Afrique —
Soul Makossa ... CD Mainstream/Ultra Vybe (Japan), 1973. New Copy ...
$13.99
A killer album of Afro Funk – with a very unusual origin! In the wake of Manu Dibango's big hit (and some kind of failure to register the copyright), many many versions of "Soul Makossa" were recorded and released, some good, some bad. This album is a good example of that ... (Soul, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Alma Afrobeat Ensemble —
It's Time ... CD Slow Walk (Spain), 2016. New Copy ...
$9.9917.99
Nice one from Barcelona's Alma Afrobeat Ensemble – with some righteous, timeless original tunes by the group – plus some stylistic boundary-busting collaborations with remix producers! The straighter Afrobeat numbers are pretty great – inspired by the legends of the style, ... read moreCD
Antibalas —
Antibalas ... CD Daptone, 2012. New Copy ...
$8.9914.99
Amazing sounds from one of the best funky combos anywhere – ever! Antibalas have certainly risen to fame in the years since we first heard their Afro-styled grooves – working famously in the Fela musical, and reaching generations of ears with their own brilliant records. Yet ... read moreCD
Apples —
Mind Twister ... CD Odion Livingstone (UK), 1978. New Copy ...
$13.9914.99
A legendary group from the 70s Nigerian scene – one who could be as trippy as they were funky – often in ways that had them using studio production to really get some cool effects from their vocals and guitar! There's a spacey edge to most of these tracks – one that comes through ... read moreCD
Selda Bagcan —
Selda (1979) ... CD Turkuola/Pharaway Sounds (Spain), 1979. New Copy ...
$7.99
Selda packs a heck of a punch on this late 70s set – a record that's still got all the wonderful elements of her previous three albums – that unique mix of folksy roots, protest themes, and nicely trippy production! Selda's holding an electrified version of the baglama on the front ... (Rock, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Barbatuques —
Ayu ... CD Mr Bongo (UK), 2016. New Copy ...
$6.9911.98
Very cool sounds from this unique Brazilian group – an ensemble whose music mostly comes from their voices and percussive sounds made on their bodies! The approach is surprisingly great – and maybe not nearly as squishy as you'd expect – as there's a clean, clear sound to the ... (Brazil, Global Grooves)read moreCD
A pretty wild album – and a really wonderful mixture of funky fusion and Spanish guitar, featuring tunes written by flamenco guitarist Sabicas, backed by arrangements handled by funky guitarist Joe Beck! The sound is pretty darn incredible – way better than you might think, and ... (Jazz, Global Grooves)read moreCD
A fantastic contemporary performance from Girma Beyene – a key artist in the golden age of Ethiopian, working here with the excellent Akale Wube quintet! Girma's one of a number of singers who went into exile during the changing political climate of the 70s – but in recent years, he's ... read moreCD
Their name may be a mouthful, but the Black Children Sledge Funk Band have a groove that's nice and lean – a wicked blend of basslines, percussion, and lots of riffing guitar – plus these very cool keyboards that wander over the grooves and give the whole thing a sweetly spacey vibe! ... read moreCD
Don't let the "brass" in the title throw you off – as these guys are more of an Afro Funk ensemble than any sort of New Orleans-styled group – a combo that's actually only got a single trumpet and trombone in the mix, alongside loads of riffing guitar and heavy percussion! ... read moreCD
Seminal sounds from Segun Bucknor – one of the most soulful singers on the Nigerian scene of the 70s, and an artist who can mix funky grooves with some of the deeper currents and moodier themes that you'll hear in Zamrock recordings of the time! The album begins with some excellent upbeat ... read moreCD
A really unique hybrid of Jamaican and African grooves – a rare set cut by this Nigerian artist in London, working with help from the Cool Notes! The overall style is definitely reggae, but there's compelling juju qualities in the rhythms – and Chief Checker's lyrical approach and ... read moreCD
CS Crew —
Funky Pack ... CD Cultures Of Soul, 1976. New Copy ...
$13.99
A massive set from Nigeria's CS Crew – and a set that definitely lives up to its title! The bass is super-heavy on these grooves – way more so than on other Afro Funk records of the time, and in ways that easily match, if not beat, the early best by Fatback Band and Kool & The Gang ... read moreCD
Manu Dibango —
African Woodoo ... CD Fremeaux & Associates (France), Early 70s. New Copy ...
