A really well-chosen set of classic Afro Funk records from Fela Kuti – hand-picked by Idris Elba, and brought together in this limited box set! Open & Close is an early classic from Fela Kuti & Africa 70 – the kind of early 70s record that helped both the leader and the group establish themselves as a global powerhouse of funk and soul! The set begins with the side-long "Open & Close" – a righteous tune that's driven onward by lots of tight drums from Tony Allen – young, focused, and completely amazing here – while Fela delivers all these madly leaping electric piano lines amidst the super-sharp horn section – all moving instrumentally for many minutes before the vocals come into play! Side two features two shorter tracks, but still nice and long in comparison to most funky groups – the wonderful "Swegbe & Pako" and "Gbagada Gbagada Gbogodo Gbogodo" – tunes that really send the record over the top! Fela teams up with vibist Roy Ayers on Music Of Many Colors – one of the best soul collaborations ever – a whopping album that brings together the best sides of these monster soul talents of the 70s! In keeping with Fela's work, the tracks are long and Afro-tinged, with a complicated groove that grows over the length of the track. And in keeping with Roy's work, the album has a sweet soulful feel, with lots of nice jazzy touches, cool vibes, and great vocals by Roy. Two long tracks, both classics: "2000 Black" and "Africa, Center of the World". Opposite People is seminal work from one of Fela's most crucial periods – recorded at a time when his soul was the deepest! The album features 2 long tracks – "Opposite People" and "Equalisation Of Trouser & Pant" – and they both have beautiful spooky keyboards in the instrumental passages, then leap into hard soul vocals by Fela. Tremendous stuff – done in a style that shows that no matter how many people cop or remake Fela's sound, he's still the best one to do it! The rare Stalemate album features the side-long tracks "Stalemate" and "Don't Worry About My Mouth" – both really hard-driving numbers, with a fantastic mix of vocals and grooves! Live In Amsterdam is an excellent live set from Fela – one that shows that he was still very capable of going over the top during the 80s! The set's a double LP – and it features 4 great numbers by the group, with Fela on soprano sax, piano, and organ, and plenty of other great work on tenor, alto, and trumpet. Titles include "Gimme Shit I Give You Shit", "Custom Check Point", "Movement Of The People", and "Political Statement Number 1". I Go Shout Plenty is a great one from Fela – with a date of 1986, but a sound that's pure late 70s! The record features 2 long tracks – "I Go Shout Plenty" and "Why Black Man Dey Suffer" – and they're both hard groovers with a strong political feel. "Why Black Man" is especially nice, and has some great keyboard riffing in the middle, with that great tinny sound that you'll hear on the best Fela albums. One that we almost never see – and issued on the Decca subsidiary Afrodisia. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best soul collaborations ever! Fela and Roy Ayers team up for this whopping album that brings together the best sides of these monster soul talents of the 70s! In keeping with Fela's work, the tracks are long and Afro-tinged, with a complicated groove that grows over the length of the track. And in keeping with Roy's work, the album has a sweet soulful feel, with lots of nice jazzy touches, cool vibes, and great vocals by Roy. Two long tracks, both classics: "2000 Black" and "Africa, Center of the World". Long overdue! LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet grooves from the Duomo Sounds label – a short-lived Nigerian imprint who cut some mighty funky sounds at the start of the 80s! The title here uses the word "disco", but these cuts have none of the strings and polish of the sounds you'd hear at Studio 54 – as most numbers here are stripped-down and raw, really more in a clubbier take on the more famous Nigerian funk of a few years before! However, there's also a quality here that could easily cross over to the hipper clubs on the New York underground – as most of these guys are also using the same sort of small combo funk instrumentation of the best of the indie post-disco scene – which means that some tracks resonate with the work of labels like P&P, and others echo some of the more global currents that were showing up in New York funk during the period! Most lyrics are in English, which further gives these tracks a universal appeal – and titles include "Perfect Disco Machine" and "Disco Connection" by Bindinga, "Aimiuugwia" and "Advice" by Christy Ogbah, "Xmas Eve" by Johnny O Bazz, "Look At Me" and "Shake You Body" by Mike Umoh, "You Do Good You Do For Yourself" by Godfrey Odili, "On My Mind" by Bassey Black & The Natty Messiah, and "Ariro" by Eunice Mokus Arimoku. CD

