Post Funkadelic and Parliament work from George Clinton – an assortment of tracks from a variety of Columbia and Sony-related albums by artists who include Sweat Band, Mutiny, Junie, Bootsy Collins, Mico Wave, Philippe Wynne, and the P-Funk All-Stars! Most of the material here has an early 80s sort of feel – that second wave of P-Funk inspiration after so many other groups were grabbing the Clinton groove – and bass is especially upfront in the mix on most of these numbers, topped with vocals that are definitely in the style first encouraged by George back in the day. Titles include "Funky Kind" and "If Anybody Gets Funked Up" by George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars, "Leakin" and "Party On Plastic" by Bootsy Collins, "Lump" and "Funk N Bop" by Mutiny, "Rappin About Rappin" and "Love Has Taken Me Over" by Junie Morrison, "Instant Replay" by Mico Wave, "Freak To Freak" by Sweat Band, "Breakout" and "Never Gonna Tell It" by Philippe Wynne, and "One Of Those Summers" and "Pumpin It Up" by P-Funk All Stars. CD

In a world of supposed crossover Brazilian projects that have mostly lost their roots, the music of Bebel Gilberto is surprisingly refreshing! This daughter of Joao Gilberto (not Astrud) sings in a manner that's in keeping with the classic bossa divas of years past – but she works here in adventurous collaborations with the likes of Thievery Corporation, Amon Tobin, Suba, and Smoke City, which makes for a mixture of styles that freshens up the bossa considerably. Titles include a remake of "So Nice (Summer Samba)", plus "Samba Da Bencao", "Lonely", "Tanto Tempo", "Bananeira", and "Sem Contencao". CD

A nice step forward for Ceu – and a record with a bit more of an edge than we might have expected! The set's still heavy on those sweet Brazilian vocals with an old school vibe – but the production, although often spare, has this nice raspy quality we really love – subtle elements that underscore the lyrics with a gently creative mode – a bit like the sounds you'd hear from other releases from the Kassim/Moreno Veloso camp – although perhaps not as edgey as those. Still, we've gotta give producer Gui Amabis credit for keeping things interesting on Ceu's behalf – on tracks that include "Amor De Antigos", "Falta Dear", "Contravento", "Palhaco", "You Won't Regret It", "Sereia", and "Fffree". LP, Vinyl record album

Features vocals from Elvis Costello and Debbie Harry. CD

A wonderful tribute to Suba – the underground electronician who's had such a strong effect on the sound of Brazilian grooves over the past decade or so. Suba's lifetime journey – from Yugoslavia, to Paris, to Brazil – left him with a wealth of cultural influences, and at the time of his early death in 1999, he was just beginning to realize his full potential. You'll get a good idea of how much he had to offer on this album – which brings together the 2 surviving tracks from his last album with a host of other collaborations, and "tribute" tracks recorded for him by other artists. The groove is light and breezy – better than most other recent projects of this nature – and titles include "Voce Gosta mix" by Phil Asher, "Nightly Sins" by Joao Parahyba, "Tantos Desejos mix" by Modern Quartet & Cibelle, "Segredo Remake" by Boyz From Brazil, "Felicidade Mix" by Buscemi, "Sereia, Amor D'Agua' by Cibelle, "Future Primitivo 1, 2, & 3" by Suba & Joao Parahyba, "Lagoa Pinheiros" by Suba & Marina Lima, and "Samba Do Gringo Paulista" by Bigga Bush. CD

Remixes by DJ Spinna, Nuspirit Helsinki, Spiritual South, Tom Middleton, Thievery Corporation, Grant Nelson, Telfon Tel Aviv, and more. CD

Another feather in the Six Degrees cap – and like the rest of their Brazilian music repertoire, an artist who seems bent on breaking down boundaries – both in styles and generations! Ceu's got the same "old is new" feeling as some of the label's other work in recent years – a mode that takes older bossa, samba, and other styles (including dub) – and reworks it using a lightly playful quality, and a relatively stripped-down feel overall. Instrumentation here is mostly acoustic – especially on the rhythms – but it does include some electric bits on keyboards and turntables, used lightly enough as to not interfere with the organic quality of the sound. Ceu's vocals are light, too – but also slightly raspy, in a way that makes them a lot better from some of the too-dreamy singing you might expect on a record like this. Titles include "Lenda", "Malemolencia", "10 Contados", "Vinheta Dorival", "Ave Cruz", "Concrete Jungle", "Vinheta Quebrante", "Samba Na Sola", and "Bobagem". CD

A lovely little record from Ceu – a record that balances the Brazilian singers' vocals with a great sense of space in the instrumentation – just the right use of acoustic rhythms, keyboards, and other elements – never as electronic as other albums on the Six Degrees label, in a way that let's the more gentle, subtle aspects of Ceu's vocals really come through beautifully! The record starts with a spare number that only features cavaquinho behind the lyrics – and although other tracks expand the sound out a bit more, that spare mode of the start still holds on nicely. Titles include "Rosa Menina Rosa", "Grains De Beaute", "Nascente", "Cangote", "Sobre O Amor E Seu Trabalho Silencioso", and "Ponteiro". CD

Bebel's second album for Six Degrees – and quite possibly an even better album than the first! Not one to rest on the laurels of her success of recent years, Bebel seems to diverge a bit from the sound of her initial hit – going for a deeper approach to songwriting, and a musical style that shows she's got a lot more to offer than just bossa remix-styled vocals! The album kicks off with a wonderful take on Os Mutantes' English reading of the Tropicalia classic "Baby" – then rolls into a sweetly laidback set of tracks that borrow a lot from the bossa, but which also have some extremely personal songwriting touches. Overall, there's less beats and more natural instrumentation than before – and the album feautres guest work by Joao Donato and Carlinhos Brown, as well as some great use of strings! Titles include "Winter", "O Caminho", "Ceu Distante", "Next To You", "All Around", "River Song", "Every Day You've Been Away", and "Simplesmente". CD

Bebel Gilberto's certainly one to keep her public waiting in the space between each new record – but she always makes the wait worthwhile by coming up with something new! The sound here is again something different than her previous two albums – somewhat electric, but also fairly acoustic as well – even more mature than before, and not as easily given to simple tricks or flourishes – which is a very good thing in our book! One track was done in collaboration with Kassin, with backings by Orquestra Imperial – and other titles feature contributions from Sabina Sciubba, Didi Gutman, Masa Shimizu, and Guy Sigsworth. Titles include "Tranquilo", "Night & Day", "Um Segundo", "Cade Voce", "Words", "Azul", and "Os Novos Yorkinos". CD

Titles include "When They See Me Dance", "Goodbye, All My Friends", "I Kill No More", "Jealous Neighbor", and "Prison Of Sinners". CD