The album begins with the side-long "Kalakuta Show" – one of the most powerful tunes ever recorded by Fela Kuti, as it describes a police attack on his compound and all the violence that followed – but all while Tony Allen and Africa 70 serve up these amazing riffing grooves that are topped by Fela's work on tenor and vocals! The flipside is an equally powerful political message – the great "Don't Make Ganran Ganran", a commentary on wealth inequality in Nigeria – and a cut that's every bit as great a groover as the first! The back cover also includes "real picture of police raid on Kalakuta Republic Africa 70 House and Fela's wound after". LP, Vinyl record album

The Heavenly Sweetness label celebrates its first ten years in business – with a special birthday present of all-exclusive unreleased tracks! This set doesn't look back at the previous decade of the label, but instead points the way forward – with a wonderful selection of newly-recorded tracks by some of hte label's best artists – including some who've helped define their groove strongly in recent years, and some whose talents are soon to be presenting full length sets for the company! As with the previous ten years of records, the music here is a fantastic blend of new styles and global elements – some strands of soul, jazz, and hip hop influences – but often used in ways that are completely fresh and contemporary – at a level that's made Heavenly Sweetness one of our go-to labels for new and interesting sounds over the past decade. Titles include "You Party Too Much" by The Mule, "O Circo" by Cotonete", "Have A Little Faith" by Blundetto and Ken Boothe, "An Ba Galba" by Roger Raspail and Vincent Segal, "Tijan Ka (2017 version)" by Edmondy Krater and I Live, "Tijan (Hugh LX rmx)" by Edmondy Krater, "F*ck With The Police" by Florian Pellissier Quintet with Roger Raspail and Nawer, "Hip Hop Muse (Lefto rmx)" by Rongetz Foundation, "Be The River" by Anthony Joseph and Hanyo, and "Move In Silence" by Guts with Patrice, Feve, Djeuhdjoah, and Lieutenant Nicholson. (New Grooves, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty nice set from Berkely Ike Jones – guitarist and one of the founders of the legendary Blo – working here in a groove that's a bit more Afro disco overall, but which still has all the great touches of his previous work! The music's plenty funky, but more in a clubby way than some of the more familiar Afro Funk modes you might know from the mid 70s – with lyrics in English, and an overall vibe that's like the best post-colonial work coming from the Paris and London scenes at the time! Part of the album was recorded in London, which may account for the vibe – and the instrumentation is tightly played, but never slick. There's definitely some politics in the mix, too – surprisingly righteous lyrics, on tunes that include "It's Time For Nation Building", "Calling Health Men/Police", "Tears In The Ghetto", "National Pledge", and "1979". LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty nice set from Berkely Ike Jones – guitarist and one of the founders of the legendary Blo – working here in a groove that's a bit more Afro disco overall, but which still has all the great touches of his previous work! The music's plenty funky, but more in a clubby way than some of the more familiar Afro Funk modes you might know from the mid 70s – with lyrics in English, and an overall vibe that's like the best post-colonial work coming from the Paris and London scenes at the time! Part of the album was recorded in London, which may account for the vibe – and the instrumentation is tightly played, but never slick. There's definitely some politics in the mix, too – surprisingly righteous lyrics, on tunes that include "It's Time For Nation Building", "Calling Health Men/Police", "Tears In The Ghetto", "National Pledge", and "1979". CD

London's always been one of the hippest cities in the world – but back during the postwar years, there was an especially wonderful outpouring of music on the scene – a rich array of new sounds and styles pulled from around the globe – as so many residents from crumbling British empire came to live in the UK! Musicians and listeners arrived in London with plenty of cultural baggage on hand – influences from the Caribbean, West Africa, and India too – plus other smaller scenes that once fell under the British banner, all now the fuel for the cultural fire that was happening in England! The title here tells plenty about the music being made in this newly-formed scene – bits of African highlife, Jamaican calypso, American jazz, Cuban Latin, and more – all filtered into the modernism of the 50s, and given a new twist that was decidedly urban as well. The package may well be the most impressive so far in this legendary series – and is certainly the one that moves the farthest past any sort of easy expectations or cultural conventions. Titles include "Women Police In England" by Mighty Terror, "My Sorrow" by West African Swing Stars, "Cricket Umpires" by Lord Kitchener, "Jordhu" by Caribbean Swing Band, "Trumpet Highlife" by Shake Keane, "Calypso Mambo" by George Browne, "Cuban Nightingale" by Buddy Pipp's Highlifers, "Kitch" by The Quavers, "Tabu" by Mona Baptiste, and "King Jimmy Foo Foo" by Tejan Sie with The West African Rhythm Brothers. LP, Vinyl record album