Prince Igor is Igor Zhukovsky of the legendary funk group The Soul Surfers – and he teams up here with DJ Boora for a set of lean, funky grooves! The tunes all have plenty of funk drums at the core – layered up top with samples and all sorts of sonic elements that create a cool, spacey sort of vibe – definitely echoing the image on the cover, but with a down to earth vibe, given the drums! Given the legacy of spacey funk projects we've loved from the Funk Night label, this set fits right into their mode – with titles that include "Who Is Hiding In The Forest", "Ninja", "Dvor", "Mamont", "Nani", "Gusli", "Klass", and "Arsenalio". (Deep Funk, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

Mostly instrumental tracks from hip hop djs and producers including Rob Swift, Prince Paul, DXT, Invisible Scratch Pickles, Q-Bert, DJ Krush, New Kingdom, all overseen by Bill Laswell. Much better than your average Axiom stuff. Cover art by Rammellzee. 14 tracks in all, including "Reanimation" by Rob Swift, "ShinKi Row" by DJ Krush, "If 9 Was 6" by Prince Paul, "Invasion Of The Octopus People" by the Invisible Scratch Pickles and "Embryo" by DXT (formerly know as D. St). (Hip Hop, New Grooves) CD

70s spiritual soul jazz lives again – in this righteous tribute to the late John Coltrane! The incredible collection is filled with wonderful tracks both classic and current – and is a great bridge between the first waves of this kind of music at the end of the 60s, and the contemporary revival that's been going on at a global level! Perhaps the best thing here is the way that there's no apparent difference in sound or style between the old and new cuts – and the folks at Free Spirits have really found a way to make the whole thing flow together wonderfully by selecting music that's deeply soulful, extremely positive, and filled with soaring vocals and instrumental solos! Titles include "Mode For Trane" by Billy Gault, "Naima" by Mark De Clive-Lowe, "A Love Supreme" by Rufus Harley, "John Coltrane's A Love Supreme" by Karin Krog & Nils Lindberg, "Duke & Trane" by Haikki Samarto Ensemble, "John Coltrane" by Our Cry For Peace (Dwight Trible/Build An Ark), "Prince Of Peace" by Pharoah Sanders, "Liberation Of The Spirit" by Kamau Daaood, "Naima" by 4 Hero, and "A Love Supreme" by Dwight Trible. CD

The Brazilia here is very "virtual" – in that it drops in for a visit to touch each track with a slight Brazilian influence, but mostly leaves things to stay in a relatively modern and electronic groove. The set's similar to titles like Break N Bossa or Gluchlich III – and it features work from some of the same artists. Titles include "La Jardin Secret" by Jazzanova, "Luna Di Miele (VM is mix)" by Piero Umiliani, "Chips & Samba" by Miguel Migs, "Rain 4 Rent" by Rain 4 Rent, "Prince Charles' Latest Affair" by Mo Horizons, "Sao Paolo" by J Davis, "Noite Sossegada De Varaeo" by Caspian, "Bengele" by Friends From Rio, "Cosmic Gypsy" by United Future Organization, "Cosinha II" by Dom Um Romao, and "Nota Bossa" by Funky Low Lives. 18 tracks in all. CD

Boogie soul inspired gems from club legend Ron Trent! "Boogie Down" is a richly layered gem working on a number of levels – first and foremost as a dance floor win, pairing non-stop beats with spacey keys – and going to a deeper level with some wonderful use of vibes! The flip side's "In The Light" is similar to Side A in the dance floor friendly aspect, but this one nods to early Prince in the tight pop funk/soul keyboards. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Remixes by Runaway, Prince Language, Prins Thomas, Theo Parrish, Trus'Me, Padded Cell, Pilooski, and Riley Reinhold. CD

Really cool cuts from the contemporary scene in northeast Ghana – music that effortlessly mixes classic sounds and styles with more modern innovations – but all with a raw, crisp energy that's very far from commercial! This isn't the world music of public radio – and instead, the tracks here are the sorts you might hear blasting out of car radios or bluetooth speakers late into the night – lean, percussion heavy, and done with a mix of electric and acoustic instrumentation, live vocals and samples – borrowing some key elements from hip hop production at times, yet serving up a sound that's uniquely homegrown! The collection is great – one of those ear-opening gems that comes along once in awhile – and titles include "Tu Daana" by Sammy, "Zoom Koom" by FCL, "Mam Dola Yine" by Joseph, "Guys Boys" by Designer, "Agana Sela Tufu Malla" by Ramond, "Life Is A Mission" by Prince Buju, "Guru Anowuu" by Fadester, and "9090" by Awudu. (Global Grooves, New Grooves) CD

Really cool cuts from the contemporary scene in northeast Ghana – music that effortlessly mixes classic sounds and styles with more modern innovations – but all with a raw, crisp energy that's very far from commercial! This isn't the world music of public radio – and instead, the tracks here are the sorts you might hear blasting out of car radios or bluetooth speakers late into the night – lean, percussion heavy, and done with a mix of electric and acoustic instrumentation, live vocals and samples – borrowing some key elements from hip hop production at times, yet serving up a sound that's uniquely homegrown! The collection is great – one of those ear-opening gems that comes along once in awhile – and titles include "Tu Daana" by Sammy, "Zoom Koom" by FCL, "Mam Dola Yine" by Joseph, "Guys Boys" by Designer, "Agana Sela Tufu Malla" by Ramond, "Life Is A Mission" by Prince Buju, "Guru Anowuu" by Fadester, and "9090" by Awudu. (Global Grooves, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album