$14.9918.99
Some of the coolest work we've ever heard from the legendary Manu Dibango – sound library recordings done right around the same time as his "Soul Makossa" hit, and with an equally funky groove! The music often has Manu's sax in the lead, alongside larger orchestrations that have a ... read moreCD
An album with an ancient-looking image on the cover, but one that actually represents the continuing tradition of ritual percussion in the Haitian scene – a fantastic musical legacy that began with voodoo practices in the 18th century, but which has continued to transform as the years moved ... read moreCD
Livy Ekemezie —
Friday Night ... CD Linic Major/Odion Livingstone (UK), Early 80s. New Copy ...
$13.9914.99
A rare boogie set from the Nigerian scene – but one that also has the power to circle the globe with a universal sense of soul – as you might guess by the cosmopolitan look of Livy Ekemezie on the cover! The set's got a very strong tie to the grooves of the New York scene of the time ... read moreCD
El Rego —
El Rego ... CD Daptone/Voodoo Funk, Late 60s/Early 70s. New Copy ...
$8.9914.99
Monumental Afro Soul from El Rego Et Ses Commandos – El Rego's best recordings from the late 60s to early 70s – a beautifully done compilation put together by Daptone and Frank Gossner, the deep digging West African music expert behind Voodoo Funk! Theophile Do-Rego is a legend in his ... read moreCD
Ennanga Vision —
Ennanga Vision ... CD Soundway (UK), 2017. New Copy ...
$10.9912.98
One of those records that definitely lives up to its cover – as it's not only a great mish-mash of styles, it's also got some 80s instrumental currents that might come as a surprise if you know other records on the Soundway label! The work recasts older elements of Ugandan music with old ... read moreCD
Family Atlantica —
Cosmic Unity ... CD Soundway (UK), 2016. New Copy ...
$6.9911.98
The title certainly gets it right – as there's a strongly unified sense of spirit here from Family Atlantica – even more so than on their debut album! As before, there's a range of global elements moving through the mix – currents of South American and African styles, given a ... read moreCD
Gato Preto —
Tempo ... CD Unique (Germany), 2017. New Copy ...
$14.9915.98
A mix of beats and bass, electro and African percussion and rhythms from duo Gato Treto – producer and beatmaker Lee Bass and vocalist Gato Misteriosa – delivering a seamless set of Afro-futurist dancefloor club grooves and tough, yet seductive vocals! Gato Preto claim Mozimbique, ... (New Grooves, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Grotto —
At Last ... CD Odion Livingstone (UK), 1977. New Copy ...
$13.9914.99
One of the most unusual groups we've heard from the Lagos scene of the 70s – a combo who definitely have a bit of funk in their style, but also a pretty trippy sound too – one that seems to draw from some of the headier sounds in the UK from a few years before – maybe folk-funk, ... read moreCD
The coolest grooves we've ever heard from percussionist Henri Guedon – a really wonderful blend of Latin, Caribbean, and jazz-based influences – all filtered into a very special sound! There's plenty of percussion at the core, but there's also some sweet keyboards too – used ... read moreCD
Guelewar Band Of Banjul —
Warteef Jigeen ... CD PMG (Austria), 1981. New Copy ...
$14.99
A wonderful fusion of traditional roots and contemporary funk – handled perfectly by this legendary Gambian band! The groove is unique – with earthy percussion and haunting vocals mixed with more 70s-styled funk instrumentation – but often in a way that's as interested in sonic ... read moreCD
Ifriqiyya Electrique —
Ruwahine ... CD Glitterbeat (Germany), 2017. New Copy ...
$13.9914.99
Very dark sounds from this cross-cultural combo – a group who certainly draw from Tunisian roots at times, but who almost come across sounding more like one of the darker acts from the post-punk generation! The "electrique" in the name is well-put – as even the acoustic ... read moreCD
Hard Steppin funky sounds from Ikebe Shakedown – solid stuff from the fertile Brooklyn scene – blending hard hitting 70s funk & soul with both stateside and African influences! The group is young and doesn't take the task of honoring the pioneers of these sounds lightly – ... (Deep Funk, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Very hip sounds from a very hip-looking cat – Cem Karaca, a Turkish contemporary of Baris Manco and Erkin Koray – heard here on a really great second album from the 70s! Some of the best cuts here mix in exotic Turkish roots with modern psychedelia – a sound that's set to vocals ... read moreCD
Wonderful work from the Kasai All-Stars – a group we first discovered in the Congotronics series with Konono No 1 – and who still have the same wonderful blend of raw rhythms, fuzzy distortion, and very powerful vocals! Their music has this powerfully organic vibe – with acoustic ... read moreCD
(Also includes a bonus CD with 10 remix tracks by Afrikaine 808, Daedelus, High Wolf, Ramzi, and others.)
