A weird and wonderful collection of tracks – funk, soul, and plenty more – all put together without any sort of boundaries or focus – which makes the whole thing one hell of a groovy record! The set's one of the flagship titles for the Seth Rogan-owned Houseplant label – one of their few vinyl releases, designed to fit in with the lifestyle of their other products – but even without that pedigree, there's plenty of great and well-chosen cuts here – and the assortment makes the whole thing way different than any standard funky compilation! Titles include "Good News" by Eamon, "Together (down dumbing rmx)" by Quel Maker, "Night Dancer" by Split Decision Band, "Leave My Beat Alone" by Raw Soul & Dorsey Brockington, "Cars That Go Boom" by L'Trimm, "Green & Money (good woman rmx)" by Maker Bishop Lamont, "Ombele" by Karl Hector & The Malcouns, "Blister In The Sun" by Violent Femmes, "Beat 100" by Benny Sings and Cola Boyy, "Pimp" by Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, "Oxtanding" by Roc C, "Summer Madness SA" by Karriem Riggins, "Come & Get Your Love" by Family Tree, "Love Dub" by World Quake Band, and "Drop" by The Pharcyde. LP, Vinyl record album

From the end of the 70s onward, the Italian Black Saint record label offered up some of the most high quality spiritual and avant jazz of the time – really taking over where American record companies had dropped the ball, and allowing a huge wave of new energy from both older musicians and a younger generation who might never have gotten the right level of exposure, had Black Saint (and related Soul Note imprint) stepped into the scene! This package offers up some of the coolest cuts from Black Saint – and has an especially strong focus on the work that the label did to carry forward older spiritual sounds, especially those first unlocked on Impulse Records – a legacy that really comes through strongly here. Titles include "Love On A Far Away Planet" and "Mayan Temples" by Sun Ra, "Song For Mozambique/Sea Of Faces" by Archie Shepp, "Guitar Vibes" by Karl Berger, "Tap Dancer" by Oliver Lake, "Ode To The Flower Maiden" by John Carter, "Mama Marimba" by Joseph Jarman and Donh Moye, "Sixth Sense" by Don Pullen, "Hattie Wall" by World Saxophone Quartet, "Laja" by Muhal Richard Abrams, and "Metamusician's Stomp" by Andrew Cyrille & Maono. LP, Vinyl record album

The long-awaited third volume Original Raw Soul – a set that pulls together rare funky soul singles by the revolving roster of players led by the Whitefield Brothers – singles that ultimately became just as rare as the obscure funk 45s that inspired them! Nowadays, The Whitefield Brothers, their Poets Of Rhythm and associated acts can be credited for spurring the funk & raw soul revival of the 00s onward. At the time, some of the singles would appear and be hyped as reissues of regional rarities from back in the day – and they're so damn authentic, it was pretty easy to believe! Straight up raw funk instros, some jazzier gems with flute and female vox, organ-drenched jams and more credited to New Process, Poets Of Rhythm, Karl Hector & The Malcouns, Bajka, Whitefield Brothers, Polyversal Souls and more! Includes "Bus People Theme" and "Freedom" by New Process, "Summer Days (Instrumental)" and "Flight To St Vincent" by Poets Of Rhythm, ""Will Power" and "Money For Born, Money For Die" by Transgressors (both previously unreleased), "A Vision" and "The Only Religion That I Believe" by Bajka, "$600 Song" by Mercy Sluts, "Muswell Hill Run" by Polyversal Souls, "The Bastard" by Whitefield Brothers and more. CD

The legendary Studio One label recorded some of the hippest singers on the Kingston scene from the late 60s onward – and one of the ways they made them sound especially great was to use some of the city's coolest musicians on the sessions, and also give them some space to cut some key instrumentals of their own! The cuts here represent a time when Jamaican music was really hitting its stride with a really unique vibe – and these groups have really shifted from the sort of jazz, mento, or calypso that instrumental groups were cutting in the early part of the 60s – to work in ska, rocksteady, and early reggae modes that offer up a perfect blend of heavy rhythms and standout solo instrumentation! The package brings together 19 tracks from these glory days at Studio One – and titles include "Heavenless" by Don Drummond, "Bugaloo" by Soul Bros, "Black Up" by Karl Bryan & Count Ossie, "Still Calling" by Soul Defenders, "Namibia" by Liberation Group, "Sidewalk Doctor" by Jackie Mittoo & Brentford Rockers, "Heavy Rock" by Sound Dimension, "Money Generator" by Karl Bryan & The Afrokats, "Jericho Skank" by Jackie Mittoo & Ernest Ranglin, and "Ringo Rock" by The Soul Vendors. (Reggae, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

