Beats, soul, and fresh style from Electric Wire Hustle – the trio of Mara TK, Taay Ninh and Myele Manzanza – a group from New Zealand with a soulful approach culled from a world of funky soul influences! There's a lot going on here, but like the best modern acts working with soul, funk and hip hop beatcraft, they make it work. There's something of a gritty, murky jazz & soul beat style that reminds of a bit of the benchmark Soulquarian productions of the late 90s, space synth from the Sa-Ra school and more going on here – but it's done with a personal, passionate stamp and unique style they can call their own. A mix of moody beatcraft and soulful vocals. Includes "Waters", "Gimme That Kinda", "Again", "Experience", "Walk On" feat Stacy Epps, "This World" feat Georgia Anne Muldrow, "Burn", "They Don't Want', "Tom Boy" and more. CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A blistering batch of soulful house tracks from Japan's Yukihiro Fukutomi – one of the best records of its type we've heard in years, and an instant classic in our book! The album features guest vocals by Liane Carroll, Carolyn Harding, and Josh Milan from Blaze – but the strongest talent on the set is Fukutomi – whose talent for blending soulful rhythms, acoustic percussion, and warm keyboards blows away most other work of the type we've heard! Tracks are all uptempo, but they've got a deeply beating heart that takes them way past house music, and into the realm of 21st Century Soul! Titles include "Just A Dream", "Missing", "Expressions", "In Time", "The Spinning Wheel", "Play Back", and the anthemic "Love Each Other". CD

The classic sound of Funkadelic, reworked by a key selection of contemporary talents from the Detroit scene – but never in a way that wrecks the originals at all! Unlike other remix projects, which might break up the music to a point that you can hardly recognize the original grooves – this set does a wonderful job of maintaining all the integrity of the famous funky recordings by the group, while also letting some artists from the group's hometown also include a few of their own contributions too – all in ways that really expand the original vision of the music, while keeping things in a funky soul vein all the way through! Given all the greateness of Detroit grooves in recent years – from that city's very fertile underground of producers and musicians – the sound here is still even more amazing than we expected, and the album's a very fitting one to be issued on the Westbound label. The set's double-length, and for good reason too – and titles include "Music 4 My Mother (Underground Resistance mix)", "Sexy Ways (Recloose disco flip)", "Get Your Ass Off & Jam (Marcellus Pittman rmx)", "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure (Alton Miller mix)", "Super Stupid (Dirtbombs version)", "Music For My Mother (Andres Wo Ahh Ay voc mix)", "Cosmic Slop (Moodymann mix)", "Be My Beach (Mophono & Tom Thump)", "Let's Make It Last (Kenny Dixon Jr edit)", "Let's Take It To The Stage (Amp Fiddler @Ya mix)", "Undisco Kidd (Gay Marvine edit)", "Looking Back At You (Ectomorph stripped & dubbed)", and "Standing On The Verge (Anthony Shake Shakir & T Dancer rmx)". (Soul, New Grooves) CD

The classic sound of Funkadelic, reworked by a key selection of contemporary talents from the Detroit scene – but never in a way that wrecks the originals at all! Unlike other remix projects, which might break up the music to a point that you can hardly recognize the original grooves – this set does a wonderful job of maintaining all the integrity of the famous funky recordings by the group, while also letting some artists from the group's hometown also include a few of their own contributions too – all in ways that really expand the original vision of the music, while keeping things in a funky soul vein all the way through! Given all the greateness of Detroit grooves in recent years – from that city's very fertile underground of producers and musicians – the sound here is still even more amazing than we expected, and the album's a very fitting one to be issued on the Westbound label. The set's double-length, and for good reason too – and titles include "Music 4 My Mother (Underground Resistance mix)", "Sexy Ways (Recloose disco flip)", "Get Your Ass Off & Jam (Marcellus Pittman rmx)", "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure (Alton Miller mix)", "Super Stupid (Dirtbombs version)", "Music For My Mother (Andres Wo Ahh Ay voc mix)", "Cosmic Slop (Moodymann mix)", "Be My Beach (Mophono & Tom Thump)", "Let's Make It Last (Kenny Dixon Jr edit)", "Let's Take It To The Stage (Amp Fiddler @Ya mix)", "Undisco Kidd (Gay Marvine edit)", "Looking Back At You (Ectomorph stripped & dubbed)", and "Standing On The Verge (Anthony Shake Shakir & T Dancer rmx)". (Soul, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing work from IG Culture – the summation of all our previous expectations in his music, cast forward into bold new territory! The set's got the depth and majesty of a 70s spiritual jazz session, but still also bristles with the crackling cosmic touches we first loved in IG's work – a blend of righteous jazz and vocal themes, all infused with a new sort of energy for the 21st Century! Rhythms are sometimes soaring, sometimes skittish, and bits of hip hop and soul nestle in alongside spiritual jazz modes – with a collective feel that's as powerful as it is positive. IG's got some great help for the record too – including Chicago talents Dee Alexander on vocals, Ernest Dawkins on reeds, and Corey Wilkes on trumpet – plus Sacha Williamson on vocals, Josh Deep on vibes, and Tom Ashe on trumpet. Titles include covers of 70s classics "Girl U Need A Change Of Mind" and "Revelation" – plus "Black", "Consumed", "Any Questions", "Adjusted Perspectives", "B Free", "This Love", and "Ra Bops In Blacknuss". CD

