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

Timeless sounds from this legendary group – a Somalian combo who issued all this music only on cassette back in the 80s, and who finally get a proper presentation in a much more durable format! The music is at once ancient and contemporary – with plenty of echoes of older East African rhythms and unusual horn inflections – blended with occasional use of electric guitars or keyboards, but still at a level that never overwhelms the music in the sort of way that certain West African groups were hitting at the time – which leaves the cuts here nice and raw, and with an energy that really holds up brilliantly after all these years. In addition to providing the first proper format for this work, the set's also got some great notes too – and presents tracks that include "War Wayneey", "Umaayey Iyo Abo", "Wiilkii Aan Ku Waashee", "Shavdan Buulow", "Haba Ley Habaaree", and "Ruuney". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally smoking set of tracks from the Somali scene of the 70s – and maybe the coolest East African music we've heard from the time! The material here is all from a small label that was spun off an appliance store – and the imprint had a really great ear for recording these acts in ways that bring out all their most unusual elements, while still holding onto the strong groove at the bottom! Half the set features work by the Sharero Band – a really great group who have a wicked way with an organ line, so that the instrument has all these sharp edges and odd tunings – which create a cool exotic vibe over the more forward-moving grooves – on titles that include "Sharero", "Caashooy", and "Yaan Cuskanaa". The set features more music from Magool – a group with instrumentation that's maybe more Eastern, in ways that reflect the Islamic culture in Mogadishu, but the tracks also have a strongly percussive vibe too – which makes for a nice match alongside the vocals, on titles "Waly Sita" and "Shimbir Yohou". Last up is a track from guitarist Ahmed Rabsha and Hibbo Nuura – great vocal interplay with a lively vibe, on the striking "Bohol You". LP, Vinyl record album

Timeless sounds from this legendary group – a Somalian combo who issued all this music only on cassette back in the 80s, and who finally get a proper presentation in a much more durable format! The music is at once ancient and contemporary – with plenty of echoes of older East African rhythms and unusual horn inflections – blended with occasional use of electric guitars or keyboards, but still at a level that never overwhelms the music in the sort of way that certain West African groups were hitting at the time – which leaves the cuts here nice and raw, and with an energy that really holds up brilliantly after all these years. In addition to providing the first proper format for this work, the set's also got some great notes too – and presents tracks that include "War Wayneey", "Umaayey Iyo Abo", "Wiilkii Aan Ku Waashee", "Shavdan Buulow", "Haba Ley Habaaree", and "Ruuney". CD

A really well-chosen set of classic Afro Funk records from Fela Kuti – hand-picked by Idris Elba, and brought together in this limited box set! Open & Close is an early classic from Fela Kuti & Africa 70 – the kind of early 70s record that helped both the leader and the group establish themselves as a global powerhouse of funk and soul! The set begins with the side-long "Open & Close" – a righteous tune that's driven onward by lots of tight drums from Tony Allen – young, focused, and completely amazing here – while Fela delivers all these madly leaping electric piano lines amidst the super-sharp horn section – all moving instrumentally for many minutes before the vocals come into play! Side two features two shorter tracks, but still nice and long in comparison to most funky groups – the wonderful "Swegbe & Pako" and "Gbagada Gbagada Gbogodo Gbogodo" – tunes that really send the record over the top! Fela teams up with vibist Roy Ayers on Music Of Many Colors – one of the best soul collaborations ever – a whopping album that brings together the best sides of these monster soul talents of the 70s! In keeping with Fela's work, the tracks are long and Afro-tinged, with a complicated groove that grows over the length of the track. And in keeping with Roy's work, the album has a sweet soulful feel, with lots of nice jazzy touches, cool vibes, and great vocals by Roy. Two long tracks, both classics: "2000 Black" and "Africa, Center of the World". Opposite People is seminal work from one of Fela's most crucial periods – recorded at a time when his soul was the deepest! The album features 2 long tracks – "Opposite People" and "Equalisation Of Trouser & Pant" – and they both have beautiful spooky keyboards in the instrumental passages, then leap into hard soul vocals by Fela. Tremendous stuff – done in a style that shows that no matter how many people cop or remake Fela's sound, he's still the best one to do it! The rare Stalemate album features the side-long tracks "Stalemate" and "Don't Worry About My Mouth" – both really hard-driving numbers, with a fantastic mix of vocals and grooves! Live In Amsterdam is an excellent live set from Fela – one that shows that he was still very capable of going over the top during the 80s! The set's a double LP – and it features 4 great numbers by the group, with Fela on soprano sax, piano, and organ, and plenty of other great work on tenor, alto, and trumpet. Titles include "Gimme Shit I Give You Shit", "Custom Check Point", "Movement Of The People", and "Political Statement Number 1". I Go Shout Plenty is a great one from Fela – with a date of 1986, but a sound that's pure late 70s! The record features 2 long tracks – "I Go Shout Plenty" and "Why Black Man Dey Suffer" – and they're both hard groovers with a strong political feel. "Why Black Man" is especially nice, and has some great keyboard riffing in the middle, with that great tinny sound that you'll hear on the best Fela albums. One that we almost never see – and issued on the Decca subsidiary Afrodisia. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing bit of funk from early 70s Brazil – an ultra-rare album, but one that almost beats some of the bigger Brazilian classics of the time! The recording has a very unusual approach – a non-stop blend of songs on each side – which makes for long, continuous tracks that mix together funk, jazz, samba, and other rootsy elements – often with a lot of percussion at the core, but also featuring electric bass, and some nice flute too! Lead singer Embaixador has this deep, rich sound – which is then countered by a vocal group, ala samba – and the overall approach is definitely in the deepest, hippest modes of the samba soul generation – and much more unbridled than more conventional albums. The whole thing's wonderful – and titles include "Walk By Jungle", "Dandara", "Fareua", "Oan", "Pae Joao", "Madrugada Sem Luar", and "Menina Da Janela". (Brazil, Global Grooves) CD

