Funky soul, but with deeper roots too – a killer set from Matata – a group from Kenya, but one who arrived on the London scene in the 70s – where their blend of African roots and American soul really took the group by storm! There's a fantastic influence here from James Brown – not just on the vocals, which have a raw, shouting, completely soulful style – but also on the rhythms and instrumentation – which have this sharp riffing guitar with the bass, ala James Brown Band of the late 60s – topped with equally great horn work to match! The whole thing's fantastic – as appealing to a fan of American early 70s funk as one of 70s African grooves – and titles include "I Wanna Do My Thing", "Return To You", "Getting Together", "I Believed Her", "I Don't Have To Worry", "I Want You", "Love Is The Only Way", "Gimme Some Lovin", and the classic "Talking Talking". LP, Vinyl record album

South Indian music played on Venu (or flute), tamboura, kanjeera, and mridangam. Stretched out over 4 long tracks – "Sarasa Saama Dhaana", "Koluvai Unnadae", "Kadhanavarike", and "Varanaaradha Naaraayana". LP, Vinyl record album

After hitting big success with Paul Simon's Graceland album in the mid 80s, Warners kind of had a little burst of renewed activity in recording the sorts of artists they paid attention to more in the glory days of the late 60s/early 70s record industry boom. Fortunately, Miriam Makeba benefitted from that surge of activity, and was able to cut this excellent album in a style that was far rootsier than any she'd used in years! The record has a pretty spare feel overall, and most tracks only feature vocals and percussion – with some occasional extra instrumentation, and production that's very much in the Ladysmith Black Mambazo mode from the time. titles include "Sabumoya", "Congo", "Icala", "Ihoyiya", and "Embahaceni". LP, Vinyl record album