Bobby Harden's got a great way of putting over a tune – he's not a soul singer out to top James Brown, or try to leap into the fray with a real funky frenzy – and instead, he approaches the material with the laidback confidence of some of our southern soul favorites from years past – all with a vibe that really makes the album shine! The presentation of the songs by the Soulful Saints is great – themselves an equally understated group, and clearly aware that Bobby's the main attraction of the set – which he definitely is, in this overdue debut that's clearly going to make him one of the best underground soul singers in years to come. Titles include "One Tribe", "Wounded Hearts", "Bridge Of Love", "Runnin", "Raise Your Mind", "It's My Time", "Feels So Good", and "One Night Of The Week". LP, Vinyl record album

An album that became an instant legend in global music circles – the recorded debut of Victor Deme, a guitarist and singer who'd been working in his native Burkina Faso for over 30 years before getting the chance to step inside a studio! The turn "studio" might be a loose one here – as the album was recorded on a four track, in a distant space in the country – but has a vibrancy that beats most other bigger label releases of the time – thanks to a tremendous power in Deme's vocals, which have a raspy presence that grabs you far beyond just an understanding of language – and which are often matched by guitar work from Issouf Diabate, who inflects these subtle bluesy elements that spark new colors in the songs, but in a nicely understated way. A record with a very unique sound, and a lasting classic – with titles that include "Dankan", "Tama Ngogon", "Dala Mogoya", "Djon Maya", "Toungan", "Cherie", "Burkina Mousso", and "Djarabi". LP, Vinyl record album

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Modal jazz galore – a collection of rare Italian tunes that move with a loping, soaring sense of energy – often very classic in their sound and style, but mostly pulled from a range of more obscure recent sources! Most of the tracks here were never issued outside of Italy – and even then, only on small labels that never achieved wider distribution – making almost the whole collection a new discovery in jazz to our ears, and one that's filled with countless delights throughout! As you'd guess from the title, the rhythms here are well-paced and lively – soaking up a lot of influences from the Coltrane generation, but also coming across with the tightness of a classic Blue Note or Prestige session. Most groups here are quartets, quintets, or sextets – and the longer than usual tracks offer plenty of room for solos on tenor, trumpet, trombone, and piano. Titles include "Spagna" by Piana Valdambrini Sextet, "Babir" by Alliance, "Proof Of The Pudding" by Michael Cochrane, "Calypso" by Dino & Franco Piana, "Naima" by Antonio Farao, "Tutankhamon Dance" by Nuevo Sestetto Italiano, "Woody" by Flavio Boltro, "Spring" by Antonio Farao, "La Stalla Di Pegaso" by Abbate Nicola Fontana Albano, and "New Born" by Idea 6. LP, Vinyl record album

Features a vocal tune with lyrics penned by Norman Mailer! LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the best Tuareg guitar records we've ever heard – and the Saharan psych soul soundtrack to Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai, billed as the first ever Tuareg language fiction movie – loosely inspired by Purple Rain! The film, like Prince's, focuses on the life of a struggling, motorcycle riding, soulful electric guitar genius, but Mdou Moctar wisely doesn't try to be deliver Saharan riff on the Minneapolis sound. His epic, hypnotic to the point of trancelike electric guitars are front and center, but never in a self-indulgent way, always in service of the moody compositions. Backed only by rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane and drummer Mahmoud "Achcouscous" Ahmed Jabre, the trio delivers an appropriately cinematic Saharan sound. Amazing! Titles include "Sibidoul", "Rhaicha's Theme", "Iblis Amghar", "Tahoultine", "Adounia", "Chimoumounin", "Jagwa", "Mdou's Theme" and "Tada Dounia". LP, Vinyl record album

