Global Grooves -- Recently Added -- LP  

A bit of 80s groove, a bit of African soul, and a pretty nice batch of crossover tracks that approximates 80s take on 70s Afro funk. Titles include "Lengoma", "Sanibonani", "Boyane", "Madoda", "Dimakatso", and "Sikelela". ...

Killer 70s grooves from Pakistan -- one of the weirdest soundtracks you'll ever hope to hear -- and an unusual blend of Indian influences, space-age electronics, and more! Most of the cuts here are heavy on guitar -- sometimes fuzzy and freaked out, sometimes played with a bit more of a sprightly ...

Brilliant work from Benin -- an ear-opening compilation that's filled with wonderful grooves we've never heard before! The rhythms are unusual, instrumentation hypnotic, and vocals really offbeat -- making the whole thing sound very different than more familiar African work we've stocked -- ...

Amazing grooves from the Lollywood scene of the 70s -- the Pakistani equivalent of the films coming out of India's Bollywood at the time! The grooves here are often quite different than what you might hear from Bollywood -- still touched with an Eastern, exotic sensibility (at least to our Western ...

One of the coolest African collections we've seen in years -- a beautiful assortment of untapped grooves from the 70s, put together with a massive booklet that sets a whole new standard in packaging! The grooves here are different from other Afro Funk collections of the time -- definitely more in ...

Hypnotic grooves from Kaleta -- a searing set of Afrobeat titles that really burns with a lot of energy! There's a complexity here that goes beyond most other contemporary Afro Funk ensembles -- one that takes especial joy in the solo parts, which are really well-crafted, and have an almost jazz-li ...

A killer blend of African roots and American rhythms -- and a set that definitely lives up to the disco promised in the title! Buari's working here with a host of New York musicians -- jazzy players who include Randy Brecker and Jon Faddis on trumpet, Barry Rogers on trombone, and Michael Brecker ...

Global music of indeterminate origin, but indisputable beauty from Mississippi Records -- from otherworldly vocals-only tunes, to lovely and lush arrangements -- strains of calypso, Thai balladry, rural American yodeling, Hawaiian ukulele tunes, and beyond! There's no notes, but the mysteriousness ...

An Afro Funk treasure from the 70s -- a rare album recorded by Pax Nicholas, a singer and percussionist who was part of Fela's legendary Africa 70 band! The album's got a sound that definitely echoes that heritage, but with a groove that's pretty weird too -- more stripped down than most of Fela's ...

The most outwardly political album to date from Antibalas -- and quite possibly the funkiest one too! The set's got the group really grooving hard in their 70s Afro Funk-inspired vein -- jamming at a level that would make Fela Kuti blush -- working together with a fierce array of percussion, horns ...

A landmark of Afro-centric jazz in the 70s -- and the first album by this famous underground collective! Oneness of Juju were a Washington DC-based group that grew out of the ashes of the Juju avant jazz ensemble -- formed in the culturally rich African-American community of DC in the 70s, with ...

Osibisa's smoothing things up a bit by this point -- going for a groove that's partially African-inspired, but which also has some mainstream Caribbean touches, and an overall approach that uses more mainstream R&B styles than on some of their previous records. The sound isn't bad, though, and ...

An amazing world of music -- rare funk, soul, reggae, and other grooves from Belize -- all beautifully compiled in the rich Numero Music style! We're really stunned by the set -- as we had no idea at all that Belize had anything going on at this level -- and the collection is an amazing surprise ...

One of the coolest compilations we've seen so far on Mississippi Records -- a set that almost pushes them into the territory covered by Honest Jons with some of their vintage EMI collections! The package documents a lost history of Greek music -- work recorded from the mid 20s through mid 40s -- ...

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 had the ...

Mad grooves from the Ethiopian scene of the 70s -- featuring work by the enigmatic Mulatu, plus some of the other extra-cool artists on that country's groundbreaking soul and funk scene! Mulatu plays Fender Rhodes and organ on his tracks -- grooving with a slow, snakey approach that's almost a bit ...

Amazing 70s recordings from Ethiopian singer Alemayehu Eshete -- one of the greatest stars of the Ethiopiques series next to Mulatu! The style here is often quite funky at times -- a strong James Brown influence in some of the rhythms, hitting hard with a heavy funk groove at the bottom, and ...

