... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest records we've ever heard from the Mali scene of the 70s – a set that's got lots of unusual rhythmic impulses and vocal inflections – with a style that moves way beyond anything we might have expected! One of the best elements of the record is this really cool use of electric organ – played at a style that's almost more electronic than the standard sounds you'd expect from the instrument – thin tones that have an eerie, exotic quality that fits in beautifully with the pulsating rhythms and guitar lines! Vocals soar and dip along with the grooves – sometimes with a full-on chorus feel, other times in a more call/response mode that makes the record feel very personal and spontaneous – especially on the long track that takes up all of side two, the compelling "Lala". Side one features shorter numbers, but all equally wonderful – and titles include "Fitiriwale", "Hodi Hu Yenyan", and "Kenedugu Fanga". CD

(Folk/Country, Global Grooves) CD

A fantastic funky combo from the mid 70s African scene – one who worked previously with Geraldo Pino, and who definitely show some traces of his own great work too – but who also have a madly great groove that's all their own! Freedom Family are definitely on the funkier side of the 70s Afro spectrum – and like Pino, clearly draw lots of inspiration from the best American funk acts of the late 60s and early 70s – so much so that we'd definitely say that this album works equally well as a straight funk album as it does a testament to the greatness of Afro Funk at the time! Most lyrics are in English, and the group use lots of Hammond, riffing guitars, heavy drums, and tight horns – served up in a mighty lean blend, with a great funky 45 style of production. Tracks include "Lala Li", "Good Times", "Life", "Ayentsoo", "The Last Thing", and "Yensuro". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning set of vocal recordings by Tlahoun Gessesse – one of the most important singers during the golden age of Ethiopian Music – caught here on a set of sides that sadly saw that period coming to an end! The tracks on the set are mostly from the early 70s, a time that saw great political changes in Ethiopia – and tremendous censorship and restrictions on cultural production. Gessesse's vocals during this time are perhaps even more melancholy and heartfelt than before, and he's working here on a number of sides with the legendary Mulatu – with arrangements that have a angular, almost modernist edge. Despite the language barriers that keep us from understanding what Gessesse's singing about, there's an incredibly evocative quality to the work that transcends time and place – and titles include "Alegntaye", "Aykedashem Iebe", "Ene Negn Wey Antchi", "Yene Felagote", "Beyet New Mengedu", "Lantchi Biye", "Tchuheten Betsemu", and two versions of "Kulun Mankwalesh". First time on reissue vinyl for this material – which originally appeared on the 17th volume of the Ethiopiques series. LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from Edmondy Krater – an artist whose revival is long overdue! Krater's roots are in Guadeloupe, but he works here in a great fusion of original styles and jazzier elements – the best spirit of the Parisian scene's long legacy of opening new musical doors, supported strongly by the work of the Heavenly Sweetness label in recent years! Krater plays trumpet, but also sings – and the combo has a warmly jazzy vibe – lots of great keyboards next to acoustic percussion – all bubbling over with a great sense of spirit and collaboration. Titles include "Metew Byen", "Kontak", "Fo Kontinye Goume", "J'Ai Traverse La Mer", "Se Tan Nou", and "Yo Vini Pou Danse". LP, Vinyl record album

The definitely got the title right on this one – because the set is filled with some of the most heavenly tracks from the legendary Ethiopiques series – that legendary run of compilations that was the first introduction for most of us to the amazing music of Ethiopia! This package really zeros in on all the best bits – and has a special focus on the early 70s, with some other bits from the 60s as well – all the wonderful vintage material that captures that special time in Ethiopian music when the artists were really taking some new chances with their sound – and creating an otherworldly blend of jazz and funk with more local elements as well. The range of artists is great – a really compelling blend of singers and instrumentalists, not just a handful of tracks by Mulatu – and titles include "Presentiment" by Tsegue Maryam Guebrou, "Ene Negn Bay Manesh" by Girma Beyene, "Hedetch Alu" by Muluquen Mellesse, "Lantchi Biye" by Tlahoun Gessesse, "Tchereqa" by Menelik Wesnatchew, "Ashasha Beyew" by Abbebe Tessemma, "Ati Fettun Isani Infedhani" by Ali Birra, "Mela Mela" by Seyfou Yohannes, "Teredjew Neber" by Ayalew Mesfin, and "Hametegnaw" by Seyoum Gebreyes. LP, Vinyl record album

