(Neo Soul, New Grooves) 12-inch, Vinyl record

The album's got lots of nice jazz fusiony tracks, blended with the nice R&B tip that the band usually has. Titles include "Love In the Dark", "Soho", "One Step To A Miracle", "Smile", and their great cover of "Always There". (Neo Soul, New Grooves) CD

A massive record – and an instant legend the day it was released! Masters At Work host the beautiful meeting of a host legendary artists – Roy Ayers, George Benson, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Jocelyn Brown, Vince Montana, and others – all united in a magical session that brings Latin firmly back to the dancefloor with the power and majesty of the best 70s recordings! The whole thing's amazing – a fantastic mix of Latin, funk, jazz, and house that's inspired a whole new generation of musicians – and which has still yet to be duplicated years later! Includes the massive remake of "I Am the Blackgold of the Sun", plus "Runaway", "Sweet Tears", and the great cover of Bob James' "Nautilus". CD

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An eclectic set from UFO, with their mad blend of styles including spy theme thrillers, angular (but still groovy!) jazziness and even some nice soundtracky very French mod bits! The album features 12 numbers in all, including "His Name Is. . .", "Nica's Dream", "Spy's Spice (Mon Espionne)", "Dice For A Chance", "Planet Plan (edit)", "Waltz (Le Serpent Rouge)", "Picaresque Eye", "Friends – We'll Be" and "The Moving Shadows". LP, Vinyl record album

The Bon Voyage album was UFO's best record in years – and this set features some of the best tracks on the album, all nicely remixed with different bits! The package is pretty darn groovy, and the set features 9 tracks in all – including "Tres Amigos (organic audio rmx)", "Good Luck Shore (Joujouka tfpp mix)", "Tres Amigos (Peshay mix)", "Flying Saucer (Kings Of Tomorrow rmx)", "Flying Saucer (Modaji Out There Somewhere mix)", "Flying Saucer (Life On Mars dub)", "Somewhere (Restless Soul Peaktime mix)". CD

The greatest DJ in the world spins live in a wonderful set of grooves that perfectly displays Petersen's huge rep as a genre-bending DJ! The set's similar to some of Peterson's other music mix compilations – in that it blows away any expectations you'd have about the way genres should be put together, running through a stunning mix that includes funk, dub, Brazilian, jazz, jungle, and a heck of a lot more. Sounds like a mess, but the magical Mr P makes everything come out sparkly white in the wash – which is why he's still numero uno in our book! Titles include "The Ghetto/El Barrio" by George Benson, "Slowly Surely" by Jill Scott, "El Capitalismo Foraneo" by Gotan Project, "All I Have In Me (Original Musiquarium Mix)" by Young Disciples, "Blue Mosque" by Don Rendell & Ian Carr, "Black Mary" by Pariss Clemons, "Respect" by Rotary Connection, "Waltz For Koop" by Koop, "Mystery Of Man" by Sarah Vaughan, and "Mind Of A Killer" by Polar. 24 tracks on 2CDs! (Funky Compilations, New Grooves) CD

Recorded live at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and a special set featuring the acoustic talents of trumpeter Tim Hagan and soprano saxist Bob Belden, mixed with electronics by Scott Kinsey, and turtablism by DJ Kingsize. Most of the material is fairly out – with off-kilter solos draped over loud junglist rhythms – and the album reminds us more of Derek Bailey's drum n bass album of a few years back, than it does some of the more recent new funky work on Blue Note. Titles include "Big Moment", "Dans La Ville Sombre", "Love's Lullaby", "Are You Threatening Me?", and "Trumpet Sandwich". CD

More than a decade of work from Incognito, and Bluey's still going strong! The group here are picking up some of the 21st Century Soul touches of late 90s Talking Loud – but that's a great thing by us, as they forge together the warmth of their earlier tunes with the crisp freshness of the London scene of the future – hence the title, wethinks! Tracks include "Black Rain", "I Can See The Future", "Nights Over Egypt", "Wild & Peaceful", "Get Into My Groove", "Yesterday's Dream", and "It Ain't Easy". (Neo Soul, New Grooves) CD

Sault have always been fantastic, but it also seems that with each new release, they get even more powerful and progressive – opening up a more radical agenda that really comes through in their music! The group don't state their position with the title of the record – which is essentially untitled – but their message comes through loud and clear in the way the righteous lyrics mix perfectly with their spare, stark instrumentation – a range of rhythms that often make it hard to tie Sault to any one category or scene, but which also makes the record bristle with excitement – on titles that include "Don't Shoot Guns Down", "Wildfires", "Sorry Ain't Enough", "Black Is", "Stop Dem", "Hard Life", "Hold Me", "Only Synth In Church", "Why We Cry When We Die", and "Bow", which features a guest appearance from Michael Kiwanuka. CD

