Global Grooves -- Recently Added -- CD  

Forget the "rock" in the title, and just focus on the "funk" -- because this set of tracks is a massively heavy batch of Nigerian numbers from the 70s -- all with the same solidly soulful feel as more familiar Afro Funk work of the time! There's a definite emphasis on guitars -- ...

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 ...

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 ...

More Afro Funk than the soul jazz you might guess from the group's name -- but that's OK with us, because the record's plenty darn great! Souljazz Orchestra are one of the best of the current wave of Afro combos to hail from Canada -- and they manage to get an incredible full sound from a ...

A wonderful collection of work from Balla Et Ses Balladins -- one of the leading group on the Guinean scene during its "authenticite" years of the 60s and 70s -- presented here in a massive 2CD package of their work for the Syliphone label! The group have a really wide-ranging approach ...

Les Amazones De Guinee are something of an institution in African music -- a decades-old group who've spanned the continent with their progressively political message -- yet this album's only the combo's second, and should give them much-needed exposure to a larger audience! The rhythms here are ...

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 ...

The great first album from Ayetoro -- the African-styled ensemble led by keyboardist Funsho Ogundipe, who works here exclusively on Fender Rhodes! The styles certainly owe a fair bit to the Afro Funk years of the 70s -- but their execution is a lot more sophisticated, and the album resonates ...

Lovely work from Tabu Ley, aka Rochereau -- a singer who definitely earns the "voice of lightness" title on this set! Tabu's style isn't light in a soft of mellow way -- but it's got a wonderfully floating sort of quality -- a way of staying on top of the percussion and guitars that back ...

A great collection of classic Congolese rhumba work from the 50s and 60s -- music that has some elements of the Cuban style of the genre, but which really takes off on its own in whole new ways! The guitar is an essential part of the rhythms here -- dancing along with percussion at a level that ...

A 2CD overview of work from the years of Guinea's cultural revolution -- a time when the government sought to unify and direct the newly independent nation through a host of regional and national musical programs! Although potentially domineering, the rare effort was actually somewhat liberating -- ...

More than just one day on Radio Mali -- given that the 2CD set features two full decades of recordings -- but a great overview of the styles that flowed freely in Mali during the initial years of independence -- in modes both rootsy and more contemporary! Some of the work here was recorded by ...

A great overview of Senegalese music in the first few decades of independence -- work that represents an amazing transformation in styles, and which has gone onto become some of the most influential African work of the 70s! The collection starts out in relatively rootsy territory -- music that ...

An incredible leap forward for Antibalas -- a record filled with bolder sounds and deeper grooves than ever before -- and one that even tops the already-great sound of their previous albums! The mix of modes here is really amazing -- some of the group's familiar Afro-Funk at the core, but also a ...

Middle Eastern rock and psychedelic grooves from the John Berberrian -- who leads his tight group on the oud over highly rhythmic percussion, thumping bass, some clarinet and saxes, and fuzz-toned guitar on this mostly instrumental set -- one that's as groovy as the cover photo! The cultural basis ...

2 stunners -- back to back on one CD! "JJD (Johnny Just Drop)" is a great live track recorded in 1977 at Fela's own Kalakuta Republic -- and it's a great number that begins casually, with Fela talking a bit, introducing the conga player, before the band goes wild on the cut, an extended ...

One of the best new Afro Funk albums we've heard in years -- a tremendous effort from percussionist Lekan Babalola, served up with a full bonus disc of remix material! The core grooves here are a fair bit jazzier than most other efforts of this type -- still with heavy percussion from Lekan, but ...

An excellent live set from Fela -- one that shows that he was still very capable of going over the top during the 80s! The material was recorded in 1983 in Amsterdam, live before a very enthusiastic crowd -- one that really drives Fela and the group on their instrumental solos and funky grooves. ...

A tremendous compilation of rare work by one of the hippest African groups of the 70s -- the mighty Orchestra Baobab, a combo who wove together many different strands of jazz, funk, and soul! The tunes here are all live ones -- recorded in the mid 70s in the group's home turf at Club Baobab, and ...

An awe-inspiring batch of material from the great Guinean jazz giants Bembeya Jazz National -- a compilation of tracks from throughout the legendary orchestra's career -- a great blend of Afro Cuban rhythms, excellent string arrangements and breathtaking solos with elements of Latin and psychedelic ...

A great little assortment of material from Dakar's mighty Orchestra Baobab -- one of the greatest global groups of the past several decades -- and a set that combines the group's drivingly rhythmic strings and percussion, and cross cultural groove! The stylistic blend of traditional Senegalese ...

A fantastic batch of Nigerian funk from the great Orlando Julius -- some of the most dynamic Afrobeat recordings ever made! These recordings document Orlando's years with his band the Afro Sounders, which evolved from his earlier band the Modern Aces in the mid 60s, and following his titanic 1966 ...

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 ...

Probably the best collection of Indian funk we've ever heard! The set compiles tracks from the Bollywood "brownsploitation" era of the 70s, but unlike some of the other compilations of this nature, the tracks are not remixed or buried in bad recording quality of film stock. Instead, ...

Weird and wonderful music from an array of rare Thai records -- much of which clearly owes something to Anglo pop of the same generation, but which often comes off with a really weird feel overall! Apart from the language difference, there's also a slightly off-kilter style to most of the ...

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 ...

Funky tracks from Indian films! The collection's the best so far of similar sets on the market -- like Doob Doob O Rama or Bombay The Hard Way -- and the tracks are really really funky, not just novelties from an out of the way source. The liner notes are a bit scarce, but we can promise that ...

