Totally cool, totally amazing music from the enigmatic Francis Bebey – a contemporary on the early 80s African scene of William Onyeabor, and an equally experimental artists! Bebey used a fair bit of electronics, but often with sounds that had acoustic roots – in this case, the ultra cool sansa, which is a similar thumb piano to the kalimba – amplified here in really great ways, and mixed with some moody, dark elements throughout! The music has much more of a 70s vintage than you'd guess from the dates on the record – thanks partly to the raw percussion, and very offbeat production – which sometimes is mellow, sometimes bursts out in these shocking waves of sound. Titles include "Sanza Tristesse", "Forest Nativity", "Sunny Crypt", "Ngoma Likembe", "Guinee", "Di Saegi", and "Binta Madiallo". LP, Vinyl record album

Binker and Moses sound nicely different here – as the drums of Moses Boyd and saxes of Binker Golding are joined by the work of Max Luthert – who adds in all these live tape loops and electronic effects! The result is maybe the most adventurous album to date from the British duo – more improvised and open than before, with some especially great tones from Golding's tenor and soprano saxes, which seem to be encouraged by the electronic efforts of Luthert! Tracks are nice and long, with a great sense of textural variety – and titles include "Feed Infinite", "After The Machine Settles", "Active Multiple Fetish Overlord", "Asynchronous Intervals", and "Accelerometer Overdose". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic sounds from Tim Blake – an artist who previously worked with Gong, and sometimes worked with Hawkwind – but who really came into his own on this legendary album of electronics! Tim works here on a self-constructed "crystal machine" – a bank of electronics that was often played in performance to front some trippy film installations (as shown on the cover) – which perfectly suited the stretched-out spacey style of his music! The vibe is maybe a bit like early Tangerine Dream, but with some of the warmer modes of the French electronic scene of the time – and titles include "Midnight", "Last Ride Of The Boogie Child", "Synthese Intemporal", and "Crystal Presence". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice bit of space age disco fantasy from Boney M – a set that's got a few more electronic touches than some of the group's other records, but which still continues in a straight ahead poppy vein! There's a sound here that's arguably a bit more sophisticated than before – especially on some of the rhythms, which almost hint at Bohannon like complexity at the bottom. There's almost a bit more club appeal than you might expect – although other tunes are definitely more the stuff of hotel lobby dancefloors than warehouse parties in New York. Titles include "King Of The Road", "Nightflight To Venus", "Voodoonight", "Brown Girl In the Ring", "Heart Of Gold", and the hit version of "Rivers Of Babylon". LP, Vinyl record album

The brilliant consummation of Bowie's late 70s years in Berlin – a record that showed he could take the experiments in sound he was crafting with Brian Eno, and turn them back into the kind of creepily catchy rock tunes that first made him a legend! Eno's help on the record is still quite strong – heard very well in the record's use of odd electronics and exotic themes – of a sort that Eno would later explore on his own with David Byrne. But the real charm here is pure Bowie – with an unabashed flair for a dramatic lyric, a well-chosen use of a heavier guitar, and a sense of personality and poise that makes the record one of his most unified ever! Titles include "Red Sails", "Look Back In Anger", "Repetition", "Boys Keep Swinging", "Red Money", "Yassassin", and "DJ". LP, Vinyl record album

The brilliant consummation of Bowie's late 70s years in Berlin – a record that showed he could take the experiments in sound he was crafting with Brian Eno, and turn them back into the kind of creepily catchy rock tunes that first made him a legend! Eno's help on the record is still quite strong – heard very well in the record's use of odd electronics and exotic themes – of a sort that Eno would later explore on his own with David Byrne. But the real charm here is pure Bowie – with an unabashed flair for a dramatic lyric, a well-chosen use of a heavier guitar, and a sense of personality and poise that makes the record one of his most unified ever! Titles include "Red Sails", "Look Back In Anger", "Repetition", "Boys Keep Swinging", "Red Money", "Yassassin", and "DJ". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic killer from trumpeter Tom Browne – a smoking set that still has all the jazz funk touches of his earlier records, yet which also picks up a bit of an electro vibe as well! The move here is a bit like that taken by some of Browne's labelmates on GRP at the time – particularly Bobby Broom and Bernard Wright – and offers up a great mix of jazzy roots and some of the newer sounds hitting the streets in the early 80s – a vibe that's maybe one of the first moments when older genres of music were beginning to show an influence from hip hop! Maurice Starr handles most of the production, and really makes things tight throughout – but Tom himself does a great job of keeping things interesting with the solos, augmenting the electric vibe with some rock-solid acoustic playing. Titles include "Rockin Radio", "Angeline", "Brighter Tomorrow", "Never My Love", "Mr Business", "Cruisin", and "Feel Like Makin Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the weirdest Don Cherry albums you'll ever hope to hear – and that's saying a lot, given the range of incredible albums the man has given us over the years! The music here was recorded for a French film based on the music, poetry, and "antics" of Cherry – done in the Saravah Records studios in 1969, around the same time as Cherry's albums for the BYG/Actuel label on the Paris scene – but with a much looser, more freewheeling vibe overall! The first side of the record features music done with Karl Berger – in a mix of piano, percussion, wood flutes, electronics, and pocket trumpet – shifting many times in terms of tone and spirit, with Cherry at his most organic. Side two features most of the same music, but with Anthony Braxton joining in – as well as poetry at some parts – in the complete edit that was used in the film. A fantastic document in so many ways – of the musicians, of post-68 Paris, and even of European avant cinema! LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique record, one that seems to mix some of the spacey sounds of the electronic ambient world of the early 80s underground with more tuneful, song-based modes of the post-punk generation – all at a level that seems to move effortlessly between both sorts of styles! There's certainly plenty of 80s keyboards on the set, and plenty of drum machine percussion – but the mood shifts from upbeat and catchy to more laidback and spacey – sometimes with vocals, sometimes all instrumental with a very cosmic vibe! Titles include "I Wash My Hair With Limes", "Entrance Of The Deacon", "She Dreams Of Golden Gloves Dancing", "Big Buck Meets The Perpendicular Fish", and "The Surface Of The Water". 2LP reissue features a full album of bonus unreleased tracks! LP, Vinyl record album

A nice funky electric groover from Stanley Clarke's mid 80s R&B years! Time Exposure has a lot of period electro funk in the mix, particularly Clarke's impeccable bass lines, which are heavy throughout! A brilliant mix of 80s fusiony future funk with jazz precision – definitely a funky highlight from this period in Clarke's career – and those bass lines are just unreal! A pretty eclectic roster of guest musicians play on this one, including tenor sax player Ernie Watts, fellow bassist Louis Johnson of Brothers Johnson, singer Howard Hewitt and rock guitar guru Jeff Beck. Titles include "Play The Bass 10", "Are You Ready (For The Future)", "Heaven Sent You", "Time Exposure", "Speedball", "Future Shock", "Spacerunner", "I Know Just How You Feel" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The first rumblings of genius from German electronic giants Cluster – but oddly, a record recorded without any synthesizers at all! The team of Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Rodelius are both playing organ here – as well as cello and Hawaiian guitar, and some "audio-generator" and amplifier effects – and they're recording with some excellent production help from the legendary Conny Plank, who uses all sorts of weird techniques to mess up the sound in really great ways. Ordinary notes are completely abstracted here – given cosmic tones and echoey rumblings that are far more challenging than most of the later work by Cluster, especially the pair's more ambient late 70s recordings. The 3 long songs are identified only by their timings – "15:33", "7:38", and "21:17". LP, Vinyl record album

