We really loved the first volume in this series, and this second entry maybe goes even deeper into the unique territory of the collection – a genre that's maybe all its own, with a really cool blend of older tracks and contemporary numbers, all served up with a laidback sort of vibe! There's plenty of soul in the mix, but often from a global perspective – and those cuts are mixed in with more 21st century-styled tracks, which makes for a very cool blend of material. Titles include "Baby This Love I Have" by Avis, "Malibu Nites" by Frank Hatchett, "DE 108" by Bach Revolution, "We May Be Cattle But We All Got Names" by Michael De Albuquerque, "Marimba" by Yargo, "Play A Sweet Rhythm On Them Drums" by Okyerama Asante & Black Fire, "Shove Piggy Shove" by LFO, "Lost Children" by Veronica Mickie, and "Storm (Arp Duppy Chip mix)" by Rare Silk. CD

The new sound of the European scene at the end of the 70s – music that carries plenty of inspiration from post-punk modes, but which also carries forth some key elements of prog as well – all at a level that's quite a surprise if you only know more iconic material of the time! The artists here aren't all British or European, but the sound within definitely showcases the way that later electronic experiments of the 70s were thinning down in the work of underground UK and German labels – and also showing the way that the instrumental excesses of the earlier part of the decade were being packed down into more economical packages, but all without losing any sense of freshness or experimentation! The set takes its title from a song on the last Bowie Berlin album – a great reference for the music – and titles include "Tight As A Drum" by Thomas Leer, "Silent Command" by Cabaret Voltaire, "Theme For Great Cities" by Simple Minds, "White Car In Germany" by The Associates, "Nite Flights" by The Walker Brothers, "3,000,000 Synths" by Chaz Jankel, "Nightcrawler" by Patrick Cowley, "Riot In Lagos" by Ryuichi Sakamoto, "Silicon Chip" by Basil Kirchin, "Ode To Perfume" by Holger Czukay, "Do Weit So Gut" by Harald Grosskopft, "The Farther Away I Am" by Daryl Hall (with Robert Fripp), and "Patriarcat" by Areski & Brigitte Fontaine. (Rock, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty nice little package – one that's overflowing with the special sort of Latin and soul music hybrids that rose up from the Spanish Harlem scene in the late 60s – the kind of cuts that helped establish Fania Records as one of the most important Latin labels around – and one of the grooviest too! These aren't the 70s salsa tracks that Fania spread across the globe – but the more New York-styled numbers that often had English language lyrics in the lead, sung by a soulful vocalist – and set to small combo rhythms that were overflowing with energy, and plenty of touches of jazz, soul, and funk! These are all the mixes from the rare 45rpm singles issued by Fania back in the day – and although the songs are wonderful, the collection together is even cooler as a whole – dozens of tracks, including some really rare ones – all bound up in a 7" book-styled cover, with 60 pages of notes, and a bonus funky 45! Titles include "Silent Heart" by 125th Street Candy Store, "Micro Mini" and "Make Out" by Harvey Averne, "Too Much Lovin" and "So Fine" by Joe Bataan, "Willie Baby" by Willie Colon, "Soul Drummers" and "Mercy Mercy Baby" by Ray Barretto, "Geronimo" and "Funky Big Feet" by Bobby Valentin, "Mercie" by Ralph Robles, "Camel Walk" by The Latinaires, "Batola Boogaloo" by Bobby Quesada, "Grazin In The Grass" by Orchestra Harlow, "Spinning Wheel" by El Apollo Sound, "Hey Sister" by Monguito Santamaria, "Who Is The Girl For Me" and "Look At Her" by Ralfi Pagan, "New York Soul" by Ray Barretto, "Some Lonely Heart" by ronnie Marks, "Let's Get It Together This Christmas" by Harvey Averne, "Shaft" and "If I Were A King" by Joe Bataan, "Johnny's No Good" and "Blonde Latin Blues" by WRLC, and "Today" and "Try Just a Little Harder" by Butter Scotch. Lots more too – and the bonus 7" single features two promo tracks recorded for DJ Symphony Sid – one by Joe Bataan, the other by Bobby Valentin! (Latin, Funky Compilations) CD

Rare rock from the Golden Triangle scene of Southeast TX in the late 60s and early 70s – a well-curated overview of the stylistically sprawling material being cut at Mickey Rouse's Lowland Recording Studio in Beaumont! Texas rock of the late 60s and early 70s justifiably brings to mind acts like The 13th Floor Elevators and The Bubble Puppy – tripped out psychedelia in other words, but Texas is huge, and there was a heck of a lot more going on than just the best remembered cult favorites. The music coming out of just the Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange, Texas "triangle" chronicled here was incredibly diverse. It includes proto TX boogie rock that's a clear precursor to early ZZ Top, harmony flavored numbers that sound closer to Cali than they do The Lone Star State, one track that somehow fuses CS&N with The Beatles and does so with prominent cowbell in the mix (and it's good!!!), punchy psych grit, and swaggering country rock with some twang in the strings that feels a bit more profoundly Texan. You don't need our word that The Numero Group has devoted some serious attention to detail – with a 35-page booklet of notes, photos and histories, plus the impressive Lost In The Golden Triangle "family tree" of the regional musicians involved – as if discovering these long buried regional relics wasn't impressive enough already. Beautiful! 22 tracks in all: "Trash One" by the Lowland Studio Band, "Live My Life Today" by Insight Out, "Simple House" by Mother Lion, "Love Of The Morning" by Circus, "Take A Look At Your Friends" by Next Exit, "You Know I Love You" by Roy Briggs & Alton Tew, "Calling Me Home (Demo)" by Donald Thomas and more. CD

A brilliant batch of electronic, cold wave, and post-punk tracks – all drawn from the farther reaches of the Swiss underground of the 80s – a scene that was far more secret than those in the UK, Germany, or other European hotbeds of electronic experimentation! We'd heard only a few of these groups before – and back in the day, we were constantly searching for Euro electronic and new wave records – and the work that Strut have done to put the whole thing together is wonderful, as these rare gems are also illuminated with detailed notes that really shine a light on the darker corners of this sonic scene. Titles include "Anfang" by Mittageisen, "Le Jour L'Ennui" by Aboriginal Voices, "Boat Song" by Lilliput, "Asho II" by Bells Of Kyoto, "Labyrinth" by Jurg Nutz, "Basic Ground Without Voice" by Konx, "Soyledir" by Cafe Turk, "Nightmare" by Unknownmix, "Arbeiter" by Schamanen Circel, and "Glettscher" by El Deux. (Rock, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool collection of cuts that we might never have encountered otherwise – all brought together in celebration of 20 years of work from the If Music shop, who clearly just keep on refining their ears over the years! There's so many cuts here that fall in a special space between familiar genres – jazzy instrumentation mixed with folksy vocals, electronic rhythms mixed with warmer instrumentation, ethnic instrumentation fused with jazzy expression, and blends that really keep things interesting throughout – especially as most of these cuts are nice and long, and really explore the ideas at their core! Titles include "We Are Not Invisible" by Ola Szmidt, "Big Kalimba" by Greetje Bijma Kwintet, "Fidji" by Christine Schaller, "Sunday Sea Improvisation" by Tamar Osborn, "Fall In To Me (alt version)" by Emanative & Liz Elensky, "Turkish Showbiz" by Atilla Engin Group, "Dennison Point" by Tenderlonious, and "At The Speed Of Light" by Sarathy Korwar. LP, Vinyl record album