A stunning set from saxophonist Jowee Omicil – dedicated to a slave uprising in 18th Century Haiti, but served up with a righteous vibe that's very progressive and 70s overall! The music is spiritual, but also very loose and avant – as Omicil switches between woodwinds and trumpet, and works with lean backing from Fender Rhodes, bass, and drums! The vibe is almost like that of vintage AACM projects – with a spontaneously creative approach that's very organic, and very personal – and Omicil has a great way of picking just the right instrument at just the right moment to shift the mood and really illuminate the music. Titles include "Call To Warzone", "AmBusKad", "KaLaLou Free", "Trace", "Bashquiat Intro", and "Spirit Yo Bak". LP, Vinyl record album

The "Lo" in the title here is Immy Owusu's way of hinting at a lo-fi approach on the record – a sound that mixes older West African influences with a more personal, down to earth approach – one that really lets Immy's vocals come across wonderfully – almost more like a soul album, given how upfront they are in the mix – a style that's different than an older singer buried amidst a larger ensemble sound! And yet there's also a decently-sized group on the record too – guitar, keyboards, percussion, and backing vocals alongside Owusu's lead work on guitar and vocals – intimate, yet rich – and with a sound that's such a nice change from records that try for a more slavish vintage sound. Titles include "Holy Shoulders", "Flashback", "Appellation Of Elevation", "Sunsum Dware", "Nyame Kasa", "Right With No Wrong", and "Palm Wine Elixir". LP, Vinyl record album

Vintage live recordings by George Clinton and his mighty P-Funk empire in the mid 70s – rehearsal sessions for the famous P-Funk Earth Tour – recorded in an airplane hanger in upstate New York! The sound is incredibly crisp and vibrant – these aren't sloppy rehearsal moments, but the group at their best – working with a tightness that's mindblowing, and having a sense of presence that's maybe even more upfront than the famous live album from the tour – as the smaller venue and recording style really captures the spontaneous energy of the performance! All the classic names are here, except Bootsy Collins – Fuzzy Haskins, Garry Shider, Jerome Brailey, Bernie Worrell, and even Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns – on titles that include "Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On", "Undisco Kidd", "Gettin To Know You", "Comin Round The Mountain", "Do That Stuff", "Dr Funkenstein", and "Mothership Connection". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic-styled funk from Alex Puddu – not only the greatest record we've heard from him so far, but a set that's definitely worthy of its "golden age" claim in the title! The music is all new, but it was done for a series of short Danish porno films from the 70s – and Puddu gets a sound that's right on the money for the vintage – loads of great short funky soundtrack modes that are perfect for the time – handled with tight rhythms, great basslines, and some wicked jazzy solos that really send the whole thing home. Puddu plays a range of instruments – including electric sitar – in a group that also features some great Fender Rhodes, organ, sax, and flute – and the tunes are really wonderful throughout – like finding a lost soundtrack from the 70s that never got issued as an album. Titles include "Kinky Hairdresser", "Miss Butterfly", "Madam Delight", "Sex Bar", "Lusty Nurses", "Black Triangle", "Naughty Girls At The Wild Party", "The Dirty Games Of Dr Love", and "Piano For Lovers". LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant early album from Japanese drummer Hideo Shiraki – a jazz session that bristles with the same intensity as key late 50s work by Benny Golson or Gigi Gryce! Although Hideo's leading the group on drums, his work on the kit is remarkably subtle – done with the snappingly rhythmic style that marked some of Golson's best modern experiments of a few years before – not nearly as bombastic as his stint with Art Blakey, and more in the rhythmically stepping quality of his work with Art Farmer in the Jazztet. Key players on the session include Hidehiko Matsumoto on tenor and flute and Yuzuru Sera on piano – both of whom give the album a fluid grace that's really beautiful – and soulful edges that allow the record to stand equally next to anything coming out of the US at the time. One track features a bit of koto at the start – echoing Shiraki's later world jazz experiments – but most of the set is straight modern hardbop, with tracks that include "Blue Romeo", "Etude No 1", "Just One Or Eight", "You Don't Know What Love Is", and Benny Golson's "Five Spot After Dark". LP, Vinyl record album

A cinematic blend of electronics and percussion – served up in a way that every bit as evocative as a vintage soundtrack, especially work from the 80s action years – yet handled with a sonic richness that often surpasses music from that generation too! The group's a duo – and features Latarnik on keyboards and piano, an artist you may know from other great titles on the Astigmatic label – working in collaboration here with drummer Cancer G, who also plays some keyboards as well – as the pair craft these tracks that open up with all sorts of subtle shifts in tone, color, action, and life. Titles include "Minus 10 Celsius", "Nadeszia Zima", "Zamrozenie", "Zamiec", "Roztopy", "Ostatnia Taka Zima", and "Lawina". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic record – and one of those rare moments when an avant group can serve up a bit of funk! This lost bit of work was recorded live in St Louis in 1973 – part of the Black Artists Group scene that was the city's answer to Chicago's AACM movement of the late 60s. Alto player Luther Thomas heads up the group, which features Charles Shaw on drums, JD Parran on reeds, Marvin Horne on guitar, Eric Foreman on bass – plus guest work from AACM visitors Joseph and Lester Bowie! The set kicks off with the 18 minute monster track "Funky Donkey" – an unbridled funky jam that mixes tight fast rhythms with skilled way-out solos, very much in the mode of "Nation Time" from Joe McPhee's album of similar vintage. The cut's a stone monster – and it's backed here by "Una New York", which has a more avant feel, but an equally exciting mix of styles. LP, Vinyl record album

The towering Marshall amps on the cover will give you a good idea of what's going on here – as this heavy 70s combo really turn things up to 11 with their searing power trio style! The group recall earlier efforts from that moment when three-member rock groups really set fire to the new generation of hard rock – drawing plenty of inspiration from lean blues of vintage years, but amping things up with all the fuzz of the psychedelic years, while also proving that guitar, bass, and drums were more than enough to resonate with a hell of a lot of power! Yet the album's also got a different vibe than work from bigger early 70s acts – cut almost in obscurity, with no attempts at commerciality, which really keeps things hard and heavy – on tracks that include "My Mind", "Remember", "Down The Road I Go", "No Rest For The Wicked", "The Light", and "It's All Above Us". LP, Vinyl record album

A host of raw rockers that were originally served up as 7" singles – all blasting out together with a tremendous amount of power – as if you're enjoying a night with choice cuts all stacked up in the jukebox pictured on the cover! The set's way more than any sort of oldies collection – as the music here is heavy on guitars, and effortlessly moves between blasts of fuzz and cleaner lines – sometimes instrumental, sometimes vocal – all with a sense of urgency that's delivered in the short space of the few minutes that would fit on a vintage 45! Richard Hawley curated the set, but even if you're not hip to his name, you'll find plenty here to dig if you love rare cuts of this sort – and as usual, Ace did a superb job with the presentation, sound quality, and notes! Titles include "Neb's Tune" by Ahab & The Wailers, "Cuttin Out" by The Pirages, "Feels Like A Woman" by The Troggs, "Buzzzzz" by Jimmy Cordon, "Bawana Jinde" by Al Duncan, "Dead End (part 1)" by The Executioners, "Where You Gonna Go" by Art Guy, "Long Line Rider" by Bobby Darin, "It's Nothing To Me" by Sanford Clark, "Jungle Walk" by The Dyna Sores, "Nasty" by The Timekeepers, "Quasimoto" by The Road Runners, "Swinging Drums" by Ronny Kae, and "Honky" by The Ho-Dads. LP, Vinyl record album