Om Alec Khaoli —
Say You Love Me ... CD Awesome Tapes From Africa, 1985. New Copy ...
$6.999.99
An awesome tape from Africa, but a set that also shares lots with the American soul scene of the 80s too – as Om Alec Khaoli draws heavily on the bass and beat-heavy club sounds the time! The tracks were recorded in Soweto and Johannesburg, but have a groove that's strongly electric soul ... read moreCD
King Ayisoba —
1000 Can Die ... CD Glitterbeat (Germany), 2017. New Copy ...
$13.9914.99
New work from this legendary Ghanian singer – an artist who also plays the guitar-like kologo, but in the company of a fierce amount of percussion! The album's got an approach that really comes on strong – mixing older modes with a slightly contemporary crackle – a bit like the ... read moreCD
Kondi Band —
Salone ... CD Strut (UK), 2017. New Copy ...
$11.9912.99
Very cool sounds from a wonderful pairing of sources – the ancient African thumb piano and contemporary funky production – at a level that's almost a 21st Century update of the American 70s kalimba experiments by Phil Cohran and Earth Wind & Fire! There's moments here that ... read moreCD
An Afro Funk double-header – a very cool 2CD package that offers up a disc each of music by the Lafayette Afro Rock Band and Ice – both funky combos who were very tied together at the time, and recorded some excellent music overseas! The Lafayette Afro Rock Band were a bunch of ... read moreCD
A beautifully trippy set of tracks from Edward Larry Gordon – an artist who's probably better known for his later Laraaji album recorded with Brian Eno, but one who sounds even better here on this debut set! The sound is very spiritual and meditative – long, drawn-out, side-long tracks ... read moreCD
Lancelot Layne —
Blow Way ... CD Cree (Germany), 1970s. New Copy 2 CDs ...
$34.9939.99
The first-ever collection we've seen to focus on the mighty talents of Lancelot Layne – an important talent on the Trinidad scene of the 70s – and an artist who really helped forge a unique hybrid of soul at the time! The music here isn't the usual Caribbean club groove – ... read moreCD
Lord Echo —
Harmonies ... CD Soundway (UK), 2017. New Copy ...
$10.9911.98
The third album from Lord Echo – and the set in which this sound may well be finally hitting its stride! As before, there's lots of strands of different scenes going on here – bits of Jamaican, African, and American funk and soul – but there's also a unified vision that really ... (New Grooves, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Tee Mac featuring Marjorie Barnes —
Night Illusion ... CD SKJ/Soul Jazz (UK), 1980. New Copy ...
$13.9922.99
A sweet bit of funky club from Tee Mac – a set that was recorded in Lagos at the end of the 70s, but which has plenty of American disco touches overall! Tee plays some sweet flute solos in the mix, and the record also features some great lead vocals from Majorie Barnes – who tops off ... read moreCD
Ahmed Malek & Flako —
Electronic Tapes ... CD Habibi Funk (Germany), New Copy ...
$14.9915.98
Quite an unusual package – one that brings together unheard electronic experiments from Ahmed Malek – the Algerian composer who's better-known for more famous soundtrack material in the 60s and 70s! The music here is all from rare tapes that were Malek's own experiments, and are ... read moreCD
A groundbreaking mix of exotica, Afro Funk, and electric 70s production – the first album from Mandingo – a tight, thumpingly savage barrage of jungle rhythms and sterling electronics! The record's a landmark from the Brit easy scene, but it's also got an amazing funky sound that sets ... read moreCD
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 – ... read moreCD
Hard funky soul with an Afrobeat backbone from Matata – who arrived on the London scene (via Kenya) in the mid 70s! Matata leaned mightily on the JBs for their groove, and laid out a heavy, rock solid variation on JBs funk with an African percussion base of congas and bongos at the core! ... read moreCD
Beautiful grooves from the Nigerian scene of the 70s – a set of really unique grooves, and the only-ever album from the enigmatic Mebusas! There's kind of a tripped-out feel to some of these tracks – Afro Funk, but taken left of center from the style of Fela – thanks to some ... read moreCD
Hailu Mergia & Dahlak Band —
Wede Harer Guzo ... CD Awesome Tapes From Africa, 1978. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)...
