One of the coolest-sounding Martin Denny albums of the 60s – a record that blends his earlier exotica sound with elements of Indian music, and maybe some great bossa nova currents too! For the set, Denny takes a tip from the sound of the East – adding some slight Indian flavors to his usual groove with the help of arranger George Tipton – who you might know from his work with Nilsson, or some of his own great instrumental records! Most of the music is still in the lush piano instrumental mode that Denny was using in these later Liberty years – but things are definitely groovy throughout, even if the Indian elements are sometimes used in ways that are more bossa than anything else. Maybe not the clearest picture you'll get of the sound of India in the 60s – but a sweet little record, with titles that include "Incense & Peppermints", "Live For Life", "Touch Of India", "Hypnotique", and "Indrani". (Now Sound, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning start to the 80s from Fela Kuti – and a record that has the Egypt 80 band cooking every bit as strongly as Africa 70! The album's got this massively cooking vibe right from the start – fast-running, fast-riffing rhythms that are peppered with horns at the beginning of "Original Sufferhead", which then lay back for a nicely weird tenor solo, and some great keyboards too! "Power Show" is great too – with more other-worldly energy, and a vibe that almost makes it feel like Sun Ra has joined the band – and decided to deliver a solo on one of those weird keyboards of his! The arrangements are amazingly tight, and a bit more sophisticated than usual – and the whole thing grooves wonderfully. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning start to the 80s from Fela Kuti – and a record that has the Egypt 80 band cooking every bit as strongly as Africa 70! The album's got this massively cooking vibe right from the start – fast-running, fast-riffing rhythms that are peppered with horns at the beginning of "Original Sufferhead", which then lay back for a nicely weird tenor solo, and some great keyboards too! "Power Show" is great too – with more other-worldly energy, and a vibe that almost makes it feel like Sun Ra has joined the band – and decided to deliver a solo on one of those weird keyboards of his! The arrangements are amazingly tight, and a bit more sophisticated than usual – and the whole thing grooves wonderfully. LP, Vinyl record album

A funky soul record with a really great pedigree – tracks recorded by a Nigerian group, but done up in London with a vibe that's very much like some of the best east coast soul of the time! There's a style here that's not unlike some of the best club work of the P&P Records generation – a three-female vocal approach that's borrowed from the mainstream, but which is set to quirkier grooves that bubble and percolate in a really great way – boogie rhythms at many points, but peppered with cool keyboard parts that sometimes get a bit spacey – and which make the record a real underground groover in the best way possible! Titles include "Next To You", "Let Love Begin", "Heart To Heart", "Galaxy", and "Groove Machine". (Soul, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

Muyiwa Kunnuji played trumpet with Fela Kuti back in the day, and he definitely references Fela's legacy with the politics in the title of the set – yet his approach here is nicely his own, and a really fresh vision of the legacy of older Afro Funk! There's still plenty of the long tracks with rumbling grooves that you'd hear from back in the day – but things are maybe tighter overall, and definitely have more of a focus on Kunnuji's trumpet solos, which are occasionally peppered with some vocals too – all sewn together with maybe an ear for a wider range of West African styles too! Titles include "Bro Hugh", "Meeting Point", "Sanitize Your Heart", "Giant Of Africa", "Recipe Of Death", and "Oshelu". CD

Rare singles and unreleased tracks from one of the funkiest artists on the 70s scene in Ethiopia – the amazing Ayalew Mesfin – a fantastic talent with a groove that's dying to be heard! Mesfin's music has maybe even more of James Brown groove than some of his funky contemporaries – really sharp rhythms with the guitars, basslines, and everything else coming down on the groove – peppered with horn parts and eerie organ lines, while Ayalew sings in this style that's soulful, but completely unlike any sort of American singer! Instead, the vocals are all inflected and snakey over the top – almost set free from the rhythms, in a way that makes the funky elements sound even funkier as they really ground the whole proceedings next to the otherworldly quality of the lyrics. Titles include "Teregew Nebere", "Wegene", "Ambassel", "Tizitash Zewetir", "Sew Malet Esunew", "Che Belew", "Yetembelel Loga", "Ho Bilo Hedeo", and "Wubalem". CD

Rare singles and unreleased tracks from one of the funkiest artists on the 70s scene in Ethiopia – the amazing Ayalew Mesfin – a fantastic talent with a groove that's dying to be heard! Mesfin's music has maybe even more of James Brown groove than some of his funky contemporaries – really sharp rhythms with the guitars, basslines, and everything else coming down on the groove – peppered with horn parts and eerie organ lines, while Ayalew sings in this style that's soulful, but completely unlike any sort of American singer! Instead, the vocals are all inflected and snakey over the top – almost set free from the rhythms, in a way that makes the funky elements sound even funkier as they really ground the whole proceedings next to the otherworldly quality of the lyrics. Titles include "Teregew Nebere", "Wegene", "Ambassel", "Tizitash Zewetir", "Sew Malet Esunew", "Che Belew", "Yetembelel Loga", "Ho Bilo Hedeo", and "Wubalem". LP, Vinyl record album

A record with songs titles that maybe read more like the credits of officers of a business – but one with a sound that's wonderfully personal, and which really marks a strong step forward since the first album from Alhaji Waziri Oshomah! The set begins with "Alaji Yesufu Sado Managing Director Alh Y Sado & Son LTD" – a side-long cut that has this sense of flowing beauty that you'd never expect from its name – slowly loping grooves delivered by interwoven guitar and basslines – peppered by these singsong vocal refrains that are completely sublime, and mixed with more great organ work too! The organ returns on "Chief J Aigobkhaode Electrical Contractor" – a tune that has this subtle sense of poetry as it moves in this building groove that takes it past the ten minute mark – skittish guitar gently nudging the organ forward, while beautifully expressive vocals take hold once things get going. And last up is "Ikwekiame Nedumhe" – a tune that has a chunkier approach to the groove at the start, but which soon fits into the same wonderful flow as the entire album – making for a very unified set throughout! LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of albums from this Guyana group – both recorded overseas, and with a really unique sort of vibe! Young Ones Of Guyana On Tour was recorded in 1970, while the group was in London – at the legendary Landsdowne Studios, home to some really groundbreaking jazz at the time – a location that must have left some sort of imprint on the combo, as they work here in a mix of different styles that includes soul, Latin, and even Jamaican modes – often using strong lead guitar upfront, usually peppered with very cool Farfisa organ lines too. Many of the cuts are instrumentals, and some are vocals – and the mix reminds us a lot of the sorts of variety you'd get on a late 60s rocksteady album. Titles include "Liquidator", "Monkey Man", "Express Way", "Love Can Make You Happy", "No More Heartaches", and "Meditation". Reunion was recorded in Toronto in 1973 – after the group took a hiatus from recording for a bit, to reemerge here with a style that's definitely matured for the time! The organ has shifted from Farfisa to Hammond, but still used in these nice lean lines – and the vocals are more prominent, and maybe more soulful too – especially when the group take on some American soul tracks from the time. Titles include "Guitar Man", "Hooked On Me", "Poppa Joe", "Oh Girl", "If Loving You Is Wrong", "Suriname", "Ain't No Sunshine", and "Lean On Me". LP, Vinyl record album