A nice nice compilation of funky club and acid jazz tracks from the early 90s – back in the days when Dorado could be trusted to put out some of the most exciting and most soulful music of all the new British labels. There's a wide range of stuff on here, but the price is right, and there should be enough tracks to keep anyone happy. 13 cuts in all – including "Secret Place" by Jhelisa, "Soul Thing" by Ute, "Learn The Words" by Mesh Of Mind, "Kaleidoscopic Summer (King Tubby Revisited)" by Outside, "Tik Tok (Come On)" by Cool Breeze, "It's A Cool World" by Cool World Ensemble, "The Revolution Was Postponed Because Of Rain" by Brooklyn Funk Essentials, and "Qui (Flying Flute Inst)" by Schkoonk Heepooz. CD

One of a series of mix CDs focusing on DJs who spin at the Fabric club in London. This volume features former Mo Wax honcho and stalwart UNKLE member James Lavelle, and as you can imagine, spans the gamut of funky modern headz music. We didn't really know what to expect from the mix, and a fair bit of the stuff on here falls into the post big beat-house & techno-influenced groove that's a bit more over the top than we'd expected, but it's put together and continuously mixed in a way that emphasizes the atmospherics and groove nicely. The tracks listing has 23 cuts, but since it's a mix, a few of the bits are a little short, like the intro and Rare Earth rock break that kick off the mix. It goes on from there to include the Psychonauts "Circles", DJ Shadow "Organ Donor", South "Broken Head II", Howie B "Hey Jack", Forme "Kick A Hole (Tigerstyle)", Green Velvet "La La Land", Lazonby "Sacred Circles" and ends up at Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place". Plus the whole thing's packaged ina nice metal box with a cardboard slip case. (Funky Compilations, New Grooves) CD

A really wonderful project that was years in the making – a mix of American club and Brazilian elements – put together by a group that includes members of Azymuth and Banda Black Rio, as well as the legendary Arthur Verocai! Jose Roberto Bertrami's the strongest contributor here – and the music really echoes that great late 70s/early 80s point when the Azymuth fusion groove crossed over into tighter, funkier territory – coming off here with a sound that's got really universal appeal and a wickedly classic vibe overall – like some unusual cross-breeding of Brazilian grooves and Salsoul Records! Vocals are by Mia Mendes and Marcina Arnold, but the instrumentation is even better than the lyrics – filled with jazzy touches, blended with bits of strings, and perfectly produced all the way through. Really tremendous stuff – one of the freshest records we've heard from Far Out in years – with titles that include "Mystery", "Keep Believing", "Dead Dance", "The Last Carnival", "A Disco Supreme", "Vendetta", and "Don't Cha Know He's Alright". 2CD set features 8 more bonus remix tracks too! CD

A dream come true! Someone at Blue Note is keeping their eyes and ears on the street and in the clubs – because here's another late model conceptual triumph – a remix project pairing current innovators in the club and hip hop underground with classic numbers from the label's vaults! The concept is simple; classic numbers are given to handpicked remixers, re-doers, and stylistic misfits best suited to re-work that particular number. Mo Wax maestros La Funk Mob open the set with a mellow, club soul tweak of Wayne Shorter's "Oriental Funk Song". Kenny Dope trips out Bobby Hutcherson's "La Malanga" into a bubbly club funk jam. "Kyoto Jazz Massive" completely re-work Eddie Henderson's "Kudu" into a wonderful number all their own. Perhaps the biggest triumph of all here is the consistency throughout; every artist attached brings their A-game (how could they do any less, given a chance to add their own elements to the some of the most influential numbers they could get their hands on?) Amazing, amazing stuff – whether it's the scratched up, hip hop flavor J Dilla brings to Jack McDuff's "Oblighetto" or the righteous electronic groove Jazzanova drops on Eddie Gale's "Song Of The Will", the minimalist, keys and beats drive Osunlade brings into Grant Green's "A Time To Remember". Every track sparkles! Other tracks include DJ Spinna/Donald Byrd "Lansanna's Priestess", 4 Hero/Horace Silver "Won't You Open Up Your Senses", DJ Cam & Erik Truffaz/Donald Byrd "The Emperor", Herbert/Michel Petrucciani "Caravan" and more! (Funky Compilations, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album