$11.9914.98
Maybe the coolest music we've ever heard from Ethiopian keyboard legend Hailu Mergia – a late 70s session that has his organ lines sounding even groovier than ever, on some sweet tracks that also bring in a fair bit of funk to the grooves! The style is much more in an Ethiopiques vein than ... read moreCD
Mogollar —
Mogollar ... CD Diskotur/Pharaway Sounds (Spain), 1976. New Copy ...
$16.99
Extremely compelling work from the Turkish scene of the mid 70s – music that fuses rock and folk roots, and which makes heavy use of the Turkish baglama – an instrument with strong sitar-like qualities! Most of the tunes here are instrumentals that lay the baglama solos out over ... read moreCD
Amazing work from the legendary Mulatu Astatke – one of Ethiopia's funkiest musicians of the 70s, making a rare appearance here on this lost American recording! The album has been a holy grail for years amongst beatheads – loved for its killer blend of weird rhythms, sweet funk, and ... read moreCD
(CD features the full album in both stereo and mono versions!)
Steps Ahead is just about the least we could say about Ethio jazz funk genius Mulatu Astatke – he not only remains on a creative high point after so many years, he takes a couple more giant strides on Mulatu Steps Ahead for Strut Records! To put it simply, the music Mulatu makes here more ... read moreCD
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 ... read moreCD
An Afro Funk treasure from the 70s – a rare album recorded by Pax Nicholas, a singer and percussionist who was part of Fela's legendary Africa 70 band! The album's got a sound that definitely echoes that heritage, but with a groove that's pretty weird too – more stripped down than most ... read moreCD
A tremendous compilation of rare work by one of the hippest African groups of the 70s – the mighty Orchestra Baobab, a combo who wove together many different strands of jazz, funk, and soul! The tunes here are all live ones – recorded in the mid 70s in the group's home turf at Club ... read moreCD
Pazy & The Black Hippies —
Wa Ho Ha ... CD Secret Stash, 1978. New Copy ...
$9.9917.98
A weird little record from the Nigerian scene of the 70s – much more laidback than you might expect, and a set with a definite Jamaican influence too! At times, some of these tracks are almost more reggae than Afro Funk – although at other points, there's definitely the fierce energy ... read moreCD
Peace —
Black Power ... CD Copperbelt/Now Again, Mid 70s. New Copy ...
$9.9917.98
A really raw set from 70s Africa – one that's more rock than Afro Funk, but which has a pretty hypnotic groove overall! The group's heavy on guitars, which are often played in a fuzzy, jamming sort of way – but with different tones and phrasing than American or Anglo psyche groups ... read moreCD
Quantic & Nidia Gongora —
Curao ... CD Tru Thoughts (UK), 2017. New Copy ...
$10.9911.99
Will "Quantic" Holland has really turned out to be a hell of a fellow – a guy we first fell in love with as a beatmaker, then as a funk artist – and now as one of the few people who can ever mix grooves with global elements and make the whole thing come out sounding right! ... (Deep Funk, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Roger Raspail —
Dalva ... CD Heavenly Sweetness (France), 2017. New Copy ...
$18.99
Great work from Guadeloupean percussionist Roger Raspail – a set that offers up an unusual blend of jazz and island modes, but in a way that's very rich and organic – without any sort of self-conscious attitude about its presentation! Raspail's worked for years on the Paris scene ... read moreCD
Influential ragas from the Ravi Shankar – centered around the hypnotic recordings Ravi made with producer George Avakian in '57 – plus and additional '54 recording, plus Ravi and Ali Akbar Khan numbers culled from the UNESCO Anthology Of Indian Classical Music from the mid 50s. Great ... read moreCD
Tak Shindo —
Mganga! ... CD Edison/Modern Harmonic, 1958. New Copy ...
