The solo debut of Eric Boss – a singer you might know as part of the duo of Myron & E – who gave us some great harmony soul records on Stones Throw and Timmion! Here, Eric is a much straighter soul singer overall – working with a sharp funky punch in the backings, with plenty of Mighty Mocambo help that you'd guess from the record's placement on their label! Tunes move nicely between 60s and 70s funky soul modes, but often with a more complex, contemporary vibe on the rhythms – and although the set features guest work from Gizelle Smith and Gift Of Gab, Eric hardly needs any help to make a strong statement on his own. Titles include "Bad Luck", "Closer To The Spirit", "I Wanna Ride", "Spiders", "Get Next To You", "Forward", "Merry Jane", and "Your Life Is Up To You". CD features the bonus track "The Turning Point" – with Ishtar. CD

A fantastic album from this groundbreaking Latin combo from Chicago – one who've got an inclusive spirit that grabs together so many different elements of music and unifies them as one! The style isn't quite salsa, isn't Latin rock or jazz – but instead has so many strands of sounds coming together at once – not colliding, but really merging and making something beautiful and new in the process – always with a sound that's proud, righteous, and very aware of its power to change! In a time of borders and boundaries, the approach is especially welcome – and it's our guess that we'll be hearing plenty from Dos Santos in years to come. The album features some guest work from the Antibalas horns, arranged by Nick Mazzarella – plus cornet from Ben LaMar Gay – on titles that include "Cordva", "Purisma", "Manos Ajenas", "How Far Are We From Here", "You Are My Revolution", "Caminante", "Logos", "Return Y Regreso", and "Acabame". (Latin, Deep Funk) CD

British saxophonist Art Themen played on some killer records back in the day – including modern classics from Stan Tracey and Graham Collier – and here, he brings his legendary sound to a project with the younger Greg Foat – an artist who's always doing great things to open up the boundaries of the music, and provided a wonderful showcase for Themen's well-crafted lines! The album's got some of the sunny sparkle you might guess from the cover, but it's definitely a jazz record at the core, and not some sort of advertisement for a vacation in Aspen – glistening with all the hip keyboard lines and electronics we love in Foat's other music, and warmed up nicely by saxophone lines from Art that give the whole thing plenty of soul. Titles include "Fresh Snow", "Off Piste", "Sis No Hyp", "Yrsno", "Apres Ski", and "La Partida". (Jazz, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant return from the Hot 8 Brass Band – a New Orleans combo who take tradition into some great funky new territory! As you'd guess from their name, the instrumentation is heavy on brass – played with a gritty, soulful edge – in the way you'd find during some street performance in a corner far from the mainstream Quarter – sometimes accompanied by ensemble vocals, and almost always driven by these great rhythms at the bottom – more than funky enough to set even the heaviest horns on fire with their energy. Titles include "Bingo Bango", "Fine Tuner", "Steamin Blues", "Can't Hide From The Truth", "New Orleans (After The City)", and a nice remake of The Specials' "Ghost Town". CD

A masterpiece in fuzzy funk from this large Estonian collective – a group who work here with sharp production from Misha Panfilov, with a sound that's every bit as weird and wonderful as all the other projects he's given us over the years! The group do a wonderful job of blending psychedelic guitar with heavy drums and heady basslines – music that's freaky in all the right parts, but never forgets to be funky either – and which sounds much more like the tight energy of a small combo than you'd guess from the large number of musicians on the cover! As with some of Misha's other recordings, there's some great electric moments here that really create a spacey sort of vibe next to the funkier energy at the core – on titles that include "Bullet Fast", "How Do You Swim At Night", "Stompin & Mortorikn", "5000 Hailstones", "Matti Pellonpaa", "Merman", and "Neanderthal Rock". LP, Vinyl record album

Not just a live album from the great soul singer Myles Sanko, but one that showcases his talents with a full orchestral setting – as you might guess from the image on the cover! The setting unlocks this new sort of majesty in Myles' music – this soaring sensibility that's a real reward to all of us who've been following his music for years – and which is an equal treasure to those just discovering Sanko for the first time! The orchestrations never overwhelm his vocals – and instead they have this way of pushing out the sound even more – a richness in sound that Myles can't help but respond to – on titles that include "Come On Home", "This Ain't Living", "Forget Me Not", "My Inspiration", "Just Being Me", "Forever Dreaming", "High On You", and "Light In My Hand". (Neo Soul, Deep Funk) CD

Not just a live album from the great soul singer Myles Sanko, but one that showcases his talents with a full orchestral setting – as you might guess from the image on the cover! The setting unlocks this new sort of majesty in Myles' music – this soaring sensibility that's a real reward to all of us who've been following his music for years – and which is an equal treasure to those just discovering Sanko for the first time! The orchestrations never overwhelm his vocals – and instead they have this way of pushing out the sound even more – a richness in sound that Myles can't help but respond to – on titles that include "Come On Home", "This Ain't Living", "Forget Me Not", "My Inspiration", "Just Being Me", "Forever Dreaming", "High On You", and "Light In My Hand". (Neo Soul, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album

