The second issue of this track, when MoWax picked it up and helped really put Air over as one of the leading lights of the new French beat movement. The original is a spacey, atmospheric trip hop classic, while notches the beat up a bit, but maintains the chill vibe, as does Cam, who drops a slightly harder, more hip hop influenced beat with some nice cuts over the top. CD

Includes music by St Germain, China Bear, DJ Vadim, Red Snapper, Jazzanova, DJ Cam, Llorca, Shawn Lee, Daedelus, Lyrics Born, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Koop, Roy Ayers, and more – 60 tracks total. CD

An incredible meeting of the global underground – one that features work from Silent Poets remixed by some of the hippest talents of the European scene at the time! The original album is easily one of the best things the Poets ever did – really beautiful work that's mostly instrumental, and a unique blending of jazz, dub, bossa, and dancefloor elements – all with a freshness that still holds up a lot more strongly than the host of imitators that came up in the group's wake – almost made even better here with an additional range of sounds from the remixers! There's a wonderful blend of acoustic and electric elements that keeps things on edge throughout – and although a number of songs repeat, the mood of the mixes is quite varied, and really makes for a complex little record. Titles include "Stowing Away (DJ Cam rmx)", "Talk Is Toy (More Rockers dub plate mix)", "Stowing Air (Fila Brazilia rmx)", "Talk Is Toy (Skylab rmx inst)", "Subspecies (Silent Poets rmx)", "Talk Is Toy (DJ Cam rmx)", "Talk Is Toy (Smith & Mighty rmx)", and "Talk Is Toy (Up Bustle & Out rmx)". CD

A great presentation of work from the legendary Tribe Records of Detroit – all handled by DJ Muro, who's posed on the front in a way that recalls one of the label's rarest albums! The style here is different than other collections of Tribe Records material – as Muro goes for cuts that showcase some of the more soulful, funky sides of the label – still very righteous overall, but with less of the longer or more avant-oriented tracks that came from the Detroit underground at the time. Muro's been giving us amazing collections for many years, and this one is no exception – a fantastic demonstration of his magical ear, as he makes his way through cuts that include "The Wok" by Wendell Harrison, "Ode To Africa" by Harold McKinney, "Why Don't Love Make Everything Right" by Cosmic Force, "Ginseng Love" by Wendell Harrison, "Freedom Jazz Dance" by Harold McKinney, "For Real" by Doug Hammond, "Glue Fingers (part 2)" by Marcus Belgrave, "Vibes From The Tribe (prelude)" by Phil Ranelin, "What We Need" by Wendell Harrison & Phil Ranelin, "In The Moog" by Harold McKinney, "Farewell To The Welfare" by Wendell Harrison & The Tribe, "Wake Up Brothers" by Doug Hammond, "Sounds From The Village" by Phil Ranelin, and "Belle Isle" by Wendell Harrison. CD

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. 2CDs – one of the cuts unmixed, one with the tracks in a continuous mix by Spinna! CD

The latest salvo from Krush, and he keeps getting more and more out, but that's always been the best thing about his approach – the way he can take abstract sounds, and snap them into a dope beat. We thought from the first half of this disc that he's been listening to a lot of the noisier new breed of underground hip hop, like the Def Jux camp, and you can tell by who he's selected to collaborate with this go 'round that he's feeling the leftfield approach: Anticon, the Opus and Anti Pop Consortium, but he pulls in Sly & Robbie, vocalists Angelina Esparza and Abijah too, for the jazzier half of the disc. Eleven tracks in all, including "Trihedron", "Sanity Requiem", "The Blackhole", "D'You Hear That", "The Lost Voices" and "What About Tomorrow". CD

A key style in Jamaican music during the 70s – the mode of the DJ, which often featured a toaster speaking over more familiar tunes – adding spoken bits and new lyrics in the process, in a mode that many claim was a key influence on the birth of hip hop! The relationship between the two forms isn't exactly a straight line – but the approach is somewhat similar – a way sharing enthusiasm about the music and grooves, by adding in new verbal aspects that take things in a whole new direction. And given that toasting tracks were often not as played as straighter vocal numbers, there's plenty here that's new and fresh – a very specific and unusual take on the 70s years of reggae, and one that takes you way past the hits. Titles include "Mava" by Dennis Alcapone, "Monkey Spanner" by Dave & Ansel Collins, "Fire Corner" by King Stitt, "Sunday Dish" by Early B, "We Hot" by Charlie Chaplin, "Tighten Up Skank" by Dillinger, "Blackman's Time" by I Roy, "Buttercup" by Winston Scotland, and "Home Guard" by Mikey Campbell. CD