$9.9914.99
A fantastic bit exotica from Tak Shindo – quite rootsy at times, in a way that really lives up to the cover – and which makes the whole thing a lot more striking than Shindo's other big album on Capitol at the time! The instrumentation is filled with heavy percussion and rhythms, often ... (Now Sound, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Fantastic funk from SJOB Movement – a 70s group who only cut a handful of records – all of them every bit as righteous and heavy as this one! The group have a perfect fusion of funk, psych, and other cool elements – all served up in a blend that's more straightforwardly soulful ... read moreCD
Somi sounds even better here than on her previous records – and we really loved those a lot – taking a stronger step into the world of American jazz and soul, which he handles with effortless ease – thanks to some excellent musicians on the session, and some really well-penned ... read moreCD
An early gem from Ghana legend Ebo Taylor – a smoking little set with a really hypnotic feel overall! The tracks here are all nice and long – and build energy with kind of a minimal layering of sound – an approach that's different than some of the longer Nigerian jams you might ... read moreCD
Incredible grooves from the Malian scene of the 70s – all long tracks that spin out with amazing rhythms and a great undercurrent of funk! There's a flowing, spun-out quality to most of these numbers – as percussion builds along with guitar and kora, in ways that create a hypnotic, ... read moreCD
An amazing bit of funk from early 70s Brazil – an ultra-rare album, but one that almost beats some of the bigger Brazilian classics of the time! The recording has a very unusual approach – a non-stop blend of songs on each side – which makes for long, continuous tracks that mix ... (Brazil, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Umoja —
707 ... CD Awesome Tapes From Africa, 1988. New Copy ...
$6.999.98
Catchy soul from the South African scene of the 80s – music that's much more different than some of the more world music-oriented exports that were hitting our shores at the time! You might actually be able to play the music of Umoja right next to some of your more familiar American soul of ... read moreCD
A cool Cameroun combo from the 70s – one who ended up in Nigeria, and really picked up a heavy dose of Afro Funk too! The style here is really special – not just the usual Lagos-bred sounds of the time, but a unique hybrid of island elements and harder-riffing funk – served up ... read moreCD
Voilaaa (Patchworks) —
Des Promesses ... CD Favorite (France), 2017. New Copy ...
$18.99
Fantastic sounds from Bruno "Patchworks" Hovart – served up here in his Voilaaa project, which might well be our favorite of all his many musical enterprises! The groove brings together funky club with some slight touches of 70s Afro Funk – maybe not as much as you'd guess ... (New Grooves, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Funky-strutting genius from Wells Fargo – one of the coolest, heaviest acts to come out of the Zimbabwe scene of the 70s – a moment when hard rock and soulful basslines came together brilliantly, to power the raw edge of a handful of groups like this! The music is maybe more late 60s ... read moreCD
(Very cool package – a complete 72 page, hardcover book – with loads of notes on the band, and a huge amount of vintage images too!)
Incredible work by Randy Weston – light years ahead of his trio material from just a few years before! The album is one of his most progressive from the early years, and features an extended suite dedicated to the newly-won freedoms of the African Nations – with occasional lyrics by ... (Jazz, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Two later moments from Zamrock legends Witch – both of which show the group moving into a much more soulful groove! Movin On has a sweet funky style at the core – a mode that shows Witch picking up a fair bit of disco and club from the American scene, and fusing it with their older ... read moreCD
Kourosh Yaghmaei —
Malek Jamshid ... CD Now Again, 2016. New Copy ...
$7.9915.98
Stunning new work from Kourosh Yaghmaei – the Iranian rock legend whose trippy sounds of the 70s have become the rage of global collectors – a style of music that Kourosh continues strongly with this new record! The album took over a decade to record – due to all the censorship ... read moreCD
Daniel Zamir —
Alive ... CD Koren (Israel), 2015. New Copy ...
$14.9918.99
Fantastic work from Israeli saxophonist Daniel Zamir – one of the most popular jazz musicians in his home nation, and an incredibly spiritual force who just seems to get more and more powerful every time he hits the recording studio! This live performance is wonderful – with Zamir ... (Jazz, Global Grooves)read moreCD
A huge range of accordion sounds from the Americas – both north and south – served up in a package that's got way more than you'd expect! The music here isn't the polka, pop, or Tex-Mex sounds that most folks know from the instrument – and instead includes jazz instrumentals, ... read moreCD
A killer collection of contemporary Afro Funk work – but all served up from quite a surprising source! The music here is all from Brazil, but also continues that nation's long tradition of sharing roots and culture with the continent across the Atlantic – a legacy that's sometimes been ... read moreCD
A fantastic collection of funk from the 70s scene in Ivory Coast – music that's every bit as heavy on jazz-based solos as it is on the grooves – with some especially strong sax lines that really give the tunes a lot of soul! The music here is nice and raw, and often very stripped-down ... read moreCD
Various —
Angola 90s ... CD Buda (France), 1990s. New Copy ...