A slightly sweeter version of Cluster than on previous records – a bit more focused, tuneful, and rhythmic – thanks to some great use of the "rhythmusmaschine"! Most numbers here have a slightly pulsating feel – one that really prefaces the electronic modes that would come from the UK at the end of the decade, especially the best work of the Sheffield scene. Cluster here show the way brilliantly – taking the longer jams of earlier years, and honing them down into simple melodies and rhythms – yet still delivered with a fair bit of edge throughout, and not nearly as much of the softness that would characterize later work by Moebius or Roedelius. Tracks include "Hollywood", "Caramel", "James", "Rote Riki", "Fotschi Tong", and "Marzipan". LP, Vinyl record album

There's a real Escape From New York look to the cover here – and the music by Guido & Maurizio DeAngelis has a very strong John Carpenter vibe – lots of spare, stark numbers that shift between electro funk and moodier numbers – really setting up the action with a dose of horror, and maybe having a depth that can last longer than the film itself! Instrumentation is very 80s, in the best way possible – lots of keyboards and electro drum patterns – at a level that certainly make the DeAngelis brothers a key precursor to the sort of sounds that are very much favored by the Stranger Things generation. 17 tracks in all – and very strong all the way through. LP, Vinyl record album

Nice lost one! "Track Down" has a good choppy funk groove, with nice downbeats, weird spacey electronics, and an off-kilter horn finish. "Let's Put It Together" has more of an uptempo groove, with lots of choppy wah wah guitars – and a strong dancefloor groove! Both nice! 7-inch, Vinyl record

One of the darkest albums we've ever heard from Domenico – very different than his collaborations with Kassin and Moreno Veloso! The sound here has a lot more electronics and distortion – not unfamiliar with other records on the Mais Um Discos label, but a bit different than some of Domenico's other work – although there's some bossa-styled acoustic guitar and vocals at times, which really makes a great contrast and warms things up nicely! Producer Ricardo Dias Gomes had a big hand in the sound, and the album is maybe more of a collaboration between the two than just a Domenico solo set – and the whole thing definitely marks another amazing chapter in his wonderful run of records over the years. Titles include "Diga", "Nada Sera De Outra Maneira", "Mole", "Ta Brabo", "Aterrizar", and "Um Abraco No Faust". LP, Vinyl record album

Lean later work from Philippe Doray and his anti-social associates – material that draws heavily on some of the cold wave electronics of the early part of the 80s, and which also has some of the playful presence of the German new wave too! The music is definitely out of time – very different than anything recorded in the French mainstream of the mid-80s – and delivered with a style that clearly knows the darker reaches of the sonic spectrum, but which never lingers there too long. Doray handles a variety of keyboards and synth, and since both straight and with a vocoder – alongside contributions from others on guitars, keyboards, saxes, and flute. Titles include "Flash Back", "Le Petit Geant", "Aurora Day (edit)", "Choc D'Amour", "Le Composant Compositeur", and "Secoue Le Flipeur". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little record that's bristling over with that future past sort of vibe that makes the Star Creature label so great – 80s electronic elements coming into play with a more contemporary sort of groove – lean, mean, and right on the money all the way through! E Live is definitely a master on the keys – able to bring some jazzier elements into his lines here – as he steps out strongly in a mostly instrumental setting over some bassy beats and heady basslines – on titles that include "Mood Swing", "I Feel It", "Friday Night Flight", "Cadillac Breeze", "Traffic Jam", "Stranger Dayz", "You Got Me", "City Girl", "Slapadelic", and "Wise Up Rise Up". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool electronic soundtrack for this obscure early 80s slasher film – music that's a lot more complex and sensitive than the usual sounds used for slashers – with a style that reminds us of some of the hippest late 70s music on the Sky Records label! Eric Feremens comes from a relatively similar place – working here on self-built synthesizers, tailored specially to produced these wonderful sounds and tones – not tinny commercial keyboards, but much more thoughtful electronic elements that make the music way more appealing than just its use in a film. In fact, this is one of the few soundtracks of its type that could stand alone as a batch of spacey electronics – far from the schlocky images on the screen. Titles include "Harbour Fight", "Persecution", "Lady", "Hippy Song", and "Beat". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible record – quite possibly our favorite ever by Marvin Gaye! The album is quite unique – written by Leon Ware, and recorded in collaboration with him – done as a "suite" of tracks based on themes of passion, joy, and new love – all of which were very much on the mind of Marvin during his troubled years of the mid 70s. The whole thing's beautifully put together – superbly orchestrated with just the right funky touches, and even a sweet bit of electronics to give the set a nice edge. An amazing album – one of those soul records that goes deeper and deeper than you ever thought pop music could go – filled with great tracks that include "I Want You", "After the Dance", "Come Live With Me", and "Since I Had You". Genius – pure genius! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best of RCA's Stereo Action series! Bernie Green leads his orchestra through a set of material that tries to answer the question "What will pop music sound like in 1970?" (keep in mind that this is 1961) – and a number of the tracks feature a "guitar orchestra" that sounds really really great, with a wide-open sound that's totally wonderful – the best realization of the RCA stereo sound of the time! The record's got a vague bit of electronics mixed with the guitar, plus a bit of vibes – and the whole thing aptly earns its Futura tag with a space-age approach to the music. Titles include "Futura", "Steel Bones", "Kiss of Fire", "Pentagon", "Out Of This World", and "Ping Pong". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work from Brit easy bandleader John Gregory – an assortment of 70s police and crime themes, played by a big band with a nice soundtrack-y finish! Nearly all the tunes are uptempo, and the feel of the record is very much in the same vein as Henry Mancini's Cop Show Themes album – although perhaps with a bit less electronics. Titles include "Cannon", "The Rockford Files", "Kojak", "Six Million Dollar Man" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The sonic intensity of saxophonist Mats Gustafsson gets a perfect foil here in the electronics of Joachim Norwall – a musician who really helps Gustafsson to reach some of the most powerful sounds we've heard from his horns in years! Mats can have a way of blowing his instruments as if they're almost modular electronics – not in a cold sort of approach, but one that works the reeds and pads with a pulsating sort of energy – waves of sonic activity shifting in pace, as he creates this incredible magic on baritone sax, slide saxophone, bass saxophone, alto fluteophone, and flute – while Norwall delivers work on analogue electronics in a range of different styles. Sometimes the electronics are more in the background of the saxophone improvisations, sometimes more actively upfront – and titles on the set include "There Are Some Worlds Where All Dreams Die", "Their New Life Was Their Final Life", "Birdbrain", "His Fingers Moving In The Air Produced A Soft Organ Like Music", "Here Eyes Were Like Cold Fires", and "The Day Of Days Was There". LP, Vinyl record album

