Global Grooves — Recently Added

Nigerian funk & boogie numbers from the late 70s & early 80s – post Afrobeat and post disco material from the prosperous, post dictatorship years – funk, soul and disco infused stormers from Mixed Grill, Bayo Damnazio, The Stormmers, Joe Maks, Segun Robert, Martha Ulaeto, Honey ... CD

Funky-strutting genius from Wells Fargo – one of the coolest, heaviest acts to come out of the Zimbabwe scene of the 70s – a moment when hard rock and soulful basslines came together brilliantly, to power the raw edge of a handful of groups like this! The music is maybe more late 60s ... CD

Some of the heaviest work to come from the African scene of the 70s – the initial offering of the Ngozi Family – a group who clearly take strong inspiration from the Cream years of the UK scene, but who also come across with a grittier, punkier vibe overall – thanks to lean, ... CD

Insanely wonderful work from Shango Dance Band – a group headed by onetime Fela Kuti bandmate Ojo Okeji – whose bass work here is worth the price of admission alone! Okeji was a key part of Fela's Koola Lobitos, until leaving the group in 1968 – and taking some of the best ... CD

A long-overdue collection of work – one that really gets at the unusual appearance of Latin rhythms on the African scene of the postwar years! Latin sounds from Africa are nothing new, but they're one of those things that's always taken for granted, too – kind of assumed in most ... LP, Vinyl record album

A really ear-opening set of music from the Portuguese scene of the postwar years – instrumental tracks that follow some of the stylistic developments of fado, but which often branch into wonderful sounds that are all their own! In a way, the set is a counterpart to the growth of flamenco ... CD

Stunning early work from the Orchestra Poly Rhythmo – a set that's titled after a set of rhythms used in voodoo rituals in Benin – echoed here strongly by the heavy use of percussion on the record, which includes a giant drum reserved for use only in ritual performance! The sound is ... LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible! This is a stunning set of African-inspired jazzy percussion tracks – similar to some of the work done by Art Blakey on his Orgy In Rhythm albums, but with a lot better horn work, and with an overall conception that's much more unified! AK Salim did some sleepier work for Savoy ... LP, Vinyl record album

Groundbreaking guitar work from Mike Hanapi – one of the important early guitarists in the Hawaiian slide mode – from a generation that had a huge impact on blues and country music to come! Mike's style here isn't the cheesy 60s Hawaiian modes of the Don Ho generation – and ... LP, Vinyl record album

A really unusual slice of music from the southern African scene of the postwar years – sounds from a strange wave of cowboy-inspired music in Zimbabwe and South Africa – but with results that are completely unique! Many of these guys actually wore cowboy hats and played acoustic guitar ... LP, Vinyl record album

A set of work from Lebanese composer Ihsan Al-Munzer, who you might know from his work with various vocalists – but a record that's all-instrumental, and which almost has the feel of an 80s sound library set overall! Tracks are heavy on keyboards – used in varying ways from cut to cut, ... LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful little record, and one that certainly lives up to the "fantastic variety" promise of its title! The set features work from Panamanian pianist Alonso Wilson De Briano – and although you'll see the word "calypso" in the title, the overall sound is maybe more ... LP, Vinyl record album

Tony Allen steps out onto his own – moving away from the Afrika 70 group who accompanied him on his first three solo albums – nicely cooking here into a whole new groove! The tracks are a bit shorter than the side-long jams of previous records, but no less funky – as Tony somehow ... LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff – and one of the records that made drummer Tony Allen a legend, and one of the key musicians to step out of the larger setting of the Afrika 70 group of Fela Kuti! Allen's the leader here, and the vibe is nicely a bit different than some of Fela's records – although the ... LP, Vinyl record album

The start of a legend – the tremendous debut of drummer Tony Allen as a leader, after some key 70s work in the group of Fela Kuti! Fela's group is backing Tony up here – the key Afrika 70 lineup – and even Fela gets in on the action by laying down some piano solos and tenor ... LP, Vinyl record album

The sublime first album from K Frimpong – a really unique blend of hi-life and Afro Funk, but served up with all these unusual touches that make the album stand out from even most of the rest of the revolutionary sounds that were coming from Ghana at the time! There's this sense of flow that ... LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic collection of Ethiopian funk – rare singles from the late 60s and early 70s – all brought together as an amazing illustration of a time when the scene was really on fire! The music here has this incredible resonance between ancient and modern – local and global – ... LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little set from Bombino – recorded in Amsterdam, but heavy on the kind of fuzzy, freaky guitar work that have made the Tuareg group such an international hit in recent years! These guys wail mightily throughout – mixing pulsing rhythms with nicely freaky guitar lines – ... LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible Turkish psych album from Baris Manco – totally riveting work that blends some traditional Turkish influences with the panoramic psychedelia of the late 60s & early 70s – all of which makes for lots of fuzzed out rock-funk, and a fantastic melodic sensibility! The ... LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic collection of funk from the 70s scene in Ivory Coast – music that's every bit as heavy on jazz-based solos as it is on the grooves – with some especially strong sax lines that really give the tunes a lot of soul! The music here is nice and raw, and often very stripped-down ... LP, Vinyl record album

The third album from the mighty Oneness Of Juju – and a set that has the group tightening up their groove after the spiritual jazz approach of previous records! The style here mixes a bit more boogie with their very sharp instrumentation – still with lots of righteous energy throughout ... LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual album from the West African scene of the 70s – a set that brings together that area's styles with touches of reggae and maybe a slight current of soul – all of which makes for a very distinct approach to rhythm, which is also echoed in the vocals and instrumentation! There's ... LP, Vinyl record album

A great return to form for Orchestra Baobab – a group who really shone on the Senegalese scene in the 70s, but disbanded right as they were hitting global fame – eventually reuniting around the time of this album, thanks to demand from listeners around the world! The style is nicely ... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best collections of music from Mali that we've ever heard – and a set that nicely gets past some of the overdone cliches of that scene, to really focus on the kind of overlooked 70s gems that showcase sides of the music that are funky, jazzy, and plenty soulful throughout! There's ... LP, Vinyl record album

Kind of an amazing collaboration – a core group that features Tony Allen, Damon Albarn, and Flea – with guest appearances by Erykah Badu, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Fatoumata Diawara, M.anifest, Cheick Tidiane Seck, and Thundercat! The sound of the set is surprisingly wonderful – ... LP, Vinyl record album

A long-awaited full length set – one that finally brings together all of the amazing Tony Allen reworks done by the Honest Jon's label! These "chop up" tracks were originally issued over a range of limited 12" singles, and they're really amazing stuff – not just remixes ... LP, Vinyl record album

A very different album than usual from the South African jazz scene of the 60s – much more rootsy, and very personal sounds – and hardly the kind of nationwide expression you might guess from the title! Instead, the whole thing is very much it's own kind of record – jazz, in ways ... LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique record, and one with a very unusual pedigree – as the group features key members of some acts from the Ivory Coast in the late 70s, mixed with various Motown session players in the studio – all in a way that offers up a completely different take on Cali soul from the ... LP, Vinyl record album

Classic work from Stella Chiweshe – a set that gave mbira player Stella Chiweshe much wider exposure than some of her previous records, and a nicely bold sound to match! Stella sings lead vocals, and handles her instrument with amazing dexterity – and also uses a few other percussion ... LP, Vinyl record album

One of Fela's greatest albums – and one of the few that got any sort of international circulation in the 70s! "Zombie" shows Fela at the height of his powers – grooving away in incredibly fast, incredibly tight Afro Funk lines, weaving guitar, sax, and keyboards together with ... LP, Vinyl record album