$11.9915.99
The fifth volume of Buda's great Angola series examines the most contemporary musical streams of this strife-torn West African nation. Ebullient grooves serve to transcend the violence and instability while beautiful, mournful laments rhapsodize what's been lost. The music on this volume ... read moreCD
The early years of biguine – showcased here in a huge collection of recordings from Guadeloupe – an overseas French territory who seemed to share the same early love of jazz as the Parisian scene! Biguine is a wonderful hybrid of Caribbean rhythms and jazz-based instrumentation – ... read moreCD
There's no breakdown to the boogie here – as the album's overflowing with stunning sounds that are right up there with better-known club music from the early 80s – every bit as full of basslines, beats, and keyboards as the best tracks from the American scene of the period, but maybe ... read moreCD
A really wonderful survey of Brazilian instrumental modes at mid-century – a set that moves between choro, samba, and early bossa styles – and also opens up into some other genres as well! The focus here is on key instrumentalists – players with a strong ability to improvise and ... (Brazil, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Not the usual sort of Nigerian sounds you'd hear on a collection focused on Lagos – and instead, music that was recorded far from the central city of the nation – often with a much rootsier vibe overall! These tunes still have plenty of funk and jazz in the mix, but they often come ... read moreCD
Caribbean styles hit the American scene – then get transformed into something completely different in this huge collection of recordings that span styles that include jazz, Latin, R&B, soul, and blues! In some cases, the Caribbean element comes through in the song structure – which ... (Jazz, Global Grooves)read moreCD
The crumbling of the 19th Century colonial empires may have hurt the European economy a bit – but it also did wonders for their music – as artists and styles got mixed up even more than before, and a strong wave of new sounds from the south and west started to have a big impact on the ... (French, Global Grooves)read moreCD
A fantastic collection of music – 66 tracks that show the huge influence of Cuban rhythms in American music during the mid-century years – presented here in a wider range of styles than you might expect! This isn't just Latin music, made by Cuban cats hitting the New York scene – ... (Jazz, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Ethiopian music from the 70s, but mostly work that's much more rootsy than the sounds you'd hear on the Ethiopiques series – despite the placement of "urban" in the title! Instead, these cuts represent a recorded version of that nation that circulated more widely amongst listeners ... read moreCD
This second volume in the Ethopiques series focuses on the resurgence of contemporary music in the wake of the censorship-heavy Derg era. Most of the material on the CD was recorded in Addis Ababa in 1996, and is an attempt to show the strong resurgence of live musicianship in the city, most of it ... read moreCD
Volume 3 of this Amazing collection of Ethiopian pop/jazz/soul recorded 1969-1975. Volume 3 is more clearly influenced by American soul music than other volumes – and the songs mix more traditional Ethiopian styles with grooves of the JBs and Curtis Mayfield variety. A great place to start ... read moreCD
One of the oddest and most wonderful volumes in this great series of rare Ethiopian music! Tigrigna Music is sung in the Tigrigna language – which is here interwoved with excellent off-kilter guitar parts, some of them twangy and weird, others tight and folkloric. Underneath the whole thing ... read moreCD
Another great volume of Ethiopiques! Volume 7 of Ethiopiques series is another expanded re-issue of an LP by Mahmoud Ahmed originally released in 1975. Though there seems to be an abundance of songs by Ahmed from 1975 on volumes 1 and 3, we can't find any overlap with the songs on this album. ... read moreCD
Excellent stuff – even if this volume isn't as funky as other numbers in the Ethiopiques series! Instead, the tracks are soulful and bluesy numbers – half vocal, half instrumental tunes, with a really dark approach, and backings that are spare and extremely haunting. The vocalists are ... read moreCD
One of the rootsier CDs in the Ethiopiques series – a set of work from the Konso subculture, mostly spare numbers performed on the kihayta, a really haunting stringed instrument that's vaguely like the lyre. Most of the tracks feature the kihayta, along with vocal and percussive ... read moreCD
A fantastic overview of the wonderful sounds that Gilles Peterson has been cooking up in Havana since 2009 – the rich array of artists he's collaborated with as part of the bigger Havana Cultura project – which has given great exposure to a whole new generation of brilliant Cuban ... (Latin, Global Grooves)read moreCD