A set with a familiar title – similar to a Soul Jazz compilation of vintage work from Studio One – but a package that's nicely different, and which digs even deeper into the legendary catalog of the famous reggae label! The style here is nicely open – there's vocal and instrumental cuts, ska, rocksteady, and early reggae – and while there's certainly a theme of freedom in the music, there's lots of other righteous energy going on too! Many of these numbers are quite obscure – and titles include "Freedom Street" and "Funny Man" by Freedom Singers, "Wire Higher" by Jackie Mitoo, "Stay A Little Bit Longer" and "Rome" by Larry Marshall, "Lee Arab" by Ernest Ranglin, "Your Love Gets Sweeter" by Irvin Brown, and "Soul Food", "Midnight Soul", and "Mun Dun Gu" by Im & David with Sound Dimension. LP, Vinyl record album

The Grasso Brothers definitely know how to boogie – and they more than prove themselves with a wicked selection of rare tracks from the deepest years of the underground! The set's a killer collection right from the start – pulled from vintage 12" singles, albums, and even some funky 45s – with a groove that begins in the best boogie modes of the indie club scene, then soars to the skies in a range of fresh, creative styles – new variations on funky club modes of the 70s, taken to newer heights in the freedom of the post-disco years. There's some wicked cuts here we never would have discovered otherwise – and titles include "A Better Day" by Sharon Johnson, "Done Been" by Kenny Pierce, "We Know How To Boogie" by Those Good Intentions, "Dance To Freedom" by Sherman Hunter, "Stone Luv" by Roller Disco, "Plastic People (G&D edit)" by Living Color, "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Gospel Seekers, "Love Ain't Just A Physical Thing" by Carol Meriwether, and "Ain't No Doubt About It" by William Barlak. LP, Vinyl record album

The definitely got the title right on this one – because the set is filled with some of the most heavenly tracks from the legendary Ethiopiques series – that legendary run of compilations that was the first introduction for most of us to the amazing music of Ethiopia! This package really zeros in on all the best bits – and has a special focus on the early 70s, with some other bits from the 60s as well – all the wonderful vintage material that captures that special time in Ethiopian music when the artists were really taking some new chances with their sound – and creating an otherworldly blend of jazz and funk with more local elements as well. The range of artists is great – a really compelling blend of singers and instrumentalists, not just a handful of tracks by Mulatu – and titles include "Presentiment" by Tsegue Maryam Guebrou, "Ene Negn Bay Manesh" by Girma Beyene, "Hedetch Alu" by Muluquen Mellesse, "Lantchi Biye" by Tlahoun Gessesse, "Tchereqa" by Menelik Wesnatchew, "Ashasha Beyew" by Abbebe Tessemma, "Ati Fettun Isani Infedhani" by Ali Birra, "Mela Mela" by Seyfou Yohannes, "Teredjew Neber" by Ayalew Mesfin, and "Hametegnaw" by Seyoum Gebreyes. LP, Vinyl record album

Our favorite kind of funk is Super Funk – and this fab entry to the long-running series definitely keeps up the groove! As before, there's plenty of rare tracks here – most pulled from obscure singles of late 60s/early 70s vintage – and some even from rare studio tapes that were never issued at the time! Most tracks are short, with a nicely gritty groove – the kind of funky 45 madness that will always keep us digging for rare 7" singles – put together by the BGP crew with a real understanding of the groove! There's some especially nice female singers in the mix – almost creating a mini Sister Funk focus on the package – but there's also great guy singers and groups too. 20 tracks in all – with cuts that include "The Sneak" by The Douzer, "Queen Of Losers" by Eleanor Rigby, "Groovy Baby" by Kim Tamanga, "It's Mookie Time" by Cleveland Eaton & The Kats, "Party Time" by James Carpenter, "Moving Woman" by 87th Off Broadway, "Bad Bad Woman (part 1)" by Marie Franklin, "He Say She Say" by Chet Ivey, "Cold Sweat" by Julio Zavalla, "Shakin Up The Nation" by The Radiations, "One Sweet Song" by Gloria Lucas, and "I'm Moving Home" by Mary Alice McCall. LP, Vinyl record album

That sun-drenched image on the cover really gets at the spirit of the music on this excellent compilation – as most of the work has this slow-stepping, laidback sort of vibe – funky, but easygoing too – with the kind of cool, casual elements that maybe feel like the kind of music that you'd put on back at home, to rest up with a cool drink after spending a long day at the ocean! Many of the tracks are vintage, but there's some contemporary nuggets here too – a really well-chosen blend of cuts that are almost a genre unto themselves. Titles include "Just A Thought" by Just Us, "Tight Tonight" by Bengt Liedman, "More Than Hope" by Wendy Grace, "As The Day Grows Tired" by Will & James Ragar, "Moonshine" by Orion, "Kayenta Crossing" by William Eaton, "Peace Train" by Garth Fletcher, and "Golden Hour" by Aria Rostami. LP, Vinyl record album

The cover image should give you a great idea of what you're in for here – rare soul from the funky 45 underground of the late 60s/early 70s generation – presented in a wonderful selection of hand-picked cuts! Most of these numbers were recently reissued as limited run 7" singles by Acid Jazz and partner label Miles Away – but those singles, already expensive at the time, are mostly out of print and fetching money as if they were vintage releases – which makes this full-length set as much of a economic treasure as it is a musical one – a chance to enjoy these gems without breaking the bank! Titles include "Family Tree" by Family Tree with Sharon Brown, "We Got Good Lovin" by The Fantastics, "Time Is Long" by Rick Hickman, "Dancing Close" by Rita Joyce, "When You Lose Your Groove" by The Tom Emmanuel & Ron Experience, "Thank You Lord" by Lamont Butler, "Two Can Make It Together" by Tony & Tandy with Fleur De Lys, "This is The Beginning" by Leon's Creation, "Gonna Find A True Love" by Patterson Twins, and "One More Chance Lord" by Delores Fuller. LP, Vinyl record album

