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Diverse beatcraft from a pioneer of beathead culture – the never predictable, still vital DJ Vadim! Spacey keys, funky bass, atmospheric synth and top notch turntable skills are, as always, the main tools of Vadim's trade – but the cross-cultural, globe-spanning styles he manages to cook up are as impressive as ever on Don't Be Scared. Glitchy funk and soul from around the world, echoey dancehall and more float in and out, with some sampled bits of vocal as well as some great guest singers on the mic. Another win for Vadim and BBE! Includes "Hide N' Seek", "Lemon Haze", "I'm Feeling U" with Gregory Blackman, "This DJ" feat J-Man, "Set Them Free" feat Sabira Jade, "Leader" with Yarah Bravo, "Vah Vaow" feat Heidi Vogel, "Take My Time" with Jazz Bailey and "Closed Eyes" feat Yarah Bravo, Pugs Atomz and Jazz Bailey.

Diverse beatcraft from a pioneer of beathead culture – the never predictable, still vital DJ Vadim! Spacey keys, funky bass, atmospheric synth and top notch turntable skills are, as always, the main tools of Vadim's trade – but the cross-cultural, globe-spanning styles he manages to cook up are as impressive as ever on Don't Be Scared. Glitchy funk and soul from around the world, echoey dancehall and more float in and out, with some sampled bits of vocal as well as some great guest singers on the mic. Another win for Vadim and BBE! Includes "Hide N' Seek", "Lemon Haze", "I'm Feeling U" with Gregory Blackman, "This DJ" feat J-Man, "Set Them Free" feat Sabira Jade, "Leader" with Yarah Bravo, "Vah Vaow" feat Heidi Vogel, "Take My Time" with Jazz Bailey and "Closed Eyes" feat Yarah Bravo, Pugs Atomz and Jazz Bailey.

One of the most hard-hitting albums ever cut by pianist Georges Arvanitas – an early effort that's all soul jazz all the way through! Although Arvanitas is best known as a committed modernist, especially in later years, this sweet early 60s session is a stone cooker in the best mode of Blue Note dates of the time – tight, swinging, and perfectly poised with just the right space for some excellent solos from Francois Jeanneau on tenor, Bernard Vitet on trumpet, and Arvanitas himself on piano – all grooving in a style that would make the Jazz Messengers proud, but also one that's got some key touches of postwar Parisian jazz too. Bass is by Michel Gaudry and drums are by Daniel Humair – and titles include "Oblivion", "This Here", "Poco Loco", "Bouncin With Bud", "Bohemia After Dark", and "Mister X".

The rare self-titled set from the Bobby Boyd Congress – a killer combo with roots in early 70s Long Island, but relocated to France to make this killer set! The group is lead by tenor sax player and lead vocalist Boyd – although this set is heavy with instrumental passages. We're loving the way they mix brass heavy funk with lumbering psych steeped organ and fuzzed out guitar grooves. They even sneak in a laidback or jam, too – bringing a pretty versatile approach to this album! Titles include "Straight Ahead", "In A Toy Garden", "I'm Undecided", "Train", "It's Good To See Your Face Again", "Dig Deep In Your Soul" and "Bright Flowers".

Breezy bossa from late 70s Paris – a rare European session from Rio ex-patriots Erica Norimar and Chiquinho Timoteo! The record's got a warmly jazzy glow that takes full advantage of the vocals of both artists – trading them back and forth on the more lively tunes, in a way that's clearly inspired by the older Brasil 66 style of the 60s, but reworked here into a slightly hipper 70s sound. Instrumentation is mostly acoustic, with a lot of percussion and guitar that give the tracks a samba-styled groove – but a few tracks also feature a bit of keyboards, plus some occasional sax, flute, and trumpet. Titles include "Forro", "Dodo", "Hein", "Nega De Obaluae", "Gota D'Agua", "A Filha Da Chiquita Bacana", "De Frente Pro Crime", "Kid Cavaquinho", "Ligia", and "Vatapa".

