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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 ...

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 -- ...

One of Hugh's more poppy efforts, but still a nice batch of instrumentals with a good Afro soul groove to them, and the jaunty trumpet sound that was Hugh's stock in trade at the time. Tracks include "Actin' Like A Fool", "If I Needed Someone", "Sounds Of Silence", ...

Tripped-out, hypnotic grooves from Thailand -- music that's almost got a gamelon-like approach to building percussion, but which also features some very groovy guitar over the top! The sounds here are stark and highly percussive, but also quite melodic as well -- coming together with a compelling ...

Nice groovy Afro soul, recorded by Letta with some hip arrangements by Hugh Masekela. This record grooves much more nicely than her Capitol sessions, and includes some nice tracks that mix African rhythms with 60's LA pop soul production. Titles include "Qonqoza", "Macongo", ...

Pure insanity from the mighty Mulatu -- one of his few American albums from the 60s! The record's an incredible blend of New York Latin and some of the more Afro-styled grooves Mulatu explored more freely on his Ethiopian recordings -- served up in a jazzy style that has plenty of vibes in the mix ...

Never-reissued material by the legendary Mulatu -- and a sampler that capably lays out the range of his increasingly legendary work on two sides of 10-inch vinyl -- a fitting testament the genius and legacy of a true king of Ethiopian jazz and funk! You really can't describe the incredible music ...

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 ...

A surprisingly nice album for A&M, and one in which Letta's funky African soul style gets a bit more of an LA studio sound. The record features backing by a lot of well-known funky studio players, and Herb Alpert produced the record with a nice sound that still keeps Letta's rich voice in ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Malian funk indeed -- and just the sort of African sounds we really go crazy for! The grooves here are totally wonderful -- a skittish brew of percussion, guitar, and keyboards -- sometimes in straighter Afro Funk modes, sometimes with the other-worldly styles we might associate with Mulatu in the ...

Excellent stuff -- and a much-needed look at the funky 70s scene in Ghana! Much of the Afro Funk that's been revived over the past few years has come from the Nigerian scene -- so it's great to hear this set of funky tunes from Ghana, a rich selection of grooves with a slightly harder edge than ...

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 bold voice of a new Afro Funk ensemble -- jamming hard with an intensity that matches recent work by Antibalas or The Daktaris, and which stands proudly in a tradition that runs back to Fela's best work of the 70s! The group's extremely tight, and have a good funky edge -- and they've actually ...

A killer blend of Latin and African rhythms -- topped by Kante Manfila's amazing work on guitar, which is produced with a range of weird and wonderful sounds! There's a quality to this music that's beyond easy description -- a 60s blend of African roots and outside influences -- most strongly an ...

A fascinating collection of West African music recorded in England during the late 20s -- material done for the Zonophone label as part of a big wave of colonial immigration to London at the time! The package is one of the deepest-digging we've seen so far on the Honest Jon's label -- and 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 ...

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 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 ...

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 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

A wonderful follow up to one of our favorite compilations in recent years! London Is The Place For Me compiles the stylistically varied music coming from the emergent West Indian and African communities of 50s and 60s London -- far more than just the topical, and often quite whimsical calypso ...

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 incredible musical discovery -- and some really mindblowing grooves from a previously untapped source! As the title implies, Panama's a real crossroads of musical styles -- bits of Latin, funk, and other Caribbean influences -- all simmering together in the hot sun of the Isthmus, cooking up in ...

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 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 ...

One of the hippest collections of global grooves we've ever heard -- a side each of rare African and Caribbean tunes -- both of which sound a fair different than work we've had on other compilations! The African tunes break nicely from the standard Fela groove -- and stretch out with sometimes-comp ...

A great bit of jungle exotica from funky sitar player Ananda Shankar -- composed as a full piece with an "atmosphere of twilight and the feeling of watching animals at a water hole", but with a sweeping soundtracky feel that makes it more like some lost 70s film gem in the best places! ...

A set that could well be to the African scene what Rio Baile Funk was to Brazil -- a groundbreaking collection of recent urban music styles, brought together in a way that helps give them wider exposure to the rest of the world! The styles here are a far cry from more traditional African modes -- ...

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 ...

Heavy funk from the Bahamas -- a whole bunch of groups that will show you that Nassau had a lot more to offer than The Beginning Of The End! The groove here is totally wonderful -- somewhat like American funk of the late 60s and early 70s, but served up with some very unusual rhythmic patterns too ...

A different sound than usual for Ananda Shankar -- but still pretty darn great! The record's dedicated to his father, dance expert Uday Shankar -- and it's got a sound that's sparer and more soundtrack-like than some of Ananda's more famous funk work of earlier years. The overall approach is ...

One of the original albums that went into the Soul Messages From Dimona album on Numero -- a rare bit of American soul in Israel from the 70s! Most of the work here sounds like the best spiritual funk of the 70s -- very much in an Earth Wind & Fire tradition of joy, love, and life -- played in ...

An excellent album of balaphon work from Ghana -- very spare, very moody, and recorded with wonderful clarity throughout! There's a hauntingly repetitive quality to these tracks that almost reminds us of some of the work by Phil Cohran in Chicago at the end of the 60s -- and Lobi's instrument has ...

After the success of his first Drums Of Passion set on Columbia, Babatunde Olatunji went even more drum-crazy for this second set -- which features no less than 9 percussionists, plus a host of singers performing hard heavy tunes with a pretty strong African tinge. The material's not totally ...

Do yourself a favor, and splurge on 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 ...

A killer album of Afro Funky tracks, and certainly one of Olatunji's best! The record was recorded in the early 70s, and it features Olatunji breaking past his usual heavy blend of African percussion, into a vein that's a lot more tinged with jazz and soul touches. He gets some great help on the ...

A classic session of pounding percussion -- quite possibly the most successful entry into this earthy genre that hit the recording scene at the end of the 50s! Babatunde Olatunji is joined here by a great assemblage of players -- including Montego Joe and Baba Hawthorne Bey on percussion, who ...

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 mid 70s effort from Hugh Maskela, recorded in Nigeria, an excellent melding of his jazz inflected pop sound with some deeper soulful grooves. The vibe here is showing both some funk and disco influences, but with trademark South African style melodies floating over top and a dedication to Fela, ...