The love here is in the music – a really warm, wonderful blend of tracks in a variety of styles – all coming together in the sunny spirit hinted at by the cover! It's a bit hard to sum up the genius of the set in words – as Miche takes vintage soul, Latin, Brazilian, and other modes – but makes a record that's very different than the usual funky compilation – one with a much deeper sense of spirit! Most tracks are pretty darn obscure, which really helps them work together wonderfully – in a lineup that includes "Summer Love" by Mandisa, "Skying High" by South Funk Blvd, "Hung Up About You" by Atlantis, "Don't Need No Fortune Teller" by Ad Libs, "Now You've Gone Away" by City Lites, "Serrado" by Quintaessencia, and "It Was September" by Superior Elevation. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible collection of Stevie Wonder cover versions – different versions of familiar tunes, but ones that really manage to sparkle with all the righteous soul of the Stevie himself! It's been over a decade since DJ Spinna brought us the last version of his Wonder Of Stevie series – and during that time, he's managed to come up with a huge amount of great tracks that make the whole thing go way way deeper than before – not just cuts that copy the Wonder mode, but which seem to draw strong inspiration from its genius, and really soar to the skies! Much of the music here resonates with a charm that's located around the years of albums like Music Of My Mind and Innervisions, with all the jazzy currents that might imply – and some cuts are 70s vintage, others are more contemporary. Titles include "Bird Of Beauty" by US Atlantic First Navy Show Band, "It's My Pleasure" by Billy Preston, "Love's In Need Of Love Today" by John Minnis Big Bone Band, "As" by Tony Sherman, "Buttercup" by Jackson 5, "Have A Talk With God" by East St Louis Gospelettes, "Betcha Wouldn't Hurt Me" by Quincy Jones, "Golden Lady" by Reel People with Tony Momrelle, "If You Don't Love Me" by GC Cameron, "If She Breaks Your Heart Again" by Foreign Exchange, "Don't You Worry Bout A Thing" by Black Sugar, "Go Home" by Jrod Indigo, and "Make My Water Boil" by David Ruffin. LP, Vinyl record album

A great set of rural blues and folksy modes, presented here with little in the way of information – which then maybe makes the whole thing a completely delightful musical discovery – as if you've found a whole stack of vintage 78rpm singles with the labels rubbed off, and have to drop the needle on them to really open up the grooves! Most numbers feature vocals and acoustic guitar, and little other instrumentation – and the recording quality is nice and crisp, which is further intensified by the way the record plays at 45rpm – creating some of the urgency of spinning an old 78! Titles include "Florida Bound" by Edward Thompson, "Every Day Of The Week Blues" by Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley, "Lost Lover Blues" by Lulu Jackson, "Losin Out Blues" by Robert Wilkins, "Just A Spoonful" by Charley Jordan, "Delia" by Willie McTell, "Old Time Blues" by Carl Martin, and "Evil Devil Woman Blues" by Joe McCoy. LP, Vinyl record album

Bottazz keep things nice and lean here – drawing on a style of vintage funk, but also coming across with energy that's more suited to the 21st Century – really bridging generations with their music, which is heavy on basslines, wah wah guitar, and mighty sweet keyboard parts – all delivered with the spare energy of the sound library scene, but on cuts that stretch out a bit more too! There's a no-nonsense approach to the record that's totally great – these guys never try to be something they're not, and instead focus on their strong instrumental and rhythmic skills – while occasionally using the production to trip things out just slightly. Titles include "Metadone", "Cardosa", "Palamito", "Mokaba", and "Saturno Nudo". 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

The keyboards of Greg Foat have a really great setting here in a collaboration with Gigi Masin – served up in a style that's maybe more laidback and spacious than before, yet in a way that makes us fall in love with Greg's electric piano lines all over again! Masin's got roots in more ambient sounds, but the record definitely has a jazz approach at the core – plenty of the increasingly sensitive styles that Foat has developed as the years moved on – shifting from an initial role as a guy who could handle vintage keys, to a point where he's really emerged as a more fully-fledged jazz player overall! The blend of keyboards and a larger sonic palette still has plenty of live instrumentation in the mix – different than a project of this sort by an artist like Bugge Wesseltoft – and titles include "London Nights", "Viento Calido", "Your Move", "Sabena", "Leo Theo", "Love Theme", and "Dolphin". LP, Vinyl record album

A new set on the legendary KPM sound library label, but one that's very much in the best spirit of the company's vintage work – as maestro Frank Maston acts here like a hip soundtrack composer from the Italian scene of the 70s! The mix of instrumentation is mighty nice – funky, but in a laidback way – with cool compressed horns and flute lines, mixed with some wordless vocalizations from Molly Lewis – who seems to be evoking the style of the great Barbara Moore at times – while vibes sneak in and out of the mix, and give the whole thing a wonderfully chromatic vibe! A great set all the way through, with no filler at all – tracks that include "Jet Lag", "Hydra", "Medusa", "Morning Paper", "Fool Moon", "First Class", "You Shouldn't Have", "Storm", and "Easy Money". LP, Vinyl record album

A vintage set from the great Ebo Talyor – an artist who's been recording new music in recent years, but who sounds even better here on one of his classics! Ebo's got a fair bit of jazz mixed in with his sound – a layering of flute, trombone, tenor, guitar, and keyboard parts with a strong sense of solo – a bit like South African jazz of the period, especially in the way the instruments really open up in the midtempo grooves! Rhythms are laidback, but still nicely present – not as speedy as Afro-Funk, but not much slower either – and there's also room for plenty of lyrics on the tracks, too – although it's the instrumental solos we think we like the best. Titles include "Reality", "If You Care", "Come Along", "Egya Edu", "Enye Wo Nyame Nko", and "Gyae Su Na Nkomo". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most keyboard-heavy sets in the excellent Madlib Invazion sound library series – a set that has all sorts of vintage keys and synth over lightly tripping grooves that are mighty nice! The approach is spacey and dreamy, yet still very funky – as the keys handle as much rhythm as the percussion and bass – and are often produced in a way that creates these watery elements around the edges that make the whole thing sound even more wonderful! Other instrumentation includes vibes, toy piano, guitar, and even some sound effects – on titles that include "Ancient Ritual", "Aviary", "Horizon", "Maria", "Trials", "Luna", "Momenti", "Bassa", "Sudden Death", and "Soft Haze". LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool idea for a collection – a set that brings together vintage 70s tracks and more contemporary cuts – all with a globe-spanning ear for a groove, and an approach that's as heavy in soul as you'd expect from the title! This isn't your usual collection of sample tracks or funk classics – as the selection moves way past the obvious, and does a brilliant job of combining tracks we never would have thought to put together – while also introducing us to a number we'd never heard before too! Titles include "Every Time I See Him" by Metropolis, "Eva" by Robson Jorge & Lincoln Olivetti, "O Galho Da Roseira" by Airto, "Apocalypse Now Ho" by Nar'Chiveol, "Wache" by Francisco, "After All" by Soylent Green, "Space Queen" by King Errison, "Robot Man" by Yusef Lateef, "Stay This Way (lunar dub)" by Brand New Heavies, "Le Train" by Chene Noir, "Southern Freez" by On, "The PL (ext edit)" by Typesun, and "Le Cyclope" by Daniel Humair, Francois Jeanneau, and Henri Texier. LP, Vinyl record album

