... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Eleven tracks from Truby Trio, Beanfield, Syrup, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Les Gammas, A Forest Mighty Black, Procreation, Minus 8, Classen Collective, and Jazzanova. CD

A really cool little record – one that takes an older Italian sound library mode and reworks it with some of the contemporary flavor of the Schema label – but all with live instrumentation that's mighty nice all the way through! Lorenzo Morressi handles bass, guitar, and plenty of vintage keyboards – while Luicano Cantone plays live drums throughout, which gives the record a crisp crackle that might be missing if the pair worked with too many programmed rhythms, samples, or overdubs! There's also plenty of live instrumentation on the set too – including sublime flute lines from Tenderlonious, and electric piano from Giovanni Guerretti – on titles that include "Allegro Funerario", "Slalom", "Odeon", "Savana Urban", "Beta Erotica", "Sulla Strada Della Luna", and "Poste Presente". (Sound Library, New Grooves) CD

A really cool little record – one that takes an older Italian sound library mode and reworks it with some of the contemporary flavor of the Schema label – but all with live instrumentation that's mighty nice all the way through! Lorenzo Morressi handles bass, guitar, and plenty of vintage keyboards – while Luicano Cantone plays live drums throughout, which gives the record a crisp crackle that might be missing if the pair worked with too many programmed rhythms, samples, or overdubs! There's also plenty of live instrumentation on the set too – including sublime flute lines from Tenderlonious, and electric piano from Giovanni Guerretti – on titles that include "Allegro Funerario", "Slalom", "Odeon", "Savana Urban", "Beta Erotica", "Sulla Strada Della Luna", and "Poste Presente". (Sound Library, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little record that definitely offers up what it promises in the title – a lower-fi version of the Japanese city pop sound from years back, yet one that's also nicely inflected with some of the hip hop elements that Grey October Sounds use in their music! The image on the cover is nicely fitting, as there's a intimacy here that's nice – kind of a peace within the urban setting, not far from the beats and the streets – but a bit more private too, and done here with contributions from Esu, Lo Film Creation, Monbee, and Adon. Titles are all in Japanese, and if you've dug previous work by the group, you'll find plenty here to love! (Japanese, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant set from Santigold – blending a world of sounds and styles into one of the more exciting and unique major label pop album's '12 – build to last! African, Caribbean and urban American sounds blend very well here – in both the the electronic and organic instrumentation and in Santi White's voice – and the songs are make deep impact, too. Pretty exciting stuff! Includes "Go", "Disparate Youth", "God From The Machine", "Fame", "Freak Like Me", "This Isn't Our Parade", "Riot's Gone", "Pirate In Water", "The Keepers", "Look At These Hoes", "Big Mouth" and more. CD

Wicked tunes hand-picked by the Japanese maestro of the groove – a heady batch of tracks collected by Yukihiro Fukutomi, with a brilliant melding of jazz, soul, and Latin influences! The set compiles 10 tracks from American and European sources – and features many hard-to-find remixes that surfaced briefly on expensive singles, but which have long gone by the wayside – making this collection even more essential to fans of the groove. Fukutomi presents the tracks in their entirety, unmixed – and titles include "Don't Mean A Thing (Incognito mix)" by Space Jazz Dub Men, "I Got Somebody New (original)" by Georg Levin with Clara Hill, "Everything (Yam Who rmx)" by Dwayne Morgan, "Life Rhythms (Raw Deal rmx)" by E Smoove, "Dreams Come True (Afronaught mix for Bugz In The Attic)" by Alison David, "Listen (Just Listen Louie's Master mix)" by Urban Species, "Cosmic Gypsy (Fila Brazilia rmx)" by United Future Organization, "I Just Wanna Say (Domu's Number One Mix)" by Michelle Lawson, and "Cloud 9 (Quenti Harris Shelter mix)" by Donnie. CD

Tracks from Chris Lum, S.W.A.T., Lawn Chair Generals, DJ Ali, LHK & Alex Moran, Audio Soul Project, Urban Farmers, Djinxx, Rhythm Plate, Fries & Bridges, and more. CD

The archive here appears to be Volcov's own record collection – but that's A-OK with us, because he's got some wonderfully groovy, wonderfully soulful, wonderfully under-discovered records he wants to share with us! The set's got a wicked blend of obscure tracks from decades back, and some contemporary cuts that share a similar vibe – music that's in a really special place between soul, jazz, and fusion – often with a cosmic vibe that gives the whole collection a very righteous sound! Liner notes are by Patrick Forge, who points out how obscure most of these tracks are, and what a special collection this is – and we definitely agree with his words, as most of these tracks are new to us, too. Titles include "Keep The Same Old Feeling" by Hot Quisine, "Do The Right Thing" by JOB, "Go (Chez Damien classic mix)" by The Urban Cru, "The Sound Of The Memory Of Many Living People" by Are & Be, "Arigo (Volcov edit)" by Manfredo Fest, "Turning On To Me" by Oneness Of Juju, "Footprints On The Sand (Shannon Harris Urbanicity reinterpretation)" by Chanan Hanspal, "Sophisticated Disco (Volcov edit)" by O'Donel Levy, "Simon's Melody" by The Antilles, "Part 4" by Shakazulu, and "Sun On My Back" by Bembe Segue. (Funky Compilations, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record