Melodic, unique and beautiful material from Aurelio Martinez – centered around traditional Garifuna rhythms, and recorded in Aurelio's native Honduras as well as Belize and Senegal – excellently produced by Ivan Duran. Aurelio sings lead and plays acoustic guitar, turtle shells and maraca, backd by players on Garifuna drums, electric and baritone guitar, trombone, bass, sabar drum, tama drum and kora – plus a lovely women singing group. Aurncludes "Lubara Wanwa", "Laru Beya", "Yange", "Yurumei", "Ereba", Wamada", "Mayahuaba", "Tio Sam" and more. 12 tracks in all. CD

The title certainly gets it right – as there's a strongly unified sense of spirit here from Family Atlantica – even more so than on their debut album! As before, there's a range of global elements moving through the mix – currents of South American and African styles, given a slightly more contemporary European presentation – but somehow these guys have really found a way to put everything together with an even tighter, more cohesive sound – one that expands through jazzy solo work on tenor, alto, trumpet, and trombone – and which really draws a lot from the wide range of percussion and other instrumentation used by co-leader Jack Yglesias. The lovely Luzmira Zerpa handles most of the vocals – and some percussion too – and the album also features guest appearances from 70s legends Orlando Julius on tenor and Marshal Allen on alto sax. Titles include "Baiao Infinito", "Near The Ocean", "Efik", "Cosmic Unity", "Canto De Pilon", "El Rio", "Cacao", "Okoroba", and "Neti Neti". LP, Vinyl record album

A Venezuelan group, one who are living in Paris – and work here with a criss-crossing of styles that really reflect that global journey! The music definitely has echoes of older Venezuelan styles, but maybe served up in a more impressionistic version – with a dream-like quality at times, as the instruments come together airily, often getting a nicely moody vibe in the production – which was partly done by Malcolm Catto, who also mixed the record. There's a really lovely female singer in the mix – with a lightness that's almost more like a bossa vocalist at times – and the instrumentation is both electric and acoustic, but often delivered at a level that make it hard to figure out where one begins and one ends. Titles include "Lloviendo En Guatire", "Yo Soy Mi Rio", "Tonada Del Guante", "Transmutada", "Vuelve", "Pajaro", and "Machurucuto". CD

A record that offers up a real criss-crossing of sounds and styles – the spare ahoko instrument pictured on the cover, and a host of excellent 80s electro soul elements at the core! The record mixes boogie beat and sweet keyboards with the lovely lead vocals of Antoinette Konan, and her percussion work on ahoko – in a mode that's one of the best hybrids that we've heard from the West African scene of the time – a sound that's tuneful, but never too commercial – electric, but never too clunky. Titles include "Abidjan Adja", "Evignen", "Yale", "Kokoloko Tani", and "M'Acko". CD

A record that offers up a real criss-crossing of sounds and styles – the spare ahoko instrument pictured on the cover, and a host of excellent 80s electro soul elements at the core! The record mixes boogie beat and sweet keyboards with the lovely lead vocals of Antoinette Konan, and her percussion work on ahoko – in a mode that's one of the best hybrids that we've heard from the West African scene of the time – a sound that's tuneful, but never too commercial – electric, but never too clunky. Titles include "Abidjan Adja", "Evignen", "Yale", "Kokoloko Tani", and "M'Acko". LP, Vinyl record album

Long live disco, but not the sort that was big on the American scene of the 70s – as Tunde Mabadu serves up a nicely lean version of the music here – filled with Nigerian funk elements, and plenty of his own great work on tenor and alto sax! The tunes are jumpy, jaunty, and plenty darn catchy – maybe more Afro Funk overall, but speeded up a bit from a few years before - with Tunde at the head of a group that features lots of percussion at the bottom, plenty of riffing guitar and bass, sweet keyboard lines, and two trumpets to punctuate his own work in the lead! Tunde sings a bit, too – which response from two lovely female singers – and titles include "Disco Press Funk", "Angelina Sugar Daddy", "African Parowo", "Amupara Ko Ma Dara", and "Alabosi". CD

Long live disco, but not the sort that was big on the American scene of the 70s – as Tunde Mabadu serves up a nicely lean version of the music here – filled with Nigerian funk elements, and plenty of his own great work on tenor and alto sax! The tunes are jumpy, jaunty, and plenty darn catchy – maybe more Afro Funk overall, but speeded up a bit from a few years before - with Tunde at the head of a group that features lots of percussion at the bottom, plenty of riffing guitar and bass, sweet keyboard lines, and two trumpets to punctuate his own work in the lead! Tunde sings a bit, too – which response from two lovely female singers – and titles include "Disco Press Funk", "Angelina Sugar Daddy", "African Parowo", "Amupara Ko Ma Dara", and "Alabosi". LP, Vinyl record album