Imagine gaining entry to a treasure trove of vintage keyboards and electronic music sources – then getting the chance to spend days improvising with them, and making new sounds of your own! That's exactly what happened to Jeremiah Chu, as he was set loose inside the Vintage Synthesizer Museum in Los Angeles – where he handled dozens of amazing instruments, improvising throughout, and capturing most of his experiments live on tape! The result is a record that's maybe a bit more warm and organic than the sorts of older analog electronic albums, especially the more academic type – as Chiu creates these really beautiful progressions of sounds that flower and glisten with a very human sensibility – not electronic music for robots, but instead an embrace of electronic possibilities for altering contemporary living! Titles include "Rococco Rondo", "For Voices", "Seawater Swell", "Rhythm Bell", "Static Stone Railway", "Transparent Spheres", and "Echo Arp Hold". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool live set from keyboard maestro Greg Foat – one that's much more spacey than you'd guess from the poolside setting – as Greg's got his keys soaring high, his amps turned up wide, and the overall sound coming across like some combination of Krautrock and fusion! Things are still pretty rhythm throughout – and Foat's trio features drum machines and bass next to his work on Moog Matriarch, which is pretty stunning throughout – yet another demonstration of Greg's incredible ear for vintage keyboard styles – which he seems able to spin out in so many different ways, over the course of so many different albums! Titles include the four part "Pool Side" – plus "Dining Table Grooves", and "Sunset". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful sounds from trumpeter Matthew Halsall – just an EP, but one that features material from the same recordings that gave us his Ever Changing View album – two long tracks that almost act like a ".5" to that original record! As with the full album, the performances here feature a small ensemble that comes together in very gentle, organic ways – modal grooves served up on percussion, bass, and drums – blended with warmer touches on harp, piano, and flute – plus trumpet from the leader, who also plays kalimba and percussion too! The set features tree tracks, and is over 24 minutes – almost as long as a vintage jazz record – with titles that include "Bright Sparkling Light", "Newborough Forest", and "The Tide & The Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

A record with a very vintage-styled cover, but a set that's contemporary overall – jazzy work from Daniel Ogren, who plays all the instruments pictured around him on the cover – mixed with some occasional vocals from Anna Ahnlund, plus live drums and keyboards that almost hit a clubby sort of vibe at times! The record's got a sound that's really hard to peg – not really right for our jazz section, or new grooves – but certainly not rock, and not really global – although global elements clearly influence some of the rhythms on the record too. Most tunes have a melody that warms things up out of the darker corners of the rhythms – and titles include "Picasso", "Levi", "Hjalmarsfjorden", "Idag", "April", "Oktober", and "Annalena (album version)". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful reworking of a wonderful record – as Root Soul take on all the tracks from Shuya Okino's Destiny record – and delivery them with an old school funky club sound! The instrumentation is great – live and very spontaneous, with an energy that takes us back to vintage Salsoul or some of the best Philly club work of the 70s – or a bit like Brand New Heavies at times, especially on the tracks that feature N'Dea Davenport on vocals! That great singer appears on three of the album's excellent tracks – alongside other work from Navasha Daya, Diviniti, and Pete Simpson – who each get a few tracks too. Titles include "Destiny", "Still In Love", "Look Ahead", "Let Nothing Change You", "Deep Into Sunshine", "Holding You Loving You", and "Sun Will Rise". LP, Vinyl record album

A contemporary set, but one that comes across with a very vintage vibe – one that really hearkens back to the best underground work on the Kingston scene at the end of the 70s! The production is fuller than some of those records, but still comes across with a classic-styled warmth – especially given that most numbers feature melodica lines from Addis Pablo, who really carries on the tradition of the instrument in dub, as first started by his father Augustus Pablo many years back! Jah Bami provides vocals on most tracks – and titles include "Selassie I Wisdom", "Far East Median", "Harar Melody", "Jah Alone", "Eastern Acoustic", "Acoustic Dub", "Selassie I Wisdom Dub", and "Jah Chant Dub". LP, Vinyl record album

A great late album from French composer, arranger, lyricist, singer and all around creative musical force Jean Claude Vannier – with Vannier singing moody, vintage orch pop numbers in a mode that does both JCV and his old collaborator Serge Gainsbourg proudly! The set has a very lively feel to it, which is quite natural, given that the album came about following the group's rehearsals for the Histoire De Melody Nelson performance at London's Barbican in 2006. It features a brilliant group of players who worked with Vannier and Serge Gainsbourg on that uber-iconic album as well as other boundary-busting projects and soundtracks – including Cannabis, La Horse, Slogan and Vannier's own legendary leftfield classic L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches. Vannier's voice is charismatic as can be, and the vintage pulp orchestrations are as fresh as ever. Includes "Londres-Paris-Sofia", "Les Yeux Valise", "Au Desespoir Des Singes", "Les Coquelicots", "La Vie En Live", "Une Partie De Scrabble", "Roses Rouge Sang" and "Un Petit Quelque Chose". LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool classic from this Italian combo – one of the first groups to really get the sound of vintage easy and bossa grooves just right – which they perform here in a mix of original tunes and numbers by famous soundtrack giants like Piero Umiliani and Armando Trovajoli! Rhythms are nice and lean, and not in the too-clubby remix mode that other groups in this territory might use – with plenty of percussion down next to the bass and drums – topped with some especially great work on organ and synth, plus occasional wordless vocalizations too! The whole thing is very tasty – and titles include "Psicoerotica", "Il Bellunese", "Topless Party", "La Decisione", "Madame La Mousse", "Don Peppino E Falpala", "Gonna Make It Easy", "Gangster Story", "Il Colore Degli Angeli", and "Dentro L'Atelier". Great vinyl pressing – with a bonus record that features seven unreleased tunes, and seven more from singles as well! LP, Vinyl record album

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

A great vintage-styled record – but one that features a host of contemporary artists, all working in the best spirit of 70s funky reggae! The set features tunes by Herbie Hancock, The Commodores, The Sugarhill Gang, and others – but all served up as dubby numbers with lots of funky elements – in the same style as the recent run of excellent 45s from the Stix Records label. A few of these cuts originally appeared as those singles, and they're mixed here with other tracks showing up for the first time ever – a great run of grooves that includes "Chameleon (Taggy Matcher disco mix)", "Money (7 Samurai disco 12" version)", "Music (The Dynamics disco 7" version)", "Brick House (Taggy Matcher disco mix)", "Suit & Tie (John Milk reggae version)", "Everybody's Talkin (Blundetto & Granmagneto orig 7" version)", "Rapper's Delight (Taggy Matcher dub)", and "Saturday Night Fever (Grandmagneto orig 7" version)". LP, Vinyl record album