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 political ...

Amazing music from the golden years of Ethiopian Music -- a set of tracks that will take you beyond the music of Mulatu, into a wealth of other talents from the scene at the same time! The sound here is incredible -- a mix of heavy funk, spacey jazz, and other exotic touches all coming together -- ...

The incredible first volume in one of the best series we've ever seen for Bollywood film music -- served up not only with great rare tracks throughout, but also a wealth of notes and images as well! As the title implies, this one's all about the funk -- and tracks are pulled from a great range of ...

The incredible early 70s Turkish psychedelic folk LP from Baris Manco -- totally riveting stuff that blends some traditional Turkish influences with the panoramic psychedelia of the late 60s & early 70s -- with fuzzed out rockm funk, and a fantastic melodic sensibility! The most fascinating ...

Tight grooving benga funk rock from Extra Golden -- the third, and to date the best album from the cross cultural combo! At this point, it's not fair to simply call the group's sound a seamless blend of disparate styles, as we've been tempted to in the past -- they've found their own unique ...

A Capitol soul fan's dream! The record features great vocals by Letta Mbulu, arrangements by HB Barnum, and great production by David Axelrod, who gives the tracks a nice hard punchy sound! A great mix of African rhythms, American soul, and LA production -- and with the tracks "Where Does It ...

A great little set of Hugh's MGM recordings -- and one that features a nice mix of pop instrumental tracks, and others that have a more sophisticated African Soul sound. Included in this bunch are "Bajabula Bonke (Healing Song) parts 1 & 2", "U-Dwi", "Masquenada (parts ...

A great overview of African grooves in the years before Afro Funk truly exploded -- early highlife sounds from Nigeria and Ghana, most of it a fair bit rougher than work in the genre from later decades! The sound here is equally heavy on percussion and guitar -- the latter of which still has the ...

These early Osibisa records always used to be fairly common years back -- perhaps because they were always a bit too hippy dippy and loose for the older funk crowd. But now, in today's blunted groove culture, they seem to have found a new appreciation for their trippy Afro funk style, and their ...

One of the biggest world music hits of the 60s -- a unique album that mixes Congolese songs with a new interpretation of the Latin mass! Les Troubadours Du Roi Baudouin are an ensemble of young singers with a very joyous sort of feel -- one that works equally well for the traditional numbers, and ...

One part of the wonderful series of ethnographic/musicological field recordings that Nonesuch records commissioned throughout the 70s to document the indigenous traditional musics of the continent, many of which are rapidly disappearing today. There were three volumes which focused on the Shona ...

Great early work from Hugh Masekela! The record features all instrumental tracks -- all short, and with Hugh's funky South African trumpet rolling over the top! The overall sound is a lot less slick than on some of his late 60s hits -- and you can really hear his roots in the South African jazz ...

A real back to basics set from Tony Allen -- much more strongly in his Afro Funk groove of the late 70s than other recent work, and recorded in Lagos with an earthy approach that's totally great! All the experiments and odd flourishes of recent sets have been stripped away -- and Allen returns ...

Rare recordings from the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique in the French Caribbean -- rare Afro Latin grooves from the mid 60s to the mid 70s -- a fantastic compilation from the global groove compilation heroes at Soundway! The material generally has the thumping drum & percussion backdrop ...

Driving rhythms, rave-up guitar licks, groovy mod organ and proto-psychedelic guitar -- from 60s Thailand! The Thai Beat series shines a warm light on the rare rock from "the Land of Smile" -- and it's a worthy endeavor! The freewheelin' sunshine 60s groove stretched all across the ...

Mad music that's unlike anything else we can think of -- a killer collection of funky grooves from the Ethiopian scene of the 70s -- offered up here on a vinyl-only compilation! The set's a great one if you've heard the music of Mulatu, but want to dig a lot deeper -- as the cats included on this ...

Grooves unlike anything else you've ever heard in your life -- an assortment of mid 70s tunes from Mahmoud Ahmed, the second grooviest Ethiopian artist, next to Mulatu! Ahmed's sound is a lot more out there than Mulatu's -- less funky and jazz-based, and more in the mode of snakey rhythms, ...

