Twin-tenor magic from South African saxophonists Winston Mankunku Ngozi and Mike Makhalemele – working together here with backing from a sweet electric combo that features Trevor Rabin on guitar! The groove is open and fluid – the band just vamping and opening things up, to let Ngozi and Makhalemele spin out these long solos that have plenty to say – which is maybe why both artists are listed on the cover as "voices" in the credits! The vibe is different than Ngozi's early records, and much more in the style of Makhalemele's music – and the set features the side-long track "Rainy Day", plus "Snowfall" and "Togetherness" – all great mellow jazz funk numbers! (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible concept album from the South African scene of the early 70s – a record that mixes rootsy percussion with plenty of freak and fuzz – all in a style that seems to take UK psychedelic inspirations and forge them into a very unique Johannesburg expression! Acoustic elements are every bit as important to the music as the electric ones – creating this earthy vibe that's very different than Anglo records of its type – and the soulful vocals from singer Dave Ornellas really send things over the top! The album begins with a seventeen minute, side-long track that's completely beautiful – and side two moves on with similar beauty, on a set of shorter tracks that balance things out nicely. Titles include "African Day", "Here Comes The Sun", "Look Up Brother"," Kissed By The Sun", "Happy Man", and "Love Song". (Rock, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever full length global collection of material by one of the funkiest cats working the Ethiopian scene in the early 70s – an artist who works here in a mode that's even more hard-hitting and funk based than contemporaries like Mulatu or Mahmoud Ahmed! The band on most tracks is the Black Lion Band, who've clearly learned the best modes of the James Brown Band of the late 60s – with riffing guitars and horn blasts that are right on the rhythms – moving, grooving, doing it to the max – while Ayalew Mesfin sings in these wonderfully-inflected vocals that are pure Ethio soul all the way through, and also provides some great lines on organs and keyboards! The set brings together cuts from a host of rare funky 45s – most lost to the sands of time after Ayalew had to go underground after the Ethiopian governmental change in 1974. Titles include "Hasabe", "Wubeet", "Yewefe Ber Abeba", "Sak Sak Beyelegni", "Gubeleye", "Endet Liyesh", "Tezetash Rekik", and "Ewedish Neber". LP, Vinyl record album

The first record in years from these Afro Funk giants – but don't hold it against them, as the whole thing's pretty darn wonderful! There's a rich, vibrant sound here that really lives up to the group's legacy from years back – and production is right on the money to keep things right – recorded in Paris with a relatively stripped-down quality – just right for bringing all the tight rhythms of the set right to the foreground, without any overdone mass market cliches to hold things back! Even the appearances of a few famous guest stars can't get in the way of the energy of the Orchestre – and this new album should be more than proof that the originators are still alive and well. Titles include "Pardon", "Von Vo Nono", "Oce", "Koumi Dede", "Tegbe", "Lion Is Burning", "Ne Te Fache Pas", and "Gbeti Madjro". LP, Vinyl record album

There's no music per se on this disc, just grunts, groans, howls and other sounds from the wild. Twelve different animals are featured, from the fierce, man-eating leopard, to the playful vervet monkey, the timid hyrax, the mighty rhinocerous, the peaceful and beautiful zebra, the strange wildebeest, the regal lion, the cackling hyena, the vicious wild dog, the crafty silver-backed jackal, the enormous elephant and the bovine hippopotamus. (Sound Library, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing collection – and one that really helped completely revise our understanding of Caribbean music! The collection features a fair bit of artists with roots in the West Indies, but who made a huge impact on London's postwar immigrant population – the new rise of non-native residents who were swelling the ranks of the city in the years after the way – bringing with them new cultures, new sounds, and new traditions – with all the requisite ideas and politics that might imply! The work here often has a subtle social agenda – working through themes important to these new Londoners, yet still echoing modes of the homeland as well – often with great musical backings that's heavy on percussion, jazzy instrumentation, and very upbeat rhythms. Titles include "London Is The Place For Me" by Lord Kitchener, "I Was There" by Young Tiger, "Some Girl Something" by The Lion, "No Carnival In Britain" by Mighty Terror, "Jamaica Hurricane" by Lord Beginner, "Birth Of Ghana" by Lord Kitchener, "Victory Test Match" by Lord Beginner, "Spanish Calypso" by The Lion, "Bulldog Don't Bite Me" by Timothy, "My Landlady" by Lord Kitchener, "If You're Not White You're Black" by Lord Kitchener, and "Aguiti" by Lord Invader. LP, Vinyl record album

A fascinating look at musical modes in London during the big years of postwar immigration – a time when former residents of the crumbling British Empire were flooding to London for jobs and a better way of life – often bringing along a huge amount of cultural experience in the process! This set follows wonderfully in the spirit of previous volumes of the series – bringing together a range of different sonic styles that were originally recorded in London as 78rpm singles – where a new wave of Caribbean and West African immigrants were fusing older styles with a newly modern sensibility, and often a fair bit of jazz as well! The set list is wonderful – a great array of well-chosen material – and titles include "Wa Sise" by Willie Payne & The Starlite Tempos, "The Emperor Of Africa" by The Mighty Terror, "Royal Wedding" by The Lion, "Modern Telephone" by Dai Dai Simba, "Sons & Daughters Of Africa" by Lord Beginner, "Caroline" by Trinidad Steel Band, "Ema Foju Ana Woku" by West African Rhythm Brothers, "Kana Kana" by Billy Sholanke, "Boul Ve Se" by Calypso Rhythm Kings, and "My Handy Man" by Marie Bryant. LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe not the complete roots of African funk, but a set that does a great job of bringing together a range of different cuts that show the new sounds and styles that were really hitting the scene as the 70s moved in – work from a wide variety of sources, but which all seems to share a sound and spirit with some of the newly independent African nations! There's a few African funk cuts in the mix, but the more interesting ones are almost those from the Anglo world that show a similar sense of groove, but with a slightly different vibe – coming across here on cuts that include "Waterbed (inst)" by LTD Exchange, "African Queen" by Allez Allez, "Them Changes" by Lionel Hampton, "Sangandongo" by Niagara, "Wassahoumba" by Africa Djole, "Do The Choo Choo" by Jack Ashford, "Africa Gone Funky" by Screaming Jay Hawkins, "Super Kumba" by Manu Dibango, "Tite Rope" by Harold Alexander, "Fat City Strut" by Mandrill, and "Corey Died On The Battlefield" by Wild Magnolias. LP, Vinyl record album