Grooves unlike anything else you've ever heard in your life – an assortment of mid 70s tunes from Mahmoud Ahmed, the second grooviest Ethiopian artist, next to Mulatu! Ahmed's sound is a lot more out there than Mulatu's – less funky and jazz-based, and more in the mode of snakey rhythms, complicated guitar parts, and vocals that have a melancholy quality that's simply amazing. Titles include "Ere Mela Mela", "Ohoho Gedama", "Abbay Mado", "Atawurulegn Lela", and "Indenesh Gedawo". CD

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An album that revolves around a story of sorts – three creatures from a distant time and space come to earth and send their impressions back home – yet manage to do so in a way that resonates strongly with the earlier work we've liked from Batida! The music, as before, is a hybrid of global elements and contemporary electronics – and some of the story is carried by spoken bits that come across like found vocal bits, and give a nice sense of structure to the record – even though they are often altered, and given some sort of "alien" quality in the voice. There's plenty of drum machine work on the record, but there's also lots of vintage sound samples – some from 50s field recordings by Hugh Tracey, others from the International Library Of African music – all used here in really inventive ways. Titles include "Makumba", "Outra Cidade", "The Medium", "Bulubulu", "The Principle", "Quarentena", "The End", and "Falta Muito". CD

An album that revolves around a story of sorts – three creatures from a distant time and space come to earth and send their impressions back home – yet manage to do so in a way that resonates strongly with the earlier work we've liked from Batida! The music, as before, is a hybrid of global elements and contemporary electronics – and some of the story is carried by spoken bits that come across like found vocal bits, and give a nice sense of structure to the record – even though they are often altered, and given some sort of "alien" quality in the voice. There's plenty of drum machine work on the record, but there's also lots of vintage sound samples – some from 50s field recordings by Hugh Tracey, others from the International Library Of African music – all used here in really inventive ways. Titles include "Makumba", "Outra Cidade", "The Medium", "Bulubulu", "The Principle", "Quarentena", "The End", and "Falta Muito". LP, Vinyl record album

80s Afro grooves, recorded in Belgium – given a nice twist by the Crammed Discs label, which was one of the first to really open up African styles with more European elements! Bony Bikaye handles vocals, and Hector Zazou plays plenty of keyboards and adds in beat – so there's an electro-styled groove to most cuts, in a mode that's similar to some of the New Africa material on Celluloid Records from the same time! The remaining member of the group handles lots of saxophone solos – but the trio also get some studio help that includes more saxophone from Marc Hollander. Titles include "Angel", "Mr Manager", "Nostalgie", and "Soki Akei". Features the bonus track "Viva La Musica", "Signorina", and "Le Menteur". LP, Vinyl record album

Really fantastic work from the Kasai All Stars – a group we first discovered years ago, as part of the excellent Congotronics series – but one who here really stretch past their roots, and embrace a mature sound that really lets them spread their wings in fly! There's still some of the unusual electronic bits that marked the Congotronics work – but those qualities are often a bit lower in the mix, and replaced with warmly collaborative vocals, and guitar work that serves up the occasional solo passage that may well give the Tuareg scene a good run for its money! As before, the group bring together artists from a few different cultural paths in Kasai – and titles include "Baba Bende", "Unity Is Strength", "Betrayal By Gossip", "Like A Dry Leaf On A Tree", "Kasai Munene", "Hunters & Farmers Need The Blacksmith", and "Ecstasy Of Singing". LP, Vinyl record album