An early classic from Fela Kuti & Africa 70 – the kind of early 70s record that helped both the leader and the group establish themselves as a global powerhouse of funk and soul! The set begins with the side-long "Open & Close" – a righteous tune that's driven onward by lots of tight drums from Tony Allen – young, focused, and completely amazing here – while Fela delivers all these madly leaping electric piano lines amidst the super-sharp horn section – all moving instrumentally for many minutes before the vocals come into play! Side two features two shorter tracks, but still nice and long in comparison to most funky groups – the wonderful "Swegbe & Pako" and "Gbagada Gbagada Gbogodo Gbogodo" – tunes that really send the record over the top! LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the greatest record we've ever heard from Ethio keyboard legend Hailu Mergia – a sweet set of jazz recorded in the mid 70s, with a vibe that still sounds fantastic after all these years! The groove here is the sort that so many other contemporary groups have been picking up on recent recordings – unusual slow-stepping rhythms, mixed with exotic keyboard lines that often run up and down the scale – sometimes feeling more like some sort of cosmic current than the work of a set of fingers on the keys – even when the group move into some more soul-based modes! The whole thing is wonderful – just the right touches from horns and guitar – and titles include "Gumegum", "Ou OU Ta", "Aya Belew Belew", "Tezeta", "Endegena", and "Zengadyw Derekou". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the wildest albums ever recorded by sitar genius Ravi Shankar – a set done for the Dark Horse label of George Harrison – who also plays guitar and autoharp on the record too! Yet Harrison is just one of many friends hinted at in the title – as Shankar brings in a host of other Indian musicians and singers – including vocalist Lakshmi Shankar, tabla player Alla Rakha, and violinist L Subramanian – next to work from more familiar LA musicians who include Billy Preston on organ, Emil Richards on percussion, Paul Beaver on moog, and Tom Scott on saxes and flute! The result is a majestic LA flowering of ideas that Shankar first showed the world many years before – all filtered through the imagination of George Harrison, who supported Ravi often over the years, and brought his creative genius to a much larger audience. Titles include the long "Dream Nightmare & Dawn" suite – plus "I Am Missing You"," Jaya Jagadish Hare", and "Kahan Gayelava Shyam Salone". CD

Music from Etran Finatawa, Mariem Hassan, Samba Toure, Ali Hassan Kuban, Bammo Agonla & Tankari, Toureg De Fewed, Anansy Cisse, Wodaabe Women, Mahmoud Fadl, Moudou Ould Mattalla, Abdel Gadir Salim & Emmanuel Jal, Djime Sissoko & Djama Djigui, Tuareg Women, and Salamat. Specal edition also includes a bonus CD from Mamane Barka. CD

A record that's as groovy as the group looks on the cover – and one that comes across with just the blend of acoustic and electric instrumentation the image might imply! Ansambl Mileta Petrovica are a Serbian group from the 80s who took older songs and reworked them with a cool style that's almost garagey in approach – save for the fact that the keyboards are much more fitting to the decade in which the music was recorded! The use of bongos is great, as it keeps things nice and rootsy at the core – while the guitar has plenty of surf-styled echo, and resonates really strongly through the music. Tracks are all instrumental, and titles include "Robot", "Zov Gitare", "Japanka", "Miletova Gadje", "Cocek Ajd'Mo U Planine", "Niski Disko", and "Zoranov Cicek". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the wildest albums ever recorded by sitar genius Ravi Shankar – a set done for the Dark Horse label of George Harrison – who also plays guitar and autoharp on the record too! Yet Harrison is just one of many friends hinted at in the title – as Shankar brings in a host of other Indian musicians and singers – including vocalist Lakshmi Shankar, tabla player Alla Rakha, and violinist L Subramanian – next to work from more familiar LA musicians who include Billy Preston on organ, Emil Richards on percussion, Paul Beaver on moog, and Tom Scott on saxes and flute! The result is a majestic LA flowering of ideas that Shankar first showed the world many years before – all filtered through the imagination of George Harrison, who supported Ravi often over the years, and brought his creative genius to a much larger audience. Titles include the long "Dream Nightmare & Dawn" suite – plus "I Am Missing You"," Jaya Jagadish Hare", and "Kahan Gayelava Shyam Salone". LP, Vinyl record album