Fantastic sounds from the Far Out Monster Disco Orchestra – a group with family ties to Azymuth and Incognito, and who work here in the best blend of Brazilian and soulful elements that might imply! The ensemble is a crowning achievement for the Far Out label – a summation of all the great work they've done from the London scene, including their reintroduction of key Brazilian musicians of the 70s – all soaring to the skies here, with a richly collaborative energy! The group features lots of keyboards from Jose Roberto Bertrami, guitars from Alex Malheiros, and keyboards and rhythms from Daniel Maunick – plus great contributions from many others, including some help from the legendary Arthur Verocai. Most tunes groove in a mighty nice way – not vintage disco, but a soaring, righteous 21st Century version of club – on tunes that include "Step Into My Life", "Flying High", "Black Sun", "The Two Of Us", "Walking Bass", "Give It To Me", and "Where Do We Go From Here". CD also features bonus instrumentals of most songs on the album! CD

Joe Acheson works here with a group he originally described as an "imagined orchestra" – but which here is actually a relatively large group of musicians coming together to follow Joe's lead! The players shift from track to track, and Joe himself handles a lot of the instrumentation – on piano, basses, keyboards, percussion, and even some field recordings and zither as well – all layered in a sonically complex way that echoes some of the London experiments in recent years, augmented by other work on cello, trumpet, drums, bass clarinet, and trombone. The sound is often dark, but with these warm currents of hope – and titles include "Skylarks", "Nightfall", "Ripple", "Broken", "Cage Then Brick", "Reverse Learning", "Little Buddy Move", and "Hammered". CD

An insanely wonderful set from Sean Khan – maybe the greatest music he's done since his early classics with the SK Radicals! This album really takes us back to a time when music from London was completely fresh and exciting, and cosmically soulful, too – and Sean's got help from some great singers on the record who also date from that era – including the mighty Omar, plus Sabrina Malheiros, and vocalist Heidi Vogel of Cinematic Orchestra! All three of these artists really flesh out the sound of the record – and make it every bit as much of a soul record as a set that's awash in all the great reed touches and jazzy bits we'd expect from Sean. Andy Noble's also on the record, playing some wonderfully warm piano lines – and the overall instrumentation has more acoustic elements than before, which makes for a very righteous vibe throughout! Titles include "Dance For Little Emily", "Muriel", "Samba Para Florence", "Sister Soul", "What Has Jazz Become", "Trane's Shadow", "Don't Let The Sun Go Down", and "Fire Within" – plus bonus remix tracks "Don't Let The Sun Go Down (4Hero rmx)", "Samba Para Florence (Henry Wu rmx)", and "Things To Say (Ben Hauke rmx)". CD

Not a slow burner, but a real cooker – served up here by a sweet London combo with a great mix of spiritual jazz and sweeter soul! Sean Khan leads the group, and plays some mighty sharp-edged alto and soprano sax – and other instrumentation includes Fender Rhodes, bass, and drums – often used in ways that follow Khan's lead on the instrumental tracks – but with a smoother, warmer feel on some of the numbers that feature female vocals in the lead! These cuts have a soulfulness that takes us back to the best years of the London scene – and they really sound great next to the instrumental numbers, which have a sharper feel overall – making for an album that's got a much richer voice than usual for this type of set. Titles include "Fluxman", "Piny Annie", "What Is Jazz", "El Presidente", "Black Narcissus", and "Castro De Castro". CD

Beautifully dynamic work from drummer Myele Manzanza – an artist we've never heard work in this scope before, and we hope will soon do so again! The album's got Myele at the helm of a great large ensemble – a group who have a strong spiritual sense at the core, but often move in more vibrant rhythms driven by Manzana's work on the drums – not really funky, maybe more in an upbeat modal mode – which allows for great sounds from the rising crest of alto, trumpet, tenor, trombone, and flute in the lineup! Bass is by Ross McHenry, whose sound is a key core part of the record – and Ross also produced, as well – really capturing the right sort of vibe for the entire album. Myele's part of the Adelaide scene, in New Zealand – but we'd put this record right up there with some of the best work coming out of the London jazz world in recent years – with titles that include "Big Deal", "Madrid", "Itaru's Phone Booth", "Family Dynamics", "Ritual", and "A Love Requited". Includes the Japanese-only bonus track "Freedom Of Movement". (Jazz, New Grooves) CD

