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A compilation of Ghana music like we've never seen before -- and straight up beautifully put together by Soundway -- 70s sounds that fused regional traditions with boundary free soul, rhythm & blues, and rock! Ghana in the 1970s was in a transition from a more prosperous, and less militarily ...

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 ...

One of the coolest Afro Funk groups of the 70s -- and an outfit who definitely earn the "poly rhythmic" in their name! TP Orchestre have a jagged, jaunty sound that's totally great -- really playfully rhythmic, in a way that breaks from the mold of most of their 70s contemporaries on the ...

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 -- ...

One of the most incredible African collections we've ever heard -- almost more amazing than the African Scream Contest set from the same label! The package focuses on work by Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo De Cotonou -- a group who really live up to their name, by bringing in a host of complicated rhythms ...

Funky African work from Fred Fisher -- a Nigerian trombonist who crafted his own unique groove at the end of the 70s! Fred both sings and plays trombone -- the latter with a Fred Wesley-like soulfulness -- and his rhythms here are really wide-ranging, and embrace a host of new styles coming into ...

An incredible record -- even if it was a worldwide hit! Before this one came out, Manu was a funky sax player grooving away in Cameroun, cutting tight but obscure soulful sides. In 1972, though, he exploded with the track "Soul Makossa" -- a choppy hard-riffing number that blew up on ...

One of the most roosty albums on Blue Note -- and a fairly straight session of African percussion tracks by Solomon Ilori and his Afro Drum Ensemble. Unlike similar albums by Art Blakey, this one lacks any strong sort of jazz component -- and really just features fairly straight African tracks, ...

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A really mind-bending collection of African grooves -- one that digs deep into the West African scene of the early 70s -- and comes up with a massive batch of tunes that really opens up our understanding of the music! The sound here isn't just 70s Afro Funk -- as the tunes include a range of ...

The first album by the group that later went on to become Oneness Of Juju! The album was recorded with a group that featured Plunky Nakabinde and Lon Moshe on reeds and percussion -- plus Babatunde on congas and drums -- and the overall sound is very much in kind of an Art Ensemble Of Chicago mode ...

Hugh's first album for Uni -- and one that really lets him open up his groove! The record moves way past the short trumpet instrumental sound of earlier albums -- into a complex groove that mixes Afro soul, LA funk, and loads of nice jazzy bits! The record's got a sound that's nicely messed up -- ...

Heady work from the Ngozi Family -- a Zambian rock band that was the first to be dubbed as "Zamrock" -- a cool fusion of older African rhythms and 70s rockish modes -- never too polished, but with a tightness that might have made Anglo groups up in London sit up and take notice! The ...

Like so many other Caribbean nations, Trinidad had a large emigrant populace in London, who'd brought their musical traditions with them. This set, highlighting calypso numbers recorded in England in the early 50s, is filled with the sort of bouncey, good time numbers that helped bring the music ...

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 -- ...

A global funk gem from Lightning Head, aka Glyn "Bigga" Bush of Rockers Hi Fi -- an artist who takes a surprising, truly funky, and wholly credible left turn into Afrobeat! Lightning Head doesn't forsake the electro grooves of earlier work so much as steep it very heavily in organic ...

Yes!! It's as if the folks at Honest Jon's have unearthed a great lost Fela session, and for all intents and purposes, they have! Mr Big Mouth is a session written and led by trumpeter Tunde Williams, a mainstay in Fela's group for many years and one of the most distinctive voices in the horn ...

One of the jazziest bits of Afro Funk we've heard in a long time -- thanks to some excellent work on piano and keyboards by group leader Funsho Ogundipe! Funsho's not content to just copy some Fela-inspired groove -- and although there's definitely a skittish sense of Nigerian rhythms in these ...

A collection of tracks that amount to some of incredibly deep audio archaeology -- a wonderful, consciousness wakening collection of globe spanning 78s from the first half of the 20th Century -- all from the darkest corners of the EMI Vaults! Honest Jons does an impressive job of collecting ...

The 4th entry in the amazing London Is The Place for me -- a seemingly endless collection of some incredible work from the postwar post-colonial years in the UK! As with other volumes, there's an array of Carribean and African influences at work here -- often highly rhythmic and performed with ...

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 ...

An incredible batch of African funk and heavily percussive groove -- featuring a varied, yet cohesive selection of tunes that run deeper than most compilations! Lagos Chop Up manages to work a little bit of magic in its overall consistency -- the tracklist features tunes from the mid 60s all the ...

A stellar batch of Afro funk and native groove from Lagos! Strains of western funk and soulful sounds work their way into the material -- thanks again to Fela's mighty influence -- but there's a lot more to it! Simmering along with the Afro funk and soul are some truly riveting native folk sounds ...

An excellent album of hard percussion tracks from congolero Guem -- recorded in Sao Paulo in 1982, with accompaniment on djembe, bonga, and assorted other percussion instruments. The tracks are spare, but very driving -- with tight rhythms on all cuts, which has made the album quite sought-after ...

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 ...

Essential work from the African scene of the 70s -- a collection of tracks that goes way beyond the more familiar grooves of Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango! The set may well be the deepest so far we've heard from the always-amazing Soundway Records -- a package that digs into a wealth of under-heard ...

Get ready to discover a whole new realm of African Funk -- because this collection digs deeper than any we've ever had before! The mighty Soundway Records have come up with a blistering batch of grooves that push way past the bigger hits on the global scene -- to the real roots of the Afro Funk ...

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 ...

A fantastic bit of Afro funky soul -- one of a few albums recorded by the legendary Lafayette Afro Rock Band! The set has an incredible blend of American funk, African rhythms, and European production -- recorded in the heady cross-cultural scene of early 70s Paris -- with a sound that's often ...

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 ...

The second album from Mombasa -- and possibly even better than the first! The group have really come into their own by the time of this date -- mixing together jazz and African roots with a sound that's unlike anyone else we can think of -- quite unique in its approach to rhythms, sounds, and ...

Massive work from this funky Nigerian cat -- a set that offers up a key mix of James Brown funk and home-grown elements -- all in a blend that's totally unique! The 1970 album mixes together equal parts African highlife and American soul -- making for a style that's heavy one minute, lighter the ...

A sweet set of grooves from Sir Warrior -- a record that seems to combine older high life modes with some of the electrified energy of the Nigerian Afro Funk scene of the 70s -- a very hip blend that's spun out here over the course of two side-long tracks! Instrumentation is heavy on guitar -- as ...

A heavy juju set from Chief Brigadier Oluoni -- working here in a version of the style that's much grittier than mainstream recordings you might know! The record features one "Juju Marathon System Jam" that spans the course of both sides -- a very offbeat version of the juju groove that ...

Incredible! This is a stunning set of African-inspired jazzy percussion tracks -- similar to some of the work done by Art Blakey on his Orgy In Rhythm albums, but with a lot better horn work, and with an overall conception that's much more unified! AK Salim did some sleepier work for Savoy in the ...

Groovy Eastern sounds from John Berberian -- a musician we know from more rockish projects, but who steps out here on a relatively traditional set of tunes! As you'd guess from the title, Berberian's instrument is the oud -- that weird stringed instrument we probably know best from Ahmed Abdul-Mali ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

Great stuff from global funk phenoms Nomo -- deftly blending Afro steeped funk with an astral reach -- with more of a spiritual jazz influence and off kilter avant touches! Invisible Cities arrives just about a year since their breakthrough Ghost Rock opened so many doors, and although ...

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 ...

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 ...