Sublime sound library work from Lesiman – one of the more obscure talents of the 70s scene, and one who really had an ear for mixing more dramatic and experimental elements with some mighty nice grooves! Lesiman, aka Paolo Renosto, was at one time a member of Gruppo d'Improvvisazione – and he uses his experience in that ensemble to create some really wild sounds at times, but also brings things back to groovier territory too – all with the sense of tension in the music you'd expect from the title! There's some especially nice metallic elements on the record at times – oddly-tuned vibes and offbeat piano – on titles that include "Panico", "Insidia", "Restless", "Reticolato", "Incubo Di Prigionia", "Cupa Atmosfera", "Sbarramento", and "Confine". LP, Vinyl record album

The cover here gives you a good idea of what you're in for – rare material from Japanese electronic composer Hirokazu Tanaka – best known for his work on the scores of important Nintendo games – most of of it from the glory days of the cassette, and pulled from Tanaka's archives! The tracks are often beautifully tuneful – spare melodies handled mostly on keyboards, and augmented with other sonic touches and electronic rhythms – kind of a late 80s extension of some of the more familiar modes of Japanese electronic music at the start of the decade. There are vocal tracks at times, although they're not key to the set – and the package features a whopping 25 tracks in all – including "Martian Bird", "Autumn Wind", "Karasu Demo", "Small Gift", "Fairy Wings", "You & Me Demo", "Space Attack Q", "Coco", "Space X", and "Spacemen's March". CD

There's plenty of the bass promised in the title – but that's what we'd expect, given that the great Guy Pedersen's bass appeared on countless wonderful French records over the years! Yet this set's also something really special, too – a chance for Guy to come out of the background, into the spotlight, and use his instrument in all these excellent ways that go way beyond simple timekeeping! The bass is the solo instrument on most numbers – both acoustic, and electrified acoustic – amidst other sweet sound library elements, including plenty of funky drums that make the album way tighter, way groovier than you might expect! Titles include "Bass Session", "Les Copains De La Basse", "Obsession Diabolique", "Percussion Bass", "Cosmic Bass", "Indian Pop Bass", and "Tension Nerveuse". LP, Vinyl record album

Misha Panfilov takes on the sound library style of the 70s – and as with all of his other projects, the results are completely top shelf all the way through – wonderfully funky, yet handled in a style that's a nice change from Misha's work in other modes as well! Tunes are short and groovy, and each number has a slightly different flavor in a really great way – that sound library approach of setting a mood with a tune, so that broader soundtrack impulses are compacted into a shorter track with more punch and focus – all with plenty of cool keyboards and moogy moments from Misha! Titles include "Dawn", "Cosmic Bliss", "Smoky", "Helix", "Rush Hour", "Eclipse", "Sunbeam", and "Tension". (Deep Funk, Sound Library) LP, Vinyl record album

I-Robots take a mighty cool look at the Phantom Records label – a small imprint from that great moment when the Italian club scene was getting pretty electric and cosmic – almost as a dancefloor extension of sound library modes from a few years before! The cuts here all have plenty of keyboards and a fair bit of spacey touches – all while managing to sound upbeat and funky, although with more colder electro modes as some of the tracks move a bit further into the 80s run of the label. Some tracks are quite short, others are longer groovers – and titles include "Come With Me (I-Robots reconstruction)" by Carlotto, "Cometa Music Hall" by Cometa Music Hall, "Whirlwind" by Don Bernini, "Radio Cosmo 101" by The One O Ones, and "Music One (parts 1, 7, & 8)" by Musicone. (Funky Compilations, Sound Library) LP, Vinyl record album