Alex Attias has always given us some really creative sounds in his own music – so we've got some mighty high expectations when he brings together a selection of tracks by other artists for BBE! Fortunately, the record not only lives up to those expectations, but does them one better – by opening us up to some overlooked contemporary cuts that all have the cosmic touches of Attias' work on the London scene – then interweaving them with some older tracks that resonate even more strongly in the territory! There's some wonderful work from recent years that show just how far the best side of the broken beat legacy has evolved – and other older cuts have a cosmic vibe that's plenty righteous too, with some great jazzy currents that really deepen the vibe of the collection. Titles include "Midnight Magic" by Cro Magnon with Roy Ayers, "My Dream Came True" by Root Soul, "Cascade" by Tatham Mensah Lord & Ranks, "Do The Dance" by Grooveman Spot, "Over & Over" by Material with Nona Hendryx, "Curiosity (Zanzibar rmx)" by Nicole Willis, "Could You Be Me (Theo's SS translation)" by Kathy Kosins & Paul Randolph, "Earth Overshoot Day (Hugo LX rmx)" by Cotonete, "Party Hardy (Alex Attias edit)" by Velvet Hammer, "Her Boyfriend Assesses His Value & Pleads His Case" by Kip Hanrahan, and "It's You (disco alert mix)" by Sunaga T Experience. CD

The evolution of Far Out's excellent Brazilian Love Affair series – featuring standouts from earlier volumes as well as new and exclusive tracks! Brazilian Love Affair Revisited celebrates the series to date as well as it charts the evolving sounds of Brazil and its London interpreters – and shows where the sound is going via newer material and younger talents. A great set with both classic and contemporary legends such as Ed Motta, Marcos Valle, Joyce, Azymuth and others, respectful remixes and interpretations by Osunlade, Mark Pritchard and Kirk Degiorgio, newer tracks from more recent Far Out arrivals such as Raf Vilar and Clara Moreno. 15 tracks in all: "Os Escravos Do Jo (Precussion Edit)" and more by Friends From Rio 2, "Ponteio" by Da Lata, "Nova Bossa Nova" by Marcos Valle, "Paz" by Troubleman feat Nina Miranda, "Todos Os Santos" by Joyce, "Preguiciman" by Mamond, "Bossa Me" by Raf Vilar, "Without Words" by 4 Hero Presents Nature's Plan feat Ed Motta, "Sem Pressa (Remix By Danny Wheeler)" by Alex Malheiros And Banda Utopia feat Sabrina Malheiros and more. (Brazil, New Grooves) CD

Hard to believe it's been 20 years since the Far Out label first started making wonderful music – because their sounds are always so ahead of their time, it's as if they're still coming to us from the future! This wonderful 2CD set perfectly sums up all that's great about Far Out – their longstanding commitment to Brazilian music, their London-based ear for new styles of expression, and their way of reaching out to the globe with a vision that's continued to captivate listeners around the world for the past two decades! CD 1 features key Far Out cuts – including "Meu Samba Torto" by Clara Moreno, "Escape" by Marcos Valle, "Samba Da Silvia" by Joyce, "Brisa Mar" by Sabrina Malheiros, "Aos Pes Do Redentor" by Banda Black Rio with Caetano Veloso, "Ups & Downs" by Kirk Degiorgio, "Vagalume" by Democustico, and "Agua" by Nina & Chris. CD 2 features a huge mix of 27 tracks all handled by Spiritual South – including 11 numbers that appear here for the first time ever! (Brazil, New Grooves) CD

The deepest record we've heard so far from London's Sean Khan – and that's saying a lot, as we really loved his previous albums! Sean got his start on the broken beat scene a number of years back, and has slowly been evolving into more of a jazz-based artist – which he hits fantastically here in the company of the legendary Hermeto Pascoal, who plays Fender Rhodes and melodica on the record too! But honestly, even without Hermeto, Sean's pretty fantastic on his own – as his alto sax lines have this beautifully sharp edge, as does his work on flute and soprano – these soulful currents that almost rival recent work by Nat Birchall and some of his contemporaries. Other players include Ivan Conti on drums and Jim Mullin on electric guitar – and Heidi Vogel sings on two tracks, and Sabrina Mahleiros on one more. Titles include "Moment Of Collapse", "Waltz For Hermeto", "Palmares Fantasy", "Montreux", "Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser", "The Blonde", and "The Conversation". CD

A brilliant batch of tracks from one of London's best! Kirk Degiorgio is well known for his respect for, and use of, classic modes of keyboard-driven electric jazz funk – so it's extremely fitting that his new Offworld group features the members of Azymuth, one of the greatest keyboard-driven fusion groups of all time! The set's pretty darn fantastic – and kind of begins with the funky jazz style of recent Azymuth albums for the Far Out, then pumps it up a bit with Kirk's chunky style of production. The whole thing's a brilliant blend of Brazilian and British, classic and modern, and it's probably the best non-Brazilian release on the Far Out label to date! Tracks include "Two Worlds", "Ostinato", "The Visitors", "Tornado", "Black Magic", "Nurnen Sun", and "Ups & Downs". CD