... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Kieran Hebden's third album as Four Tet – an unpredictable, completely hypnotic batch of abstract beatcraft that sounded like it was built to last when it first appeared in the early 00s – and sure enough, it's sounds as fresh as ever a decade+ later! What makes Four Tet at his best so irresistible is the way to rolls from loosely connective beats and hazy atmosphere on one track to heavy sensory overload and back again, fully hypnotizing either way, and all the while holding together in a way that feels of like a single piece. There's a lot of different sounds coming in and out, and not a single audible bit of it is dispensable. Near perfection from one of the more creative laptop instrumentals of his generation. Titles include "Hands", "She Moves She", "First Thing", "My Angel Rocks Back And Forth", "Spirit Fingers", "Unspoken", "Chia", "As Serious As Your Life", "Aney They All Look Broken Hearted" and "Slow Jam". 10th Anniversary edition includes a bonus CD featuring a full live performance from Copenhagen, 2004. 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

The Heavenly Sweetness label celebrates its first ten years in business – with a special birthday present of all-exclusive unreleased tracks! This set doesn't look back at the previous decade of the label, but instead points the way forward – with a wonderful selection of newly-recorded tracks by some of hte label's best artists – including some who've helped define their groove strongly in recent years, and some whose talents are soon to be presenting full length sets for the company! As with the previous ten years of records, the music here is a fantastic blend of new styles and global elements – some strands of soul, jazz, and hip hop influences – but often used in ways that are completely fresh and contemporary – at a level that's made Heavenly Sweetness one of our go-to labels for new and interesting sounds over the past decade. Titles include "You Party Too Much" by The Mule, "O Circo" by Cotonete", "Have A Little Faith" by Blundetto and Ken Boothe, "An Ba Galba" by Roger Raspail and Vincent Segal, "Tijan Ka (2017 version)" by Edmondy Krater and I Live, "Tijan (Hugh LX rmx)" by Edmondy Krater, "F*ck With The Police" by Florian Pellissier Quintet with Roger Raspail and Nawer, "Hip Hop Muse (Lefto rmx)" by Rongetz Foundation, "Be The River" by Anthony Joseph and Hanyo, and "Move In Silence" by Guts with Patrice, Feve, Djeuhdjoah, and Lieutenant Nicholson. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most fantastic albums in years from the mighty Kirk DeGiorgio – a set that draws upon 70s sound library influences as a way for Kirk to really unfurl some of the jazziest elements in his music! Way back when nobody was ever referencing jazz for club tracks, DeGiorgio was always very clear to share his inspirations – a long-running love of keyboard giants from the 70s, like Herbie Hancock and George Duke – but not in a way that sought to ape their sounds, but expand on the ideas they first brought into the world – which is definitely the case here! Some rhythms have a nice evolution past London broken beat modes, and the whole thing's got a wonderfully cosmic vibe – served up on tunes that include "Chicago Shift", "Watts Awakening", "Dayton Daydreams", "Khumunu", "Beth El", "Shinar", "Cincinnati Sunrise", "Harlem Homerun", and "The Oakland Feel". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that forever changed the role of the DJ and turntable when it was dropped on the world – certainly not the first record to feature an artist building sound out of a mixture of old records and his own creation, but definitely one of the most hyped and most exposed over the years! For some reason, Shadow was able to find a way to take all the skills that hip hop DJs had been developing for 20 years, mixing them with some of the darkness of the European production scene – and then getting a wider audience to really appreciate both his own talents, and all the other inspirations that drove him – something that still seems to resonate all these many years later, as Shadow opened the door for many others to appreciate all the sounds that we'd been loving in the underground! And despite all his later work, this classic full length set might still be his best – a well-deserved classic, with titles that include "Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt", "The Number Song", "Changeling", "What Does Your Soul Look Like (pts 1 & 4)", "Mutual Slump", "Organ Donor", and "Midnight In A Perfect World". (Hip Hop, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

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

A really joyous set of grooves – one that seems to begin in ambient territory, but which bubbles forth with a warm sort of Mediterranean clubby vibe once it gets going! There's qualities here that take us back to older Italian grooves from a few decades back – but the execution is leaner, and far less commercial – with a great focus on beats, basslines, and keyboard parts throughout! Titles include "Nun Fa Niente", "Damecuta (LP mix)", "Amaremai", "Napoliterranea", and "Intrasatta". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's incredibly hard to pin down – and we mean that in the best way possible – a really explosive blend of jazz elements, contemporary rhythms, and all these other wonderful sounds and styles – a globe's worth of music that somehow was created in just a tiny bedroom studio! There's a richness here that's really uncommon for such a production – a quality that instead makes you feel as if some larger ensemble were working out new musical ideas in collaboration – not just a single artist with an uncanny ear for just the right saxophone elements, keyboard moments, and surprising sonic touches. These aren't "jazz loops" or some sort of silly, facile approach to music – and instead, Vasconcelos Sentimento has all the sophistication and depth to make the record well worthy of inclusion in the mighty catalog of the Far Out label. Titles include "Movimento", "Burkina", "Lucca", "Batebate", "Geraldo", "Quebra Coco", "Atraso Granular", and "Tender Strings". (Brazil, New Grooves) CD

A completely different side of Colombian music than you'd know from Discos Fuentes and some of the other mainstream outlets from that scene – as the tracks here are all from the contemporary underground, and represent a really rich flowering of creative grooves and soulful modes! In truth, most of this work might hail from any hip spot in the global underground – save for the fact that the lyrics are often in Spanish, and many tunes have some slight reference to older musical modes – sometimes an acoustic element mixed in with more electronic instrumentation, sometimes a more direct reference! The quality of the tracks is wonderful – a really strong surprise to our ears, as we never would have discovered this music otherwise – and it represents a really great alternative so some of the more staid, often boring attempts to create a global fusion of elements in the mainstream. Titles include "Cada Paso" by Liannia, "Cumbia Lobina (ext mix)" by Dragao featuring Nidia Gongora, "Aquazero" by Systema Solar featuring Pedro Ramaya, "Oyele" by Jimena Angel, "Cuando Canto Grito" by Cerrero featuring Lucia Pulido, "El Leopardo" by El Leopardo, "Mujer Divina" by Salsangroove, "Gualayo" by Radio Rebelde Soundsystem, "La Negra Y El Fantasma" by Bareto, "Nunca Termina" by David Caneva Akle, "Manana Sera" by Ruzto, and "De Donde Vengo Yo" by Los Transatlanticos featuring Pilar Matarola. 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 features unmixed tracks on 3LPs – and 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, "All I Have In Me (Original Musiquarium Mix)" by Young Disciples, "Manhood" by Vikter Duplaix, "Black Mary" by Pariss Clemons, "Waltz For Koop" by Koop, "Mystery Of Man" by Sarah Vaughan, and "Roun Soun" by Spacek. 14 tracks on 3LPs. (Funky Compilations, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album