A huge set from the glory days of the southern hip hop scene – a trio of voices from the Three 6 Mafia of Memphis, coming together here in a set that's got a nicely raw, ragged sound throughout! This is definitely one of those sets where there's no reason at all to seek out a clean version – as the lyrics of DJ Paul, Juicy J, and Lord Infamous can't really be served up in any other way at all – supported here by guest work from a huge list of allies, including Too Short, Twista, Big Tymers, and Crucial Conflict – a list of names that definitely give you a feel for the vibe of the set. Titles include "Smoked Out", "Who The Crunkest", "Wet Party", "Elbow A Nigga", "Get Buck Get Wild", "Hell Naw", "Hypnotize Cash Money", "Slob On My Nob", and "All Dirty Hoes". LP, Vinyl record album

The third and fourth albums from Atomic Rooster – back to back in a single set! First up is Made In England – a really striking album in the career of Atomic Rooster – one that's a little bit groovier than most, and maybe a bit funky as well! The drums are great, and have plenty of soulful currents – and the Hammond, piano, and electric piano work of Vincent Crane almost seem to echo earlier UK beat group currents, but turned towards a much hipper 70s vibe – one that's followed by an equally extended range from vocalist Chris Farlowe, who seems to fold together both his mod and prog experience in the vocals! Steve Bolton brings in some tight, riffing guitar – and titles include "Time Take My Life", "Never To Lose", "Breathless", "People You Can't Trust", "All In Satan's Name", "Close Your Eyes", "Little Bit Of Inner Air", and "Stand By Me". On Nice N Greasy, Atomic Rooster definitely get a bit greasy – using some funkier elements at times, and bluesier currents at others – all at a level that really lets singer Chris Farlowe hit some of his most expressive modes! The group's got a fresh guitarist this time around, Johnny Mandala on lead – and his presence gives some of the cuts a harder rock edge than before, often taking the lead more than the keyboards of longtime member Vincent Crane, which helps shape the sound of the set. Titles include "Voodoo In You", "Save Me", "Satan's Wheel", "Can't Find A Reason", "Take One Toke", and "All Across The Country". CD set features the bonus tracks "Moods" and "What You Gonna Do". CD

2 of Gato Barbieri's greatest albums of the 70s – back to back on one CD! Bolivia is one of Gato's better albums from the early 70s – and like a lot of his Latin-themed ones, a swirling mix of soulful soloing, modal grooves, and unbridled emotion. Lonnie Liston Smith is playing piano on most cuts, and he's a perfect blend for Barbieri's horn – giving it the same sort of soulful base as in his classic recordings with Pharoah Sanders. Titles include "Merceditas", "Eclypse", "Bolivia", and "Vidala Triste". Under Fire is filled with Latin rhythm influences forged on Gato's Impulse sessions of the same time, plus some nice spiritual blowing in the Pharoah Sanders tradition in which he was linked in the immediate post-Coltrane years. Airto and Mtume are on percussion on most tracks, and Lonnie Liston Smith plays some pretty outside piano on the set. All tracks are long, and titles include "El Parana", "Antonico", "El Sertao", and "Maria Domingas". CD

A beautifully groovy album from Celia Reis – maybe the hippest set ever from this Brazilian singer who was equally at home in samba and bossa modes! Production and arrangements are by Arthur Verocai – which will give you an idea of the creativity that went into the record – as Verocai creates all these ambitious grooves that are very much in the best territory of some of the funky Marcos Valle work at the start of the 70s – basslines dipping under strings, all topped with Celia's wonderful vocals – which have a power here that we've never heard on other records – almost a Gal Costa sort of touch! Tracks include tunes by Valle, Verocai, and others – and titles include "Em Familia", "Mia", "Vida De Artista", "Dominus Tecum", "Ay Adelita", "Toda Quarta Feira Depois Do Amor", "A Hora E Essa", "E Preciso Dizer ADeus", and "Badalacao". CD