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

The brilliant full length debut of Kings Go Forth – a set we'd been eagerly anticipating after hearing their first few fantastic singles! The group hail from Milwaukee, an unlikely spot for a combo this hip – and they've got a sound that's smoking 70s soul all the way through – not just the deep funk you might hear from other groups working today, but a deeper soul spectrum that brings in bits of Curtom, New Jersey soul, Philly Northern, and a handful of other great 70s soul moments we totally love! As longtime fans of classic soul, we're pretty picky about the contemporary stuff that we rate – so take it from us, when we give these guys a 10 out of 10, we definitely mean it – and they've definitely done what it takes to earn our respect with a record like this. Vocals are wonderful – harmonized like some group soul 45 on most of the best cuts – and titles include "Fight With Love", "You're The One", "I Don't Love You No More", "One Day", "Paradise Lost", "Don't Take My Shadow", and "1000 Songs". (Deep Funk, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

The first full length set from Radio Citizen – shifting his name a bit since his first EP for Ubiquity, and coming off here with an even deeper sound! The groove here is somewhat the same as that great debut – a mix of downtempo beats, jazzy flourishes, and some surprising soul vocals from the enigmatic Bajka – who sings on 6 of the album's tracks! Instrumental numbers often mix warmer sounds on acoustic bass, Fender Rhodes, or other instruments – in a way that hits a jazzier groove on the best numbers, almost in a Schema mode at times. Yet we've gotta say that the vocal cuts really stand out the most – and Bajka's enigmatic singing graces the tunes "The Hop", "El Cielo", "Everything", "Voices", "Championsound", and "Nightingale". Gaelle sings on the track "Dust", and other tunes include "Night (parts 1 & 2)", "Love Serenity Blues", "Mondlicht", "The Prophets", and "Roads". LP, Vinyl record album

The Silent Poets' excellent To Come album is remixed and repackaged for the US market. Typical stuff, as some of the tracks are given a bit more of a kick to make them crossover to the American market – clear proof that the folks at Warner think that US listeners aren't hip enough to understand the subtle complexity of this fantastic Japanese group. Still, the remixes aren't that over the top – and most of them still retain the flavor of the original tracks. Titles include "I Will Miss This Holy Garden (Slipper & Socks rmx)", "Someday (Extended Spirit rmx)", "Save The Day (Peaktime mix)", "Come Raising (Raisin'sun Mix)", "Get Ready (Freeform Arkestra rmx)", "Prisons (Frieze To A Phrase rmx)", "Where The Sidewalk Ends (scuba mix)", and "Sugar Man (The Man Who Sold The Time rmx)". Remixes by Kid Loco, Tom & Joyce, Taxi, and others. CD

Two separate DJ mixes – includes tracks by Subsystem, Kings Of Tomorrow, Don Carlos, Stephane Malca, Andricka Hall, Erik Kupper, Delicious Inc, and Silicone Soul. CD

The sound of tomorrow, today – served up here with the genius of Brownswood Records – a company who've been one of the most forward-thinking in modern music for quite a few years! Brownswood is run by longtime DJ Gilles Peterson – whose ears are always amazing for picking out sounds that blow our mind – especially when it comes to up-and-coming artists, of the sort who are getting some great exposure here! As with previous volumes, there's a genre-blending mix of soul, jazz, and other styles going on – on cuts that include "Catastrophe" by Tadi The Great, "To Be A Woman" by Plumm, "Voyager One Lost" by Seigfried Komidiashi, "Twice" by Ceeow, "Rough Of The Felt" by Nowsm, "Good & Low Key" by Victoria Jane, "Keeping On" by Jericho Noguera with Buddy Analogue, "Crinje" by Zenel x Plumm, and "Like Summer" by Shirkers x Ceeow. LP, Vinyl record album

A dozen tracks from Talvin Singh, Something Wonderful, Parviz R. Panah, Solferino & Ibis Babe, Jesse Cook, Tosca, Atman, Badmarsh, Gotan Project, Atman, Francisco Sotomayor & Nacho Sotomayor, and Oliver Shanti & Friends. CD