Herbie's still in electro-grooving mode here – not groundbreaking as earlier records, but still handled by Bill Laswell, and with a tackhead groove pretty firmly in place. The tracks are a bit more complicated than before, with vocals by Sugarfoot, and bass by Bootsy Collins. Titles include "Vibe Alive", "Perfect Machine", "Chemical Residue", "Beat Wise", and "Maiden Voyage/P Bop". LP, Vinyl record album

A really haunting bit of early electronics by Jean Michel Jarre – the soundtrack for the film Les Granges Brulees from the early 70s! The work here has a very different sound than Jarre's later music – not nearly so neat and tidy, with lots of rough edges, and shorter tunes that have a really kind of spooky, other-wordly feel. And yet despite these qualities, there's also a good degree of melody to the set – as the shorter tracks bubble forth with some great themes that sound even more enchanting in the analogue electronic mode. Titles include "L'Helicoptere", "La Chanson Des Granges Brulees", "Le Pays De Rose", "Theme De L'Argent", "Rose", "Les Granges Brulees", and "La Verite". LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool album from the Japanese scene of the 80s – one that's much more experimental and creative than some of the city pop material of the time – with a shifting style of music that really keeps things interesting! Ryuichi Sakamoto helped with the first track on the set, which also rounds out the end of side one – and there's definitely elements of the YMO-era electro pop on the record, but mixed with more instrumental material that partly echoes the ambient sounds of the era – but also with more experimental material that's sometimes playful, sometimes a bit dark – almost echoing some of the hipper New York downtown experiments of the Laurie Anderson generation. Koharu Kisaragi handles most of the work herself - through a variety of keyboards, samples, and electronics next to her vocals – but there's also some live percussion, piano, bells, and recorder on the record too. Titles include "Neo Plant" in two versions – plus "Paraffin", "Bon Voyage", and "Traumerei". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing sounds from Polish composer Andrzej Korzynski – penned for a legendary horror film from the early 80s! The movie goes way beyond typical grit and gore – with a surreal bent that's made it the stuff of much discussion over the years – and Korzynski's music definitely lives up to the spirit of the images on the screen – mixing 80s electronics with offbeat strings, odd percussion, and other compelling bits – often used in very short songs that shift often throughout the course of the album – easily making the record one of the most playful we've ever heard from Finders Keepers – yet also one of the darkest too! A few sweet keyboard melodies offset some of the spookiness in a nice way – and titles include "Helen Has Green Eyes", "Opetanie 1", "The Night The Screaming Stops", "Blue Ford B AZ6", "Heinrick's Demise", "Mark Looks In The Fridge", "What Is It", and "Closely Observed Anna". LP, Vinyl record album

Very experimental work from this loose Canadian collective of the late 60s – but a set that's filled with some surprisingly cool touches too! The album's almost more of a "happening" in the studio at times – with free-flowing energy between jazz musicians, rockers, poets, electronocists, and more experimentally sonic scientists – shifting styles quickly from track to track, but occasionally hitting some straighter, funkier moments that are totally great – almost a more tripped-out version of some of the French electronique work we love so much from the 60s – and a record that's mindblowingly beautiful in its sense of freedom and creativity. The whole thing's a sonic trip through incredibly fresh territory – never too overindulgent, and beautifully balanced both in sound and execution. Titles include "Ode A L'Affaire", "J'Ai Perdue 15 Cents Dans Le Nez Froid", "Finale", "Viens Danser Le OK La", "Agnus Dei", "Desafinado", "She's Leaving Home", and "Intermezzo". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing record from Chicago musician/artist Damon Locks – maybe the album he's been waiting his entire life to make – and the first to really bring together the mighty sum of his many talents! The material was recorded live in performance at Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory – at an event that also included a group of singers and dancers to augment the musical performance – in a setting that gives Damon's majestic vision the proper setting it really deserves! Locks himself moves between electronics and vocal performances – in a core instrumental group that's heavy on drums and percussion from Dana Hall, clarinets from Angel Bat Dawid, and more percussion from Arif Smith – making music that's even more beautiful when the singers come into the mix, and take the energy to the sky with a very cosmic, righteous vibe. Locks has given us a glimpse of his vision in artwork, music, and writings over the years – but this time around, it feels like we're seeing the full scope at once – with more power and meaning than ever before. Titles include "Solar Power", "Rebuild A Nation", "Which I Believe It Will", "The Colors That You Bring", "The Future", "From A Spark To A Fire", "Black Monument Theme", and "Sounds Like Now". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer collection of work from this legendary group – one who blended jungle percussion with very cool electronics – all in a funky 70s mode! The set includes three tracks from the verrrrry hard to find fourth album – "Jungle Juice", "Man from Takoradi", and "Manhunter" – as well as cuts from all three of the other albums. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most ambitious albums ever from Rob Mazurek – and a set that really continues the legacy of community building and world healing that's become such an important part of his music! Rob's a player who was great at the start – a hell of a trumpeter, and a great experimentalist with electronics – but in recent years, he's matured to become a real messenger for the farther, future reaches of jazz – with an energy that makes a collaborative project like this come off in a way that might never have occurred in the hands of any other musician! Mazurek is at the head – director, composer, arranger, and instrumentalist too – and the large lineup is filled with heavyweights from the Chicago scene that Rob helped shape over the past few decades – plus others as well – players who include Damon Locks on voice and electronics, Nicole Mitchell on flutes, Tomeka Reid on cello, Joel Ross on vibes, Jaimi Branch on trumpet, Jeff Parker on guitar, Ingebrigit Haker Flate on bass, and Chad Taylor, John Herndon, and Mikel Patrick Avery on a variety of drums and percussion. There's a richness here that tops other Exploding Star Orchestra performances – and more of a focus, too – so that the whole thing comes together as even more than the sum of its mighty parts, as one of the best International Anthem releases to date. Titles include "Galaxy 1000", "Parable Of Inclusion", "Autumn Pleiades", "Minerals Bionic Stereo", "Dimensional Stardust", "Abstract Dark Energy", and "The Careening Prism Within". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the most majestic album that Makaya McCraven has recorded to date – and that's really saying a lot, given the power of his music on previous records! This time around, the group is large, and the performance is more organic than some of the more mixed/produced sessions that Makaya has given us – and great as those records have been, there's a sense of power here that really places McCraven strongly in the Chicago legacy of the 20th Century – a jazz spectrum that includes Eddie Harris, Ramsey Lewis, Charles Stepney, the Art Ensemble Of Chicago, and so many other musical giants! The mix of instrumentation is almost like some Chess/Cadet session from the end of the 60s – but Makaya still adds in some samples and electronics next to his acoustic work on percussion, drums, and a variety of other instruments – next to Jeff Parker on guitar, Brandee Younger on harp, Joel Ross on vibes, Marquis Hill on trumpet, and Junius Paul on bass – all tremendous players and strong leaders in their own right – working here to make a special sort of magic with McCraven. There's other voices on the set too – more violins, cello, alto, tenor, piano, and other sounds – on titles that include "So Ubuji", "Seventh String", "This Place That Place", "The Fours", "Dream Another", "High Fives", "The Knew Untitled", and "In These Times". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful solo electronics from Moebius – an album recorded in the early 80s, but with a really timeless feel that takes it far from so many other electric sets of this vintage! There's still very much a spacious sound going on here – similar to the Cluster projects with Roedelius – warmly melodic, and very understated – every bit that picture perfect approach to analogue electronics that Kraftwerk first brought into the scene, and which guys like Moebius perfected even more with records like this! Titles include "Nervos", "B 36", "Immerhin", "Sinister", "Furbo", "Etwas", and "Transport". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the darker records to ever come out under the Moebius name – a set done in collaboration with legendary soundman Conny Plank and Mani Neumeir of Guru Guru – all key German talents of the 70s, ready to take on the new decade and beat them at their own game! There's lots of cold wave and post punk energy going on here – electronics that are more aggressive and sharp-edged than some of the earlier music that Moebius recorded – almost as if he knew all along that he could twist things a bit more heavily, which he definitely does here – on cuts that include "Speed Display", "Load", "Pitch Control", All Repro", "Search Zero", and "Recall". LP, Vinyl record album