Masterful Congolese dance music from Konono No 1 – just as exciting and rhythmically amazing as their benchmark Congotronics album for Crammed of a few years earlier– with a somewhat bigger and more melodic sound this time out that doesn't sacrifice the street sound immediacy one bit! There was more of a clattering, gritty and distorted element to the production of their international breakthrough Congotronics set – and if the sound is a little cleaner this time out, it just makes the feverish energy all the more inviting! The likembe and always incredible drums and percussion are at the forefront – no fewer than five players are credited on the likembe thumb piano that's so central to the group's sound – with Mingiedi Mawangu, Augustin Makuntima Mawangu and Pauline Mbuka Nsiala contributing vocals (which are really beautiful on this album) with Makonda Mbuta on likembe, Antoine Ndombele on bass likembe, Vincent Visi on drums, Ndofusu Mbiyavanga on percussion & tam tam and Duki Makumbu on bass guitar – with guitar on a few tracks by Nzila Mabasukisa, guest vocals by Ewing Sima and addition likembe by members of the Kasai Allstars. Titles include "Wumbanzanga", "Thin Legs", "Mama Na Bana", "Makembe", "Fula Fula", "Guiyome", "Konono Wa Wa Wa" and "Nakobala Lisusu Te". CD

The first entry in this really great series from the Crammed Discs label – a key mid-80s run of collections that allowed their artists to really branch off and take on some more interesting musical projects! The tracks here are often a bit more abstract or experimental than on the full records by the artists – and all of the pieces were composed for some sort of film or performance – very different than the usual setting! Titles include "Odessa", "Scratch Holiday", "Mort De Velimir", and "Retour Chez Les Futuristes" by Aksak Maboul; "Bat Yam", "Too Man Of Them", and "Animal Killers" by Minimal Compact; "Fanfare", "No One Expects The Spanish Inquisition", and "Driving To Verdun" by Tuxedomoon; and "A La Recherche De B" by Benjamin Lew. CD

The first entry in this really great series from the Crammed Discs label – a key mid-80s run of collections that allowed their artists to really branch off and take on some more interesting musical projects! The tracks here are often a bit more abstract or experimental than on the full records by the artists – and all of the pieces were composed for some sort of film or performance – very different than the usual setting! Titles include "Odessa", "Scratch Holiday", "Mort De Velimir", and "Retour Chez Les Futuristes" by Aksak Maboul; "Bat Yam", "Too Man Of Them", and "Animal Killers" by Minimal Compact; "Fanfare", "No One Expects The Spanish Inquisition", and "Driving To Verdun" by Tuxedomoon; and "A La Recherche De B" by Benjamin Lew. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unusual records we've heard in the excellent Made To Measure series – and that's really saying a lot, given the quality of all the other releases over the years! This set features one single piece – a long journey in sound that begins with sonic samples recorded in the Mexican jungle by Nova Materia, as the members of the group took a long hike near Mayan ruins – source tapes that were then brought back to their studio in Paris, mixed with electronics, and recrafted into a very different experience altogether! This isn't beats with sound effects, or keyboards with samples – and instead, the piece is a very organic, textural work that also includes some guest electronics from Ikue Mori, and a bit of cello from Gaspar Claus. The whole thing is very much in the higher audio space that Made To Measure always aims for – and the single title piece takes up the entire record! CD

One of the most unusual records we've heard in the excellent Made To Measure series – and that's really saying a lot, given the quality of all the other releases over the years! This set features one single piece – a long journey in sound that begins with sonic samples recorded in the Mexican jungle by Nova Materia, as the members of the group took a long hike near Mayan ruins – source tapes that were then brought back to their studio in Paris, mixed with electronics, and recrafted into a very different experience altogether! This isn't beats with sound effects, or keyboards with samples – and instead, the piece is a very organic, textural work that also includes some guest electronics from Ikue Mori, and a bit of cello from Gaspar Claus. The whole thing is very much in the higher audio space that Made To Measure always aims for – and the single title piece takes up the entire record! LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful work from Hector Zazou, and one of those wonderfully hard to define records from the early days of the Crammed label – a company that always had a strong penchant for mixing up both musical and cultural modes in really unique ways! The record is part of a series of imagined soundtracks – and while it might work that way, the sounds here also vary nicely between some of the minimalist experiments of post-punk groups like Soft Verdict and Penguin Cafe Orchestra, and some of the more globally-conscious material on Crammed – effortless shifts in instrumentation that moves between percussion, woodwinds, strings, and some more down to earth modes – all beautifully vivid, thanks to imaginative scoring by Hector Zazou! There's a bit of voice on the record, but mostly wordless – and titles include "Sidi Bel Abbes", "Denise A Venise", "Vera C", "Des Cocotiers", "Sous Les Bougainvilliers", and "Motel Du Sud". CD features 11 more bonus tracks – for a vocal quartet! CD

