Brandao/Sabura (Portugal), 1982. New Copy (reissue)
A set that was originally issued in Portugal, but which carries forth a strong quality of Cape Verdean rhythms – which are then inflected with some nice currents of European funk! Instrumentation is electric, with lots of great keyboards and guitar lines – and although the lyrics aren't ...
Hot Casa (France), Late 80s. New Copy
Four rare tracks from Cotonou singer Stanislas Tohon – all originally issued only as rare singles, and brought together here as a package that represents some of the first global circulation of this work outside his scene! The music is from that time when contemporary electronic modes were ...
Command/Bongo Joe (Switzerland), 1975. New Copy
A very wild record – maybe more free jazz than you'd guess from the image on the cover, and the Guatemala in the title! These guys are a brass band, but the way they mix their horns together often feels more like some Lester Bowie experiment, or some other AACM-related project – as ...
We Are Busy Bodies (Canada), 2023. New Copy
A South African collective with a really wonderful vibe – jazzy instrumentation at the core, but sometimes topped with soulful vocals that have a soaring, righteous quality! There's certainly echoes of older SA styles here – especially on some of the the jazzier moments, and in the way ...
El (UK), Late 1940s/1950s/Early 1960s. New Copy 3CD
A set with an unusual sort of flavor – one that looks at the influence of Spanish culture on modern music during the postwar years – brought together here in a mix of jazz and classical recordings with some very different styles! CD1 is all jazz – and showcases some key Spanish-th ...
Knitting Factory, 2013. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
One of the hippest entries in the Red Hot series so far – a set of tracks dedicated to the legendary Fela Kuti – felled by AIDS after years of influential grooves – still being felt strongly by the rich array of artists collected in the set! Most tracks are contemporary, but ...
Emporium/Everland (Austria), 1974. New Copy
A wicked bit of funk from Ghana – a record that's as amazing and wonderful as it is rare! The set's one of the best African 70s rarities we've ever heard – filled with massive grooves that offer up a take on funk that's far different than American grooves – but which also comes ...
Roulette/Life Goes On, Mid 60s. New Copy (reissue)
Maybe one of the most authentic records ever cut by John Berberian – an American musician, but one who delivered great work on the oud during the 60s – including some projects that were often a bit psychedelic in nature! This set's a bit more straightforward, but equally great – ...
RTS/Afrodelic (Italy), 1978. New Copy (reissue)
A really heady album with a nicely trippy vibe – almost as if some of the spirit of Kingston had seeped into a more psychedelic West African setting – with a really wild, unique album as the result! There's some great slow-stepping rhythms on the set, very heavy on bass – and the ...
Buda/Heavenly Sweetness (France), 1970s. New Copy
A stunning set of vocal recordings by Tlahoun Gessesse – one of the most important singers during the golden age of Ethiopian Music – caught here on a set of sides that sadly saw that period coming to an end! The tracks on the set are mostly from the early 70s, a time that saw great ...
African Music International/Knitting Factory, 1976. New Copy (reissue)
A mid-70s message from the legendary Fela Kuti – a record whose title and cover image are a commentary on the wrong directions the Nigerian elite were heading in at the time – served up here with all the fantastic frenzied grooves that Afrika 70 can deliver! "Ikoyi Blindness" ...
Lagos International/Knitting Factory, 1980. New Copy (reissue)
A stunning start to the 80s from Fela Kuti – and a record that has the Egypt 80 band cooking every bit as strongly as Africa 70! The album's got this massively cooking vibe right from the start – fast-running, fast-riffing rhythms that are peppered with horns at the beginning of "O ...
Discogram/Return To Analog (Canada), 1979. New Copy (reissue)
Jimmy Hyacinthe is posed on the cover like some 70s bluesman, but his music here is much more global overall – plenty of grooves that echo his origins in the Ivory Coast, but handled with qualities that are electric and a bit funky too! The rhythms almost feel Caribbean at times, especially ...
Colourful World (Netherlands), Late 80s. New Copy
A tight collection of gems from Ghana and Cape Verde – pulled together by Arp Frique, as an illustration of the sounds that have inspired him greatly over the years! The package features four cuts that move with mighty tight grooves – very upbeat, but in ways that are different than ...
Fremeaux & Associates (France), Late 40s/1950s/Early 60s. New Copy 2CD
An overstuffed package of classic work from the Caribbean – most of it from midcentury, at a time before reggae and other styles would bring even more exposure to the scene! The music here is in a nice mix of modes – separate by island identity, but drawn together in a good way by the ...