A wicked bit of Nigerian funk from the start of the 80s – served up in a very hip blend of Afro Disco and leaner street soul modes! The groove's got some sweet keyboards alongside the catchy sing-song lyric – very uncomplicated, which really lets the focus stay on the rhythms – which are almost in a Tom Tom Club or "Rapture" sort of style! The flipside is equally catchy, too – a cool cut with a stark approach to the groove that's almost influenced by South Bronx party music – but served up here in a unique Afro style too! 12-inch, Vinyl record

A beautifully warm record from the great Letta Mbulu – maybe the closest she ever came to cutting a straight soul album, although a set that still has plenty of nice nods to her South African roots as well! The music's got a smooth, sweet groove – and at some of the best moments, Letta steps in with a quality that feels like some of the best UK soul of the mid 80s – not exactly Sade, but not far off either. Other tunes have a bit more of a Afro pop feel, but very slightly – and titles include "The Village", "Nomalizo", "Nkedama", "Sweet Juju", and "Down By The River". LP, Vinyl record album

Twin-tenor magic from South African saxophonists Winston Mankunku Ngozi and Mike Makhalemele – working together here with backing from a sweet electric combo that features Trevor Rabin on guitar! The groove is open and fluid – the band just vamping and opening things up, to let Ngozi and Makhalemele spin out these long solos that have plenty to say – which is maybe why both artists are listed on the cover as "voices" in the credits! The vibe is different than Ngozi's early records, and much more in the style of Makhalemele's music – and the set features the side-long track "Rainy Day", plus "Snowfall" and "Togetherness" – all great mellow jazz funk numbers! (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet jazzy grooves from a variety of global points in the late 70s/early 80s scene – music that's often much cooler and more interesting than mainstream fusion or jazz funk of the time! The set features work by artists who've dug the 70s experiments on CTI Records, but soon move into territory that's all their own – sometimes bringing in more regional instrumentation, or inflections from an earlier non-fusion world of expression – which includes some great Latin, Brazilian, and Eastern European elements throughout the set! The collection is maybe even more compelling than the first volume in the series – and titles include "Pendulum" by Bobby Martinez, "Oto Przyczyna" by Krystyna Pronko, "Cactus" by Nivaldo Ornelas, "Mystified" by Tom Grant, "Brownstones" by Dana Kaproff, "Oamoreomar" by Carlos Mendes, and "Free" by Lerma De La Cruz. (Funky Compilations, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

Don't think "African rock", think spiritual jazz – as the set's a brilliant blend of the funky styles of Akira Ishikawa and his Count Buffalos combo with some deeper percussive elements that bring a whole new global sound to his music! Ishikawa was already a tremendous talent before this point in his career, but this set represents a handful of African-titled records that really had him hitting his stride – taking an older Japanese funky band mode and fitting it to some hipper elements for the 70s – including some sweet electric touches, used in all the right ways! This set may also be the most ambitious of these albums, too – as it's written like a larger suite of tracks – with titles that include "Love", "Hunting", "Animals", "Dawn", "Prayer", and "The Earth". (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the coolest music we've ever heard from Ethiopian keyboard legend Hailu Mergia – a late 70s session that has his organ lines sounding even groovier than ever, on some sweet tracks that also bring in a fair bit of funk to the grooves! The style is much more in an Ethiopiques vein than some of Mergia's later music – with his own floating keyboard lines wrapped nicely around bolder notes on trumpet and sax, and some additional electric piano too – all moving in this moody, soulful territory that's really wonderful! Most of the record is instrumental, but there's some occasional vocals too – more in a chorus mode that goes along with the grooves beautifully – on titles that include "Bati Bati", "Embuwa Bey Lamitu", "Wede Harer Guzo", "Minilbelsh", "Anchin Kifu Ayinkash", "Sintayehu", and "Yenenesh Wey". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little set that's exactly what's promised in the title – a batch of rare disco grooves from the 70s, all of which have a distinctly Middle Eastern vibe! Traditional instrumentation mixes with lots of great funky club touches – in ways that are often more wide-ranging and interesting than just some sort of disco knockoffs! Instead, the music here is more aptly titled Arabian Funk – as these cuts work on the dancefloor, but are often instrumental – with a nice focus on guitars, keyboards, and other instrumentation in the mix! Titles include "Arabian Dance" by Antares, "Arabian Melody" by Pop Concerto Orchestra, "Camel Bump" by The Bumper, "Leila" by Leila, "Disco Arab" by Abdul Hassan Orchestra, "Sahara Casino" by The Sand Flowers, "Rock N Roll Mouzoune" by Ismail, and "Orient Express" by Voyage. LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet set of grooves from around the globe – all the sorts of tracks that Guts plays in his legendary DJ sets overseas – music that's got a much more far-reaching vibe than some of the tracks he issues under his own name! Overall, the set's very much in the best spirit of the Heavenly Sweetness label – especially in the way that company brings together music from so many different times and scenes around the planet – music that's taken even further here in the rich array of tunes that Guts serves up! A number of tracks are contemporary, but there's definitely some classic global flavors going on too – and titles include "Saude" by Pupulies & Rebecca, "Aye" by Ngalah Oreyo", "Canette (Bosq rmx)" by Pat Kalla & Le Super Mojo, "Utammada" by Ismail & Sixu Toure, "Nzambi/Muadiakime" by Alcione, "Aye" by Ngalah Oreyo, "Pe Di Bissilon (Dam Swindle rmx)" by Bande Gamboa, "Mi Moin Mi Ou" by Jobby Valente, "Cumbia De Sal Y Azucar" by Chucho Pinto Y Sus Kassino, "Limye" by Violaaa, and "Yamona (Dam Swindle rmx)" by Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band. LP, Vinyl record album

