JJ Whitefield has given us plenty of funky records over the years – most in vintage styles, including work as Poets Of Rhythm and Karl Hector & The Malcouns! This time around, there's a sound library approach, but with the slight Ethio vibe you'd guess from the title on one side – then an Italian cinematic inspiration on the other! The Ethiopian-flavored tunes are maybe more laidback, and have some elements that resonate with the 70s golden age, but with a lean funk sound and a bit sharper production – as befits the sound library approach. The flipside echoes lots of great Italian crime/cop modes from the 70s – but again, with a slightly leaner style that really lets the best funky elements come through strongly! Titles include "Hulet", "Sost", "Arat", "Sebat", "Sidist", "Asir", "Orecchiete", "Parmagiano", "Strozzapreti", and "Buttoni". LP, Vinyl record album

Exactly the kind of record that makes us love sound library records so much – and definitely the sort that sets the style apart from anything else we can think of! Both Sandro Brugnolini and Giorgio Carnini turn in some great work here – a mindblowing mix of modes over the space of ten short tracks – some tunes a cascading array of instrumentation, in a hip groove that's neither American jazz or soundtrack funk, but a special space of its own! Other tunes use an electronic approach that's years ahead of its time – as groovy as 60s analogue, but a lot darker, too – in ways that the rest of the world might not touch until the German new wave. The balance is almost even between swinging groovers and darker electronic cuts – and titles include "Grinta", "Azione CIA", "Scalo Clandestino", "Alambicco Cibernetico", "Strutture Generative", "Omicido Bianco", and "CIA Massacre". LP, Vinyl record album

An Italian funk double-header – a sweet little set from the end of the 60s, and one that features killer cuts from both Sandro Brugnolini and Stefano Torossi! We love either artist on their other own records, but there also seems to be something about putting them together here that makes them even better than before – certainly funkier, as the album's full of the kind of sharp, hard-grooving titles that first made us fall in love with sound library records in the first place! The date of the album's 1969, and both musicians make nice use of psych elements in their instrumentation – adding a bit of fuzz, wah-wah, or trippy guitar in just the right spaces – never going over the top, or getting too indulgent – but just moving in a groove that's tightly jazz funky at the bottom, and maybe a bit freaky at the top. Wonderful work throughout – and titles include "Sweet Beat", "Repetition", "Starter", and "Makkaresh" by Stefano Torossi – and "Wawa", "Motuproprio", "Polyphony", and "Flyer" by Sandro Brugnolini. LP, Vinyl record album