Essential! A hard to find compilation of seminal grooves, the long-out-of-print first volume to the legendary Headz compilation! This one blew everyone's mind back in the mid 90s, and it shaped the world of beathead production dratically for the next few years. Loads of great titles, including "Slipper Suite" by Palmskin Productions, "2000" by R.P.M., "In Flux (alternative interlude '93 version)" and "Lost & Found (SFL)" by DJ Shadow, "They Came In Peace" by Tranquility Bass, "Stars" by Nightmares On Wax, "Contemplating Jazz" by Attica Blues, "The Time Has Come" by UNKLE vs Major Force Orchestra, "Head West – Gunfight At The OK Corrall" by Howie B, "Destroy All Monsters" by Skull, "Lowride" by Autechre and 'Ravers Suck Our Sound" by La Funk Mob, plus a bunch of other smoked out trip hop grooves! CD

The MC Gift of Gab serves your ears melodic, driving, challenging wordplay at it's best on this album from the Quannum Projects label out of the Bay Area, who brought you DJ Shadow and Latyrx. The jazzy, soulful, reflective, bouncing music is entirely produced by DJ Chief Xcel and features cameos by Lyrics Born and Lateef from Latyrx on two separate tracks ("Do This My Way" and "Smithzonian Institute Of Rhyme", respectively.) It also includes the single "Deception" and the tracks "Searching", "The Fabulous Ones", "A To G", "Cliff Hanger", "Shallow Days", "Ego Trip By Nikki Giovanni", "You Didn't Know That Though", "Trouble (Eve Of Destruction)", "Reanimation", "Beyonder", "Making Progress", "Sleep", and more. CD

A gem by Joe Pass – recorded "live" in the studio a few months before his legendary For Django album, but never issued until the 70s! The set's got a freeness that you don't always hear in some of Pass' other more restrained work – and working with a quartet that includes Mike Wofford on piano, Pass crafts some long and beautiful versions of tracks that include "Joy Spring", "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes", "Relaxin At Camarillo", and "Some Time Ago". CD

A stunning set of modern disco numbers from Bob Sinclar – the maestro of the Paris dancefloor! This album's Bob's third (in case you couldn't guess from the title!) – and it's an even more focused effort than before – filled with tightly grooving tracks that make the whole thing feel like finding a box of singles that have been lost in the back of a DJ booth since the early 80s! Lots of classic late 70s and early 80s sounds – especially those from the New York scene – and tracks feature some great lead vocals by Linda Lee Hopkins and Camille Lefort. Titles include "The Beat Goes On", "Nature Boy", "Who Needs Sleep Tonight", "Sexy Dancer", "Do It", "Metro Blanche", "Beat The Clock", "Europa", and "So High". CD

On Things Fall Apart ?uestlove, Black Thought, DJ Scratch, Rahzel and co. reinvigorated the scene with a Philly style soulful, melancholy groove that seemingly influenced the entirety of the NuSoul world – and it could even be argued that the Roots birthed that whole scene. Phrenology carries that torch, but it's so, SO much more, as the heady nature weighed the previous LP down in spots, and Phrenology is a sprawling exercise in expectation-busting perfection! "Rock You" kicks things off in explosive fashion, forgoing the laid back, yet angry soul backbone the group pioneered in hop hop, for a massive electro pulse pounding style – with Black Thought frenetically spitting confrontational wisdom until the synth unexpectedly dives into a short burst of live hardcore punk with "!!!!!!!" (we know what you're thinking, but trust us, it REALLY works). "Sacrifice" features a surprisingly effective chorus sung by Nelly Furtado, and other guest spots include Kweli heating up "Rolling With Heat", Ursula Rucker kicking some reverential poetry on "Waok (ay) Rollcall", and Musiq on the single "Break You Off". Other highlights include the late 80s Bomb Squad-like production on "Thought @ Work", the group's live instrumentation (and ?uestlove's always great trap work) and soul claps on tunes like "The Seed (2.0)", the epic "Water", and "Complexity" with Jill Scott. If you're solely of the 2 turntables and a mic camp you may want to head elsewhere, but if you've been anxiously awaiting the new Roots LP like we have, you'll be knocked straight on your arse, welled up with tears of joy. The best major label hip hop album of '02, and a beauty to go in the time capsule for future generations to learn, and mourn what they missed first hand. Amazing!!! Other tracks include "Quills", "Pussy Galore", and "Something In The Way Of Things (In Town)". CD

