One of the best new Afro Funk albums we've heard in years – a tremendous effort from percussionist Lekan Babalola, served up with a full bonus disc of remix material! The core grooves here are a fair bit jazzier than most other efforts of this type – still with heavy percussion from Lekan, but also featuring beautiful sax and trumpet lines on most tracks – boldly stating themes, then stretching out in well-spirited solos that break the record past typical rhythmic conventions for this sort of set! There's also some really great electric keyboards on the record too – snaking out in the grooves to give them a nice little 70s touch – and really coming to the forefront on some of the remix work by Phil Asher, Bob Sinclar, IG Culture, and others! Main tracks include "Kabioye", "Aso Kere", "Oba Laye", "Oososi", "Oya", and "Ide Osun" – and remix tracks include "Oba Awon Oba (Afronaught vs Misa Negra vocal)", "Oya (Broken Beats Le Pico rmx)", "Aso Kere (IG Culture rmx)", "Kabioye (Mark De Clive-Lowe rmx)", "Kabioye (Phil Asher Restless Soul mix)", and "Elegba (Bob Sinclar remix)". CD

A pretty wild album – and a really wonderful mixture of funky fusion and Spanish guitar, featuring tunes written by flamenco guitarist Sabicas, backed by arrangements handled by funky guitarist Joe Beck! The sound is pretty darn incredible – way better than you might think, and certainly well more than the sum of its parts. The bottom half of the record has a really strong rhythmic pulse, but it also allows plenty of room for virtuoso flights on guitar – both electric and acoustic coming together in a mad Spanish-styled take on 70s funk! The record's a truly unique effort, and sets a whole new standard for cultural crossover sessions of this type in the 70s. Titles include "Inca Song", "Handclaps", "Flamenco Rock", "Zapateado", and "Joe's Tune". (Jazz, Global Grooves) CD

Two early calypso albums on Capitol Records – both pretty unique! First up are some of the first-ever recordings by Harry Belafonte – material recorded in 1949, with Pete Rugolo backings that are really amazing – as jazzy and modern as anything Rugolo did for other singers of the time, with only a hint of calypso in the rhythms. Belafonte sounds quite different on the sides than in later years – still with those tremendous vocals, but almost more of a jazz singer at points – which is a really surprising discovery! This aspect's supported strongly by the choice of tunes – which includes "Deep As The River", "Farewell To Arms", "Close Your Eyes", "The Didn't Believe Me", and "I Still Get A Thrill". Next up is a full album of straighter calypso material by Lord Flea & His Calypsonians – but one that also has a bit of a Capitol Records groove! Flea plays acoustic guitar and sings, and percussion is nice and tight – but there's also a fuller sense of space on the record, one that really sets it apart from other 50s efforts of this type – kind of a Capitol clarity that really adds a lot of charm. Titles include "Out De Fire", "Mister Give Me De Rent", "It All Began With Adam & Eve", "Jump In The Line", "Run Run Run", "Love", and "Monkey". (Vocalists, Global Grooves) CD

An incredible concept album from the South African scene of the early 70s – a record that mixes rootsy percussion with plenty of freak and fuzz – all in a style that seems to take UK psychedelic inspirations and forge them into a very unique Johannesburg expression! Acoustic elements are every bit as important to the music as the electric ones – creating this earthy vibe that's very different than Anglo records of its type – and the soulful vocals from singer Dave Ornellas really send things over the top! The album begins with a seventeen minute, side-long track that's completely beautiful – and side two moves on with similar beauty, on a set of shorter tracks that balance things out nicely. Titles include "African Day", "Here Comes The Sun", "Look Up Brother"," Kissed By The Sun", "Happy Man", and "Love Song". (Rock, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic collaboration between Coldcut and a host of South African musicians – and a set that also features a number of key contributions from the legendary Tony Allen! The record uses the older cutup style that Coldcut first forged on the London scene of the 80s – but has lots of live musicianship from an array of jazz and percussion players, plus a variety of singers too – stretching out in this really visionary blend that includes contributions from Dele Sosimi, Tenderlonious, Tony Allen, The Watts Prophets, Nono Nkoane, Lani Sigers, Gally Ngoveni, Miles James, Antibalas, and others! The project comes off way better than most of this type – very collaborative, and with a sound that's very unified, very together, and very fresh – definitely a whole that's even greater than the sum of its parts. Titles include "Freedom Groove", "Broken Light", "Crystallise", "Papua Merdeka", "Swift Gathering", "International Love Affair", and "Future Toyi Toyi". CD

A beautiful set of world jazz atmospherics from Collin Walcott – a set that features his work on sitar and tabla upfront, plus some other great ECM touches from John Abercrombie on guitar, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums! The album works a lot better than other sessions of this type, and has really stood the test of time well – partly because the spacious approach used, which never hits you too over the top, nor sounds like a gimmicky or forced style of music. Titles include "Prancing", "Night Glider", "Scimitar", "Vedana", "Easter Song", and "Cloud Dance". (Jazz, Global Grooves) CD

