A big underground club number around these parts, one of disco's biggest sleeper tracks, with a very Euro feel to the production. (Soul, New Grooves) 12-inch, Vinyl record

Moody and atmospheric work from Japanese producer/keyboardist Kaoru Inoue and his Chari Chari ensemble. The style is a bit similar to some of the work coming out of Japan in the mid 90s by the Toys Factory/Idyllic artists, but has a rootsier quality that's almost part of a "back to nature" move. A few tracks have vocals, but most are instrumentals with a spare and naturalistic quality, inflected with slight touches of soul. Titles include "Tidal Wave", "Liberation", "Remains", "Aurora", "Folk Tales", "One" and more. CD

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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

Soaring grooves from Sean McCabe – the artists' debut on the mostly-reissue Z Records, but a set that also puts him in the same sort of classic territory as his labelmates, the Sunburst Band! Sean's groove is filled with classic club touches, but is also a bit more contemporary – the warmest, most soulful side of the London scene – and at a level that we've not heard anyone do this well in a long long time – a set that takes us back to that magical time a decade or so ago, when London was really burning up our collection with wonderful records like this! There's plenty of echoes of The Rurals or Nathan Haines in the mix – and vocals are by a shifting array of singers, who glide across the keyboard-heavy grooves. Titles include "All Of The Above", "Everything's Alright", "Something About You", "Who's Foolin Who", "Love For Life", "Reach Out", "Back To Front", "Embrace You", "Somethin For Nothin", and "Tomorrow's Another Day". CD

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The mid 90s classic from Aphex Twin – and one of the best, most furiously creative electronic albums of the era! I Care Because You Do is Richard D. James at his peak – sometimes frenetic, sometimes easygoing, always hypnotic beats – and some of the most entrancing ambient atmopherics that he's ever laid down. Wonderful stuff from an electronica pioneer – and one of of the most singular recording artists ever to come out of the ambient techno scene! Includes "Acrid Avid Jam Scred", "The Waxin Pith", "Ventolin (Video Version)", "Wet Tip Hen Ax", "Alberto Balsalm", "Mookid", "Next Heap With" and more. CD

Killer grooves from this hip Japanese combo – one who comes from the same scene as the mighty Indigo Jam Unit, but with a slightly different groove! ASP have lots of heavy rhythms on the bottom – deeply soulful acoustic bass, snapping drums, and a great mix of piano, moog, and organ in the middle – topped on most tracks by vocals from the lovely Azu, who mostly sings in Japanese, but with a swinging quality that's like a hip jazz singer from back in the 60s. Most numbers have a very sharp punch in the rhythm, and loads of acoustic instrumentation – which puts the record strongly in the club jazz camp, although with a slight mod twist at times. Titles include "The Same Place As Yesterday", "Safari Line", "You Are Shiny", "Smile", and a few other titles in Japanese. CD

Badbadnotgood have always been pretty damn great, actually – and never better than on album IV – a remarkable step forward for the group! As ever, they take inspiration from some of the best prog, jazz, funk (and proggy jazz funk...they blend) of the 70s and beyond, but weave it into fairly distinctive and genuinely fun modern sound. It's built to last, too –we're sure be able to come back to their work in a couple decades and it'll still work! IV finds them with the confidence to trade in some fairly subtle, smoothed out moments between to more boisterous ones, and they're more dexterous in the instrumentation – especially in the horns, keys and percussion – but some great vibes, strings, flute and more when the mood calls. Includes the great vocal track "Time Moves Slow" with Sam Herring of Future Islands, "And That, Too", "Lavender", "IV", "Chompy's Paradise", "Structure No. 3", "Cashmere", "Hyssops Of Love" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A jazz trio, but one who bring something else to the mix as well – as they blend in lots of other elements with their core energy on drums, bass, and keyboards! The keyboards themselves range nicely – acoustic and electric piano, plus other electronics too – and there's a bit of alto and tenor on the set, guest guitar, and use of vocals in Portuguese that almost give the record the vibe of Brazilian music at points – while at other times, the music moves farther from jazz with more of a focus on the groove, then swings back nicely on the next track. Titles include "Black Mica", "Tilia", "Pedra Mae", "Punctum No 2", "Ressonancia", and "Giesta". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible full length debut from vocalist Mario Biondi – a jazz singer we'd rank right up there with the legendary Mark Murphy – supported here with great backings from the High Five Quintet! The grooves here are in a soaring, tightly-stepping style – very much the best club jazz mode of the contemporary European scene – with all-acoustic instrumentation, and rhythms that move along at a really great dancefloor pace! Mario's vocals are really unique too – with a little rasp that catches slightly, and really brings a timeless quality to his voice – mixing personal feeling into the lively numbers on the album, with an unexpected depth that really makes the album stand out from similar sessions of this type! There's echoes of hip vocal jazz work from years past by artists like The Peddlers, Bobby Cole, or Mark Murphy – and titles include "A Child Runs Free", "No Mercy For Me", "This Is What You Are", "I Can't Keep From Cryin Sometimes", "Rio De Janeiro Blue", "Handful Of Soul", "On A Clear Day", "Never Die", "No Trouble On The Mountain", "Slow Hot Wind", and "Gig". LP, Vinyl record album

A monumental piece of funk – and a record that came into the world at a time when it seemed like just about everyone had forgotten how to play real funky music! This set's the US version of the first album by London scenesters The Brand New Heavies – and although it came out in the states 2 years after the UK set, it's essentially the same record – just featuring new vocals by singer N'Dea Davenport in place of the original vocalist Jay Ella Ruth. Davenport's vocals transported the group from indie acid jazz obscurity into the US soul charts in a way that nobody ever expected – and the resulting album is a stone classic that's filled with excellent cuts like "Ride In The Sky", "Never Stop", "Dream Come True", and "Stay This Way". Great stuff all around – and one of the few classic soul albums of its generation! (Neo Soul, New Grooves) CD

James Alexander Bright joins forces here with Groove Armada's Tom Findlay – and the result is a set of grooves that partly have an 80s boogie sort of vibe, and partly reflect that sunnier, hazier sound that we've loved from the LA underground scene in recent years! Beats, basslines, and keyboards rule the sound – and vocals are often processed and layered right down in the mix, sounding pretty electric too – working well with the sparkle of the set, on titles that include "Flowers", "Leave It All Behind", "Slow Dance", "When I Look Into The World", "Space & Time", and "NY Disco". LP, Vinyl record album