Global Grooves — All Formats  

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 sharper too – a warm blend of percussion, guitar, and some mighty sweet keyboards – often peppered with bits of saxophone lines, and topped with lyrics that move nicely along with the groove. Rhythms are mostly in a midtempo mode – a few steps mellower than traditional Afro Funk – which furthers the unique feel of the record, and seems to only deepen Ebo Taylor's soulful intentions! Titles include "Heaven", "Ohye Atar Gyan", "Bra", "Saana", and "Amponsah".

One of the greatest steel band records ever – and a hip hop sample classic from way back! Sure, there were other hip steel bands back in the 70s – but nobody else ever got as far as 20th Century – ending up on a major label, cutting some key funky covers, and crossing over with their massive "Heaven & Hell" – a cut that was DJ Red Alert's theme song in the old days! The group have a wonderful sound – mixing familiar steel band modes with bits of American funk – and creating a unique hybrid that's way more than just reworked covers, or simple copycat styles. In addition to the classic "Heaven & Hell", the set also features versions of "Love's Theme", "Shaft", "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", and "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" – plus the cuts "Lazy Days", "Endless Vibrations", "No 1", "Never Keep Secrets", "We've Got To Work Together", and "Dance Away". CD also features a bonus 7" edit of "Heaven & Hell".

Way better than you might guess from the title, as there's very little noise, and not really any chillout material – and instead a great batch of Ethio-styled grooves, showing the rich influence of Ethiopian music on the contemporary scene in recent years! The package was put together by the folks who compiled the Ethiopiques series – which is fitting, as a large number of groups here have been influenced by those legendary compilations over the past decade – and have taken older Ethiopian styles, and refit them in a range of contemporary funk, soul, and jazzy modes! Tracks are really well chosen – and most of the music here is quite faithful to the roots – with hardly any gimmicky, or too-easy modes – and instead a really deep understanding of the music, handled in a respectful recasting that really opens things up. The double-length package has plenty to offer – 28 titles that include "Etu Gela" by Dereb The Ambassador, "Balague" by Man Bites Dog, "Emnete" by Imperial Tiger Orchestra, "Lantchi Biye" by Jazzmaris, "Addis Polis" by Arat Kilo, "Yezemed Yebaed" by Le Tigre, "Diminished Heaven" by Nubian Ark, "Chik Chikka" by Rattlemouth, "Metche New" by Akale Wube, "Athidebgn" by Zeritu, and "Gellele" by Daniel Techane.

One of the greatest steel band records ever – and a hip hop sample classic from way back! Sure, there were other hip steel bands back in the 70s – but nobody else ever got as far as 20th Century – ending up on a major label, cutting some key funky covers, and crossing over with their massive "Heaven & Hell" – a cut that was DJ Red Alert's theme song in the old days! The group have a wonderful sound – mixing familiar steel band modes with bits of American funk – and creating a unique hybrid that's way more than just reworked covers, or simple copycat styles. In addition to the classic "Heaven & Hell", the set also features versions of "Love's Theme", "Shaft", "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", and "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" – plus the cuts "Lazy Days", "Endless Vibrations", "No 1", "Never Keep Secrets", "We've Got To Work Together", and "Dance Away". CD also features a bonus 7" edit of "Heaven & Hell".

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 sharper too – a warm blend of percussion, guitar, and some mighty sweet keyboards – often peppered with bits of saxophone lines, and topped with lyrics that move nicely along with the groove. Rhythms are mostly in a midtempo mode – a few steps mellower than traditional Afro Funk – which furthers the unique feel of the record, and seems to only deepen Ebo Taylor's soulful intentions! Titles include "Heaven", "Ohye Atar Gyan", "Bra", "Saana", and "Amponsah".

A 7 track EP of contemporary Arab hip hop from the Middle East – with timeless, funk-steeped beats, evocative regional samples and atmosphere – and clearly passionate rhymes, whether you speak the language or not! A remarkable testament to the global reach of strong, conciousness raising hip hop – but also a straight up solid head-nodding listening experience! Includes "Ya Deeb (Oh Wolf)" by Al Sayyed Darwish & El Rass, "Boov" by LaTlateh, "That El Soor (Under The Rampart)" by Armada Bizerte, "Janna Janna (Heaven Heaven) by El Far3i & El Rass, "Soura (Picture)" by Rami GB, "Rad Al Sha'b (The People's Response)" by Al Haqq and "foosh (Float)" by El Rass. Side B includes instrumentals for each track.

One of the greatest steel band records ever – and a hip hop sample classic from way back! Sure, there were other hip steel bands back in the 70s – but nobody else ever got as far as 20th Century – ending up on a major label, cutting some key funky covers, and crossing over with their massive "Heaven & Hell" – a cut that was DJ Red Alert's theme song in the old days! The group have a wonderful sound – mixing familiar steel band modes with bits of American funk – and creating a unique hybrid that's way more than just reworked covers, or simple copycat styles. In addition to the classic "Heaven & Hell", the set also features versions of "Love's Theme", "Shaft", "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", and "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" – plus the cuts "Lazy Days", "Endless Vibrations", "No 1", "Never Keep Secrets", "We've Got To Work Together", and "Dance Away".

A pretty compelling little quartet – a jazz combo from Zimbabwe, and one who play with a lot of spiritual jazz overtones – yet also throw in some occasional vocals in English! Instrumentation is pretty unique – like some of the hipper experiments on Strata East in the 70s – with a mix of piano, mbira, cello, alto sax, percussion, and marimba – all used in shifting rhythmic passages that have a really hypnotic feel – almost the same sort of slow-building energy of some of Phil Cohran's classic recordings, but with a bit more focus on the vocal tunes. Singer Vimbai Mukarati is great – with a voice that makes his lyrics way more than just an afterthought – and titles include "Let You Go", "Thirty Five", "September Sun", "Kunakirwa", "Moonlight", "Free Fall", "Coming Home", and "Underwater Subway".

A pretty compelling little quartet – a jazz combo from Zimbabwe, and one who play with a lot of spiritual jazz overtones – yet also throw in some occasional vocals in English! Instrumentation is pretty unique – like some of the hipper experiments on Strata East in the 70s – with a mix of piano, mbira, cello, alto sax, percussion, and marimba – all used in shifting rhythmic passages that have a really hypnotic feel – almost the same sort of slow-building energy of some of Phil Cohran's classic recordings, but with a bit more focus on the vocal tunes. Singer Vimbai Mukarati is great – with a voice that makes his lyrics way more than just an afterthought – and titles include "Let You Go", "Thirty Five", "September Sun", "Kunakirwa", "Moonlight", "Free Fall", "Coming Home", and "Underwater Subway".

Sublime vocal work from a contemporary Georgian ensemble – but one who work strongly in the best ancient modes of the Eastern world! The group have an amazing polyphonic approach – voices rising and falling, crossing and turning, coming together in a way that's far more than usual choral work – with a heavenly quality that's completely transcendent! The approach is a bit like some of the Bulgarian choral work made popular a few decades back, but also a bit more folksy too – given the personal approach of the recording, and the use of light acoustic instrumentation and percussion from time to time – although the vocal passages are clearly the main focus here. CD features 25 tracks in all – some traditional, some more recent, all of them beautiful!