A second amazing collection of rare funk tracks from the Mid East – work that didn't exist in the same "scene"-styled world as American funk, but which instead comes from a disparate group of recordings that surprisingly, amazingly, turned out to be pretty darn funky! Musical modes differ throughout the tracks in a really nice way – but most of the tunes are unified through strong use of electric bass and heavy percussion – mixed up from number to number, in a way that opens the door to a stunning world of musical exploration we never would have experienced otherwise! We've really grown to love the Habibi Funk label in recent years – and although other records have been great, this set may well be their crowning achievement. Titles include "Sultan Qaboos Song" by Sal Davis, "Ahlo Jedba" by Fadou, "Music De Carneval" by Magdy El Hussainy, "Badala Zamana" by Zohra, "Casba" by Ahmed Male, "El Fen" by Ait Meslayene, "Haditouni" by Douaa, "Tendme" by Ibrahim Hesnawi, and "Reet" by Hamid El Shaeri. LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the coolest music we've ever heard from Ethiopian keyboard legend Hailu Mergia – a late 70s session that has his organ lines sounding even groovier than ever, on some sweet tracks that also bring in a fair bit of funk to the grooves! The style is much more in an Ethiopiques vein than some of Mergia's later music – with his own floating keyboard lines wrapped nicely around bolder notes on trumpet and sax, and some additional electric piano too – all moving in this moody, soulful territory that's really wonderful! Most of the record is instrumental, but there's some occasional vocals too – more in a chorus mode that goes along with the grooves beautifully – on titles that include "Bati Bati", "Embuwa Bey Lamitu", "Wede Harer Guzo", "Minilbelsh", "Anchin Kifu Ayinkash", "Sintayehu", and "Yenenesh Wey". LP, Vinyl record album

Tony Allen never lets us down – and even though he recorded this set well into the first decade of his "comeback" years, an album like this still has the same sort of fresh, urgent feel that got him noticed again by a whole new generation of fans! There's definitely lots of Allen's roots with Fela in the music – the kind of Afrobeat grooves that Tony first helped invent back in the 70s – but as with some of his other recent records, there's also a strong willingness to play with tradition, too – mixing in unusual sounds and patterns that really keep things interesting, and which show why Allen's probably been the best ambassador of Afrobeat styles in the 21st Century! Vocals are by Allen and a few other singers over the course of the set – and the band's a super-tight combo with some especially great keyboards from Claude Dibongue. Titles include "Secret Agent", "Ijo", "Switch", "Celebrate", "Ayenlo", "Pariwo", "Nina Lowo", "Atuwaba", and "Alutere". LP, Vinyl record album

A special vinyl release of one of the most striking volumes of the legendary Ethiopiques series – a set that focuses on the mad saxophone work of Getachew Makurya! The recordings on this collection are all from 1972 – and they feature the deep-toned Mekurya blowing in a strange and otherworldly tone, usually over spare backings that include percussion, piano, and/or organ – making for a sound that's almost like some of Pat Patrick's work for Sun Ra, but with a decidedly more ethnic feel! The compositions are all very basic, and very rhythmic – and Makurya's sax work snakes over the top in a really magical way. Titles include "Akale Wube", "Tizita", "Shemonmwanaye", "Yene Hassab Gwadegna", "Ambassel", "Almaz Yeharerwa", and "Yegenet Muziqa". Note – all tracks are from the Volume 14 CD of Ethiopiques – but appear here on vinyl reissue for the first time! LP, Vinyl record album

There's no music per se on this disc, just grunts, groans, howls and other sounds from the wild. Twelve different animals are featured, from the fierce, man-eating leopard, to the playful vervet monkey, the timid hyrax, the mighty rhinocerous, the peaceful and beautiful zebra, the strange wildebeest, the regal lion, the cackling hyena, the vicious wild dog, the crafty silver-backed jackal, the enormous elephant and the bovine hippopotamus. (Sound Library, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the funkiest of the Ethopiques series! Like the best volumes in this series, this 8th one features some killer tunes with a hard soul approach – recorded in Ethiopia, but clearly influenced by the American funk of the late 60s and early 70s! The arrangements are mad mad mad – with plenty of incredible guitar work, tight bass-driven rhythms, and a screaming funk sound that makes the CD feel like a pile of funky 45s done in a language you can't understand! Includes work by Girma Beyene, Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, Lemma Demissew, and Samuel Belay. Essentially funky! CD

Tight Nigerian boogie from Ben Jagga – done with a lean groove that really represents the change in styles during the 80s, while still holding onto modes that reference some of the funk from before! Ben's got this bright style of singing, and at times the record almost has a Caribbean vibe – that sort of special, sunny style that we love in some of the Caribe disco singles from the period – mixed with more of the mainstream R&B modes that were coming out of Lagos, particularly those that have a stronger electro soul influence. Titles include "You Are My Reason For Living", "Aliyenju", "Hold On Pretty Woman", "Just Forgive & Forget", and "Jack & Jill". CD

Really fantastic work from a scene that interacted briefly with our culture during the Vietnam war – yet still managed to hold on to a groove that was very much its own! This isn't the sound of American rock blaring out of a transistor radio in some fiction film about the war – and instead, these cuts go head to head with anything we might have been turning out at the time – yet with a very different vibe overall, as the mix of language, rhythms, and instrumentation are completely unique to the scene in Vietnam! There's definitely more than a few funky moments on the set – some great drums and basslines set amidst larger arrangements – but the phrasing of the vocals makes for all sorts of unusual twists and turns along the way, even when electric guitars, organ lines, and other elements might sound slightly familiar. Maybe the best volume so far in this wonderful series – with titles that include "Han Mac Tu" by Truc Mai, "Hinh Anh Nguoi" by Thanh Lan, "Trach Yeu" by Hung Cuong & Mai Le Huyen, "Tinh Anh" by Tuy Phuong, "Nang Chieu" by Son Ca, "Ban Nhac Khng Ten" by Ban Nhac Le Van Thien", and "Xuan Muon" by Hoang Oanh. LP, Vinyl record album