Messed-up funky jazz from an obscure early 70s UK group – and an album that really lives up to its trippy cover! The tracks are all long and stretched out – with lots of organ, sax, and spaced out drums – and the overall style is a mix of dub-heavy funk, Afro jazz, and a bit of jazz rock jamming! There's a bit of vocals on the album, but overall most of the set is instrumental – in a really right on and progressive style that we totally love. This is the kind of record that always got passed by in the 80s when everyone was looking for hard James Brown grooves, but which is very much in fashion now with the blunted funky crowd. Cuts include "Hymn To Mother Earth", "Another Country", "Disillusioned Man", and "Mercy (Variation No. 1)" – plus bonus tracks "Fuzz Oriental Blues", "I Put A Spell On You", and "Message To Mankind". (Soul, Global Grooves) CD

A funky highlife stunner from the mighty K Frimpong – an artist who always seems to find a way to make a familiar groove sound even heavier than you might expect! That's definitely the case here – as rattling percussion really sets the scene for every track – sometimes with instrumentation that's a bit more familiar to the best highlife jams of the times, but other times with a hard and heavy early 70s funk approach that's in the best James Brown tradition! The album features four extended tracks that are all nice and long – and although there's vocals on the record, the main appeal is the fantastic instrumentation – on titles that include "Daben Ni", "Me Yee Owu Den", "Nye Mea", and "Me Da A Onnda". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Massive work from this funky Nigerian cat – a set that offers up a key mix of James Brown funk and home-grown elements – all in a blend that's totally unique! The 1970 album mixes together equal parts African highlife and American soul – making for a style that's heavy one minute, lighter the next – and always changing things up in a really dynamic way! Percussion plays a big role on the funkier cuts, and guitar is on most numbers too – used with a lyrical, rhythmic style on the highlife numbers – and a much more hard-vamping approach on the funkier ones. Includes killer versions of "Mother Popcorn", "Let Yourself Go", "There Was A Time", "I Feel Alright", and "Cold Sweat" – plus the tracks "Okere Gwonko", "Everybody Needs Love", "Onuro", and "Magic Feet". CD

David Byrne waited a full decade before giving the world a follow up to his original Beleza Tropical collection of funky Brazilian music – yet during that time, it's also clear that he learned a lot more about the scene – and was able to pick up on some very hip artists who were much more contemporary than the first time around! The record has a fair bit of late 90s gems from a time when Brazilian music was really catching fire again – inspired both by its own experiments of the past, and new attention to its more groundbreaking styles by artists up north – which then seemed to let loose a new era of fresh sounds and styles! The set's got a total of 15 tracks in all – and titles include "O Seu Olhar" by Arnaldo Antunes, "Coriosidade" by Tom Ze, "Tanacara" by Gonzaguinha, "Balanca Pema" by Marisa Monte, "Acho" by Carlos Carega, "Bog La Bog" by Carlinhos Brown, "Pregoes Do Rio" by Moleque De Rua, "Batuque" by Daniela Mercury, "Hoje Eu Quero Sair So" by Lenine, and "Rios, Pontes, & Overdrives" by Chico Science. (Brazil, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

It's easy to wake up with grooves this great – a searing back of 70s Afro Rock gems that are also surprisingly funky, too! The tunes here do a wonderful job of mixing psych currents and headier rhythms – a great blend of the burning Afro Funk trends that were happening in Nigeria at the time, but with much richer, trippier work on the guitar and vocals – and some of the freaky, fuzzy basslines too! If some Afro Funk acts drew strong influence from the sharp soul of James Brown, these groups all seem to drink deep from the same musical well as Funkadelic at their freaked-out early best – which means that they've got no trouble throwing in a psych guitar riff alongside soulful vocals and funky rhythms – all with a sound that's completely sublime. As with the great first volume in this series, this edition comes with a special heavy book on the music – filled with detailed notes and lots of photos – alongside a great set of tracks that include "Wake Up You" by Waves, "Love" by Question Mark, "Baby Rock" by Jay U Experience, "Life In Cannan" by Ceejebs, "Who Made The World" by The Identicals, "Awa Lani Arawa" by Kukumbas, "Life Will Move" by The Believers, "The Feelings" by Tony Grey & The Black 7, "I Want A Break Thru" by The Hykkers, and "In The Jungle (voc)" by The Hygrades. CD

It's easy to wake up with grooves this great – a searing back of 70s Afro Rock gems that are also surprisingly funky, too! The tunes here do a wonderful job of mixing psych currents and headier rhythms – a great blend of the burning Afro Funk trends that were happening in Nigeria at the time, but with much richer, trippier work on the guitar and vocals – and some of the freaky, fuzzy basslines too! If some Afro Funk acts drew strong influence from the sharp soul of James Brown, these groups all seem to drink deep from the same musical well as Funkadelic at their freaked-out early best – which means that they've got no trouble throwing in a psych guitar riff alongside soulful vocals and funky rhythms – all with a sound that's completely sublime. As with the great first volume in this series, this edition comes with a special heavy book on the music – filled with detailed notes and lots of photos – alongside a great set of tracks that include "Wake Up You" by Waves, "Love" by Question Mark, "Baby Rock" by Jay U Experience, "Life In Cannan" by Ceejebs, "Who Made The World" by The Identicals, "Awa Lani Arawa" by Kukumbas, "Life Will Move" by The Believers, "The Feelings" by Tony Grey & The Black 7, "I Want A Break Thru" by The Hykkers, and "In The Jungle (voc)" by The Hygrades. LP, Vinyl record album