It's hard to believe that anyone ever took the electronics of Giorgio Moroder seriously enough to think they'd be the right setting for an intensely dramatic thriller like this – but in the decade when Italian thrillers were doing the same thing, it's kind of easy to see. And if you think of this one as a dated American soundtrack, you'll be lost – but if you see it as some groovy bit of Italian sexy electronics from the 70s, you'll find that it's got some pretty nice moments, and would fit perfectly with some of the Cinevox material from the end of the 70s. Titles include "The Chase", "The Wheel", "Cacophony", and "Midnight Express". LP, Vinyl record album

A sharp blend of edgey guitar, offbeat vocals, and lots of other electronic elements – but still served up with plenty of warmth, thanks to the unique approach of Thiago Nassif! Nassif works here with contributions from Vinicius Cantuaria and Arto Lindsay – and in a way, his music is in a similar territory to both of those artists – but as unique as any of their recordings over the years too! Nassif clearly understands the deeper corners of Brazilian music, and has an ear for more experimental modes – but also finds a way to make music with a very personal statement, as he weaves together electric drums with real percussion, guitar loops and keyboards, and even some "Venom synth" of his own. Titles include "Pele De Leopardo", "Voz Unica Foto Sem Calcinha", "Plastico", "Trepa Trepa", "Feral Fox", and "Transparente". LP, Vinyl record album

Grooves unlike anything else you've ever heard before – the rightly legendary musical legacy of William Onyeabor, one of the most enigmatic talents to come from the African scene of the 70s! The work here is all plenty darn funky, but it's also very different from familiar Afro Funk too – as the instrumentation is heavy on keyboards, handled by William with incredible dexterity – and spun out in these soaring lines that bristle with righteous touches that really support the message of his tunes! The vibe mixes in some electro elements with long-drawn rhythms – and the vocals often step aside for lots of keyboard and rhythm interplay, then come in to send things home at just the right moment. Onyeabor's been a pretty elusive cat over the years, and it's taken Luaka Bop quite some time to put this collection together – amazing work that may well make the album one of the most important to ever come from the label – and the first introduction to the non-African world of Onyeabor's incredible sounds. Titles include "Body & Soul", "Atomic Bomb", "Something You'll Never Forget", "Why Go To War", "Love Is Blind", "Fantastic Man", and "Let's Fall In Love". 3LP set features four bonus tracks not on the CD! LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool grooves from Tony Palkovic – an artist who's kind of a one man soul band in himself – playing keyboards and guitar over drum machine riffs – on these tracks that are laidback, soulful, and instrumental – almost serving up a smoother take on the territory of 80s electro soul! All the elements gel together beautifully – nothing's too forced, or ever stiff – and Tony clearly likes to find a groove in the studio, then spin it out with just a few key elements – which almost seems to underscore the quality of the songs even more. Titles include "Day To Day", "Hoping For A Better World", "Born With A Desire", "Breath Of Sound", "Electric Heart", and "Better Than Before". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully strange mix of electronics and sounds from around the planet – as Alain Pierre uses field recordings from Thailand and Mexico, then mixes them with these really special creations of his own! Some of the other recordings are presented almost whole, but with some augmentation in a subtle way – and these are then balanced by Alain Pierre's own work, which moves between the more moody, abstract quality of the sound library scene of the 70s, into territory that's maybe more familiar to ears trained on musique concrete! Titles include "Des Morts", "Funerailles Chez Les Hmongs", "Clown", "Fete Des Morts Chez Les Indiens", and "Cryogene". LP, Vinyl record album

Two amazing works from Belgian electronic genius Alain Pierre – both appearing in this form for the first time ever! Side one features 11 minutes of continuous music that Pierre created for the short film O Sidarta – music that mixes a range of electronics, keyboards, and acoustic percussion with studio effects and voice – all with a result that almost feels like some of the longer-form prog creations of the German scene of the time – although with qualities that are much more varied, less rock-based, and with occasional nods to the earlier generation of musique concrete! The flipside features the 17 minute "Notions De Physique Intererieure" – a work that uses a wide array of electric sources in a very short space – theremin, Arp sequencer, Telefunken echomixer, and more Arp, Kort, and Oberheim keyboards – all in this slow-building, wonderfully spacey sort of mode – almost hinting at some of the straighter fantasy soundtracks that Pierre would create in the mainstream – as the piece has the feel of a story in sound! LP, Vinyl record album

Early work from Robert Ponger – the guy who gave Falco such a strong groove in the 80s, but who's heard here on a cool late 70s album that's heavy on disco! The music here has a sweet electronic groove – a bit like Munich disco of the time, but more stripped-down and personal – and with spacey qualities that resonate well with the Italian cosmic scene that would burst forth even more strongly in the 80s! Most tracks are heavy on keyboard lines, and feature guitar bits as well – and the usual disco warmth comes into the mix as well, with occasional strings and backing vocals. Titles include "Nights In The City", "Johnny's Discothek", "Love Train", "Jodel Funk", "Starbird", "You Are My Yesterday", and "Firewalk". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most mysterious, elusive Sun Ra albums in the legendary Saturn Records catalog – a set that was only ever pressed in small quantities back in the 80s, and often with different tracks for different pressings too! The material here is from a range of different performances, and really showcase the continued sense of majesty the Arkestra carried forth from the 70s, even when they were working farther from the limelight – often with the lovely June Tyson in the lead on vocals, and a bit of vocalizations from Ra as well – and different lineups depending on the tracks – but with mindblowing material from John Gilmore on tenor and Marshall Allen on alto throughout the recordings. Ra plays a bit of electronics, but most of the sounds here are acoustic – although still as other-worldly as ever – and this package finally brings together all the tracks that have appeared on variations – with one unissued number too. Titles include "When Spaceships Appear/Ra To The Rescue Ch 1", "Back Alley Blues", "Drummerlistics", "Children Of The Sun", "Mystery Mr Ra", "Space Shuttle/Ra To The Rescue Ch 2", and "Cosmo Party Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks on this first volume include "Spectrum", "The Satellites Are Spinning", "Seen III Took 4", "Adventures Of Bugs Hunter", "Legend", and "The Realm Of Lightning". LP, Vinyl record album