The Remixes are great – tunes that show a loving, understanding appreciation of Nilovic's original music – thanks to a well-selected batch of talents on the set! Most of the numbers hardly veer much from the great grooves that Janko first penned – as they're all awash in the best acoustic elements and electronic moments without going too far into abstract, contemporary territory – as can happen in some too-remixed projects we've heard of late. Titles include "Spacial Special" remixed by Minimatic, "African Boost" remixed by Kid Loco, "Summer Breeze" remixed by The Big Knife, "Escape To Chelsea" remixed by Casbah 73, "Tandoori Flock" remixed by Patchworks, "Leslie's Back" remixed by DJ Day, "New Post Scriptum" remixed by Metropolitan Jazz Affair, and "Vocal Improvisations" remixed by Cucumber.

A weirdly great little record! At first glance, you might think that this album's just another version of the super-huge moog hit "Popcorn" – but it's a lot more than that! The group has sort of a sing-song funky feel – hard piano, some nice drums, and grooves that remind us of work by Duke Of Burlington – but with more chorus-type vocals, kind of in a funky rock mode. The overall effect is hard to describe, but essentially the record's a great batch of party funk numbers – grooving with plenty of strange touches, and lots of nice heavy drums! Titles include "Son Of Popcorn", "Sweet Popcorn (parts 1 & 2)", "Popcorn Popcorn Hey Hey Hey", "Popcorn Popcorn", and "Salted Popcorn".

Late 70s funky French grooves from Resonance! "OK Chicago" is a roaring, screeching exercise in cinematic funky exploitation – heavy drums, Euro disco synth and a slew of sound effects – ricocheting gunshots, squealing car tires and more. A hard-sought, should-be classic! "Yellow Train" isn't as crazy, but it's just as great – pummeling drums and cosmic touches.

A groovy collection of French pop from the late 60s and early 70s – with lightly psychedelic nuggets and an all around beautiful snapshot of an inimitable era! The tracklist includes some artists we've obsessed over for years, such as France Gall, Franois D Roubaix and Maledictus Sound – but it goes way deeper than other collections for some material that's a real discovery for us – and easily as wonderful as much of the best known period French pop! The mad 60s vibe is in full effect throughout – but buzzing, lightly psychedelic guitar riffery, off kilter and globally influenced percussion, groovy duets, funky bass and horn blasts and beyond – elements that are secondary to the truly excellent and effervescent songcraft! 15 tracks in all: "Dou Da Dou" by Michele Richard, "Le Train De 10h03" by Orlane Paquin, "Obsessions 68" by Sophie Makhno & Colin Verdier, "Zoizoi" by France Gall, "Piti-Piti-Pas" by Francois De Roubaix, "Syncopated Motion" by Eddie Warner, "Kriminal Theme" by Maledictus Sound and more!

A wonderfully offbeat strain of European pop from the 60s – rare recordings from the Catalonian area, that weird space in Spain that's also linked to southern France and the Mediterranean islands as well! There's a really playful feel to most of these numbers – and although many cuts are remakes of big Anglo hits, they've been re-fitted with new language, and some plenty cool arrangements that often make the music sound even groovier than in the original versions! In terms of spirit, we'd definitely compare a lot of this work to the best mid 60s pop coming from Paris – the groovy goodies of the "yeh yeh" generation – although in the end, the music's also very much it's own thing as well. Titles include "Cap A Futbol" by Guillermina Motta, "Yeh Yeh" by Tony, "Es Una Dona" by Nuri, "Febre" by Guillem D'Efak, "El Meu Trastet" by Santi Sans, "Soc Molt Poca Cosa" by Jacinta, "Amor" by Jordi Teijon, "Desafinat" by Grau Carol, and "El Cinemascop" by Llorenc Torres.

