One of Miriam Makeba's hippest albums of all time – a set that marked the end of her association with Reprise Records, and her fame in the crossover American scene of the 60s – and for good reason, too – as the whole thing's brimming over with much more righteous energy than ever before! Makeba's really letting loose here – not content to bring South African custom and culture to the overseas mainstream, but instead stepping forth with a new sense of mission and message – one that even comes through when she takes on some more familiar tunes by other artists at the time! The set features production from Lewis Merenstein, who'd done Astral Weeks – and the sound here is so different than Miriam's records from just a few years before – thanks also in part to the great backing arranged by George Butcher, which adds in lots of bass, percussion, and horns that take Miriam into a hipper 70s Afro Soul mode. Titles include "Lumumba", "Kulala", "Tululu", "Down On the Corner", "In My Life", and a great cover of "For What It's Worth". LP, Vinyl record album

Really cool cuts from the contemporary scene in northeast Ghana – music that effortlessly mixes classic sounds and styles with more modern innovations – but all with a raw, crisp energy that's very far from commercial! This isn't the world music of public radio – and instead, the tracks here are the sorts you might hear blasting out of car radios or bluetooth speakers late into the night – lean, percussion heavy, and done with a mix of electric and acoustic instrumentation, live vocals and samples – borrowing some key elements from hip hop production at times, yet serving up a sound that's uniquely homegrown! The collection is great – one of those ear-opening gems that comes along once in awhile – and titles include "Tu Daana" by Sammy, "Zoom Koom" by FCL, "Mam Dola Yine" by Joseph, "Guys Boys" by Designer, "Agana Sela Tufu Malla" by Ramond, "Life Is A Mission" by Prince Buju, "Guru Anowuu" by Fadester, and "9090" by Awudu. CD

Really cool cuts from the contemporary scene in northeast Ghana – music that effortlessly mixes classic sounds and styles with more modern innovations – but all with a raw, crisp energy that's very far from commercial! This isn't the world music of public radio – and instead, the tracks here are the sorts you might hear blasting out of car radios or bluetooth speakers late into the night – lean, percussion heavy, and done with a mix of electric and acoustic instrumentation, live vocals and samples – borrowing some key elements from hip hop production at times, yet serving up a sound that's uniquely homegrown! The collection is great – one of those ear-opening gems that comes along once in awhile – and titles include "Tu Daana" by Sammy, "Zoom Koom" by FCL, "Mam Dola Yine" by Joseph, "Guys Boys" by Designer, "Agana Sela Tufu Malla" by Ramond, "Life Is A Mission" by Prince Buju, "Guru Anowuu" by Fadester, and "9090" by Awudu. LP, Vinyl record album

Insanely wonderful work from Shango Dance Band – a group headed by onetime Fela Kuti bandmate Ojo Okeji – whose bass work here is worth the price of admission alone! Okeji was a key part of Fela's Koola Lobitos, until leaving the group in 1968 – and taking some of the best players with him – to form the amazing Shango Dance Band, which is this incredible bridge between older Afro jazz modes and the new funk styles to explode in the 70s! At some level, the groove's a bit like that which Fela was percolating at the start of the 70s – but there's also some jazzier currents on the horn solos, especially the trumpet – and Okeji's bass is very far up in the mix – dipping, turning, and crafting these amazing grooves throughout – with a snakey vibe that's completely sublime – as is the entire record. And sure, there have been plenty of Afro Funk reissued on the market in the past decade or so – but few as essential as this one – or as enjoyable! Titles include "Position Pass Power", "Women Are Great", "Son Of Thunder", "Alupandu Gbe", and "I Need Your Love". CD

Heavy bass, tight percussion, and a wonderfully trippy groove – the stunning second album from Cymande, and one of our funk favorites from the 70s! These guys have a sound that's completely unique – a vibe that mixes African and Jamaican influences up in the heady London scene of the early 70s – with results that were years ahead of their time, and which still go onto blow many minds all these years later! The bass alone is worth the price of admission – as dubby as anything from Kingston, but with a tighter focus – one that drives some sinister lines from the vocals, and which gets strong support from lots of lively conga passages. There's a slight stoner undercurrent, but the sound of the set is never sleepy at all – and titles include the classic "Anthracite", "Fug", and "Them & Us" – plus "Genevive", "Willie's Headache", "For Baby Ooh", "Bird", and "Crawshay". (Soul, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark of 70s Afro-styled jazz – and the first album by this famous underground collective! Oneness of Juju were a Washington DC-based group that grew out of the ashes of the Juju avant jazz ensemble – formed in the culturally rich African-American community of DC in the 70s, with spiritual and political aspirations that stretched far beyond the average funky combo. This first album is a masterful blend of percussion, jazz, and a slight bit of funk – alternating vocal tracks with harder-hitting jazz instrumentals, all held together under the leadership of sax player Plunky Nakabinde – a reedman whose work here alone is worth the price of admission – laid out nicely alongside some great percussion, Fender Rhodes, and wonderfully worm vocals on a few tracks. The album's one of the greatest independent soul jazz albums of the 70s – and it's filled with great tracks, such as the breakbeat classic "African Rhythms" and "Liberation Dues" – plus "Kazi", "Funky Wood", "Don't Give Up", "Poo Too", and "Incognito". CD

Insanely wonderful work from Shango Dance Band – a group headed by onetime Fela Kuti bandmate Ojo Okeji – whose bass work here is worth the price of admission alone! Okeji was a key part of Fela's Koola Lobitos, until leaving the group in 1968 – and taking some of the best players with him – to form the amazing Shango Dance Band, which is this incredible bridge between older Afro jazz modes and the new funk styles to explode in the 70s! At some level, the groove's a bit like that which Fela was percolating at the start of the 70s – but there's also some jazzier currents on the horn solos, especially the trumpet – and Okeji's bass is very far up in the mix – dipping, turning, and crafting these amazing grooves throughout – with a snakey vibe that's completely sublime – as is the entire record. And sure, there have been plenty of Afro Funk reissued on the market in the past decade or so – but few as essential as this one – or as enjoyable! Titles include "Position Pass Power", "Women Are Great", and "I Need Your Love". Features bonus 7" single – with the tracks "Son Of Thunder" and "Alupandu Gbe", LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool little package – one that features rare 20s recordings from the Middle East, alongside a host of modern "responses" to the original music! The first half of the set follows beautifully in the spirit of other recent sets from Honest Jons – digging through the archives of EMI to find some amazing sounds recorded in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey – all presented here with sound that's infinitely better than their original 78rpm singles – a production job that's almost as mesmerizing as the music included in the package! The second half features new music commissioned for the package – all done by artists who are very sensitive to the original spirit of the first selections, working here with spare, acoustic instrumentation in an equally exotic way. At points, it's honestly hard to tell the difference between the old stuff and the new stuff – another achievement for the set – and rather than make that distinction, we'll just let you know that artists include Sir Richard Bishop, Haigo, Moustapha Bey Rida, Nechat Bey, Oudi Yorgho, Abdul Hussein Khan Shahnazi, Sami Chawa, Michael Flower, Micah Blue Smaldone, Paul Metzger, MV & EE, and Steffen Basho. 2CDs with lots of music! CD