Maybe the richest album to date from South African pianist Bokani Dyer – a set that has vocals on most tracks, and which also carries a more direct and powerful message than any of his previous releases – very uplifting and righteous, at a level that marks Dyer as one of the key forces to help shape the new vibrant energies of his scene in recent years! Piano and keyboards are still at the core of the record, but the vocals share center stage – and the album features lots of great instrumental contributions from players who include Bokani's dad Steve Dyer and Linda Sikhakhane on saxes, Sthembiso Bhengu on trumpet, and Alder Du Toit and Shane Cooper on guitars. Titles include "Move On", "State Of The Nation", "Spirit People", "Picturesque", "Victims Of Circumstance", "Resonance Of Truth", "Be Where You Are", and "You Are Home". (Jazz, Global Grooves) CD

A tight collection of gems from Ghana and Cape Verde – pulled together by Arp Frique, as an illustration of the sounds that have inspired him greatly over the years! The package features four cuts that move with mighty tight grooves – very upbeat, but in ways that are different than American or European club of the time – with instrumentation that's mostly live, but plenty electronic too – live drums mixed with keyboards, skittish guitars, horns, and other elements that percolate a really great groove for the vocals! Titles include "C'Est Dudu" by Americo Brito, "Yolanda" by Imilux Star, "Fa Wokoma Mame" by Elvis Kwasi Anokmah, and "Obra Twa Owuo" by Nana Adomako Nyamekye. LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the richest album to date from South African pianist Bokani Dyer – a set that has vocals on most tracks, and which also carries a more direct and powerful message than any of his previous releases – very uplifting and righteous, at a level that marks Dyer as one of the key forces to help shape the new vibrant energies of his scene in recent years! Piano and keyboards are still at the core of the record, but the vocals share center stage – and the album features lots of great instrumental contributions from players who include Bokani's dad Steve Dyer and Linda Sikhakhane on saxes, Sthembiso Bhengu on trumpet, and Alder Du Toit and Shane Cooper on guitars. Titles include "Move On", "State Of The Nation", "Spirit People", "Picturesque", "Victims Of Circumstance", "Resonance Of Truth", "Be Where You Are", and "You Are Home". (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

The sounds of the Sahara have been making big waves in recent years – but way back at the start of the 70s, this legendary group really set the scene with a set of key recordings done in Casablanca! Ahl Nana were some of the first to mix the electric guitar with more regional instrumentation – often with a sound that's relatively spare, and which really lets the fuzzy tone of the instrument mingle with percussion and chorus vocals from the rest of the group – all at a level that's maybe slightly less psychedelic than recent Saharan guitar work, but no less hypnotic overall! The whole collection is a real revelation, and brings together these lost recordings for the first time outside of Africa – with ten titles that include "Hob Mene", "Nahnou Sigharou El Ouatane", "Zeinab Moussa", "Bayna Daouali", "Emolli Tidwall Eherne", and "Yer Sabou Yerkoy". LP, Vinyl record album

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

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Mighty raw work on thumb piano from Ekuka Morris Sirikiti – mostly pulled from radio broadcasts in northern Uganda, and served up here with a very timeless vibe! Most tracks feature vocals and percussion alongside Ekuka's lead instrument – which itself has some of the chromatic warmth as on other recordings of kalimba and other variations – but also a much rougher edge, too – certainly more percussive than melodic at most moments, but in a really hypnotic way. Titles include "Omaro Cil Pacu", "Peko Me Kin Calo", "In Balonyo For Ayinet", "Jo Ame Aparo Loc", "Acoc Acoc Twol Iye Akayi", "Pwan En Obalo Gum Waa", and "Wilo Koti Me Kwalo Orango". LP, Vinyl record album

Four rare tracks from Cotonou singer Stanislas Tohon – all originally issued only as rare singles, and brought together here as a package that represents some of the first global circulation of this work outside his scene! The music is from that time when contemporary electronic modes were percolating nicely with African styles – so that there's a clubby vibe to all tracks, with elements that tie the music nicely to some of the cultural criss-crossing that was taking place on the Paris scene of the time! The sounds are an evolution of earlier modes explored on labels like Jive or Celluloid – and titles include "Owhaaou", "Mi Tchinker", "Zeimdjan (radio edit)", and "Magnifirec". LP, Vinyl record album