A wonderfully offbeat strain of European pop from the 60s – rare recordings from the Catalonian area, that weird space in Spain that's also linked to southern France and the Mediterranean islands as well! There's a really playful feel to most of these numbers – and although many cuts are remakes of big Anglo hits, they've been re-fitted with new language, and some plenty cool arrangements that often make the music sound even groovier than in the original versions! In terms of spirit, we'd definitely compare a lot of this work to the best mid 60s pop coming from Paris – the groovy goodies of the "yeh yeh" generation – although in the end, the music's also very much it's own thing as well. Titles include "Cap A Futbol" by Guillermina Motta, "Yeh Yeh" by Tony, "Es Una Dona" by Nuri, "Febre" by Guillem D'Efak, "El Meu Trastet" by Santi Sans, "Soc Molt Poca Cosa" by Jacinta, "Amor" by Jordi Teijon, "Desafinat" by Grau Carol, and "El Cinemascop" by Llorenc Torres.

Libidinous, soundtracky funk from France! Streaking is a great set of funky French grooves from Jean Claude Pelletier – one that's clearly informed by and indebted to the cinematic soul and blacksploitation soundtrack style coming out of the States in the early part of the 70s – with a boisterous, bright European twist! It feels like a blend of soundrack funk and grand scale late 60s and early 70s French pop & soul. Even with the latter elements, it's fairly hard-hitting and certainly geared for the dancefloor on whatever continent! Wah wah guitars, rubbery bass grooves, heavy drums & percussion and a punchy brass section define the sound. To make even groovier, the title and almost all the tracks are cheeky nods to art of streaking! Includes "Hello Streakers", "Special Streaking", "Dangerous For Your Health", "Nudes And Marines", "To Streak With The Devil", "Streaking Land", "Topless On The Trail" and "Streak To Streak".

A long-overdue collection of work from the legendary Jack Arel – one of the lesser-known sound library composers of the late 60s and early 70s – but a true giant in his funky field, as you'll hear by the great music on this set! Arel is French, but he often wrote for British sources – including the Prisoner TV show – so his music has a great blend of Parisian pop modes and chunkier London beats – a style that almost mixes together some of the funkier jazz sensibilities of the sound library generation with the tighter, more romping rhythms that were usually penned for TV and commercial use. The first half of this set features 25 originals by Arel – some in collaboration with Pierre Dutor or Jean-Claude Petit – and often done with trippier touches that include fuzzy guitar or funky flute! The second half features remixes of the originals – tunes that are often a bit longer, and almost restructured as whole new songs. Originals include "Shore Of Sumatra", "Sideral Rhythmic", "De Paris A Liverpool", "Jungle Soul", "Game Trap", "Picture Of Summer", "Train Bleu", "Strange Galaxy", and "Sundown". Remixes include "Drugstore Party" remixed by Le Tone, "Jungle Soul" remixed by Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra, "The Night Squad" by Danny Wild & Goldfinger, "Loco Robo" by Luke Vibert, "Chicago Girl" remixed by Barth, "Electric Railman" remixed Mowo, and "Crystal Abyss" by Telepopmusik.

The rare second album from Bobby Boyd – a set that's even more soulful than his first, and which is filled with funky gems! Boyd's vocals are wonderful – tight, but with an earnest quality that almost pushes him more towards a Bill Withers vibe than some of the other funky singers of the time – a great change next to the tight combo instrumentation of the record. Tunes are almost all upbeat and funky – and the mixture of Boyd's warmth with the sharp grooves really makes for a rich sound overall – a record that should have, could have been huge – were it issued at the time – but which is finally seeing the light of day now, in this well-done full length production from Vadim! Titles include "Ain't What You Know", "Why Are You Cryin", "Good Woman", "Girl I Can Feel Ya", "On This Side Of Town", and "Let Bygones By Bygones" – plus the instrumental "The Happy Hooker", produced by Harvey Fuqua, and which seems to actually be the Nite Liters' song/version, oddly tucked into this album!

