set. The first LP was recorded in New York with a mix of drums, chants, and afro grooves. Olatunji's joined by Montego Joe and Baba Hawthorne Bey on percussion, and they're backed by a large group of... read more

A killer album of Afro Funky tracks, and certainly one of Olatunji's best! The record was recorded in the early 70s, and it features Olatunji breaking past his usual heavy blend of African percussion, into a vein that's a lot more tinged with jazz and soul touches. He gets some great help on the... read more

Colombian music, both classic and contemporary – as a group of older all-star players comes into contact with Will "Quantic" Holland! The set's easily one of the most smoking Latin-styled projects we've heard from Quantic so far – recorded in Colombia with work from Fruko,... read more

The title gets it perfectly right on this sweet little set – as the grooves are raw and stripped down – often just to the core elements of Afro Funk! The music may be the most hard-hitting we've ever heard from this legendary combo – and it's served up beautifully in this well-sel... read more

We'd never come across Orient Express before, one of the rare rock-oriented acts on the Mainsteam jazz label in the late 60s and 70s – but after a spin of this super rare hybrid of heavy psychedelic rock, HUGE percussion and electric Eastern string effects we're hooked! The group mixes heavy... read more

A motherlode of music from the legendary Tunji Oyelana – a key figure in Nigerian music from the late 60s onward – with an influence that's almost as important as Fela's! Tunji's style is pretty darn funky, but different too – almost a pan-African sort of range that encompasses... read more

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An excellent set from Tito – very funky, unlike most of his other work from the time! The record has a great electric vibe to it – thanks to a hip bass player in the group, to Charlie Palmieri, who plays organ and electric piano on the record, and to Tito himself, who's never sounded... read more

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Amazing grooves like you've never heard before – the seminal sides by Salah Ragab and his Cairo Jazz Band! As you can probably guess from their name, the ensemble was an Egyptian one – working at the end of the 60s in an incredible blend of jazz and more traditional Egyptian-styled... read more

A pivotal piece of Mali music history – the first LP by The Rail Band – the Orchestre Rail-Band D Bamako album from 1970! This legendary material comes from their early days from their time at the Station Hotel of Bamako and were sponsored by Mali's Ministry Of Information –... read more

Dramatic funk from 70s Iran – some really compelling grooves, set to rich vocals by the lovely Ramesh! The approach here definitely borrows bits from Western culture – some rhythms and elements that echo American mainstream soul and funk of the time, with moogy touches too – but... read more

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Kind of an amazing collaboration – a core group that features Tony Allen, Damon Albarn, and Flea – with guest appearances by Erykah Badu, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Fatoumata Diawara, M.anifest, Cheick Tidiane Seck, and Thundercat! The sound of the set is surprisingly wonderful –... read more

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The first-ever recording from this legendary Senegalese band – unissued for years, and finally brought to light in this beautiful package! The set was recorded live in 1979 as a night club performance – and because of that, it's got a really cooking sound right from the start – a... read more

Plenty of fuzz and plenty of spirit – a wonderful debut from this African group of the 70s – a combo who work here with equal parts of influence from Jimi Hendrix and some of the other Zamrock groups of the time! Lyrics are in English, and have this blue-toned quality that's really... read more

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Rare Afro Rock from Nigeria's Semi-Colon group – and it's an astonishingly strong record! It's got fuzzy guitar grooves and spacey electic piano that are indebted to the global psych soul and rock scenes of the late 60s and early 70s – but the rhythmic sensibility, percussion and... read more

Includes "Raga Palas Kafi", " Raga Bilashkani Todi", "Raga Ramdas Malhar" and "Raga Malika".... read more

Funky Afro Soul from Oz – the brilliant full length debut of Shaolin Afronauts! Flight Of The Ancients blasts off from the bedrock of 70s West Africa and Ethio funk influences, but their one of the rare few combos who pull it off without it feeling like a retread of past glories. Part of... read more

Ragas and disco – an amazing little combination, with results that are greater than the sum of its parts! This album's hardly the cheesy affair you might expect – and instead of just adding a few typical Indian flourishes to disco music, Charanjit Singh comes up with a unique new... read more

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Groovy groovy sitar pop – played by Big Jim Sullivan, also known as Lord Sitar! This set is a great session of 60s pop tunes, turned Eastern, in the mode of work by Ananda Shankar or Vince Bell – with a blend of original compositions, mixing sitar, tabla, and all manner of baroque 60s... read more