It's easy to wake up with grooves this great – a searing back of 70s Afro Rock gems that are also surprisingly funky, too! The tunes here do a wonderful job of mixing psych currents and headier rhythms – a great blend of the burning Afro Funk trends that were happening in Nigeria at the time, but with much richer, trippier work on the guitar and vocals – and some of the freaky, fuzzy basslines too! If some Afro Funk acts drew strong influence from the sharp soul of James Brown, these groups all seem to drink deep from the same musical well as Funkadelic at their freaked-out early best – which means that they've got no trouble throwing in a psych guitar riff alongside soulful vocals and funky rhythms – all with a sound that's completely sublime. Titles include "Wake Up You" by Waves, "Love" by Question Mark, "Baby Rock" by Jay U Experience, "Life In Cannan" by Ceejebs, "Who Made The World" by The Identicals, "Awa Lani Arawa" by Kukumbas, "Life Will Move" by The Believers, "The Feelings" by Tony Grey & The Black 7, "I Want A Break Thru" by The Hykkers, and "In The Jungle (voc)" by The Hygrades. LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing 70s recordings from Ethiopian singer Alemayehu Eshete – one of the greatest stars of the Ethiopiques series next to Mulatu! The style here is often quite funky at times – a strong James Brown influence in some of the rhythms, hitting hard with a heavy funk groove at the bottom, and topped by some sharp-edged, angular horns that further freshen up the sound. Other tracks are a bit more soul-based, and make great use of Eshete's amazing vocal style – kind of a back of the throat style of singing, and one that's quite a change from other expectations you might have of African funk from the 70s! Vinyl-only collection features some of the best tracks by Alemayehu from the Ethiopiques CD series – titles that include "Yeweb Dar", "Tashamanaletch", "Telantena Zare", "Feqer Feqer New", "Hameta", "Tey Gedyeleshem", "Eskegizew Bertchi", and "Quondjit". LP, Vinyl record album

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

The first-ever full length global collection of material by one of the funkiest cats working the Ethiopian scene in the early 70s – an artist who works here in a mode that's even more hard-hitting and funk based than contemporaries like Mulatu or Mahmoud Ahmed! The band on most tracks is the Black Lion Band, who've clearly learned the best modes of the James Brown Band of the late 60s – with riffing guitars and horn blasts that are right on the rhythms – moving, grooving, doing it to the max – while Ayalew Mesfin sings in these wonderfully-inflected vocals that are pure Ethio soul all the way through, and also provides some great lines on organs and keyboards! The set brings together cuts from a host of rare funky 45s – most lost to the sands of time after Ayalew had to go underground after the Ethiopian governmental change in 1974. Titles include "Hasabe", "Wubeet", "Yewefe Ber Abeba", "Sak Sak Beyelegni", "Gubeleye", "Endet Liyesh", "Tezetash Rekik", and "Ewedish Neber". LP, Vinyl record album

Nice one – a nice batch of funky sountrack material, culled from classic Indian "brownsploitation" action films from the 1970s – and the music's every bit as wild and funky as you'd imagine. The bottom groove is classic 70's funk, as you might hear in an American action film from the time, but then there's also some fantastic elements of Indian music thrown in – like funky sitar, extra percussion, and cool synthesizers. Plus, some of the tracks have additional production work by The Automator, and extra beats by DJ Shadow, to extend the funkiness of the originals. The whole thing's very lavishly packaged, with great graphics, and a nice book that has lots of images from the films. Some of the titles (which were added recently, since this is incidental music) are a bit weak – like "Punjabis, Pimps, & Players", "Fear Of A Brown Planet", "Fists Of Curry", and "The Good, The Bad, & The Chutney" – but believe us, the music is stone cold funky, and very very nice! Some good breaks, and lots of groovy funky sounds that you'd never hear on this side of the Pacific. CD

New work from Togolese music legend Roger Damawuzan – but a set that feels as fierce and funky as if it were recorded in the 70s! The group is super-tight throughout – more inspired by the James Brown Band of the late 60s than other West African groups – and tracks are short, funky, and bristle with a quality that's more like that of a set of funky 45s than it is the longer jams you might find on other records. The whole thing's got as much appeal as a deep funk record than as an African one – and Roger sings in English throughout, with really raspy and soulful charm – on titles that include "Fine Fine", "Paris", "Shut Up", "Mama", "I'm Crying", "Juliana", "Need My Money", "What Time Is It", and "Why Why". CD

New work from Togolese music legend Roger Damawuzan – but a set that feels as fierce and funky as if it were recorded in the 70s! The group is super-tight throughout – more inspired by the James Brown Band of the late 60s than other West African groups – and tracks are short, funky, and bristle with a quality that's more like that of a set of funky 45s than it is the longer jams you might find on other records. The whole thing's got as much appeal as a deep funk record than as an African one – and Roger sings in English throughout, with really raspy and soulful charm – on titles that include "Fine Fine", "Paris", "Shut Up", "Mama", "I'm Crying", "Juliana", "Need My Money", "What Time Is It", and "Why Why". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky genius from the mighty K Frimpong – an album recorded in Germany in the mid 80s – but a set that cooks like some of the best West African funk from the decade before! The sound is lean and mean, and there's plenty of grit in the grooves – a lot more bass and funky drums than some of the softer highlife of the period – with percussion that kicks in fantastically right at the start, and never lets up! The vocals are great too – and it's almost like Frimpong is working like some James Brown-styled leader – really coming up with the goods right from the start, and urging his ensemble onto non-stop grooving on the album's four long tracks. Titles include "Abrabo", "Abusuafo", "Enaa", and "Susu Dwa W'Ananum". LP, Vinyl record album