An incredible album that's as evocative as its title – one that blends together strings and electronics into a sublime suite of sound library grooves! The album was masterminded by the lesser-known Barry Forgie – and also features work by other sound library talents Nino Nardini and Roger Roger, both of whom contribute some tasty Afro-styled grooves to the set! The overall feel is like the some of the best European soundtrack work from the time – with lots of lush instrumental passages, laid out with undercurrents of funk in places you wouldn't expect. Great stuff overall, and with tracks that include "Mindbender", "Ballata", "Hunted", and "Dawn Mists" by Barry Forgie; "Undercover Girl" and "Freedom Road" by Anthony Mawer; "Tropicola" and "Afro Samba" by Nino Nardini; and "Safari Park" and "Perdition" by Roger Roger.

Ahh, we'd so love to see a bunch of killer Morricone numbers on funky 45s – but if that doesn't happen, we've got a really great one here!!! "Le Casse" is a moody bit of crime score funk, a killer beat under some harpsichord, strings and somewhat soaring atmospherics that pair so nicely with the rawer undercurrent. "Rodeo" has a more measured approach with a groovy payoff, and some sweet horns in the mix. Great stuff pulled from an early 70s film with Jean-Paul Belmondo & Omar Sharif!

The Remixes are great – tunes that show a loving, understanding appreciation of Nilovic's original music – thanks to a well-selected batch of talents on the set! Most of the numbers hardly veer much from the great grooves that Janko first penned – as they're all awash in the best acoustic elements and electronic moments without going too far into abstract, contemporary territory – as can happen in some too-remixed projects we've heard of late. Titles include "Spacial Special" remixed by Minimatic, "African Boost" remixed by Kid Loco, "Summer Breeze" remixed by The Big Knife, "Escape To Chelsea" remixed by Casbah 73, "Tandoori Flock" remixed by Patchworks, "Leslie's Back" remixed by DJ Day, "New Post Scriptum" remixed by Metropolitan Jazz Affair, and "Vocal Improvisations" remixed by Cucumber.

Fuzzy and funky grooves from one of the greatest European talents of the 70s – the great Janko Nilovic, a studio genius whose true talents are only being appreciated today! This wonderful set of tunes was originally scored for an obscure French sound library series, and is finally making it out to the public in this package – a sweet batch of funky tunes that will make you feel like you found a killer soundtrack from back in the day! Lots more heavy guitars than on some of Janko's other work – and other nice electric touches on bass and keyboards too – plus some occasional mellower cuts that stretch out in spacious scoring! Titles include "Rush On The Ball", "Duty Free", "Ski Trails", "Real Happening", "Face To The World", "In The Space", and "Love On the Moon".

One of the funkiest records ever cut by studio jazz genius Janko Nilovic! This set definitely earns the "soul" in the title – as Janko blends his usual mad mix of studio sounds with some heavier 70s elements – including a fair bit of fuzzy guitar, funky beats, and some nice horn fills. About half the tracks on the album benefit from this sort of approach – kind of across between blacksploitation soundtrack scoring and the tighter instrumental moods of work by The Duke of Burlington. The other half is more in Janko's usual bag – nicely groovy jazz numbers, some with a slinky 70s edge! Titles include "Hippocampus", "Open Country", "Crazy Enterprise", "Drug Song", "Soul Impressions", "Man Of Genius", "Push Push", and "Family Tree".

Libidinous, soundtracky funk from France! Streaking is a great set of funky French grooves from Jean Claude Pelletier – one that's clearly informed by and indebted to the cinematic soul and blacksploitation soundtrack style coming out of the States in the early part of the 70s – with a boisterous, bright European twist! It feels like a blend of soundrack funk and grand scale late 60s and early 70s French pop & soul. Even with the latter elements, it's fairly hard-hitting and certainly geared for the dancefloor on whatever continent! Wah wah guitars, rubbery bass grooves, heavy drums & percussion and a punchy brass section define the sound. To make even groovier, the title and almost all the tracks are cheeky nods to art of streaking! Includes "Hello Streakers", "Special Streaking", "Dangerous For Your Health", "Nudes And Marines", "To Streak With The Devil", "Streaking Land", "Topless On The Trail" and "Streak To Streak".