Sublime sounds from the scene in 70s Mali – music that's an amazing hybrid of styles, and which has made this album a collector's treasure for years! There's echoes of familiar Mali modes in the music – especially in the group's use of blue notes – both in the guitar lines, and... read more

Driving rhythms, heavy percussion, funk and psychedelia filtered through native Haitian and more Caribbean-inflected music - the great Respect LP by the Tabou Combo de Petion-Ville! The handful of records we've been lucky enough to hear over the years by the group have all been exceptional –... read more

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Ebo Taylor at his finest – stepping out here in a wicked set of work from the 70s – filled with upbeat rhythms, sweet instrumental touches, and a heck of a lot of soul! There's a bubbling undercurrent in the rhythms that's almost Caribbean at times, yet the overall groove is a lot... read more

An early gem from Ghana legend Ebo Taylor – a smoking little set with a really hypnotic feel overall! The tracks here are all nice and long – and build energy with kind of a minimal layering of sound – an approach that's different than some of the longer Nigerian jams you might... read more

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Brilliant work from Jimi Tenor and his Kabu Kabu group – an incredibly righteous set that's easily the best we've heard so far from the soulful ensemble! In addition to the spiritual jazz vibe of before, the group's also picked up some influences from African soul and jazz too – not... read more

The first album by trippy Turkish trio 3 Hur El – a great blend of Eastern sounds and western styles – all coming together with a slightly progressive feel! The instrumentation often includes some heavy basslines underneath lighter lines on acoustic strings – a blend of folksy... read more

A beautiful set of Sahel Folk from guitarist Sidi Toure & friends – certainly as beautiful sounding as anything we've heard from Sidi! Toure is on guitar and lead vocal swith varying guitar and vocal accompaniment from song-to-song – with guests including Dourra Cisse, Douma Maiga,... read more

Incredible late work from the great West African dance band Vis-A-Vis – a brilliant set from 1977 that demonstrates good and well why the band were so greatly in demand both live and in the studio! The group had spent quite a bit of time backing the great Ghanaian singer K. Frimpong in the... read more

Amazing music from the legendary Barney Wilen – previously unreleased African recordings, done around the same time as his classic Moshi album! Although Wilen was best known as a hardbop giant in both his later and early years, the late 60s also marked a period of really rich experimentation... read more

Yes!! It's as if the folks at Honest Jon's have unearthed a great lost Fela session, and for all intents and purposes, they have! Mr Big Mouth is a session written and led by trumpeter Tunde Williams, a mainstay in Fela's group for many years and one of the most distinctive voices in the horn... read more

Tripped-out and wonderful sounds from Witch – served up in this excellent early record from the Zamrock kings of the 70s! Lyrics are in English, and have these dark tones that work perfectly with the group's offbeat guitar and organ lines – sometimes mixed here with acoustic guitar... read more

A mightily grooving Introduction to Witch – the legendary Zambian group whose name also means We Intend To Cause Havok! The group work here with a wicked blend of rock influences from the UK, plus a heavy dose of African rhythms – all blended together with loads of fuzzy guitar and... read more

Global psychedelic grooves from Zambia – the tripped out sounds of Witch! Witch works in a killer rock groove on Lazy Bones, with furious rhythms, heavy drums and fuzzed out guitars. It's all nice and raw and done with a really heady and fierce sense of groove – but there's some more... read more

The fourth album from Zambian psych-prog-funk greats Witch! Lukombo Vibes finds the group conjuring up more African sounds than on their earlier records – but it's still stirring it up from a globally flavored cauldron. The keyboards as spacey and out there as ever – done with a proggy... read more

Melodic psychedelia from 70s Iran – an incredible full scale anthology of recordings by guitarist and vocalist Kourosh Yaghmaei from the pre-revolution years – and an absolute treasure! Kouroush often recorded with his brothers – Kourosh singing lead and playing guitars or bass... read more

Some of the hippest sounds ever recorded on the Afghan scene – and a great reminder that the nation's got some standout music if you know where to look! The package is the third whopping volume in Pharaway's look at Ahmad Zahir – a charismatic singer who rose to huge fame in the 70s,... read more

A great summation of the Afro-Portuguese sound – with work from Lisbon, Angola, Sao Tome, and Cape Verde too! The grooves are a mix of sambas, rumbas, and more rootsy modes – and titles include "Tulipa Negra" by Tulipa Negra, "Luis Kandihnha" by Pedro Ramos, "Ma... read more