A groundbreaking album of theremin music – recorded at a time when many people had forgotten about the instrument a bit, but at a level that takes the electronic force to a whole new level! The theremin first rose to fame on 50s sci fi soundtracks and weird mood music records – and although it had gotten use on rock albums during the psychedelic years, it never got the proper treatment it deserved until this groundbreaking set from theremin wizard Clara Rockmore! Rockmore plays the instrument here alongside piano from Nadia Reisenberg – really stripping away sci fi futurist stereotype of the theremin, as she takes on work from serious composers, plus other sources too – using the instrument with a sense of drama, and the virtuosic control of a master instrumentalist – on titles that include "Vocalise", "Song Of Grusia", "The Swan", and "Chant Du Memestrel". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-heard work from the legendary Rodion GA – an artist who barely issued any material during the 20th century, but who's become a real electronic music legend in more recent years! Rodion hails from Hugary, where he worked underground recording all these cool cuts from the 80s onward – material that's a blend between cold wave grooves and more synth-based sound library material – usually instrumental, and with some dark currents on most tracks that really make for some striking sounds throughout! All the cuts here are from Rodion's archive, and even the later ones have an analog vibe that feels like lost cassette culture electronic nuggets from the early 80s – brought forth here with great treatment and detailed notes from Ace Records! The package features 21 tracks in all – and titles include "Vine Iarna", "Tu Rea Ce Esti", "Halou Cosmic", "Aminitiri", "The Final Farewell", "Catacombe", "Acolo Unde E Mister", "Punct", "Balkan", "Stele Si Lumini", and "Intervale". LP, Vinyl record album

A crazy album of funky tracks from Lalo Schifrin – very different than most of his other jazz and bossa work! This set's got some very tripped out styles that mix together funky backings, jazzy riffing, and even some nice electronics – a sweet little groove that's even more wild and hip than even the best of Schifrin's soundtrack work from the 60s! Some tunes certainly show the deft talent for arranging woodwinds and rhythms that first caught the ears of so many listeners on famous soundtracks – but in the setting of this record, away from any directorial needs, Lalo's also free to explore some groovier music ideas – and he really lets loose tremendously as the set rolls on! The titles alone should tell you the feel of the record – with names like "Secret Code", "Dissolving", "Vaccinated Mushrooms", "Wheat Germ Landscapes", and "How To Open at Will The Most Beautiful Window". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked electronic gem from the Factory Records scene – the third album by Section 25, done in a style that's completely different than the group's other work! The sound here is extremely stripped-down – very much in the mode of New Order's first few singles, with a love of electric beats and keys, turned towards simple Brit pop themes done with nice hints of darkness. There's almost a post-Kraftwerk sound to the whole thing – like filtering "Computer Love" and "Tour De France" into catchier, more upbeat territory – yet without losing any of their quality or charm. And as a whole, the album works wonderfully – sliding from one track to the next, and making for an incredibly held-together set that was rare for the time. Tracks include "The Process", "Looking From A Hilltop", "Reflection", "Prepare To Live", "Program For Light", "Desert Beneath The Blade", and "Inspiration". LP, Vinyl record album

A groundbreaking set from The Silver Apples – one of those records that almost didn't get fully appreciated until many decades later! The sound here is quite unique, even for the late 60s psych rock underground – and The Apples work in a blend of spacey electronics, driving percussion, and simple, stark guitar parts – a sound that's almost to their generation what the music of Suicide was to the underground of a decade later. Most tunes pulsate with an almost organic sort of quality, and the lyrics of the songs are often quite tuneful at times – a nice contrast to some of the colder styles of the instrumentation. The album's had a huge influence on countless groups in the past decade or so – for good reasons – and titles include "Oscillations", "Lovefingers", "Velvet Cave", "Whirly-Bird", "Dust", "Misty Mountain", "Program", and "Dancing Gods". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet electro funk from Sinkane – a group who manage to pull together all these classic elements of 80s soul, yet come across with a mode that's very 21st century overall! The keyboards, basslines, and beats all have tonal qualities you might find in older street soul or boogie cuts – but they're reworked here with very different rhythms, arrangements, and vocal productions – modes that have learned plenty from the decades in between – and which really have this wonderfully crisp, totally bristling sort of vibe! The set features guest appearances from Stout, Bilal, and Tru Osborne – and titles include "We Belong", "Home", "The Anthem", "Invisible Distance", "Another Day", "Come Together", and "Everything Is Everything". LP, Vinyl record album

A full on funky set from French maestro Sauveur Mallia – a record that mixes his own work on bass, keyboards, electronics, and samples with some slight touches over the top on trumpet, trombone, and saxophone too! The style is definitely a lot more 80s than some of Mallia's 70s work – plenty of the more compressed elements you'd know from film scores of the time, and electric drum rhythms and basslines – all popping and percolating in different ways from track to track! The set's credited to the group Swing Family, but it's clear that the whole thing is mostly Mallia's own work – on titles that include "Gentleman & Musician", "Film Action", "Episode Double", "Musical Stars", "Music Force", "Mission Africa", and "Greewich Boulevard". LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool work from Telex – a trio who are really coming into their own on this third record, and maybe starting to resonate with some of the groups they helped inspire in the world of electro pop – particularly the more playful acts of the German new wave! As with some of those groups, there's a nice mix of wit and electronics on the set, but served up in English language lyrics that really help the group transcend their scene – finding a new home for the electronics of Marc Moulin and Dan Lacksman, as they get key lyric contributions here from Ron and Russel Male of Sparks! Titles include "Haven't We Met Somewhere Before", "Sigmund Freud's Party", "Exercise Is Good For You", "Brainwash", and "Dream O Mat". LP, Vinyl record album

A wicked little record, and one that lives up to its Space Invaders theme right from the start – thanks to a host of sweet electronic touches from Scientist, over a set of killer head-nodding dubs from Roots Radics! The group themselves are in totally top form – massive bass from Flabba Holt and drums from Style and Santa – topped with wicked guitar licks, and some sweet organ lines from Winston Wright – but it's clearly Scientist who's the star of the show, for the way he cooks the elements together and comes up with a sound that more than does justice to the extra-cool cover! Familiar elements are nicely abstracted, and juxtaposed with clever shifts in the studio – all to create massive dubs that include "Beam Down", "Red Shift", "Time Warp", "Cloning Process", "Pulsar", "Laser Attack", "Dematerialize", "Fission", "Super Nova Explosion", and "Quasar". 2LP version features bonus vocal tracks – by Wayne Wade, Wailing Souls, Sammy Dread, Linval Thompson, and Johnny Osbourne! LP, Vinyl record album

