One of Island's ventures into the disco realm, where they took one of their Carribbean acts and married them to modern disco-fied production. The combination's a winner here, and leans much more heavily on the disco side, with some occasional salsa sounding elements peeking through the slick facade. 6 tracks in all: "Cuba", "Ooh, What A Life. . .", "West Indies", "Better Do It Salsa!", "You" and "Que Sera Mi Vida (If You Should Go)". (Soul, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

The first two volumes in this legendary series – back to back in one set! Volume 1 is 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. Volume 2 compiles the stylistically varied music coming from the emergent West Indian and African communities of 50s and 60s London – far more than just the topical, and often quite whimsical calypso tunes of the era! Calypso is well represented, but the set includes strains of jazz, percussive instrumentals that veer towards native Trinidad and Nigeria, and loads of Caribbean grooves! It's all exceptionally bright – with some lovingly, and knowingly, naive vocals that are as sweet as they are wise. A truly wonderful compilation. Essential! 20 tracks in all: "Calypso Be" by Young Tiger, "Yolanda" by Ambrose Campbell, "Calypso Blues" by Mona Baptiste, "My Wife's Nightie" by Lord Kitchener, "Ominara" by West African Rhythm Brothers, "Gerrard Street" by King Timothy, "ET Mensah's Rolling Ball" by West African Swing Stars, "West Indian Drums" by Russ Henderson, "Gbonimawo" by Rans Boi's Ghana Highlife Band and more! CD

Really great work from Kiko Kids Jazz – neither a jazz group, nor a batch of child musicians – but instead an East African collective who have a sound that mixes familiar guitar lines and percussion with a slight bit of mandolin too – all in a mode that's this beautiful blend of the strings of the instruments, the lilting currents of percussion, and the haunting lead vocals of Salim Zahoro – the enigmatic singer who really gives the group a unique flavor! The sound here is maybe in similar territory to highlife – but the tunes are more compact overall, and have a focus that's really carried by Salim's vocals – often with a quality that's relatively lean, especially when you consider that most of these recordings feature the group with almost 20 members in play. The set's the first we've ever seen to bring together these rare singles recorded in Mombasa in the early 60s – and titles include "Sili Sishibi", "Nyerere Karume", "Bahati", "Sauti Yako Tamu", "Nda Kuharashe", "Mineona Ua", "Tanu Imeleta Uhuru", "Tula Ubona", "Lumumba", and "Mpenzi Wanionea". 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