Mr Bongo reminds us once again why they've been one of our favorite labels of the past few decades – delivering a masterful collection of rare funky dancefloor grooves around the globe for their Record Club Volume 3! True to form, it's vintage rare funk, bossa, Afro Soul and underground dancefloor rooted with a hearty focus on Brazil, including tracks by JB De Carvalho, Trio Ternura, Impacto 5 and others – and spans the globe further for tracks by legendary composer Galt MacDermot, Ghana's Gyedu Blay Ambolley, the Luther Davis Group and more. Includes "Fui A Umbanda" by JB De Carvalho, "A Gira" by Trio Ternura, "Coisa Sentimental" by Tobias, "Don't Stop" (unreleased long version) by Spaceark, "Let Me Try" by Kaleidoscope, "Peacock" by Splash, "You Can Be A Star" by Luther Davis Group, "Highlife" by Gyedu Blay Ambolley, "Ze Do Trem", "by Cesar Roldao Viera, "Dance Of Maria" by Elias Rahbani, "Coffee Cold" by Galt MacDermot and more. 20 tracks in all. LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful record from a really timeless group – a contemporary combo, but one who play in the best spiritual jazz modes of the 70s – in a way that really lives up to the vintage vibe of the album's cover! These guys have a long, flowing approach to their tunes – building them up with modal energy that rings out with some great Fender Rhodes alongside the bass and drums – and with basslines that are especially strong, and keep a pulse that seems to allow all the other musicians a great amount of creative freedom, while still hanging onto a groove! Zakari Frantz plays some wonderful alto sax – often with the soaring, soulful qualities of a tenor – and the group also features bold trumpet lines from Ed Lister, Fender Rhodes from Pierre Chretien, bass from Alex Bilodeau, and drums from Mike Essourdy. The first we've ever heard from this group – but we'll bet we'll be hearing more soon! Titles include "Pillars Of Hercules", "Ebb & Flow", "Blue Nile", "Agean Mist", and "Leviathan". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's a keyboard lover's delight – especially if you love more synth-heavy sounds – because Rich Aucoin presents the tracks as a mini history of synthesizer sounds and styles – working here with instruments from the collections of the National Music Centre in Calgary, and the Vintage Synthesizer Museum in LA! The music really resonates with the kind of elements you'd expect from that legacy – and from the great image on the front – a shift in sound from track to track, as Aucoin delivers these instrumentals that are especially heavy on influences from the world of 80s club, dance, and funk. Titles include "Shift", "Pure", "Space", "Prophet", "Liminal", "Roger Luther", "Tech Noir", and "Lyra". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unusual albums ever issued on the legendary Discos Fuentes label – and that's saying a lot, given how many unusual albums the company put out! This set's got a core Colombian groove in the rhythms – very much in the rootsy style that the company was making a name for in the 60s – great percussion, a nice raw edge in the production, and that slight variation in groove that made Colombian music a really refreshing change from the sounds of Havana and New York! Yet the real difference here is that the singer is a kid – the lovely Aurita pictured on the cover – a vocalist who's got this unusual depth for someone her age, this rawness at times that really comes across in a striking way – almost the unbridled energy and emotion that you'd never hear from an adult. That quality livens up the grooves in this really unusual way – all the charms of a vintage Discos Fuentes album, but with a very different spin! Titles include "El Vaquero", "Las Polleras", "Mompoxina", "Chambacu", "Festival En Guarare", "Carino Lindo", and "Lamento De Sirena". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic French material from Chet Baker – one of his legendary albums recorded for the Barclay label in Paris – and a set that's noteworthy for also featuring work from modern jazz pianist Richard (Dick) Twardzik – who passed away shortly after the sessions! The pairing of Baker and Twardzik is one of the best of Chet's 50s years – and the group here is rounded out by the excellent Jimmy Bond on bass, and Peter Littman on drums. There's a nice bite to the set – a bit more than some of Baker's west coast material from the year or two before – and there's also an undercurrent of some of the soul that would emerge in his solos in coming years. Titles include "Rondette", "Piece Caprice", "Sad Walk", "Mid Forte", "The Girl From Greeland", "Just Duo", and "Pomp" LP, Vinyl record album

A record from the mid 70s, but one that's got a very timeless vibe – as the grooves link together earlier rocksteady soul with more righteous roots reggae currents – all to provide a spectacular setting for the tenor of Cedric Im Brooks! As with some of Brooks' other 70s material, there's a very enigmatic vibe to the record – almost as if it dropped out of the skies without many ties to the scene around it – although we can say that the whole thing definitely has the nice edge you'd expect from handling by the legendary Studio One label! There's some great organ work on the album, unfortunately uncredited – and titles include "Glory To Sound", "Give Rasta Glory", "Walking Through", "Free Man", "Smiley", and "Why Can't I". LP, Vinyl record album

An underground classic from Karen Dalton – a record that's almost out of time, given its early 70s release – as Karen sings with spare backings that are almost in a Folkway Records mode at points, but with all these headier currents that are also indicative of the Bay Area generation too! Dalton's voice is completely unique too – unlike anything you'll ever hear – phrasing that almost hearkens back both to vintage jazz and Appalachian folk, but a style that's more long hair – as are some of the backings too. The set was recorded upstate in Bearsville – and really has all the hallmarks of the freedoms of that scene at the time – summed up beautifully on material that includes "Something On Your Mind", "In A Station", "Take Me", "Same Old Man", Are You Leaving For The Country", "Katie Cruel", and "How Sweet It Is". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal set from Ned Doheny – a lasting bit of California cool from the 70s, and a record that's every bit as refreshing as its image on the cover! The sound is tight, but never too slick – well-crafted songwriting with equally well-crafted production and studio execution – but somehow in a space that's far from the charts, too – which makes the whole thing a really great discovery in music! Ned Doheny's got a way of hitting an AOR vibe, but holding onto more personal elements too – and the vocals glide along with the music with the same charming vibe we'd find in a vintage Chris Rainbow record. Titles include "Get It Up For Love", "Each Time You Pray", "When Love Hangs In The Balance", "A Love Of Your Own", "On The Swingshift", "Sing To Me", and "If You Should Fall". LP, Vinyl record album

A great move in a fresh direction for the Flaming Groovies – a set that has the group working with producer Dave Edmunds, and hitting this sweet power pop sort of sound! The Groovies still have all the tight energy of before – but they also seem to be paying tribute to an older vintage of British material – as evidenced by their 60s look on the cover, and the album's back cover parody of a stance by The Beatles! The short tracks are plenty tuneful, and Edmunds has a way of compressing the fuzz down tightly, but never in a way that makes things sound slick or commercial. Vocal chorus bits are especially great – surprisingly catchy, almost in a Brit Invasion way – and titles include "Shake Some Action", "You Tore Me Down", "I Saw Her", "Teenage Confidential", "I Can't Hide", "She Said Yeah", and "Sometimes". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic package of work – material that not only helped kick off the career of the legendary Howlin Wolf, but also the Memphis powerhouse Sun Records too! The material here was all cut in the Sun Studios right at the start of its famous run – material recorded by Sam Phillips long before Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis – at a time when he was deeply interested in the shifts taking place in southern blues at the time, and was willing to take a chance on the mighty talents of Howlin Wolf! Wolf was no newcomer to the scene, but hadn't gotten recorded much before – especially not at this level, which brings out qualities that really ignited a long stretch of important 50s sessions after Sun licensed a few key tracks to other labels before they got their own imprint up and running. This very cool 10" package features titles not issued at the time – ten great tracks that were in the Sun Records vaults for years – presented here in a very cool vintage-styled LP. Titles on this second volume include "Color & Kind", "My Baby Walked Off", "Baby Ride With Me", "Smile At Me", "California Blues", "Well That's All Right", "Mr Highway Man/Cadillac Daddy", "Decoration Day Blues", "Dorothy Mae #2", and "CV Wine Blues/Drinkin CV Wine". LP, Vinyl record album

