Beautiful sounds from a very unique label – one started in Paris by a Malian merchant in the 80s, in order to both present sounds from his homeland, and all of the wonderful new variations that were taking place on the cross-cultural scene in France! The body of work is partly a compelling document of culture in diaspora, but more importantly presents a nice range of grooves with a vibe that's very different than mainstream music from the time – especially some of the too-commercialized records that were shifting big numbers on the world music scene. Most of these tracks have a very down to earth presentation – professional, but never overdone – mixing older styles with electric instrumentation and just a touch of studio sweetening, but hardly much at all. Titles include "Duna" by Halima Kissima Toure, "Ayebo" by Hadja Soumano, "Bolinaame" by Diaby Doua, "Tenedo" by Ami Traore, "Alla Da Fo Na" by Halima Kissima Toure, "Soso" by Mah Kouyate, "Nogome" by Lassana Hawa Cissokho, and "Kori" by Mamadou Tangoudia. Most tracks originally issued on cassette or digital – and appear here on vinyl for the first time ever! LP, Vinyl record album

An album that became an instant legend in global music circles – the recorded debut of Victor Deme, a guitarist and singer who'd been working in his native Burkina Faso for over 30 years before getting the chance to step inside a studio! The turn "studio" might be a loose one here – as the album was recorded on a four track, in a distant space in the country – but has a vibrancy that beats most other bigger label releases of the time – thanks to a tremendous power in Deme's vocals, which have a raspy presence that grabs you far beyond just an understanding of language – and which are often matched by guitar work from Issouf Diabate, who inflects these subtle bluesy elements that spark new colors in the songs, but in a nicely understated way. A record with a very unique sound, and a lasting classic – with titles that include "Dankan", "Tama Ngogon", "Dala Mogoya", "Djon Maya", "Toungan", "Cherie", "Burkina Mousso", and "Djarabi". LP, Vinyl record album

Sitar madness galore – and another fantastic entry in the Sitar Beat series – low on packaging, but heavy on exotic grooves! This volume may be one of the coolest in the run so far – as it's got 5 tracks that really go past the obvious – and offer up some great unusual variations on the grooviest sound of Bollywood in the old days! There's a bit of electronics on some of these tunes, making for an especially great sound – and titles include "Disco Cammata (edit)" by Kalyanji Anandji, "Pyar Karnewale (edit)" by RD Burman, "YOGA (edit)" by Kalyanji Anandji, "The Burning Train Theme (edit)" by RD Burman, and "Disco 82" by an unknown artist! (Funky Compilations, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album