Cosmic soul from Danish singer Astrid Engberg – an artist with a voice that's already great on its own, but sound seven better amidst the album's slightly spacey, slightly jazzy instrumentation! The record has a very contemporary vibe – as although Astrid's vocals could work in an old school soul setting, they seem even better here with the moody electric crackle of the backings – sometimes served up by just a trio, but featuring guest work from the great string master Miguel Atwood Ferguson on a number of tracks – and other appearances from Moo Latte, Maria Dybbroe, and Tobias Wiklund as well. Titles include "Spirits Came Told Me", "Chains", "Loving Contemplation", "I Should Care", "Adaptation", "Body Follows Body", and "Blue Rise & The Fall". LP, Vinyl record album

Mad Mats is not only digging beyond the crates here, he's also digging beyond any conventional expectations you might have – as the set's got a unique vibe that may well make it one of the most compelling BBE compilations in years! The music is from the late 60s through the present – but it all comes together in a very future-sounding way – with rhythms that are often offbeat, electric elements that seem to crackle with independent energy, and vocals that can fall down in the mix one minute and burst forth the next! This isn't a dance music compilation, and it's also not a set of rare funk tracks either – and instead, Mats creates his own very personal journey in sound – heedless of time periods, genres, and often national boundaries. Titles include "Take A Stand" by Psalms, "Big Big Boss" by Johnny Moore, "Badly" by Cuthead, "Sherriff (Murlo rmx)" by Gappy Ranks, "Keep The Music Alive" by Yvonne Gray, "Evil Woman" by Bobby Hebb, "Jazz In Outer Space" by BSTC, "The Traveller" by Deft, "Space Based" by Mode M, "Don't Hold Back The Feeling (key trip dub)" by U N I, "Animations" by Intimate Disco, and "Jah I See You" by Ensemble Entendu. (Funky Compilations, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

Really wonderful work from Towa Tei – an artist who's lost none of the charms that first made us fall in love with him when he was a member of Deee Lite! As with his earlier solo material, this set's got a wonderful combination of sounds, samples, and styles – that quality that has Towa maybe bringing forward some of the best spirits of the initial Japanese electro pop generation, but fused with a more dynamic sense of rhythm that he picked up while part of the scene in New York in the early 90s! All the elements crash together with non-stop action and a real sense of sonic delight – and titles include "Beautiful", "My Baby", "Sea Change", "Immunitas", "Ear Candy", "Hold On", and "OPA". LP, Vinyl record album

A really joyous collection of grooves selected by Alex Attias – work that's maybe even more uplifting than the first volume in this series – and we really liked that one a heck of a lot too! Most of the tracks are relatively contemporary – selected by Attias from the work of underground colleagues over the past few years – and they're put together in a way that's even more than the sum of their mighty parts – the kind of careful ear for a well-selected track list that reminds us of the sort of albums that made us first fall in love with the BBE label many years back! In a world of dark corners and uncertainty, this is a set that will help you find the way forward, and have a hell of a good time doing it – thanks to tracks that include "Gwotet (Alex Attias LillyGood Party edit)" by David Murray & The Gwo-Ka Masters with Pharoah Sanders, "Open Up Your Mind (Honeycomb voc mix)" by Universal Tongues feat Elle, "Star Child Going Home" by MJ Lallo, "Freedom Flight (Alex Attias LillyGood Party edit)" by Mausiki Scales, "Children Of The World (Ben Brophy edit)" by Elements Of Life feat Josh Milian, and "How Bad I Want Ya (GU peak tru time mix)" by Stacy Kidd with Peven Everett. LP, Vinyl record album