A smoking lost Afrobeat LP! According to the notes EMI turned this album down when it was recorded in 1971, and we can't imagine what they were thinking. Two lengthy tracks that follow in the Fela template, the awesome title track rolling along at a nice laid back tempo with a prominent Rhodes ...

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 ...

A great dip into the legendary catalog of the Ethiopiques series -- and one that attempts to bring together some of the most groove-heavy tracks from the collection! The series has been going for over a decade -- and is well-known for bringing amazing other-worldly sounds to a much wider audience - ...

The second volume of Buda's excellent Angola series! This collection focuses on the semba, the indigenous dance form that influenced Brazilian samba, as well as the deeply soulful lamentos akin to Cape Verdean morna, popularized in the west by the great Bonga, who appears here. The jaunty semba ...

A really tremendous little collection -- arguably the best batch of Bollywood tunes we've ever seen together in one place! Of course, we're probably a bit biased -- as this set goes for tracks that have a modder, funkier approach than most -- one that really gets at the "brownsploitation" ...

The 9th volume in this incredible series -- and they're still going strong! The groove here is a mixture of funky tunes and more jazz-driven numbers -- wonderful work from Ethiopia in the early 70s, with a range of influences that's incredibly hard to describe. There's bits of James Brown funk, ...

A fantastic record from one of the greatest underground jazz groups of the 70s! Oneness of Juju are perhaps best known for the heavy funk of their first album, African Rhythms, but we're actually partial to this second album -- a warmly spiritual batch of soul jazz tracks, filled with life, ...

Prepare to be blown away! The second volume of the excellent new Zanzibara series focuses on taraab music recorded on the tiny island-city of Momabasa -- off the Kenyan coast -- for the Mzuri label between 1965-1975. Unlike the more traditional, languorous taraab made in nearby Zanzibar, Mombasa ...

One of our favorite compilations in this amazing series -- a killer batch of 70s funk from Ethiopia! The instrumental grooves are very much in the style of the best American work at the time -- like tracks by James Brown or Kool & The Gang -- but the vocals have this amazing other-worldly feel ...

One of the most striking volumes of this great series -- a special edition of Ethiopiques that focuses on the mad saxophone work of Getachew Makurya! The recordings on this set are all from 1972 -- and they feature the deep-toned Mekurya blowing in a strange and otherworldly tone, usually over ...

A second great look at one of the hippest cats to ever grace the Ethiopiques series -- vocalist Alemayehu Eshete -- possibly second only to Mulatu for his appeal to funk and soul fans in the 21st century! Alemayehu's got a voice that's completely heavenly -- a sound that's got slight bluesy ...

One of the most wonderful collaborations we've heard in the Ethiopiques series so far -- a set that mixes instrumentation from a cool French combo with vocals from Ethiopian singer Etenesh Wassie! Le Tigre have a groove that's rooted in jazz, driven by some rockish energy, and focused into more ...

The third volume in Buda's superb Angola series chronicles one of the country's most potent musical eras! The tracks here were produced during a period of deep political uncertainty, as three different factions vied for power. A failed 1974 coup left many of the performers included on this great ...

Great early work from King Sunny Ade -- presented here for the first time ever outside of Nigeria, and offering a key look at this part of his career! The style here is much looser and less structured than on his more famous albums issued later in the US -- a groove that's still great, but ...

Tremendous early work from King Sunny Ade -- tunes that are relatively spare, but heavy on the guitar -- all recorded here in an echoey way that's really great! Most numbers have vocals sung by members of the group -- chanted in collaboration and moving with the loping rhythms of the tunes, in a ...

A series of extended song medleys from Nigerian musician Idowu Animashaun -- tracks that mix together wispy guitar, light percussion, and vocals that playfully deal with a variety of themes! The style here isn't nearly as heavy-hitting as that of Idowu's 70s contemporaries -- especially those on ...

One of the greatest grooves from the legendary Desco Records years -- a brilliant album of modern Afro Funk done by The Daktaris -- in a groove that's just as hard-hitting as any of Fela's work from the 70s! The album was one of the first to bring back an older African style to current funk -- and ...

Excellent and hard to get Fuji music from Nigeria. Unlike Highlife and Ju Ju, the Fuji style is more stripped down, with just vocals and percussion, but with some melodic elements in the rhythm parts contibuted by talking drums. Like other Nigerian styles, the shorter segments are woven into ...

A raft of sunny beats from King Sunny Ade and his African Beats! All of the Ju Ju elements are firmly in place here: call and response vocal lines and guitar melodies, shimmering percussion driving the tracks and talking drum interjections punctuating the Afro pop groove. Like the other discs ...

Another great early Sunny Ade disc from the vaults of the African Songs label! Once again not long on liner notes, we're using our ears to guide us on this journey back through time to the vibrant sounds that emanated from Lagos back in the day. Chirping guitars trade off with vocal choruses over ...

Mindblowing work from Mahmoud Ahmed -- one of the key figures of Ethiopian music in the 70s, and a singer with a voice that's beyond compare! The sound here is extremely hard to describe -- at one level grooving with some of the funk and jazz undercurrents of the work of Mulatu, but at another ...

Very nice compilation of some of the best of Manu Dibango's afro funky tracks from the early 70's! The folks at Unidisc licensed this stuff from Musidisc in France, and the set's got a lot of killer hard funky tracks, like the hit "Soul Makossa", plus "O Boso", "Pepe ...

Volume 6 of the fantastic Ethiopiques series is an expanded re-issue of the first lp by Mahmoud Ahmed plus his first single from 1971. While not as clearly influenced by American soul and jazz, there are a few funky cuts that are pretty nice! Most of these songs flow with a groove unique to ...