Fantastic Turkish psychedelia from the 70s -- the rare LP from Cem Karaca and his group Kardaslar -- with moody melodies and fuzzed out strings, blendded with more traditional Turkish sounds & rhythms! Those rhythms are totally arresting -- kind of hinting at funk sometimes in the way the ...

Killer work from the Syllart catalog of the 70s -- tunes that are neither rumba, nor rock -- but a strange hybrid of a number of different elements! Almost all the tracks here have a pronounced electric part -- not really fuzzy, or rockish -- but often played in a highly rhythmic way that also ...

Do yourself a favor, and buy this album -- you won't be disappointed! The record is a gem all the way through -- a really unique mixture of LA soul jazz and African rhythms, with a sound that's almost like Hugh Masekela sitting in with the Jazz Crusaders! Of course, there's a lot of Jazz ...

Wow! This is probably the rarest of the Juju/Oneness of Juju albums -- and it's also one of the best! Unlike their first album on Strata East, the group's a little bit more inside, and doesn't get lost in overindulgent avant garde solos. Instead, they groove hard with a deep warm sound, in ...

The roots of Congolese rumba -- served up here in a host of cool recordings from the 50s, in a package that really sheds new light on these under-exposed years of the genre! As you'd guess from the title, there's a fair bit of Latin rhythms at play here -- a key Cuban contribution back to the ...

An incredible collection from Honest Jons -- and like some of the rest of their best, music we never would have heard otherwise! The focus here is on calypso music, but recorded in West Africa -- not the usual Caribbean setting -- a very unusual strain of styles that cropped up in the fading ...

Balkan Beats galore -- a sweet set of remixes handled by Nickodemus, Dub Gabriel, and others -- all in a mode that follows strongly in the spirit and strengths of the originals! As with the core BBB grooves, the rhythms here are pretty contemporary, but the instrumentation carries echoes of older ...

Rhythmic early 60s global grooves from John Berberian -- a master of the oud with a great group of players on these oft intense takes traditional Turkish, Armenian and Arabic songs! The melodies and rhythms are pretty impressive -- the percussion is particularly heavy and groovy! The oud is out ...

Mindblowing funk from 70s Africa -- a collection that's overflowing with great rare bits! If you ever thought that the sound of Afro Funk was just Fela, Tony Allen, and Manu Dibango -- think again, because this set will really expand your horizons! The package was expertly selected, compiled, and ...

A rocketing bit of South African funky soul -- and of the few great records released on Ahmad Jamal's short-lived Jamal label! The session's a lot hipper than some of the South African work that was issued in the US around the same time -- and the feel here is almost more in a London post-colonial ...

Psychedelia from the dawn of the 70s South African combo Third Eye -- pretty excellent, tripped out guitars, organ and drums and vocals -- heavy in mood and sometimes in sound, too, but with a measured, heady approach. The guitars don't overwhelm the sound they way a lot of psyche relics do, with ...

Incredible grooves from the Indian film scene -- mod little numbers that are a fair bit different than most Bollywood work that usually shows up on CD! As the title implies, the work here is more in a nightclub mode than a funky one -- and the tunes are a great blend of romping rhythms, electric ...

One of a pair of excellent, rare psyche efforts from South African combo Third Eye from 1970 -- organ driven sounds, with some really strong lyricism and passionate vocals, some tripped out guitar, hard hitting drums and bass grooving with the organs! Lots of sharp wordplay, and sounds that range ...

Blistering work from Third Eye -- a group who were supposedly some of the hippest rockers on the South African scene at the start of the 70s -- a claim we definitely believe after hearing this great little record! The group have a way of jamming hard without going over the top -- psyche elements ...

One of the grooviest compilations we've ever seen -- a collection of work by American expatriates living in Israel at the end of the 70s -- a hip blend of US funk and Hebrew spirituality! Most of the work here sounds like the best spiritual funk of the 70s -- very much in an Earth Wind & Fire ...

Free soul -- and funky soul! The album's one of Letta's best ever, thanks to some nice chunky production from David Axelrod -- really kicking up the groove and helping Letta hit a righteous sound that's miles past her earlier recordings. The vocals are incredible -- lightly dancing with some ...