Mark De Clive-Lowe takes us to church – with a set that's easily his most soulful, spiritual record ever! The album's got a lot more acoustic elements than usual – plenty of jazz elements on tenor, flute, trumpet, and percussion – mixed with Mark's own great Fender Rhodes and other keyboards – some of which shift the sound of the acoustic instruments in the process! The shift is a bit like that taken by Jimi Tenor with his own music in recent years, but the overall sound is still very much in the soaring, cosmic territory we've always loved from Mark – but there's also a much deeper connection to the planet as well. Wonderful throughout – a great step forward for an artist we already love so much – and titles include "Sketch For Miguel", "Now Or Never", "Nova Roda", "The Mission", "Distractions", "Mason's Galaxy", "Imam", and "Sun Up Sun Down". LP, Vinyl record album

Mark De Clive-Lowe takes us to church – with a set that's easily his most soulful, spiritual record ever! The album's got a lot more acoustic elements than usual – plenty of jazz elements on tenor, flute, trumpet, and percussion – mixed with Mark's own great Fender Rhodes and other keyboards – some of which shift the sound of the acoustic instruments in the process! The shift is a bit like that taken by Jimi Tenor with his own music in recent years, but the overall sound is still very much in the soaring, cosmic territory we've always loved from Mark – but there's also a much deeper connection to the planet as well. Wonderful throughout – a great step forward for an artist we already love so much – and titles include "Sketch For Miguel", "Now Or Never", "Nova Roda", "The Mission", "Distractions", "Mason's Galaxy", "Imam", and "Sun Up Sun Down". CD

Soaring, soulful club from Fanatix – one of the deepest dancefloor projects we've heard from the London scene in years – a really collaborative effort that includes contributions from favorites like Shaun Escoffery, Lady Alma, Mark De Clive-Lowe, Sara Devine, and many others! The grooves are a blend of 70s disco, 80s house, and 90s club – all wrapped together with a sound that's upbeat and positive, and which has a really classic sense of energy overall. Fanatix work in the same territory as Joey Negro's Sunburst Band – and with a quality level that's equally high – and there's a timelessness to this record that may well have us spinning it out for years to come. CD has 16 tracks in all and titles include "Love Connection", "Call On Me", "Casa Cubana", "Open Your Eyes", "This Thing Of Ours", "Can't Let Go", "Re-Hooked", "In Your Arms", "Get A Grip", and "Slow It Down". CD

An orchestral homage to Dr Dre spearheaded by Brooklyn's Sylvester Onyejiaka, aka Sly5thAve – fleshing out hooks and melodies from throughout Dre's career, from classic singles to deep cuts, into large scale jazzy soul – with a stellar roster of guests including Mark De Clive-Lowe, DJ Center, Quantic, Jimetta Rose and more! It's pretty diverse, capturing timeless Cali funk & soul backdrops as well as slightly more stripped down live band hip hop-style versions, and mostly, but not entirely instrumentals. One exception is "Let Me Ride" with singer Jimetta Rose, who delivers some great, spontaneously emotional vocals – but the whole set is excellent – and titles includes "Shiznit" with Jessie Fisher, "California", "Drelude For Woo" feat Mark De Clive-Lowe, "No Diggity" feat Sydney Driver, "The Jam" feat Matthias Loescher, "Who Am I" feat Paul Wilson, "Still Dre", "My Name Is" feat Robert Searight, "Guilty Conscience", "Nuthin' But A G Thang" feat Brad Allen Williams, "The Edge" feat Quantic, "Next Episode", "Peace" and more. CD

70s spiritual soul jazz lives again – in this righteous tribute to the late John Coltrane! The incredible collection is filled with wonderful tracks both classic and current – and is a great bridge between the first waves of this kind of music at the end of the 60s, and the contemporary revival that's been going on at a global level! Perhaps the best thing here is the way that there's no apparent difference in sound or style between the old and new cuts – and the folks at Free Spirits have really found a way to make the whole thing flow together wonderfully by selecting music that's deeply soulful, extremely positive, and filled with soaring vocals and instrumental solos! Titles include "Mode For Trane" by Billy Gault, "Naima" by Mark De Clive-Lowe, "A Love Supreme" by Rufus Harley, "John Coltrane's A Love Supreme" by Karin Krog & Nils Lindberg, "Duke & Trane" by Haikki Samarto Ensemble, "John Coltrane" by Our Cry For Peace (Dwight Trible/Build An Ark), "Prince Of Peace" by Pharoah Sanders, "Liberation Of The Spirit" by Kamau Daaood, "Naima" by 4 Hero, and "A Love Supreme" by Dwight Trible. CD

A beautiful project from the contemporary underground scene in LA – a record that shares lots of energy and musicians with recordings by Build An Ark and Life Force Trio! Dexter Story's the main force behind the record, but the set's a strongly collaborative effort – and features keyboards from Mark De Clive-Lowe, flute from Derf Reklaw, strings from Mighel Atwood-Ferguson, vocals from Dwight Trible, and key studio work from Carlos Nino! Story's vocals and overall conception are wonderful – soaring and soulful, with some slight cosmic touches that give the record a bit more crackle than related projects – a sound that's still steeped in spiritual jazz elements, yet which also really opens up as the set rolls on. There's a wonderful sense of variety to the tracks – due to the shifting lineup – but the overall feel is still very cohesive, and an amazing demonstration of Story's bold musical vision. Titles include "Seasons", "Into The Hour", "Love Force Trio (part 1)", "Underway", "Water Bearer", "Paddle Boat", "Bloop Drip", "Gyre Song", "As Is", "God Sun", and "Suijin". CD