Four rare tracks from Cotonou singer Stanislas Tohon – all originally issued only as rare singles, and brought together here as a package that represents some of the first global circulation of this work outside his scene! The music is from that time when contemporary electronic modes were percolating nicely with African styles – so that there's a clubby vibe to all tracks, with elements that tie the music nicely to some of the cultural criss-crossing that was taking place on the Paris scene of the time! The sounds are an evolution of earlier modes explored on labels like Jive or Celluloid – and titles include "Owhaaou", "Mi Tchinker", "Zeimdjan (radio edit)", and "Magnifirec". LP, Vinyl record album

Wow, this is SO not the Tortoise that first set the underground aflame in the early 90s – the group has evolved and opened up in ways we never would have expected. With It's All Around You it's emerged with an airy, open, stargazing set of tracks that resemble the languid atmosphere of Tangerine Dream as much as they do early post rock! Gone, for the most part from early Tortoise is that strong, rubbery electric bass groove and tightly thudding live drum sound. It's All Around You retains the bright vibes and sputtering electronics of the TNT album, and the out front, almost rock & roll guitar lines of the Standards album – and adds an ever present, ambient synthesizer bubble of sound to surround the thing. It's all so catchy, too, and almost sunny. If Tortoise hasn't really broken any new ground this time, it's only because they're the ones who broke it in the first place. Tracks include "It's All Around You", The Lithium Shifts", "Crest", "Stretch", "Dot/Eyes", "By Dawn", "Five Too Many" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Tortoise's third album and a pretty remarkable creative leap for the inventive Chicago ensemble – now with the great guitarist Jeff Parker in the fold! Like their earlier records, TNT features a haunting mix of percussion, electronics, and jazz-oriented instrumentation – put together with an approach that's even more sophisticated than earlier releases. That said, the guitar makes a huge difference – and there's a lot of guest players in the mix, including horns and strings. Definitely one of their best ever! Titles include "Swing From The Gutters", "Four Day Interval", "Jetty", "Everglade", and "The Equator". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully spiritual sounds from the contemporary LA scene – served up in a record that mixes generations old and new, and with a really wonderful sound throughout! There's a timeless quality to the record right from the start – maybe because the great Phil Ranelin begins the set with a vocal performance over mellow electronics – in a laidback spirit that's followed by the rest of the set too – as a shifting array of artists under the direction of Jesse Peterson turn out a record with a subtle righteous power! Peterson previously worked with Carlos Nino – and there's definitely a bit of Nino spirit here, but with a different vibe – in a lineup that includes Sam Gendel on reeds, Randal Fisher on flute, Fabiano Do Nascimento on guitar, Josh Johnson on alto and keyboards, Aaron Shaw on tenor, Carlos Nino on percussion, and Photay and Diego Gaeta on electronics – plus vocal work from Phil Ranelin, Laraaji, Mia Doi Todd, and Dwight Trible. Titles include "Alive To Feel", "Island Bells", "Pandanus Grove", "Tune Up", "Ocean Garden", "Floating Sunset", and "Arukitai". LP, Vinyl record album

Piero Umiliani gave the world some fantastic soundtracks in the 60s, and incredible electronic and sound library work in the 70s – but in the immediate postwar years, he was a jazz musician at heart – as you'll hear in this great set of small combo jazz from 1959! The vibe is right up there with some of the hippest Italian moderns of the period – like the Basso/Valdambrini group, or work by Gil Cuppini – and if you've heard some of the early 60s jazz soundtracks from Piero, you'll know that he can definitely serve up straight jazz work when he wants to! Umiliani plays piano, and other musicians include Marcello Boschi on alto and flute, Ivan Vandor on tenor, Bill Gilmore on trombone, Peppe Carta on bass, and Roberto Zappulla on drums. All tracks are originals – and include "Tempo Jazz", "Tema In Blues", "Mezza Cottura", "Tipi Misteriosi", and "Battesimo Dell'Aria". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful sound library set from the great Piero Umiliani – and a record that's filled with some of his coolest electronics ever! The feel of the record is very much in keeping with the image on the cover – kind of sci fi, but kind of playful too – a wonderful blend of keyboards and moogy bits, often played with a cool little groove – but one that's laidback enough to recall Umiliani's best soundtrack music! Tunes are relatively short – between one and four minutes in length – but really have a great sense of variety and imagination – at a level that goes way beyond some of the overdone repetition you might find in other albums of this nature. Really great all the way through – with cuts that include "Futuristic Jam", "Killer Robot", "Soft Key", "Bric Brac", "Soundmaker Blues", "Gadget", "Danza Galattica", and "Jingle No 1". LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool collection of cuts that we might never have encountered otherwise – all brought together in celebration of 20 years of work from the If Music shop, who clearly just keep on refining their ears over the years! There's so many cuts here that fall in a special space between familiar genres – jazzy instrumentation mixed with folksy vocals, electronic rhythms mixed with warmer instrumentation, ethnic instrumentation fused with jazzy expression, and blends that really keep things interesting throughout – especially as most of these cuts are nice and long, and really explore the ideas at their core! Titles include "We Are Not Invisible" by Ola Szmidt, "Big Kalimba" by Greetje Bijma Kwintet, "Fidji" by Christine Schaller, "Sunday Sea Improvisation" by Tamar Osborn, "Fall In To Me (alt version)" by Emanative & Liz Elensky, "Turkish Showbiz" by Atilla Engin Group, "Dennison Point" by Tenderlonious, and "At The Speed Of Light" by Sarathy Korwar. LP, Vinyl record album

While some of this material was released later by Carlos in a different recording, this is the soundtrack to the film, with several orchestral songs and the Gene Kelly version of "Singin In The Rain" included next to Carlos' electronic versions of Beethoven and his own great work for the film, "Timesteps" and "Theme From A Clockwork Orange". LP, Vinyl record album

Daft Punk's epic second live album – an uncommon feat for an electronic act of their era, in that they had that kind of pop or rock cache to build a reputation as a must see live "band', without compromising their club floor shaking genius – and a bit of a classic in its own right. This one came a decade after their first, and again somehow harnessing the show's energy in perfect form and blasting it outta the speakers – and it includes Robot Rock", "Oh Yeah", "Steam Machine", "Brainwasher", "Superheroes", "Rock N Roll", "Alive", "Da Funk", "One More Time", "Prime Tiem Of Your Life", "Short Circuit" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A really great album from the glory days of the moog generation – served up by an artist who'd formerly worked in jazz, but who does a great job here – working with very little behind the electronics! Tracks include "Venus", "Raindrops Keep Fallin On My Head", and "Everybody's Talkin" – and a nice version of "Nights In White Satin" too! LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic soundtrack work for the Stranger Things series from Netflix – a narrative set in the early 80s, and scored here with a sound that really gets that era right! This isn't schlocky 80s keyboard work, nor some sort of easy retro motif – and instead, the team of Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein go for sort of the coolest moods and styles that were being used in film scores during the time – especially the spare keyboards and careful electronics that were just right for a sci-fi or sophisticated horror story! The keyboards all feel very vintage, but not in an "easy" way – and titles on this first volume include "Lay Z Boy", "Nancy & Barb", "Kids", "Hawkins", "The Upside Down", "Lamps", "Fresh Blood", "Photos In The Woods", and "Hanging Lights". LP, Vinyl record album