An easygoing city pop classic from Momoko Kikuchi – catchy but laidback at the same time – and nicely produced, but with a different vibe than some of the clunkier American work of the time! The record's a great illustration of the way that a singer like Momoko could find just the right balance with the backings – working with a set of arrangements from Tetsuji Hayashi, who also wrote the songs – carrying forward some of the pop and soundtrack styles of the time, and wrapping things up in a well-crafted record for Kikuchi. Titles include "Boy Friend", "Southern Cross Dreaming", "Ai No Surf Break", "Dear Children", and "Calendar Ni Initial". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked Christmas album from Cyndi Lauper – recorded a bit after her big hits of the 80s, but still enough in that decade to have the right vintage feel for her voice! There's a few Christmas classics on the record, but there's also some original and unusual songs – which is always great with us – as our favorite sort of Christmas records are the ones where an artist really brings something new to the table! Titles include "Feels Like Christmas", "Three Ships", "In The Bleak Midwinter", "December Child", "Early Christmas Morning", "New Year's Baby", "Minnie & Santa", and "Christmas Conga". LP, Vinyl record album

A record with a very vintage-styled cover, but a set that's contemporary overall – jazzy work from Daniel Ogren, who plays all the instruments pictured around him on the cover – mixed with some occasional vocals from Anna Ahnlund, plus live drums and keyboards that almost hit a clubby sort of vibe at times! The record's got a sound that's really hard to peg – not really right for our jazz section, or new grooves – but certainly not rock, and not really global – although global elements clearly influence some of the rhythms on the record too. Most tunes have a melody that warms things up out of the darker corners of the rhythms – and titles include "Picasso", "Levi", "Hjalmarsfjorden", "Idag", "April", "Oktober", and "Annalena (album version)". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums from Tom Waits's peak years at Island – carrying on with the clattering, defiantly vintage-sounding instrumentation – especially given the obsessively modern production aesthetic on most major label albums in the mid 80s. This album also just so happens to feature at least a few of the best songs Waits ever wrote! Rain Dogs follows Swordfishtrombones, his first really drastic step into eccentrically gritty songs – and this one carries on that vibe, while also delivering some gritty ballads and a less out-there songs, too. Includes the much-loved (and deservedly so) "Downtown Train", "Singapore", "Clap Hands", "Tango Till They're Sore", "Hang Down Your Head", "Time", "Rain Dogs", "Gun Street Girl", "Walking Spanish" LP, Vinyl record album

The spacey image on the cover gives part of the picture of the wound of Wasafiri here – cosmic fusion with a really soaring vibe at most moments – but there's also some warmer, more intimate moments too – times when the more full-on rhythms kick back slightly, and let the group's acoustic elements step more strongly into the fold! The group is led by bassist Max Gerl, and there's loads of vintage keyboards and Arp on the record – handled by the group's Kwinton Gray and Cole Riddle – but there's also reed work from Shelly Carrol and Matthew Babineaux, who use saxes and flutes on some great solos – especially nice at times the live percussion comes into play. Titles include a nice remake of "The Creator Has A Master Plan" – plus "Future Step", "Wasafiri Theme", "Reminiscence", "The Traveler", and "Embarkation". LP, Vinyl record album

Greasy Mike's been making the global rounds on records like this – serving up an imagined landscape of weird and wonderful sounds, all pulled from rare singles of late 50s/early 60s vintage! We're not sure Mike's efforts will ever win him a harem, but he's done a great job here – coming up with tunes that often have some slight exotic or Eastern sort of vibe, mixed with more familiar American sounds of the time – like electric guitar or Latin percussion! Titles include "Ole Tsasa" by Valisas & His Slaves, "Desert Wind" by The Vaqueros, "Cairo Twist" by The Royce McAfee Combo, "Cobra" by The Boys, "Sahara" by The Cotillions, "Port Said" by The Kasuals, "Moroc-Kin" by Arabian Knights, "Snake Charmer" by Torrents, "The Bagdad Fantasy" by Ilo Kay & His Trio, and "Istanbul" by Jol Coyes Boys. LP, Vinyl record album

An early entry in the classic Mood Mosaic series – a set of compilations that were crucial in helping to bring rare European tracks over to our American ears, especially in a pre-internet world! There's a real 90s sample head vibe to the record – 70s vintage tracks that have just the right sort of beats, basslines, and keyboards to appeal to a later scene – with a set list that includes "Coming and Going" and "Go Down Dying" by Ray Brown, plus "Caribbean Sunrise" by Clay Pitts, "Vixen & The Constable" by Ingo Kantor, "Le Train Fou" by Jacques Denjean, "Amame" and "Dr No Piano" by Claudia Vita, "Good Time" by Dan Seepers Soul, "Pazuzu" by Tony Sylvester, "Continental Exchange" by Sounds Nice, and "Sado Maso" by De Giafferi. LP, Vinyl record album

A totally cool collection of songs, sound effects, and vintage movie trailers – all pulled from the glory days of the American horror film! The package is a tribute to the old time monster shows that used to travel the theater circuit – a mix of horror movies and live action activity – revived by by the folks at Something Weird in live performances, a great counterpart to all the great films they've given us on DVD over the years! This set brings together the kind of deep knowledge that only fans of these lost b-movie gems could discover – a massive 32 track package that features the songs "The Morgus Creep" by The Daringers, "Cemetary Stomp" by The Essex, "Count Dracula" by The Rockin Continentals, "Haunted House" by Oscar & The Majestics, "The Giggler" by The Pot & The Wildcats, "The Guillotine" by The Executioners, "Transylvania" by The Mysterians, and "Night Beat" by The Night Beats – plus a huge host of film trailers, radio spots, and more! Also features a bonus DVD of the live Something Weird Spook Show. LP, Vinyl record album

Way more than just a typical collection of rare funk and soul – as the selections here not only meet the stunningly high standards of the BGP label – but they've also been sampled in more recent years for hip hop records and other contemporary recordings! Essentially, you've got the best of both worlds – vintage funk from the late 60s and early 70s – brought together in a great collection – and work that's gone onto form the blueprint for contemporary urban sounds as well – which means you'll probably recognize some or part of most of these songs from their use in more contemporary recordings. Nearly every cut's been sampled at least more than once – and titles include "Blind Alley" by The Emotions, "Chick A Boom" by Pazant Brothers, "Eva" by Jean Jacques Perry, "Walk Tall" by Cannonball Adderley, "Baby Let Me Take You In My Arms" by Detroit Emeralds, "Bouncy Lady" by Pleasure, "Tramp" by Lowell Fulson, "Take Yo Praise" by Camille Yarbrough, "Thinking Single" by The Counts, "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson, "Ike's Mood" by Isaac Hayes, "What A Man" by Linda Lynell, and "Smokey Joe's La La" by Googie Rene. Funky funky! LP, Vinyl record album

