Sweet bossa-tinged grooves from the 70s – but recorded in Switzerland, not Brazil! Guitarist Pierre Cavalli had plenty of experience with the scene in Brazil during the late 60s – and for these 70s sides, he really tries to recreate the best sounds of Rio from a few years back – but often mixes in some of his own offbeat twists and turns, including some of the hipper undercurrents he picked up while working on recordings for MPS! The tunes are less straight bossa than some great Germanic imagining of bossa nova – with slightly tripping turns from Pierre on his guitar, cool wordless vocals in a few spots, sweet Fender Rhodes, and arrangements from Bruno Spoerri and Angel Gatti that are mighty nice. The set's easily one of the best in Sonorama's reissue series – and titles include "Possarinhos", "Cachaca", "Violao Em Foco", "Pao De Acucar", "Transmissao Mutavel", "Tempo In Tempo", "Tecidos", and "Alegria". (Jazz, Sound Library) CD

A sweet 70s sound library session from the tiny Interbeat label – and one that does a great job of mixing up jazz, bossa, and maybe a bit of proggish keyboards too! The sound is relatively stripped-down – mostly jazzy rhythms and keyboards, served up in a variety of really cool tunes – and sometimes messed up a bit in the production, with subtle use of echo and reverb that trip things out, but in a very gentle way! There's a bit of tenor or flute at times, too – and the groove runs from hard and funky, to cool and breezy – on tracks that include "Hippy Piu Che Mai", "Sambatico", "Un Italiano A Manhattan", "Ciao Carioca", "Dolce Emma", "Valzer Souvanir", "Balla Hermosa", and "Ieri Sera A Rio". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little set that definitely earns its "antico e moderno" title – as it seems to effortlessly blend together musical modes from a variety of different eras, but all with an ultra hip Italian sound library style! Some cuts have these really wonderful electronics, but of the funkiest sort – almost post-Perry Kingsley in the way fuzzy moog lines and tight rhythms come together – then balanced by some older musical modes on more acoustic instrumentation and reeds, although even these numbers have a nicely playful vibe that you wouldn't expect! Overall, there's probably a lot more "moderno" than "antico" – especially as the set moves on – and the whole thing's got more than enough sweet keyboard and analogue electronics to please any fan of groovy sound library sets. Titles include "Iceland March", "Quiz Elettronico", "Elaborazione Automatica", "Gibellina", "Iceland Bossa", "Emigrazione", and "Mondo Miceneo". LP, Vinyl record album

Everybody's getting in on the funky sound library action! This set of rare funky gems was selected by Luke Vibert – who's confessed to a love of the odder and more obscure side of the 70s Brit sound library scene. The set's way better than you might think – as Luke really knows his stuff – and the tracks on here have a very different sound than the regular sound library funky instrumentals, with a lot more electronics, lots of keyboards, moog, bleeps, blonks, and plenty of funky beats! Luke's dug through the Southern, IM, and Chappell catalogs, and has come up with a blinding batch of tunes that are almost like 70s equivalents of the sort of music he's making today – only funkier! Titles include "Electronic Track 12" by Cecil Luter, "Soft Bossa" by Nino Nardini, "Xylo Spleen" by Eddie Warner, "Electrostalactites" by Anthony King, "Cleopatra" by Georges Teperino, "The Bungler" by Boneschi Electronic Combo, "Intimations" by Midas Touch, "On The Air" by Eddie Warner, "Pots & Pans" by Anthony King, "Zouche Drums 3" by David Holland, and "Strange Love Action" by Johanna Group. 27 tracks in all! LP, Vinyl record album

A second great serving of grooves from the French scene of the late 60s and early 70s – a package that also includes some rare sound library material too, and which shows that if you know where to look, French records can be a real treasure trove of funky cuts! We loved the first volume, but this second one may well dig even deeper – as much of the work here is new to our ears, and the cuts work together in a really great blend of funky instrumental modes – familiar elements from the time, but lots of great twists and turns too! Titles include "Mr Buzz" by The Flying Dutchman, "Soul Car" by Pierre Alain Dahan & Slim Pezin, "Riviera Express" by Bernard Estardy, "Ten Et Medor" by Alain Goraguer, "Belle Gueuse" by Claude Engel, "Lewis & Clark" by Raymond Guiot, "Red Medium" by Tonio Rubio, "Aubergine Time" by Bernard Lubat, "Bass Session" by Guy Pedersen, "Jelly Roll Dance" by Jean Pierre Martin, "Bass Duettino" by Raymond Guiot, "Nage Libre" by Hervey Roy, "Patio Bass" by Guy Pedersen, and "Bahia Bossa Nova" by Bernard Lubat. (Funky Compilations, Sound Library) LP, Vinyl record album