The Tibbs serve up a very classic style of soul – as you might guess from the retro image on the cover – very 60s-oriented, with hard-driving rhythms from the group's well-crafted lineup, all topped with mighty dynamic vocals from lead singer Roxanne! And sure, this isn't new territory for the market – but The Tibbs do it a lot better than most, and the vocals, horns, and grooves all come together with a sharper focus and real commitment to the sound than most other groups who are swimming in the same water. Titles include "For Lack Of Better Words", "Give Me Reason", "Chicken Bones", "Rafaela", "Guess I'm Guilty", "Last Train", and "In Orbit". CD

The Tibbs serve up a very classic style of soul – as you might guess from the retro image on the cover – very 60s-oriented, with hard-driving rhythms from the group's well-crafted lineup, all topped with mighty dynamic vocals from lead singer Roxanne! And sure, this isn't new territory for the market – but The Tibbs do it a lot better than most, and the vocals, horns, and grooves all come together with a sharper focus and real commitment to the sound than most other groups who are swimming in the same water. Titles include "For Lack Of Better Words", "Give Me Reason", "Chicken Bones", "Rafaela", "Guess I'm Guilty", "Last Train", and "In Orbit". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic extension of the Jazz Is Dead series – a run of records that's already got a wonderfully collaborative vibe, which is taken even further with these tracks! As you might guess from the title, the album features remixes of cuts from the previous nine volumes – and the choice of remixers is really top-shelf – a great run of talents who now add their voices to the stunning sounds created by the host of famous jazz/funk talents who worked alongside Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad in the studio! Every track has a nicely different vibe, but not in a way that's schizophrenic – as the music really opens up from the sounds at the core, while still holding onto them as well. Titles include "Gotta Love Again (Kaidi Tatham rmx)" with Marcos Valle, "Soulful & Unique (Pink Sifu rmx)" with Roy Ayers, "Soulsea (Cut Chemist rmx)" with Gary Bartz, "Redor Do Samba (DJ Spinna rmx)" with Azymuth, "Liasons (Diabiase rmx)" with Joao Donato, "Nancy Wilson (Shigeto rmx)" with Brian Jackson, "Windfall (Natureboy Flako rmx)" with Doug Carn, and "Jazz Is Dead (Georgia Anne Muldrow geemix)" with The Midnight Hour. CD

Fantastic work from Durand Jones & The Indications – a group who've really come a long way in the past few years – in ways that push Durand's vocals to places we wouldn't have guessed on previous records! This set's way more than just a funk band with a soul singer upfront – as the whole thing's a fully-formed soul record through and through – with these larger arrangements that really add a lot, and open up all these righteous 70s currents mixed with a few contemporary flourishes that really give the album a very distinct sound! The songwriting is even better than before, too – and the group seems to have found a voice for themselves that's unlike any of their contemporaries. The record features guest work from Brandee Younger on harp and Joel Ross on vibes – and titles include "Love Will Work It Out", "Witchoo", "Reach Out", "Sexy Thang", "More Than Ever", "Private Space", "Sea Of Love", "I Can See", and "Ride Or Die". CD

Fantastic work from Durand Jones & The Indications – a group who've really come a long way in the past few years – in ways that push Durand's vocals to places we wouldn't have guessed on previous records! This set's way more than just a funk band with a soul singer upfront – as the whole thing's a fully-formed soul record through and through – with these larger arrangements that really add a lot, and open up all these righteous 70s currents mixed with a few contemporary flourishes that really give the album a very distinct sound! The songwriting is even better than before, too – and the group seems to have found a voice for themselves that's unlike any of their contemporaries. The record features guest work from Brandee Younger on harp and Joel Ross on vibes – and titles include "Love Will Work It Out", "Witchoo", "Reach Out", "Sexy Thang", "More Than Ever", "Private Space", "Sea Of Love", "I Can See", and "Ride Or Die". LP, Vinyl record album

Juliette Pearl has a really charming way with her music – singing in this lightly skipping voice that's perfect for the blend of beats and keyboards in the instrumentation – but also adding in some sweet touches on flute and electronics too! The whole thing's got the sort of sunny Cali vibe you'd guess from the cover and the title – a sweet modern update on old school modes from the AOR generation – but recorded in bedroom studios, which keeps the whole thing from avoiding any too-produced or commercial cliches – and which instead really focuses on the best elements of that moment that some of the younger generation have helped resurrect! Titles include "Pacific Ave", "Timetron", "Paraiso", "Vicarious Voyage", "Loading Screen", "Space Coast", and "Read The Room" – which features Laetitia Sadier from Stereolab. LP, Vinyl record album