Classic guitar highlife music from Ghana! Guitarist Eric Agyeman helped revive the moribund style, reinventing with the electric guitar and injecting some of the liquid magic of Congolese rumba. Beginning in the early 60s he worked with a bevy of great bands, including Dr. K. Gyasi & His Noble Kings and the mighty A.B. Crentsil & the Sweet Talks. Crentsil and Agyaaku – another of the great vocalists of the modern highlife era – sit in on lead vocals for one track each, leaving the lion's share of the vocals to Thomas Frempong – who contributes one of the most killing tracks to the great Ghana Soundz collection – who handles them with soul and grace. Agyeman's fluid guitar here contributes some sublime solos, but the real treat is the stellar rhythm work. Tracks include "Matutu Mirika", "Abenaa Na Aden?", "I Don't Care", "Nea Abe Beto", and "Odo Bra". CD

Three groundbreaking albums from this ethereal ECM ensemble – a very hip trio that features Don Cherry, Nana Vasconcelos, and Collin Wolcott – all coming together in a beautiful blend of jazz, world music, and a touch of ECM atmospherics! The instrumentation is quite compelling with Cherry on trumpet, flutes, organ, and doussn'gouni; Vasconcelos on berimbau, cuica, talking drum, and percussion; and Wolcott on sitar, tabla, dulcimer, and percussion – all instruments that are used sparely, often away from their original cultural context, in ways that unlock new sounds and new meanings in the hands of the trio! The record is quite open and airy at points – really resonating in that sweet ECM style of production, which almost seems to build a new sense of majesty out of the simplest acoustic elements. 3CD set features each individual album, plus new notes – and titles include "Like That Of Sky", "Codona", "Mumakata", "Drip Dry", "Walking On Eggs", "Goshakabuchi", "Clicky Clacky", "Trayra Boia", "Lullaby", "Travel By Night", and "Inner Organs". (Jazz, Global Grooves) CD

One of the coolest-sounding Martin Denny albums of the 60s – a record that blends his earlier exotica sound with elements of Indian music, and maybe some great bossa nova currents too! For the set, Denny takes a tip from the sound of the East – adding some slight Indian flavors to his usual groove with the help of arranger George Tipton – who you might know from his work with Nilsson, or some of his own great instrumental records! Most of the music is still in the lush piano instrumental mode that Denny was using in these later Liberty years – but things are definitely groovy throughout, even if the Indian elements are sometimes used in ways that are more bossa than anything else. Maybe not the clearest picture you'll get of the sound of India in the 60s – but a sweet little record, with titles that include "Incense & Peppermints", "Live For Life", "Touch Of India", "Hypnotique", and "Indrani". (Now Sound, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album