A really fantastic idea for a project – and one that comes off even better than we would have guessed – new versions of classic grooves from the nations of Cabo Verde and Guinea Bissau, performed by a really well-matched group of singers and musicians, in a mode that's quite different than the usual revival record of this nature! The songs are definitely classics, but the presentation is very contemporary – directed by producer Guts, and Francisco Sousa, with a special ear for avoiding the sorts of cliches that both mar a project like this, and some of the stereotypes that get reinforced by reissues on the market. Instead, there's a fresh criss-crossing of cultures, but one that never waters down the roots at all – maybe a bit like some of the best Parisian productions of the 70s and 80s post-colonial years. Titles include "Dunia Be Tene", "Riba Bass Di Mi", "Citi Ku Liti", "No Guinea", "Mulato Ferrera", "Segunda", and "Di Mas". LP, Vinyl record album

Heady sounds from the Cambodian scene of the late 60s – a set of work that mixes together modes that may well have Cambodia sounding like the the most psychedelic nation in Southeast Asia! The music here is of two types – one a transformation of older Cambodian styles with a strong influence from European pop and rock, the other a more direct version of psychedelic modes – with lots of heavy, freaky guitar lines in the mix! The vocals on both styles are often recorded with a version of echo that's much more East Asian than anything ever used in the Anglo world – and taken together, the two modes of expression make the whole album a really rich collection of fresh sounds. Titles include "I Wonder" by Eng Nary, "Navy A Go Go" by Sinn Sisamout, "Rom Sue Sue" by Liev Tuk, "Jam 10 Kai Thiet" by Ros Serey Sothea, "Yuvajon Kouge Jet" by Yol Aularong, "Jomreang Oun Chreang" by Choun Malai, "Do You No Wrong Again" by Thra Kha Band, and "De Quoi Pleures-Tu" by Baksey Cham Krong & Mol Kamach. LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy funk from the Bahamas – a whole bunch of groups that will show you that Nassau had a lot more to offer than The Beginning Of The End! The groove here is totally wonderful – somewhat like American funk of the late 60s and early 70s, but served up with some very unusual rhythmic patterns too – a bit Jamaican at times, but certainly not reggae – and somewhat sunny and Caribbean styled, but not in a way that's cheesy or filled with any hokey island-styled stereotypes. Instead, the tunes are deeply funk and soulful – grooving with plenty of dark edges and gritty instrumentation that's often heavy on the guitar. Many numbers have vocals, and those are great too – and as usual with the Numero label, the whole thing's put together with amazing notes and packaging, so that you get a full history lesson and a heck of a lot of photos to support the music too! Titles include "Gonna Build A Nation" by Cyril Ferguson, "Mustang Sally", "I Am The Man For You Baby", and "Funky Fever" by Jay Mitchell, "Theme From Shaft" by Esquires LTD, "Gimme Some Skin (inst)" by Frank Penn, "Words To My Song" by Dry Bread, "People Won't Change" by Willpower, "Take Five" by Ozzie Hall, "Watcha Gonna Do Bout It" and "The Time For Loving Is Now" by Mustangs, "Honesty Is The Best Policy" by Gospel Chandeliers, and "Don't Touch That Thing" by Sylvia Hall. CD

Heavy funk from the Bahamas – a whole bunch of groups that will show you that Nassau had a lot more to offer than The Beginning Of The End! The groove here is totally wonderful – somewhat like American funk of the late 60s and early 70s, but served up with some very unusual rhythmic patterns too – a bit Jamaican at times, but certainly not reggae – and somewhat sunny and Caribbean styled, but not in a way that's cheesy or filled with any hokey island-styled stereotypes. Instead, the tunes are deeply funk and soulful – grooving with plenty of dark edges and gritty instrumentation that's often heavy on the guitar. Many numbers have vocals, and those are great too – and as usual with the Numero label, the whole thing's put together with amazing notes and packaging, so that you get a full history lesson and a heck of a lot of photos to support the music too! Titles include "Gonna Build A Nation" by Cyril Ferguson, "Mustang Sally", "I Am The Man For You Baby", and "Funky Fever" by Jay Mitchell, "Theme From Shaft" by Esquires LTD, "Gimme Some Skin (inst)" by Frank Penn, "Words To My Song" by Dry Bread, "People Won't Change" by Willpower, "Take Five" by Ozzie Hall, "Watcha Gonna Do Bout It" and "The Time For Loving Is Now" by Mustangs, "Honesty Is The Best Policy" by Gospel Chandeliers, and "Don't Touch That Thing" by Sylvia Hall. CD

A really cool idea for a collection – a set that brings together vintage 70s tracks and more contemporary cuts – all with a globe-spanning ear for a groove, and an approach that's as heavy in soul as you'd expect from the title! This isn't your usual collection of sample tracks or funk classics – as the selection moves way past the obvious, and does a brilliant job of combining tracks we never would have thought to put together – while also introducing us to a number we'd never heard before too! Titles include "Every Time I See Him" by Metropolis, "Eva" by Robson Jorge & Lincoln Olivetti, "O Galho Da Roseira" by Airto, "Apocalypse Now Ho" by Nar'Chiveol, "Wache" by Francisco, "After All" by Soylent Green, "Space Queen" by King Errison, "Robot Man" by Yusef Lateef, "Stay This Way (lunar dub)" by Brand New Heavies, "Le Train" by Chene Noir, "Southern Freez" by On, "The PL (ext edit)" by Typesun, and "Le Cyclope" by Daniel Humair, Francois Jeanneau, and Henri Texier. (Funky Compilations, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album