Mississippi, Early 70s. New Copy
Revelatory sounds from Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru – an Ethiopian nun, but one who had a secret side life as a pianist and composer – stepping out here on a selection of solo tracks that have a wonderfully captivating vibe! Gebru's music first got wider exposure in the Ethiopiques series ...
L'Arome/P-Vine (Japan), 1970s. New Copy
Mad funk from Ethiopia – classic work by the legendary Mulatu, one of Africa's heaviest artists of the 70s! Mulatu's been kind of a beathead secret for years – as most of his exotic grooves were never issued properly outside of Africa, and have only been the province of collectors who ...
Heads/Afrosynth (Netherlands), 1983. New Copy (reissue)
A really great South African group from the early 80s – and one with a sound that's a lot funkier and clubbier than most of the music from their scene that was being sent out through the world music market! Instead, the vibe here is like some of the coolest club tracks of the time – ...
Left Ear (Austria), Late 80s. New Copy
A percussion record, but one with a very different twist – as the set was done both in collaboration with dancer Tonny Kennybrew, and based on his sense of motion – and it was done at the end of the 80s, and features a very cool mix of both acoustic and electric instrumentation! ...
Emporium/PMG (Austria), 1974. New Copy
A wicked bit of funk from Ghana – a record that's as amazing and wonderful as it is rare! The set's one of the best African 70s rarities we've ever heard – filled with massive grooves that offer up a take on funk that's far different than American grooves – but which also comes ...
Habibi Funk (Germany), Late 70s. New Copy
Some of the most obscure work ever recorded by Lebanese singer/songwriter Roger Fakhr – late 70s recordings that were originally only circulated on tape within a small community of friends and supporters, and material that has a vibe that almost feels like some of the best late 60s material ...
Everland (Austria), 1970s. New Copy
A really ear-opening set – one that introduces us to a world we'd never have heard otherwise – filled with music that's maybe even groovier and more evocative than we could imagine! There's loads of very trippy styles going on here – almost as if the whole Mongolian scene had ...
Lyncell/BBE (UK), 1982. New Copy
A sweet Soweto group from the start of the 80s – one who have a nice current of funk in their mix, but who also serve up some well-crafted solos on both guitar and flute! The vocals are often warmly in that more familiar South African style of the period – but the record's nicely ...
Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band
Juguya
Sublime Frequencies, 2015. New Copy
One of the most solid albums we've ever heard on the Sublime Frequencies label – a studio recording by a group with a really great approach to their music – a style that mixes classic Afro Funk elements with rootsier elements on the instrumentation! The grooves are tight, but the sound ...
BBE (UK), Late 80s. New Copy
Music as lively and colorful as the image on the cover – upbeat work from the second half of the 80s scene in South Africa – music that has a very positive vibe overall, and a sound that's perfect for the mix of keyboards and beats used in the rhythms! The styles here are those which ...
Out Here (Germany), 2023. New Copy
A great return to form for this legendary Somalian group – a combo who made some important records in the 80s, but were part of the huge diaspora on their scene as the troubles of the following decade forced a long pause in cultural activity! Here, the group are reborn with new youthful ...
Strut (UK), 2002. New Copy
A really wonderful collaboration – one that features famous South African singer Vusi Mahlasela working with the Jive Connection combo – a funky Swedish group who backed Mahlasela on many live dates over the years, and who really help his music come across with a lean, classic sort of ...
Gusstaff (UK), 2022. New Copy
A really unique project from Philippe Samiguel – recorded in Bamako, where Samiguel has worked as a producer for many years – during which time he's pulled together ideas from all sorts of different projects, and forged them into a new groove of his own! Samiguel's worked most famously ...
Subah Zindagi (UK), Late 70s. New Copy
A classic soundtrack from Indian film composer Rahul Dev Burman – and one that reminds us just how important the voice was to the format over the years! Unlike some Bollywood soundtracks, which have long upbeat songs that are driving the dance numbers in the film – this score has a ...
PMG (Austria), 1981. New Copy
A wonderful fusion of traditional roots and contemporary funk – handled perfectly by this legendary Gambian band! The groove is unique – with earthy percussion and haunting vocals mixed with more 70s-styled funk instrumentation – but often in a way that's as interested in sonic ...