(Latin, New Grooves) 12-inch, Vinyl record

A wonderful overview of contemporary sounds from the Brazilian underground – artists all marked by the "10s" in the title, as they've just begun to blossom in the current decade! The set's one of the freshest we've heard in years – and really gives us a great opportunity to sample music we might have missed otherwise – as recent years haven't seen the influx of Brazilian acts to the global market that we've known in decades past – which has kept so much recent music hidden from our ears! The range of styles is wonderful – still plenty of older roots, but often inflected with lots of new ideas, in a manner that's maybe a bit like some of the Cuban experiments that Gilles Peterson has been promoting on his own label – yet maybe even stronger, as these cuts have sprung from the underground on their own. Titles include "Obatala" by Abayomy, "Zulumbi" by Zulumbi, "O Rei De Tupanga" by Iconili, "Cervejas Populares" by Ive Seixas, "Lucifer Colombia" by Burro Morto, "Zebrabeat" by Zebrabeat Afro-Amazonia Orquestra, "Ecos De Niafunke" by Andre Sampaio E Os Afromandinga, "Faria Lima Pra Ca" by Passo Torto, and "Feito Tamborim Para Ceu" by Fabricio. (Brazil, New Grooves) 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

A fantastic trip through the archive with Volcov – even if most of the cuts here are a bit more recent than those that usually get archival status! And yet in a way, many of these cuts almost went to the archives directly – especially in this digital age for modern soul and club, where so many great singles and albums don't make it onto vinyl – and fade fast in the fast rush of new music hitting the internet. That's why we love collections like this so much – as Volcov's done a great job of grabbing the best bits from the past decade or so, and weaving them together as a strong reminder of how much wonderful soul music is being created on this planet – most of it still waiting to be discovered. There's a few older bits here, but most tracks are contemporary – and titles include "Caterpillar" by Rebirth, "All That Glitters" by Carleen Anderson, "Let The Music Play" by Collective Peace, "Spiraling Prism" by Ian O'Brien, "Ori Space" by Ron Trent, "Turn It Around (Eric Lau rmx)" by Ruth Koleva, "Planet Birth (Xantone Blacq rmx/Volcov edit)" by Intuit with Andy Bey, "Lawra (Volcov edit)" by Tony Williams, "Blue Room (Kaidi Tatham's shokazulu rmx)" by Quentin Kane & Simon Sheldon with TK Blue, "Finding The Peace" by Skymark, "I Put A Spell On You" by Honey Sweet with Cindy Mizelle, and "After Life (part 2)" by Harry Whitaker. (Funky Compilations, New Grooves) CD