A wealth of mid 50s recordings from the Congolese label Loningisa – served up in a well-documented set! The package has a representative depth that almost matches the Ethiopiques series – with great notes on the music scene and individual songs, as well as some vintage photographs that really help illustrate the audience for this music at the time! As the title implies, there's a rumba groove running through many of these numbers – but there's also plenty of rootsier African touches too, especially on the percussion and guitars. 20 tracks in all – with music by artists that include Bowane, Adikwa, Liengo, Kalafayi, De Wayon, Kalima Pierre, and Bokalanga. CD

A great contemporary entry in the mindblowing musical legacy of Aksak Maboul – a group who first started mixing up many different genres in the late 70s, then went on to maybe set the tone for the whole creative legacy of the Crammed Discs label! Original member Marc Hollander is still at the core – handling keyboards, reed instruments, percussion, and all sorts of sonic elements – mixing them with that creative musicality that always made his vision so unique. And singer Veronique Vincent is at the forefront of the group now, after a few previous collaborations – heading things up by co-writing the material with Hollander, and opening the door for a host of guests, who include Fred Frith on guitar and viola, and Steven Brown on vocals. The sound has evolved since the early days, but is also remarkably true to the legacy of the group – with titles that include "Retour Chez A", "The Untranslatable", "Sgraffites", "True False Fictive", "C'Est Charles", "Silhouettes", "Martial Arts For Boys", "Tout A Une Fin", and "Fatarasie Pulverisee". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful work from Hector Zazou, and one of those wonderfully hard to define records from the early days of the Crammed label – a company that always had a strong penchant for mixing up both musical and cultural modes in really unique ways! The record is part of a series of imagined soundtracks – and while it might work that way, the sounds here also vary nicely between some of the minimalist experiments of post-punk groups like Soft Verdict and Penguin Cafe Orchestra, and some of the more globally-conscious material on Crammed – effortless shifts in instrumentation that moves between percussion, woodwinds, strings, and some more down to earth modes – all beautifully vivid, thanks to imaginative scoring by Hector Zazou! There's a bit of voice on the record, but mostly wordless – and titles include "Sidi Bel Abbes", "Denise A Venise", "Vera C", "Des Cocotiers", "Sous Les Bougainvilliers", and "Motel Du Sud". LP, Vinyl record album

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A treasure trove of Soul Fire's funky 45s, both the A-sides and the flips, collected on a single CD! Soul Fire is probably the greatest funk revival label out there, with a history of limited edition 7-inch singles showcasing both under appreciated funky heroes like Lee Fields, the Detroit Sex Machines, and the Herb Johnson Settlement, and newer groups devoted to the classic feel, like Mauri Bailey, WQLJ, the Latin leaning Bronx River Parkway, and the Afro Funky group Massak. There is enough hot, pounding funk pressed into the grooves of those singles to thaw out a frozen Lake Michigan, but most notoriously fall out of print in a matter of months, leaving us dying for a reprise. That's where this collection comes in – 9 funk powerhouses, 18 funky jams – the vinyl may be long gone, but the funk will go on, thanks to the magic of digital audio!!! Includes "Quines Haverlo" and "Chum's Pimpage" by Bronx River Parkway, "Answer Me Softly" by Fabulous Three, "Instrumental #1" and "Nothing Doing But Waiting On Leon" by WQLJ, "Chokin'" and "Rampage" by Whitefield Brothers", "Get It" by Herb Johnson Settlement, "BLA" by Massak, "Stretch" by Detroit Sex Machines, and "Easy Access" by El Michels Affair. A mammoth collection of funk crammed onto one CD, and an essential long player even if you already have the singles! CD