That's a mess of vintage analog electronics on the cover, and there's plenty of that inside the record as well – as Eleven76 come across with all sorts of cool classic 70s styles that move between soundtrack funk and some leaner, more cosmic cuts for the clubs! The album's definitely trying to evoke a classic sound library style – but as with some of the hipper European electronic artists back in the day, these guys also have their ears tuned towards crossover fame in a world where moogy electronics can get some spins in the discos – a blend that makes for a mighty wonderful little album that definitely lives up to the promise of its cover! Titles include "Duosynchronic", "Canyon Chase", "Wolf At The Door", "Knock Out", "Minister", "Step Off The Ledge", and "Kreuzer Weight". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Arthur Baker's shining moments – a poppy little tune, to be sure, but with a tight electro groove that's stood up a lot more than we would have thought at the time! Not strictly Hip Hop, but definitely an '80's breakin'/electro/dance classic (like the tracks on the Tommy Boy Perfect Beats compilations.) Anything from 1982 produced by Arthur Baker and mixed by Jellybean is bound to be dope and this one is no exception. With production and sung vocals similar to the Planet Patrol records from that time. Complete with an instrumental/dub version if you don't want the vocals. 12-inch, Vinyl record

An incredible record – quite possibly our favorite ever by Marvin Gaye! The album is quite unique – written by Leon Ware, and recorded in collaboration with him – done as a "suite" of tracks based on themes of passion, joy, and new love – all of which were very much on the mind of Marvin during his troubled years of the mid 70s. The whole thing's beautifully put together – superbly orchestrated with just the right funky touches, and even a sweet bit of electronics to give the set a nice edge. An amazing album – one of those soul records that goes deeper and deeper than you ever thought pop music could go – filled with great tracks that include "I Want You", "After the Dance", "Come Live With Me", and "Since I Had You". Genius – pure genius! LP, Vinyl record album

A mindblowing journey in sound – a dip into the archives of French composer Pierre Henry – the postwar master of electronics and musique concrete, and an artist who was still very active in the final years of his life! The material here was all either recorded or reworked in Henry's own studio during the last few years of his time on the planet – with some tracks that revisit important early compositions, but with a different sonic perspective – mixed with a few new pieces that really continue that wellspring of recording that Henry was doing from the mid 90s onward! There's a wonderful array of sonic elements throughout – plenty of electronics, compelling tape and analog sounds, and lots more that we're hard pressed to figure out – in the best tradition of Pierre's music. Titles include "Variance (remix de Variations)", "Rock Electronique/La Reine Verte", "Prologue/Messe Pour Le Temps Present", "Danse/Mouvement Rythme Etude", "Final/Utopia Hip Hop", "Tokyo 2002", "Machine Danse", and "Tunne De La Mort/Le Fil De La Vie". LP features bonus tracks "Metamorphose/Fragments Rituels", "Enchevetrements De Spirales/Tam Tam Du Merveilleux", and "Etincell Qui Relie Deux Nuits". LP, Vinyl record album

The classic batch of instrumentals from J Dilla – one that strongly transcends the hip hop genre – and perhaps his rawest, and most adventurous listening experience ever! The loopy soul samples, rich synth/electro shine, and thumping bass and soul beats that Dilla largely made his name on are laced throughout, but he also takes things a step into stranger territory – with spacey elements that buzz as much as they groove! The cuts are never less than soulful and funky, and never really steps into his peer Madlib's brand of the weeded out style, either. We love how raw this all feels, too! It's easily identifiable as the work of Jay Dee, but at the same time, wholly unpredictable! One of the best releases that Stone's Throw ever released – instrumental or vocal! Includes "Donuts (Intro & Outro)", "Workinonit", "Waves", "Light It", "People", "Mash", "Airworks", "Lightworks", "Stepson Of The Clapper", "One Eleven", "Don't Cry", "Geek Down", "Thunder", "Gobstopper", "Walkinonit", "U-Love", "Last Donut Of The Night" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Warmly grooving vocal work from Howard Johnson – one of the few albums the singer cut under his own name, and a sparkling gem from the 80s groove scene! Howard's got a style that really sets the stage for some of the bigger singers of his time – a sound that's mature, yet still very able to groove – which is something that Johnson does often in the set, supported by some snapping bass, electro keyboards, and crackling drums on most of the cuts. Kashif wrote about half the tracks on the album, and also co-produced – and titles include "So Fine", "Keepin Love New", "Jam Song", "Take Me Through The Night", "Say You Wanna", and "This Is Heaven". LP, Vinyl record album

Lovely work from Marisa Monte – perhaps a bit sweeter than some of her earlier stuff, but pretty darn catchy, and with some excellent production by Arto Lindsay! The tracks have a mellow breezy feel, with a compressed production style that includes a lot of flanged-out guitar, subtle electronics, and warm acoustic touches. As with most of Marisa's albums, the record's filled with work by famous guest stars – like Joao Donato, Arnaldo Antunes, Marc Ribot, Carlinhos Brown, and others. Titles include "O Que Me Importa", "Nao E Facil", "Perdao Voce", "Abololo", "Gotas De Luar", and "Agua Tambem E Mar". LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual period score by Ennio Morricone – and a record that turned out to be one of his most successful of the 70s! The film, as you might guess from the title, is about the famous and unjust trial of Italian-American activists Sacco & Vanzetti – and in keeping with that setting, a number of the tunes have a folksy, almost "historic" quality to them. Other tracks still have nice Morricone-esque touches – like solo electronic keyboard on one track, or a nice bit of oboe on another – and Joan Baez sings the folksy "Ballad of Sacco & Vanzetti". Titles include "Speranze Di Liberta", "Nel Carcere", "Sacco E Il Figlio", "E Dover Morire" and "Here's To You", which features some backing work by I Cantori Moderni. LP, Vinyl record album