A totally fresh take on French sounds of the late 60s – served up here with a sound that's as revolutionary as the image on the cover! This isn't the dreamy strings of familiar Paris in the Spring – but instead, the sound of change that happened in and around 1968 – as a whole new generation of younger French musicians, singers, artists, and intellectuals were really making themselves known in bold new ways! You'll recognize a few names here – like Serge Gainsbourg or Brigitte Fontaine – but the collection goes way beyond those bigger names, and features loads of obscure artists from the scene that will be a real revelation. The collection was done by the same Saint Etienne team that gave us the excellent English Weather and Songs For The Carnegie Deli compilations on Ace – and titles include "L'Elu" by Ilous & Decuyper, "La Metaphore" by Jacques Dutronc, "Looking For You" by Nin Ferrer, "Chanson D'Un Jour D'Hiver" by Cortex, "Couleurs" by Leonie, "Leslie Simone" by William Sheller, "Litanies" by Triangle, "Baleines" by Francois De Roubaix, "Lileth" by Leonie, "Ystor" by Ys, "Chanson Pour Que Tu M'Aimes U Peu" by France Gall, "Le Victime" by Karl Heinz Schafer, "Les Adventures Extraordinaires D'Un Ballet De Banque" by Bernard Lavilliers, "Helicoptere" by Mireille Darc, "Les Garde Violent Au Secours Du Roi (alt version)" by Jean Claude Vannier, and "La Chanson D'Helene" by Romy Schneider & Michel Piccoli. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic rare Italian grooves from sound library and soundtrack sources – work by I Comonenti, Orchestra MC Karl, Riz Ortolani, I Bisaquei, Carlo Cordara, Albatros, and others! CD

Heavy funk from 70s Turkey – proof that the world of the groove knew no boundaries at the time! The tunes here are all pretty heavily influenced by American funk and jazz of the period – awash in heavy beats, tight riffing, and wicked instrumentation that's often produced with a nice gritty edge that really matches the intensity of some of the best funky 45s! But the work also features a fair bit of Eastern influences as well – either in use of specific instruments, sounds, and phrasing – or the occasional Turkish vocals which really help freshen the groove. Side one is all funk – and very dirty, nasty, and with beats a lot heavier than you'd expect – and side two is jazz, but not your usual Anglo jazz from the time – and more in the world/jazz crossover style explored by labels like MPS! The whole thing's totally great – a record you'll proudly stack next to your best Mulatu albums, but which will take you even further! Titles include "Hilal" by Durul Gence 10, "Senlik" by Erol Peckan, "Cecen Kizi" by Emin Findikoglu, "Sevemek Istiyorum" by Erkut Tackin, "Karli Daglar" by Erkin Koray, "Aybatti (edit)" by Fikret Kizilok, "Dolana Dolana" by Mustafa Okzent Ve Orkestrasi, "Bermuda Seytan Ucgeni" by Aksu Orkestrasi, and "Kopruden Gecti Gelin" by Ferdi Ozbegen. LP, Vinyl record album

Very groovy! This series never stops being great – and this 7th volume is a stunning set of mellow jazzy grooves, with kind of a slight 60s easy bent to them! The list of tracks is very nice, with many light lilting groovers – including a number with a good Brazilian feel to them. Titles include "Misturada" by Kjeli Ohman, "A Starlett For You" by Andre Luterau, "Samba Para Norma" by Joel Wanroogenbroek, "Summertime" by Herb Alpert, "We've Only Just Begun" by Frank Cunimondo Trio, "Take Seven" by Roger Roger, "Bim Bom" by Silvio Silvera, "Berimbau" by Americo Bellotto, and "Kidnapping" by Karlheinz Schafer. Nice cover, too! CD