Other-worldly sounds from a leaf-playing musician from the South American scene – an artist who takes the leaf of a ficus tree, holds it in his mouth, and creates all these unusual sounds that are very much in the territory of some sort of exotic reed instrument! The leaf solos are mixed here with work on acoustic guitar, percussion, and often a bit of organ – all at a level that's completely hypnotic, and which almost feels more like music from the East African scene than the sorts of sounds you'd expect from the city of Quito in Ecuador! And while you might think of these recordings as some sort of sonic novelty, they've got a great amount of feeling and power – a really unexpected depth that comes across right away – maybe even more so if you don't stop to think about the source of the sounds. These vintage recordings are presented here in the best tradition of the Honest Jons label – and titles include "Tondero", "Arbol Frondoso", "Pujili", "Marcu Pungo", "La Naranja", "Negra Piedad", "Simiatu", and "Huashca De Corales". LP, Vinyl record album

A heavy funk party from the Japanese jazz scene of the 70s – and a set that hits a lot harder than some of the smoother fusion of the time! There's a grit here that hearkens back to some of the best American jazz funk at the start of the decade – a nice edge that you often don't find in Japanese recordings of this vintage – which is clearly inspired by the American soul scene of the time – as evidence in the weird-looking cover, and in the album's choice of tracks! The notes are in Japanese, which makes it a bit hard to tell what's going on – but the whole thing feels like a live performance, with supposedly different Japanese groups taking the lead – and some calls on the tunes that almost give the whole thing an Osaka Monaurail feel! Titles include "Put It Where You Want It" by Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media, "I Who Have Nothing" by Tan Tan, "Walking All Day" by Eddie Ban & Orient Express, "Sex Machine" by Ozawa Tetsu, and "Scratch" by Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalo. LP, Vinyl record album

Most people know Albert Oehlen as an artist, yet he's also one with a very sensitive ear for music as well – one that comes in pretty darn handy in this set of duets with legendary drummer Sven Ake Johansson! The recording grew out of a meeting in Oehlen's studio, which includes his collection of vintage rhythm machines – used here to set up some sonic patterns which are then disrupted by Johansson's work on the drum kit – never in a way that's too erratic, as Sven also creates these waves and patterns of sound – sometimes with the intensity of the machines, but often a lot more human, with a looser sensibility that really makes for a wonderful contrast! The set features one long improvisation, spread out over both sides of the record – a very historic meeting. LP, Vinyl record album

Really wonderful work from the early 90s scene in Khartoum – sounds that have a much more 70s-styled sound than you might expect! That sound is in keeping with Kamal Keila, who was never a mainstream artist at all – and instead made material like this away from the limelight, which might account for the older spirit – as the music mixes together currents of vintage American soul, particularly some of the Texas horn-heavy bands of the late 60s – plus a bit of Ethiopian flair in the rhythms, and maybe even a bit of bluesy inflections in Keila's voice – even though the music is hardly in the realm of blues at all! The whole thing is as compelling as it is righteous – a quality you'll certainly discover in the English language lyrics of the set, which comprise about half the material. Titles include "Agricultural Revolution", "Sudan In The Heart Of Africa", "Muslims & Christians", "African Unity", "Taban Ahwak", "Ya Shanifi", and "Ajmal Youm". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great little soundtrack – an unusual comedic moment for Ennio Morricone, and scored with this very groovy blend of light orchestrations, gentle rhythms, and even a bit of bossa! Keyboard lines ring out with this spare, resonant feel on some of our favorite numbers – recalling the best Morricone modes at the start of the 70s, but with a slightly different twist – and the overall approach is way more classy and careful than the usual Italian comedy of this vintage – no throwaway disco or too-cheesy cuts – just the kind of careful sense of sound we'd expect from the maestro. Vinyl version features 20 tracks in all – titles that include "Marcetta Poplare", "Un Povero Emigrante", "Dance On", "Autostrada", and a number of variations on the title. LP, Vinyl record album

A great little record from Japanese singer Yoko Nagisa – an artist who's clearly got a 70s look on the cover, and who really brings that to the record too – mixing in bits of jazz and bits of soul, at a level that maybe makes the whole thing feel like some blend between vintage work by Kimiko Kasai and some of the more mainstream singers of that older decade – set to perfect period instrumentation that's handled by Crazy Ken Band! Instrumentation has a sense of warmth that really matches Yoko's vocals nicely – and although lyrics are in Japanese throughout, as are the song titles – there's a really universal sense of appeal to the record. LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning sounds from Michael Orr – a singer you might know from his secular work in the duo of Harris & Orr – and who still sounds incredible here in a more spiritual-styled set from the start of the 80s! As with Michael's earlier music, there's a cool, cosmic vibe going on in the instrumentation – jazzy keyboard inflections and a great spacey soul conception that's quite unusual for most records of this vintage, much less the gospel setting that Orr's working in here on the Birthright label! Yet as with the hippest gospel records of the time, the religion is delivered more in a sense of universal spirit – at a level that's more on par with some of the more spiritual jazz and soul releases of the time – a mode that Orr worked in before on his previous albums. Michael plays a fair bit of Fender Rhodes on the record, and sings deeply too – and the vibe here is a lot like the best modern soul moments from Rance Allen and DJ Rogers. Titles include "Love Will Rise", "Hear The Message", "This Is A Blessing", "Spread Love", "Come Live In My Heart", and "I Don't Know You". LP, Vinyl record album

A great lost album from Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers – not classic vintage, despite the front cover image, but an excellent session from the early 90s that still has Pucho very much at the top of his game! The album's way heavier than some of Pucho's other material from the period – and only got slight circulation under the title Jungle Strut – as a record that really returns to the vibe of early 70s funky Prestige Records –w ith work from the legendary Pazant Brothers on horns, plus Melvin Sparks on guitar, Willie Bivens on vibes, and Bernard Purdie on drums! The sound is great – nice and raw, with a real emphasis on Purdie's funk – and titles include "Strange Thing", "Got Myself A Good Man", "Pucho's Descarga", "Soul Sauce", and "Bang Bang Lulu". LP, Vinyl record album

A contemporary record, but one with a really vintage Brazilian vibe – thanks to superb vocals and guitar from Joao Selva, and just the right sort of additional instrumentation and production from Bruno "Patchworks" Hovart! If you know other Patchworks productions, you'll know that Bruno's got a hell of an ear for sounds that are warm and soulful – and while other projects of his might have been more club-oriented, the feel here is in the mode of Brazilian soul from years back – touches of the AOR style of early 80s Marcos Valle, mixed with some of the leaner styles from the 70s as well – all topped with really nice songwriting and vocals from Joao. Titles include "Cirandinha", "Sete Ventos", "Mar De Estrelas", "Por Um Amor", "Vai Te Curar", "Seu Carnaval", "Cantar Cantar", and "Menina Me Encanta". LP, Vinyl record album