A beautifully groovy album from Celia Reis – maybe the hippest set ever from this Brazilian singer who was equally at home in samba and bossa modes! Production and arrangements are by Arthur Verocai – which will give you an idea of the creativity that went into the record – as Verocai creates all these ambitious grooves that are very much in the best territory of some of the funky Marcos Valle work at the start of the 70s – basslines dipping under strings, all topped with Celia's wonderful vocals – which have a power here that we've never heard on other records – almost a Gal Costa sort of touch! Tracks include tunes by Valle, Verocai, and others – and titles include "Em Familia", "Mia", "Vida De Artista", "Dominus Tecum", "Ay Adelita", "Toda Quarta Feira Depois Do Amor", "A Hora E Essa", "E Preciso Dizer ADeus", and "Badalacao". LP, Vinyl record album

Early Krautrock hugeness from Guru Guru – their epic debut, and a record that was one of the key calling cards of the German scene at the start of the 70s! At first glance, the elements are familiar – but there's a few nice touches in the studio too – yet the real energy of the group come from their fantastic musicianship, spun out on long tracks that make the core bass, drums, and guitar sound far more revolutionary than work from the UK scene at the time. That core is one that so many other groups were using with a blues rock into hard rock mode – but Guru Guru are already into something new and their own here – stepping out on long cuts that include "Stone In", "Girl Call", "Next Time See You At The Dalai Lhama", and "Der LSD – Marsch". CD

Late 70s genius from Leon Keita, a Mandingue musician who only recorded a few albums on the scene in Mali, but really helped transform the music at the time! There's an evolution of older modes here that's great – never forced, but this kind of gentle nudge into more complexity in both the rhythms and the guitar lines – sometimes with these uplifting qualities that almost seem to echo South African jazz, but with more of the cyclical progressions that you'd expect from Keita's scene. The organ and keyboard lines are especially great, sometimes almost otherworldly – and titles include "Dalaka"," Gnanassouma", "Daka Sate Korotoumi", "Diarabi Mana", and "Ifarana". LP, Vinyl record album

Takanori Niida on drums – with Oz Noy, Jon Herington, or Tomo Fujita on guitar, and Will Lee, James Genus, and Janek Gwizdala on bass. CD

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Includes field recordings from Ghana, Turkey Bali, Peru, Bulgaria, Uganda, Spain, Himalayas, Japan, Paraguay, Yugoslavia, Niger, Mexico, Java, and Dalarna. LP, Vinyl record album

A second amazing collection of rare funk tracks from the Mid East – work that didn't exist in the same "scene"-styled world as American funk, but which instead comes from a disparate group of recordings that surprisingly, amazingly, turned out to be pretty darn funky! Musical modes differ throughout the tracks in a really nice way – but most of the tunes are unified through strong use of electric bass and heavy percussion – mixed up from number to number, in a way that opens the door to a stunning world of musical exploration we never would have experienced otherwise! We've really grown to love the Habibi Funk label in recent years – and although other records have been great, this set may well be their crowning achievement. Titles include "Sultan Qaboos Song" by Sal Davis, "Ahlo Jedba" by Fadou, "Music De Carneval" by Magdy El Hussainy, "Badala Zamana" by Zohra, "Casba" by Ahmed Male, "El Fen" by Ait Meslayene, "Haditouni" by Douaa, "Tendme" by Ibrahim Hesnawi, and "Reet" by Hamid El Shaeri. LP, Vinyl record album

Soaring, searing sounds from the young Gato Barbieri – one of his classic albums for the Flying Dutchman label, and very much in the vein of his first few for Impulse Records! The Latin element isn't as strongly stated in the music as you might guess from the title, but the inspiration is definitely there – although more subtle than on Gato's Latin America series for the other label – and the tunes are a wonderful blend of soulful soloing, modal grooves, and unbridled emotion! Lonnie Liston Smith is playing piano on most cuts, and he's a perfect blend for Barbieri's horn – giving it the same sort of soulful base as in his classic recordings with Pharoah Sanders – and pushing the tracks with a pulsating modal undercurrent that keeps things moving throughout! Titles include "Merceditas", "Eclypse/Michellina", "Bolivia", and "Vidala Triste". CD