New versions of work by one of the grooviest groups in the world – the mighty mighty Jazzanova, one of the most influential combos in modern music of the past few years! Jazzanova are a tireless ensemble – not only working endlessly to discover and promote new music on their own label, but creators of the modern groove themselves – working from a huge knowledge of classic 60s and 70s sounds, pointing the way towards a jazzed-up future! Here, Jazzanova's best tracks of recent years are reworked by a stunning assortment of talents that includes friends, legends, and many inspired by the sound of the group. The package is a wonderful double-length set – stuffed with 23 tracks that include "Introspection" remixed by Calm, "Soon" remixed by Domu, "Takes You Back" remixed by Electric Sheep, "LOVE & You & I" remixed by Madlib, "That Night" remixed by Wahoo, "Keep Falling" remixed by Forss, "Another New Day" remixed by Moonstarr, "The One-Tet" remixed by DJ DSL, "Another New Day" remixed by Stereolab, "Days To Come" remixed by Ayro, "Mwela Mwela" remixed by King Britt, "Coffee Talk" remixed by Yukihiro Fukutomi, and "No Use" remixed by Beanfield. CD

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As any reader of these pages will know, we're nuts about Ennio Morricone – the greatest Italian soundtrack composer ever, and quite possibly one of the greatest composers to have ever walked the face of this planet! Here, a similarly Morricone-mad bunch of folks pay tribute to the maestro, by remixing tracks from his classic soundtracks of the 60s and 70s! Titles include "The Man With The Harmonica" by Apollo Four Forty, "Chi Mai" by Nightmares On Wax, "Giocoso, Gioioso" by Groove Corporation, "La Bambola Come Maddalena" by Sofa Surfers, "La Lucertola" by De Phazz, "Clan Of The Sicilians" by DJ Dick of Rocker's Hi-Fi, "Il Grande Silencio" by Thievery Corporation, and "Belinda May" by Fantastic Plastic Machine. 13 tracks in all! (Soundtracks, New Grooves) CD

Good EP from these guys – good in that it features less of the lame vocals and raps that wreck some of their records, and instead concentrates on some of their great instrumental sounds. Plus there's some nice remix work by folks like Nobukazu Takemura and Palm Skin Productions, both of whom ad some nice touches to the Silent Poets own brand of Japanese acid jazz. Tracks include "Going Home (original & Child's View mix (Nobukazu Takemura))", "Shalom (Palm Skin Production mix)", "Answer", "Elements", "Children Of The Future (Turnpike Blues mix)", "Reverse", and "La Vie (Morocan Mood mix)". CD

A mad mix of styles pulled from Balkan, Mediterranean, Jewish, and American cultures – served up in a mode that more than delivers on the enigmatic promise of its title! There's a feel here that almost takes us back to the playful creativity of the New York scene of the early 80s – the criss-crossing of sounds that were showing up often in some of the most forward-thinking indies, and which reflected the rich mix of cultures bubbling together in the post-punk years. As you might guess from the "beat box" in the title, there's a bit of a hip hop influence here – but one that's pretty small, and mostly just used on the bottomest part of the rhythms – leaving the core components of the tunes to a range of exotic instrumentation and some occasional haunting vocals. Title sinclude "Cha Cha", "Bulgarian Chicks", "Sunday Arak", "Gross", "9/4 The Ladies", "Adir Adiram", "Meboli", and "Hassan's Mimuna". (Global Grooves, New Grooves) CD

Contemporary grooves with a cosmic undercurrent – some wonderful tracks from the Kindred Spirits label – a real 21st Century heir to spiritual modes of expression from the 60s and 70s! As with the first volume in this series, the styles here are heavy on influences from jazz – especially in the keyboards – but also bring in a fair bit of current sounds as well – broken beats, choppy rhythms, and spun-out instrumental bits that are often in the spirit of the post-4 Hero generation. The few warmer, mellower moments flesh out the record with a fair bit of spirit – and although some of the tracks have been out on other Kindred Spirits releases, there appear to be others here exclusive to the set. Titles include "Raw War" by Mweslee, "Dirtdegree" by Tom Grago, "Holdin Up" by Rich Medina, "Wonderlove (Jazzanova rmx)" by Heavy, "Till Tomorrow" by Rednose Distrikt, "Moving In Circles" by Nomo, "Door Of The Cosmos (12" mix)" by Build An Ark, "Spread" by Meikbar, "Roll On" by Flowriders, "Dickriders" by INT, and "Say What" by Chico Mann. CD