A sparkling collection of club tracks from the contemporary underground – music that spans the Atlantic, but is nicely unified in a mix of thoughtful, well-crafted grooves! There's a quality here that might be thought of as post-broken beat – tracks that know all the best qualities of the previous generation, but also warm things up a bit with jazzy currents and a really magnificent sense of flow! The whole thing is very cohesive, and feels very different than a much more scattered compilation – with tracks that include "Mental Feelings" by Rick The Goldson Wilhite & Jon Easley, "Real Time" by Boo Williams, "PCM" by The Mechanical Man, "Surface" by Nemanja Krstic, "Tribute To The Sound" by Life Recorder, "Space Rele" by Gene Hunt, and "Escape Two" by Dan Piu. LP, Vinyl record album

A jazzy group, but one that's not straight jazz either – as they work with a strongly rhythmic vibe that's somewhere between classic fusion and some of the contemporary sounds we love on Schema Records – maybe no surprise as this combo also hails from the Italian scene as well! There's a great mix of keyboards in the music – Korg Sigma, Fender Rhodes, Yamaha CP70, and Farfisa Synthorchestra – the latter of which sounds especially great, and gives the music some great spacey touches around the edges. Rhythms are all live, and have some great currents from classic boogie and late 70s club – but the vocals on most tracks bring in a special sort of vibe, in part because the singers shift, and the lyrics are in Italian. Titles include "Malavita", "Fuga Finale", "Citta Futura", "Napoli Visionaria", and "Oro Di Miele". LP, Vinyl record album

Prince Igor is Igor Zhukovsky of the legendary funk group The Soul Surfers – and he teams up here with DJ Boora for a set of lean, funky grooves! The tunes all have plenty of funk drums at the core – layered up top with samples and all sorts of sonic elements that create a cool, spacey sort of vibe – definitely echoing the image on the cover, but with a down to earth vibe, given the drums! Given the legacy of spacey funk projects we've loved from the Funk Night label, this set fits right into their mode – with titles that include "Who Is Hiding In The Forest", "Ninja", "Dvor", "Mamont", "Nani", "Gusli", "Klass", and "Arsenalio". (Deep Funk, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

James Alexander Bright joins forces here with Groove Armada's Tom Findlay – and the result is a set of grooves that partly have an 80s boogie sort of vibe, and partly reflect that sunnier, hazier sound that we've loved from the LA underground scene in recent years! Beats, basslines, and keyboards rule the sound – and vocals are often processed and layered right down in the mix, sounding pretty electric too – working well with the sparkle of the set, on titles that include "Flowers", "Leave It All Behind", "Slow Dance", "When I Look Into The World", "Space & Time", and "NY Disco". LP, Vinyl record album

FIDEL's got some great singers along for this set – as the album features vocals from either Sly Johnson or John Turrell on nearly every track – both artists who really add a lot of soulful depth to the music, and work together on a few tracks too! Almost all the instrumentation is by Dilouya, but there's excellent guitar on most tracks too – handled by Greg Emonte, with a funky riffing quality that really evokes a Nile Rodgers sort of quality – maybe no surprise, given the 80s-styled, boogie-heavy quality of the album! Titles include "Straight Down To Heaven", "All About Love", "Odd Things", "Behind The Wall", "L'Aventure Moderne", "All Of This Is Fake", and "Heartbeat". LP, Vinyl record album

The best yet from Flying Lotus – who we keep allowing ourselves to believe has hit an insurmountable peak with each new record – but he just keeps getting better! Where the preceding Cosmogramma upped the stranger, spacier and more abstract textures, Until The Quiet Comes is a bit more inviting – and to his credit, Flying Lotus keeps things as innovative as ever, while still giving this one just a bit more immediately appealing atmosphere. There's nearly always a compelling beat, whether it's abstract boom bap or bubbly and synthy, with heavy bass and thick waves of sound floating over. An incredible roster of guests contribute, too – including string-arranger Miguel Atwood Ferguson, vocalists Erykah Badu, Laura Darlington and Radiohead's Thom Yorke, keyboardist Dorian Concept, and others – but there's little doubt that this is purely the Flying Lotus show. Greatness! Titles include "All In", "Sultan's Request", "See Thru To U" with Erykah Badu, "DMT Song" with Thundercat, "The Nightcaller", "Only If You Wanna", "Electric Candyman" with Thom Yorke, "Hunger" with Niki Randa, "Phantasm" with Laura Darlington, "Dream To Me" and more. CD

A really lovely soundtrack from Forever Pavot – contemporary, but with some of the best touches of our favorite French film scores of the late 60s – a blend of sentiment and subtle instrumentation, light melody and occasional groove – all handled with excellent keyboards, flutes, and other sweet touches throughout! Pavot often has the sense of space and tune of Francis Lai – which makes the record a great hit in our book – and the organ, piano, and harpsichord moments are especially great – on titles that include "Au Chalet 2", "La Ballade De Poulenc", "Dans L'Aquarium", "Generique Debut", "En Voiture", "Les Amants", and "Marche Dans La Niege". (Soundtracks, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

In a world of supposed crossover Brazilian projects that have mostly lost their roots, the music of Bebel Gilberto is surprisingly refreshing! This daughter of Joao Gilberto (not Astrud) sings in a manner that's in keeping with the classic bossa divas of years past – but she works here in adventurous collaborations with the likes of Thievery Corporation, Amon Tobin, Suba, and Smoke City, which makes for a mixture of styles that freshens up the bossa considerably. Titles include a remake of "So Nice (Summer Samba)", plus "Samba Da Bencao", "Lonely", "Tanto Tempo", "Bananeira", and "Sem Contencao". (Brazil, New Grooves) CD