Spooky sounds from pioneering French composer Pierre Schaeffer – 5 Etudes De Bruits (1948) on one side and Etude Aux Objets (1959) on the other! Visionary experimental sound manipulation from an early pioneer. 5 Etudes De Bruits includes "Edude Aux Chemins De Fer", "Edude Viloette", "Etude Noire" and "Etude Pathetique". Etude Aux Objets includes "Objets Exposes", "Objets Etendus", "Objets Multiplies", "Objets Lies" and "Objets Rassembles".

A rare one from Janko Nilovic – his Funky Tramway – a cosmic jazz funk grail from the early 70s recorded in Belgium with an incredible group of local musicians – a stunner in which Nilovic is blending organically funky grooves with synths and other astral touches as incredibly as ever! If you dug Janko's brilliant Psych Impressions, Soul Impressions and Rythmes Contemporains compilations, there's much to love here – a similar blend of jazz, funk, and spacey prog touches – but the stylistic range here is perhaps even more impressive! There's lots of angelic wordless vocals flowing in and out, primarily from Patricia Maessen, but the group members contribute backing vocals, too, giving this more of a working band feel than some of Janko's sound library recordings of the time. Funky drums, bass, percussion, lots of spacey keys, Moog and trumpet steer the sound in lots of groovy directions. Titles include "Funky Tramway", "Flemish Suite", "Sitting Bull", "Gipsy Funk", "Atomium 82", "Disconnected Song", "Little Butcher's Street", "Fish Market" and more.

A full funky set of work from the legendary Janko Nilovic – one of the hippest sound library talents in 70s France, and a composer with a very unique sort of groove! There's a tremendous range of sounds here – all of them groovy – from American-styled soundtrack funk, to spare Latin-sounding rhythms, to weirder more experimental tracks that mix voices up like instruments – and lots more beyond description and simple categorization! The package pulls together the funkiest tracks from Janko's hard-to-find albums – most of which were originally on small French sound library labels, like Montparnasse 2000 or Telemusic. The double-length set features 23 tracks in all – including "Cross Rolls", "Blows & Rhythms", "Improvisation Pour 2 Voix", "Post Scriptum", "Aerospatial", "Weekend A Chelsea", "Funky Village", "Le Vent Dans Les Algues", "To & Fro", "Shadow Of Our Life", and "Golf Open".

A re-recording of some of the tunes that Duke wrote for Roger Vadim's 1959 film of Les Liaisons Dangereuses – recorded originally under Art Blakey's name, but done here with a group headed by Jordan. Some of the tunes are familiar from Blakey's recording, and a few come off sounding differently – and in a nice way. The band includes some strong tenor work from Charlie Rouse – plus trumpet by Sonny Cohn, drums by Art Taylor, and bass by Eddie Kahn. Includes 3 versions of the groover "No Problem", plus "The Feeling Of Love", "Jazz Vendor", and "Subway Inn".

"In The Trenches" is produced by His-Panik of the Molemen. "For My Writers" is produced by DJ Vadim.

Diverse soundscapes from Tokyo Dawn – with strains of hip hop, spacey soul and bouncy electro-styled grooves – sharing a love for the future funky vibe born of the 80s – but down with timeless contemporary feel! Includes tracks by Erik Rico, Coco Solid, Positive Flow, Martino, Reeno, Blacktroniks, Yellowtail, Wagon Cookin, J-Felix, Rakotep (Stacy Epps & Astronote), "Colonel Red & Yam Who, Amalia & Reggie B and more. 17 tracks in all: "Wow" by Coco Solid, "Night Falls" by Kris Mars, "Back To The Melody (Opolopo Remix)", "Get It" by DJ Vadim with Pugs Atomz, "Electromagnetic" by Erik Rico, "Disco Technic (Lay-Far Remix)" by Stam Smith, "Children Of The Sun" by Positive Flow with Heidi Vogel and more.