A survey of The Music Scene through the eyes, mind and fingers of longstanding hip hop and spacey beatcraft guru Blockhead! Blockhead's way with a sample has been one of the reasons we've been on board so long, and it's as unpretentiously hypnotic as ever here – staying defiantly headnodding in a groove – while subtly innovating and floating in myriad stylistic variations without hitting you over the head with them. Solid stuff. Titles include "It's Raining Clouds", "The Music Scene", "Only Sequences Change", "Which One Of You Jerks Drank My Arnold Palmer?", "Attack The Doctor", "The Prettiest Sea Slug", "The Daily Routine", "Pity Party", "Farewell Spaceman" and more. CD

A fantastic second album from Dee-Lite – a set hat has the group maybe not needing to declare their identity as strongly as on the debut – which leaves Towa Tei and the trio to just slide right into the groove with effortless ease! There's few folks who can mix deeper house roots with catchier club like this – and even after the decades, the album holds up wonderfully – playful, but never too silly – and with some funky elements that were years ahead of their time, and which maybe sound better in the hands of Towa than any of the cliched copycats. Includes the titles "Pussycat Meow", one of our personal favorites – plus "Runaway", "Fuddy Duddy Judge", "The Dreams Are Fine", "Electric Shock", "Two Clouds Above Nine", and "Heart Be Still". (Soul, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little record that's bristling over with that future past sort of vibe that makes the Star Creature label so great – 80s electronic elements coming into play with a more contemporary sort of groove – lean, mean, and right on the money all the way through! E Live is definitely a master on the keys – able to bring some jazzier elements into his lines here – as he steps out strongly in a mostly instrumental setting over some bassy beats and heady basslines – on titles that include "Mood Swing", "I Feel It", "Friday Night Flight", "Cadillac Breeze", "Traffic Jam", "Stranger Dayz", "You Got Me", "City Girl", "Slapadelic", and "Wise Up Rise Up". LP, Vinyl record album

Hunter's getting a lot more sophisticated in his style, and is moving past the heavy funky sound of early days – to a mix of soulful styles that opens him up a lot more. This sextet session features drummer Leon Parker, who always works well with Hunter – plus tenorist Peter Apfelbaum, and percussionists Stephen Chopek and Robert Perkins. Titles include "Two For Bleu", "Al Green", "Rendezvous Avec La Verite", "Flau Flau", and "Cloud Splitter". Also features a nice solo version of Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free". (Jazz, New Grooves) CD

Amnesia? We don't know about you, but we still haven't forgotten these seminal house tracks from Larry Heard – easily some of the most exciting work of the Chicago scene – and music that really marked a bit step forward for the sound of the dancefloor at the time! Larry's working here on some really amazing keyboards – often used in ways that have a direct link back to 70s electronics from Herbie Hancock and others, yet served up in a leaner, stripped-down mode that went onto influence a whole batch of British musicians in the next decade as well. The whole thing's way more interesting than just the usual batch of dance tracks – and although the analogue keys have plenty of "acid" elements – they're also really a cut above that genre too. Titles include "Can You Feel It", "Washing Machine", "Beyond The Clouds", "Stars", "Waterfalls", "For So Long", "Amnesia" and "Mystery Of Love". (House Music, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

Wicked tunes hand-picked by the Japanese maestro of the groove – a heady batch of tracks collected by Yukihiro Fukutomi, with a brilliant melding of jazz, soul, and Latin influences! The set compiles 10 tracks from American and European sources – and features many hard-to-find remixes that surfaced briefly on expensive singles, but which have long gone by the wayside – making this collection even more essential to fans of the groove. Fukutomi presents the tracks in their entirety, unmixed – and titles include "Don't Mean A Thing (Incognito mix)" by Space Jazz Dub Men, "I Got Somebody New (original)" by Georg Levin with Clara Hill, "Everything (Yam Who rmx)" by Dwayne Morgan, "Life Rhythms (Raw Deal rmx)" by E Smoove, "Dreams Come True (Afronaught mix for Bugz In The Attic)" by Alison David, "Listen (Just Listen Louie's Master mix)" by Urban Species, "Cosmic Gypsy (Fila Brazilia rmx)" by United Future Organization, "I Just Wanna Say (Domu's Number One Mix)" by Michelle Lawson, and "Cloud 9 (Quenti Harris Shelter mix)" by Donnie. CD