One of the best compilations of Afro Funk titles we've ever stocked – one that goes way past the obvious titles and minor hits of the 70s! Ever tune on here is a gem – and the package even includes a few tunes that were either previously unreleased, or which were only ever issued on... read more

A far reaching triple platter of Afro Colombian grooves from the late 60s & 70s – propulsive percussion, bursts of brass, hot and heavy Afro Latin funk & soul, with some surprisingly heady and otherworldly sounds permeating some of material – all culled from the vaults of... read more

A heavy helping of Ethiopian grooves – pulled from the later volumes of the legendary Ethiopiques series, and served up here on a unique vinyl collection! The tunes are a nice mix of some of the best Ethio styles of the early 70s – and include a few standout funky numbers, plus some... read more

Nigerian funk & boogie numbers from the late 70s & early 80s – post Afrobeat and post disco material from the prosperous, post dictatorship years – funk, soul and disco infused stormers from Mixed Grill, Bayo Damnazio, The Stormmers, Joe Maks, Segun Robert, Martha Ulaeto, Honey... read more

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Massive music from the Congotronics series – most of it making an initial vinyl appearance here in this luxurious box set! There's way more here than you'd expect – six full records of music, a bonus single, and a beautiful book too – plus digital information for all the music... read more

Heavy funk from the Bahamas – a whole bunch of groups that will show you that Nassau had a lot more to offer than The Beginning Of The End! The groove here is totally wonderful – somewhat like American funk of the late 60s and early 70s, but served up with some very unusual rhythmic... read more

Incredible third coast salsa from the late 70s – amazing stuff from the orquestras of Carlos Ruiz and his Ebirac label – made by singers and players in Chicago's Puerto Rican community of the period that stands up just as well today! Chicago salsa, unlike more nationally popular styles... read more

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Remixes of 60s Argentinian tango grooves by Trio De Cajon – as adapted by some of the finer club soul and downtempo producers, remixers and dance music collectives from around the world – including Mo' Horizons, Mark Farina, Orb, Up, Bustle & Out, Flevans, Fede Lijt, Vigilante,... read more

Great sounds from vintage 78s – a collection of regional Greek music, all pulled together in a collection filled with detailed notes, and a great cover from Robert Crumb! The music here really represents a lost era – and offers a great demonstration of the way that, when spun at 78rpm,... read more

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A compilation of Ghana music like we've never seen before – and straight up beautifully put together by Soundway – 70s sounds that fused regional traditions with boundary free soul, rhythm & blues, and rock! Ghana in the 1970s was in a transition from a more prosperous, and less... read more

A pretty incredible compilation of Cambodia Rock – the best one we've come across – classic original Khmer Rock from scene pioneer Sinn Sisamouth and many more! The set as an effort to present this fun, groovy and yes, spectacular Cambodian Rock as it was originally heard by the people... read more

Indian music with a Nigerian twist – heard here in a set of recordings from the Hausa cinematic scene! At first listen, you can hear the Bollywood influence right away – both in the rhythms of the tunes, which have that festive, bouncing quality of an Indian film music number –... read more

Ethiopian R&B, jazz and funk from the late 60s to mid 70s – essential numbers by Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemeyahu Eshete, Lemma Demissew, Sefu Yohannes, Bahta Gebre-Heywet, Teshome Metuku and others – all of which are appearing on vinyl for the first time since the incredibly rare original... read more

Wild sounds from Indonesia – music that definitely lives up to the "pop" promised in the title – even though most of the tracks here are light years from chart music here in the US! The tunes are pulled from cassette recordings of the 70s and 80s – and often have a... read more

Includes perfomances by Cup & Saucer, the SABC Easy Walkers, the Jabula Home Defenders, the Xolo Home Boys, the Kings Boys, the GMC Good Boys, and the Durban High Stars.... read more

Amazing sounds from San Basilio De Palenque – a unique cultural crossroads on the coast of Colombia! The town was the first free slave community in the Americas – a distinction it's held for centuries – and continues to have strong ties to Africa, partly because of its roots,... read more

Pretty amazing music from Morocco – sounds that are definitely as raw as promised in the title, but which also go way past what you might expect as music from 45s! First off, the tunes are much longer than usual for a 7" single – as most numbers are well over 5 minutes in length,... read more

A quartet of cool remixes – all pulled from vintage grooves on the Kenya Special – but brought together here with a slightly contemporary flavor! The work still echoes its roots quite strongly, but often has a more focused rhythmic approach – tilted towards the dancefloor with... read more