A totally smoking set of tracks from the Somali scene of the 70s – and maybe the coolest East African music we've heard from the time! The material here is all from a small label that was spun off an appliance store – and the imprint had a really great ear for recording these acts in ... read moreCD
A gorgeous collection of music – brought together in an equally gorgeous package! We'll rave about the latter in a minute – but first onto the music, which is the most important part! The sounds were all recorded by Paul Bowles in Morocco at the end of the 50s – at a time when ... read moreCD
Not the usual Nigerian funk collection you might expect – as the music here is from the years before Fela Kuti and other artists exploded onto international 70s fame – and instead, come from a time where the Nigerian scene was busy drinking up influences from a range of other cultures ... read moreCD
The Nigerian groove of the 70s – way past the familiar modes of Fela Kuti, and served up here in a range of artists who followed on a huge second wave of soul that soared from Lagos and beyond in the second half of the decade! The music here opens up in a sweet range of different styles ... read moreCD
One of the best collections of music from Mali that we've ever heard – and a set that nicely gets past some of the overdone cliches of that scene, to really focus on the kind of overlooked 70s gems that showcase sides of the music that are funky, jazzy, and plenty soulful throughout! There's ... read moreCD
Amazing sounds from Reunion Island – a relatively tiny spot, but one that's always had a very compelling cultural legacy! The nation was completely deserted four hundred years ago, and has been populated by waves of colonization from Europe, Africa, and Asia – which has made for a very ... read moreCD
You might know "Soul Makossa" – the worldwide hit by Manu Dibango that was covered by many folks, and sampled heavily in later years too – but this set takes a look at the deeper scene behind that famous groove, through a host of wickedly funky tracks from the late 70s scene ... read moreCD
One of the coolest projects we've heard from Rich Medina in years – a killer compilation that brings together older Afro Funk tracks from the 70s with a big amount of cuts from more contemporary years – all with a blend that pushes the spirit of the continent way out into the cosmos! ... (Funky Compilations, Global Grooves)read moreCD
Incredible sounds from Saigon – music that's often quite funky and surprisingly soulful – and which no doubt shows a strong influence on the scene from all the American GIs who were playing their music overseas! Other collections of this nature maybe localize the music a bit more than ... read moreCD
Amazing sounds from the pre-Ayatollah years in Iran – an incredible blend of different global influences, coming together in the sort of sound you'd expect from one of the most progressive scenes in the Mid-East! The work here has some of the same psych elements of Turkish work from the time ... read moreCD
A fantastic little collection – and one that's way different than the usual Afro Funk compilation! Instead, this is an album that takes the "soul" in its title seriously – and goes for unusual tunes from the Togo scene of the 70s – almost all of which feature incredible ... read moreCD
A more modern entry in this cool series of Japanese pop singles – one that focuses on a time when the scene was digging disco grooves, 80s electro, and other lively styles – all woven into a fresh sort of tapestry for the Japanese singers in the collection! As with the other volumes, ... read moreCD
A very cool collection of vintage pop from Japan – material from a time when Tokyo was finally coming back into its own after the postwar years – and starting to become a source of incredibly groovy music! The tunes here are kind of like the playful pop that you'd hear coming from a ... read moreCD
Cool Japanese groovers from the 70s and early 80s – served up here in a range of great styles that run from string-laden pop to some of the more electronic modes that would come into play in later years! Apart from one track by the Yellow Magic Orchestra, all the other artists here are ... read moreCD
A great look at a lost lineage of Turkish music – the mostly-cassette Uzelli label, initially started in Germany for Turkish workers on the continent – but an imprint who grew to have importance back in Istanbul as the years moved on! This set brings together some of the more ... read moreCD
Unusual grooves from around the globe -- Afro Funk, Bollywood soundtracks, Turkish rock, gamelan, ethnographic/field recordings, sitar sounds, and more!
Afrique —
Soul Makossa ... CD 