A masterpiece from Spacemen 3 – maybe one of the greatest psychedelic albums of all time – and one that we'd rank right up there with giants from the late 60s, and all those lesser-known acts that always seem to get rediscovered over the years! There's a definite 80s quality to the production, but there's also a timeless approach here that really sets the trio apart from so many of their contemporaries who'd reach for fuzz and echo, yet end up sounding completely dated just a few years later. Everything seems set to "rumble" – the Vox Starstreamer, the Fender Jaguar, the Telecaster, Rickenbacker, and other vintage instruments that made this drum-less record so wonderful right at the core – and although the vocals are part of the package too, it's really the guitars that do all the singing here. Titles include "Come Down Softly To My Soul", "How Does It Feel", "Let Me Down Gently", "Lord Can You Hear Me", "Suicide", "Honey", and "I Believe It". LP, Vinyl record album

A new album from the great Willie West – an artist we love for his rare vintage New Orleans work of the 60s and 70s – still sounding surprisingly wonderful all these many years later! Willie's vocals have this raspy, honest charm that's totally great – and like Lee Fields during his revival years, West gets superb backing from a small combo of younger players who really appreciate the best roots of the music – tight but unpretentious grooves that feel just like a vintage 45, and suit Willie West to a T! The style is less New Orleans than it is a more righteous, sophisticated version of funky soul – one with some nice dark corners that really raise our opinion of Willie's talents – again with the sort of deeper vibe we love in the recent work by Lee Fields. Titles include "Slow & Easy", "Cold In The Storm", "She's So Wise", "The Devil Gives Me Everything", "Getting Down", and "I'm Aware Of What You Want". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet set of vintage American blue eyed soul from the 70s & early 80s – a diverse and deep set of it, too – featuring sunny and soulful numbers by Breakaway, 1619 Bad Ass Band, Society Of Seven, Lil' Albert, Jay P Morgan, Life Force and more! There's a pretty broad range styles, but the set flows consistently – with numbers that for the most part share a penchant for laidback, simmering grooves and excellently layered productions. But from there, the styles roll from soft rock arrangements with soul-based vocals, to some sly bits of funk, groovy strings and other sweeter touches. We're hoping to see a Vol 2 after this one! 16 tracks in all: "I Love Music" by Babadu, "Lving Off The Love" by Eric Tagg, "Just For You" by 1619 Bad Ass Band, "SLow Dancer" by Life Force, "Never Gonna Leave You" by Evans Pyramid, "Who Was It This Time", "Coast To Coast" by Tender Leaf, "My Girl Friday" by Lil'Albert, "Thought You Ought To Know" by Jesse McFall & The Funk Elegant Orchestra and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A killer set of rare club and underground disco – filled with lots of tracks we haven't seen on other collections! Andy Smith has given us many amazing compilations over the years – sets that have a special mix magic, made up of rocksteady, reggae, vintage funk, and even some rockabilly too! Yet as Andy says here in the notes, he first got hooked on music in the disco generation – and has always had a life-long love of unusual and underground grooves – which he definitely demonstrates here, in a stunning selection of cuts that focus on the funkier side of the disco generation – with a good number of tracks that have turned out to be sample cuts over the years. Titles include "For The Love Of Money" by Disco Dub Band, "Patty Duke" by Cloud One, "Times Are Tight" by Jimmy Young, "Share The Night" by World Premiere, "Is It In" by Jimmy Bo Horne, "Let It Flow" by Tamiko Jones, "Main Thing" by Shot with Kim Marsh, "Give It Up" by Neddy Smith, "Groove To Get Down" by T-Connection, "Holding You Tight (ext DJ mix)" by Sure Thing, "First True Love Affair (Andy Smith & Nick Halke reach up edit)" by Jimmy Ross, "Got To Have You (Whiskey Barons re-edit)" by Joanne Wilson, "I Wanna Be Myself" by Don Laka, "Get Up & Boogie" by Freedom, and "Take Me To The Top" by Advance. LP, Vinyl record album

A massive selection of work from the contemporary underground scene – cuts that previously appeared as limited edition 7" singles on the excellent Colemine labels – one of our favorite sources for contemporary funk! The set's got as much vintage vibe as you'd guess from the label styles on the cover – and this limited vinyl version is beautifully pressed, with sound that may well even be more fantastic than the 45s. Titles include "Ice Breaker" by Bubaza, "Winston Theme" by Winston Brothers, "Slipshot" by Jungle Fire, "Rome" by Dojo Cuts, "Morning In America" by Durand Jones & The Indications, "Standing With You" by The Resonaires, "Nothing But His Love" by The Harlem Gospel Travelers, "Sommer" by The Ironsides, "No Laggin & Draggin" by Renaldo Domino, "Sunk In The Mist" by Jr Thomas & The Vocalos, "Step Down" by Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, "Over You" by Aaron Frazer, "Fo Sho" by Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, "More Than A Memory" by Ben Pirani, and "One & Only" by Oliver James. LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little collection, and one that definitely fits the sunny Cali look on the cover – as the set mixes together vintage jazz and AOR from the 70s, but also includes some cuts from the present as well – all with a timeless vibe that almost creates a new sort of genre unto itself! Acoustic and electric elements share the sound equally, as do vocal and instrumental modes – and there's a style to the set that's maybe as if you've come into the SoCal scene during the height of the big label recordings of the 70s – but maybe stumbled on some smaller studios down the road apiece where more personal, interesting music is taking place. Titles include "Let Love Flow" by Monica Rypma, "You Never Sang This Song" by Guy Maxwell, "Sunday Morning" by Pixie Lauer, "Ride That Train" by Guy Schwartz, "Make Believe" by Jim Lamarche, "Land Of Wonder" by Maria Fant, "Misterios" by Diana Pequeno, "Marie" by Airbone, "Summer Days/Golden Haze" by White Feature, and "Phone Home" by Michael Welch. LP, Vinyl record album

Imagine gaining entry to a treasure trove of vintage keyboards and electronic music sources – then getting the chance to spend days improvising with them, and making new sounds of your own! That's exactly what happened to Jeremiah Chu, as he was set loose inside the Vintage Synthesizer Museum in Los Angeles – where he handled dozens of amazing instruments, improvising throughout, and capturing most of his experiments live on tape! The result is a record that's maybe a bit more warm and organic than the sorts of older analog electronic albums, especially the more academic type – as Chiu creates these really beautiful progressions of sounds that flower and glisten with a very human sensibility – not electronic music for robots, but instead an embrace of electronic possibilities for altering contemporary living! Titles include "Rococco Rondo", "For Voices", "Seawater Swell", "Rhythm Bell", "Static Stone Railway", "Transparent Spheres", and "Echo Arp Hold". LP, Vinyl record album