Coco Maria hosts a mighty cool radio show on BBC Worldwide – one that showcases all sorts of unusual Latin music hybrids that have come up over the years – including a good range of contemporary music, such as the tracks featured on this really well-done compilation! The music here has echoes of older Colombian, Tropical, and Afro-Cuban modes – but often served up with really inventive arrangements and instrumentation that turn things completely around – not in any sort of Latin remix style, but with more of a groove that shows what some of the more unusual Latin hybrid combos have been working on! Titles include "Children's Favourite" by Guess What, "Lepidoptera" by Iko Cherie, "El Bravo" by Candeleros, "Vamonos Cocos" by Raz Olsher, "Off The Groove" by Ronald Snijders, "Always Ready To Smile" by Juan Hundred, "Seguimos Sonriendo" by Acid Coco, and "Sacudete" by Lola's Dice. (Latin, Global Grooves) CD

A completely different side of Colombian music than you'd know from Discos Fuentes and some of the other mainstream outlets from that scene – as the tracks here are all from the contemporary underground, and represent a really rich flowering of creative grooves and soulful modes! In truth, most of this work might hail from any hip spot in the global underground – save for the fact that the lyrics are often in Spanish, and many tunes have some slight reference to older musical modes – sometimes an acoustic element mixed in with more electronic instrumentation, sometimes a more direct reference! The quality of the tracks is wonderful – a really strong surprise to our ears, as we never would have discovered this music otherwise – and it represents a really great alternative so some of the more staid, often boring attempts to create a global fusion of elements in the mainstream. Titles include "Cada Paso" by Liannia, "Cumbia Lobina (ext mix)" by Dragao featuring Nidia Gongora, "Aquazero" by Systema Solar featuring Pedro Ramaya, "Oyele" by Jimena Angel, "Cuando Canto Grito" by Cerrero featuring Lucia Pulido, "El Leopardo" by El Leopardo, "Mujer Divina" by Salsangroove, "Gualayo" by Radio Rebelde Soundsystem, "La Negra Y El Fantasma" by Bareto, "Nunca Termina" by David Caneva Akle, "Manana Sera" by Ruzto, and "De Donde Vengo Yo" by Los Transatlanticos featuring Pilar Matarola. (New Grooves, Global Grooves) CD

Incredible third coast salsa from the late 70s – amazing stuff from the orquestras of Carlos Ruiz and his Ebirac label – made by singers and players in Chicago's Puerto Rican community of the period that stands up just as well today! Chicago salsa, unlike more nationally popular styles, was rooted in the city's rich Puerto Rican community. They cover material adapted from traditionals and more, done with less pan-Caribbean derived sounds than the Cuban-rooted salseros of NYC and Miami. As fondly remembered as the players of the Chicago salsa scene are by the older Puerto Rican community, records by Orquestas La Justicia, La Solucion, Juventad Tipica '78, Tipica Leal '79 and others are terribly hard to find. Not only has Numero managed to compile a terrific batch of songs, the sound quality is impeccable, too! Titles include "Plena Matrimonial" by Ebirac All-Stars featuring La Calandria & Ramito, "Stone Flower", "Alegre Jibarito", "Guaguanco Coroco" and more by La Justicia, "Afro Theme" and "Ano Nuevo Y Reyes" by Juventud Tipica '78, "A Bailar Son Montuno", "El Gordo Y El Flaco" and "Mini Minoso" by La Solucion, "Mozambique" by La Solucion featuring Mongo Santamaria, "Donde Estabas" by Tipica Leal '79 and more, plus the bonus "Ebirac Radio Spot". The booklet is lavish, too – full of notes and photos that that make it all the more revelatory – providing a historical perspective that can't be overpraised! CD

Most folks can't even find Estonia on the map, much less tell you about its music – yet that might change soon, thanks to the legendary quality of the rare gems on this set! As the title implies, there's a great mix here of funky styles – some clubby, some more jazz-based – and the music represents a really lost legacy of grooves from a very unlikely source – tracks that are nicely different than some of the other Eastern Bloc material from the period, and which often have a cool, classy vibe that's quite a nice surprise! The track selection here is every bit as great as the wonderful first volume – and titles include "Maskeraad" by Marju Kuut & Apelsin, "Nuud On Mul Muusika" by Laine, "Mind Veel El Ole (short inst)" by Jaan Kumani, "Veerev Paev" by Els Himma, "On See Hea (inst)" by Pirita, "Malestus (short)" by Eesti TV & Radio, and "Hoia Ennast Koos" by Teravik. (Funky Compilations, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

2CDs include an hour long radio documentary about the music on disc one, and 25 South African freedom songs on disc two. CD