Pick any 10 words out of any Outkast album description on our pages at random, and you'll see how dearly we've loved these boys throughout the years – but truth be told, deep down we didn't think that they would be able to pull off the double album/solo album project(s). We were seriously wrong – Speakerboxxx/Love Below is HUGE in every way, and both halves are great all the way through! If you were worried Big Boi's Speakerboxxx half would be lazy southern hip hop without Andre's freaky presence throughout, you can put those fears to rest right now. Speakerboxxx is a deeply soulful electro hopping pounder from front to back – every bit as innovative as Andre's half! Tracks include "Ghettomusick" (which features one of just two appearances by A3000 on the whole disc), "Bowtie" with Sleepy Brown, "Bust" with Killer Mike, "Church", "Tomb Of The Boom" with Konkrete, Big Gipp and Ludacris, "Flip Flop" with Jay-Z, "The Way You Move" and more. A lot of press has been given to the assumption that Andre 3000 has largely forsaken hip hop on his half (The Love Below) and has instead dived head first into cosmic future funk. Well, the rumors are true. There's lots of straight up jazz piano and horn bits on the Love Below, with Andre's half serious, half tongue-in-cheek romantic soul cabaret croon way over the top. It's steeped in the classic Outkast party vibe, but with lots of Sign Of The Times-era Prince (complete with androgynous distorted vocals), Parliament and Cameo thrown into the mix. Sick, energetic genius! Tracks include the deliriously great "Hey Ya!" single, "She Lives In My Lap", "Love Hater", "Happy Valentine's Day", "Roses", "Good Day, Good Sir", "Behold A Lady", "Pink And Blue", "Spread", "Dracula's Lady" with Kelis, and more. Who the hell knows what they can possibly do to surprise us after this – but wherever Andre 3000 and Big Boi go from here, they each have yet another classic in the discography! LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool grooves from Tony Palkovic – an artist who's kind of a one man soul band in himself – playing keyboards and guitar over drum machine riffs – on these tracks that are laidback, soulful, and instrumental – almost serving up a smoother take on the territory of 80s electro soul! All the elements gel together beautifully – nothing's too forced, or ever stiff – and Tony clearly likes to find a groove in the studio, then spin it out with just a few key elements – which almost seems to underscore the quality of the songs even more. Titles include "Day To Day", "Hoping For A Better World", "Born With A Desire", "Breath Of Sound", "Electric Heart", and "Better Than Before". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the moogiest records of all time – a legendary LP of "electronic pop music of the future" – sourced and claimed as an influence by everyone from Stereolab to the Beastie Boys! The legendary team of Gershon Kingsley and Jean-Jaques Perry are working here in early tape experiments that chop up quirky analogue electronics – and uses them to produce moogy songbits and space sounds, all with a really groovy beat! There's a simple magic here that has made the album hold up for years, and stand apart from a legion of later imitators with a clear, simple, and effective style that makes the best of all the bleeps and blonks in the set! Titles include "Unidentified Flying Object", "Spooks in Space", "Barnyard In Orbit", "Swan's Splashdown", and "Girl From Venus". A loving musical space party! LP, Vinyl record album

One of those records that kind of snuck under the radar at the time – but which has gone onto become a crucial part of soul music from the 90s, and a record that's one of the blueprints for the neo soul generation to come! Sweetback are a trio of musicians who provided important backing for Sade – the kind of warm, classic-styled soul grooves that made her a standout right from the start – and which also inspired a whole generation of musicians to leave behind some of the more electronic modes they were using in the 80s. The set really marks a shift back towards warmer, jazzier, more human sounds of soul music in the 90s – and in addition to great instrumentation by the core trio, the set also features some early vocals from Amel Larrieux, plus work from Maxwell too. Titles include "You Will Rise", "Au Naturel", "Walk Of Ju", "Softly Softly", and "Sensations". LP, Vinyl record album

The mindblowing first album by The Talking Heads – a bold statement by a very young band who'd go on to shape the sounds of the left field for generations to come! The sound is spare and very focused – maybe the first layer that David Byrne would then build up when adding more percussion, horns, electronics, and some of those elements from funk and global music that were such a continuing influence. Here, the group's fresh out of school, filled with imagination, and able to do so much with just a little – all led by Byrne's fantastic sense of songwriting and presentation – in a mode that's completely his own. The record's not punk, not new wave, and still continues to be in its own space of inventiveness, imagination, and forthright lyricism. Every song's a classic – and titles include "Uh-Oh Love Comes To Town", "New Feeling", "Tentative Decisions", "Happy Day", "Who Is It", "No Compassion", "The Book I Read", "Don't Worry About The Government", "First Week/Last Week Carefree", "Psycho Killer", and "Pulled Up". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from Timmy Thomas – one that mixes together electronics and soul in this wonderfully unique mellow groove – a style that's hardly ever been matched again, and which may well put this album at the same level as Shuggie Otis' classic Inspiration Information set! Timmy's working here in a very unusual format – one that takes spare drum-machine beats, adds in warm keyboard chords, and graces the whole thing with smooth vocals to give it a real dose of soul! The contrast between the colder beats and Timmy's sweetly crackling voice is amazing – and creates a sound that echoes with love, loss, and loneliness – making the album one of the finest to come from the growing Miami scene of the 70s. Includes the landmark title cut "Why Can't We Live Together", plus "Dizzy Dizzy World", "The Coldest Days Of My Life", "Funky Me", "Take Care Of Home", "In The Beginning", and "Cold Cold People". LP, Vinyl record album

A spooky space age fantasy put together by electronic music Joel Vandroogenbroeck as a sound library project – done right around the early years of his famous group Brainticket, but with a much more abstract quality overall! The tunes are sometimes groovy, but mostly fall on that darker side of the sound library spectrum – all sorts of cool elements rumbling down at the bottom of the sonic palette, mixed with some higher-soaring electronics and keyboards – yet all at a level that really fits the dark-tinged image on the cover! Titles include "Riflessione Introspettiva", "Hertz Blues", "Risonanze Estaiche", "Curva Di Energia", "Angolazione Acustiche", "Eco Cosmico", and "Ricerca Di Sintonia". LP, Vinyl record album

Three really fantastic musicians – working together to turn out one the best records we've ever heard from any of them in years! Make no mistake, we love these guys in all sorts of other settings – but here, there's something really special, and definitely a cut above – this warm sense of spontaneous creation that almost seems to call up an image of the musicians as they work together – Mike Reed on drums, Tomeka Reid on cello, and Nicole Mitchell on flutes and electronics! There's a magic here that really represents the Chicago scene at its finest – the kind of sympathetic, respectful collaboration in which already-strong artists move each other forward together – a magic we hope you'll share on titles that include "AF", "Reflections", "No Side Effects", "JJ", "Soprano Song", "In Response To", and "Blessed". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure later album from Wally Badarou, but one that still continues the wonderful vibe he served up on his Island Records material in the early 80s – a blend of Caribbean roots, funky soul, and some sweet electronic touches! The album is all instrumental, and blends percussion – both electric and acoustic – with basslines, keyboards, and some other instrumental touches along the way – all shaped with some global inspirations, but mostly groove-heavy, although in a nicely laidback way! If you dug Wally's work in years past, you'll find plenty to love here – on titles that include "The Lights Of Kinshasa", "Pictures Of You", "Keep On Tryin", "Dance In The Dust", "Amber Whispers", "Crystal Falls", and "Purple Lines". LP, Vinyl record album

A really lovely little record – one that feels like an instant classic in the world of MPB – the sort of long-overdue new release by a Brazilian artist that we hope we'll be hearing plenty from in years to come! As with the elite list of our Brazilian favorites of the past 20 years, Bruno's got a way of reaching into the past to grab just a bit here and there – then folds things together with a style that's crispily fresh, and very much his own – soulful, yet not mainstream soul at all – electronic at times, but with a warmly beating acoustic heart – and the kind of music that will grab you instantly upon first listen, at a level that our words could never hope to convey! Titles include "So Nois Dois", "Some Nyame", "Quero Dizer", "Ate Meu Violao", "Virginia Talk", "Sereno", "Arraiada", and "Beat 1". LP, Vinyl record album