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A mighty nice little package – one that's overflowing with the special sort of Latin and soul music hybrids that rose up from the Spanish Harlem scene in the late 60s – the kind of cuts that helped establish Fania Records as one of the most important Latin labels around – and one of the grooviest too! These aren't the 70s salsa tracks that Fania spread across the globe – but the more New York-styled numbers that often had English language lyrics in the lead, sung by a soulful vocalist – and set to small combo rhythms that were overflowing with energy, and plenty of touches of jazz, soul, and funk! These are all the mixes from the rare 45rpm singles issued by Fania back in the day – and although the songs are wonderful, the collection together is even cooler as a whole – dozens of tracks, including some really rare ones – all bound up in a 7" book-styled cover, with 60 pages of notes, and a bonus funky 45! Titles include "Silent Heart" by 125th Street Candy Store, "Micro Mini" and "Make Out" by Harvey Averne, "Too Much Lovin" and "So Fine" by Joe Bataan, "Willie Baby" by Willie Colon, "Soul Drummers" and "Mercy Mercy Baby" by Ray Barretto, "Geronimo" and "Funky Big Feet" by Bobby Valentin, "Mercie" by Ralph Robles, "Camel Walk" by The Latinaires, "Batola Boogaloo" by Bobby Quesada, "Grazin In The Grass" by Orchestra Harlow, "Spinning Wheel" by El Apollo Sound, "Hey Sister" by Monguito Santamaria, "Who Is The Girl For Me" and "Look At Her" by Ralfi Pagan, "New York Soul" by Ray Barretto, "Some Lonely Heart" by ronnie Marks, "Let's Get It Together This Christmas" by Harvey Averne, "Shaft" and "If I Were A King" by Joe Bataan, "Johnny's No Good" and "Blonde Latin Blues" by WRLC, and "Today" and "Try Just a Little Harder" by Butter Scotch. Lots more too – and the bonus 7" single features two promo tracks recorded for DJ Symphony Sid – one by Joe Bataan, the other by Bobby Valentin! CD

A spiritual jazz classic – one of the rarest albums of its type from the 70s! This legendary session was recorded by Roy Ayers' keyboardist Harry Whitaker – working here as the leader of the Black Renaissance group, a one-shot ensemble that featured Woody Shaw on trumpet, Azar Lawrence on saxes, Buster Williams on bass, and Mtume on percussion. The session was cut in New York in 1976, but only issued on a rare album that came out briefly in Japan. Yet somehow, the quality of the work and the depth of soulfulness have created a strong aura about the session – making it an oft-cited influence by a generation of DJs and soul jazz listeners. The album only features 2 long tracks – both of them strong ensemble numbers that build modally searching grooves in a Strata East-like style, peppered with voices, both sung and spoken, in a hip, socially conscious mode. Both tracks – "Black Renaissance" and "Magic Ritual" are excellent, on a par with the best 70s spiritual soul jazz! CD

A very well-titled set – and the best so far in this cutting-edge series! The "beats and pieces" this time around are mostly underground club tracks from the past few years – the cream of the crop of the best bits that hit our New Grooves section, often served up in harder-to-find mixes that represent the best version of the tunes so far! There's no overall stylistic logic to the set, which is what makes it so great – as mellow soul steps into funky club, into spacey fusion, global house, 21st century groove, then dancefloor jazz! 2CD set features 22 tracks that include "Wake Up" by Herbert, "La Malanga (Kenny Dope rmx)" by Bobby Hutcherson, "Fall Into You" by Stateless, "Hot In Here" by Tiga with Jake Shears, "Take Off (Nicola Conte's Campi's Idea version)" by Nathan Haines and Marco Di Marco, "Bukom Mashie" by Oscar Sulley & The Uhuru Dance Band, "Somebody New" by Georg Levin with Clara Hill, "Besides Myself" by DJ Shaheer Williams, "Timbuktu" by Pan African Electronic Beats, "Someone To Love" by Crusho, "Love & War (version)" by Amp Fiddler, "Forty Days" by Billy Brooks, and "Fall Into You" by Stateless. CD