A stunner from the legendary living ghost that is Scott Walker – possibly the most archly dramatic, unique and strangely alluring work he's ever done! Since Scott Walker albums have become once per decade events, a lot more is at stake with each one, and it's nothing short of amazing that he manages to get more and more exciting with each effort. The Drift finds Scott tackling obscure historical drama, his pop-operatic vibrato as chilling as ever – backed up by his long-relied upon backdrop of string arrangements, guitars, drums and keys – along with (way) off-kilter percussion. But the sounds made with those tried-and-true materials are often unprecedented, from Scott or anyone else on the planet. The voice wails with authority, the backing is often quiet and subtle until the ever-approaching gail swoops in and carries you away. We could probably write a book about this album (and someone undoubtably will) – so we'll leave you to pick it up and experience it for yourself! Tracks include "Cossacks Are", "Clara", "Jesse", "Jolson And Jones", "Cue", "Hand Me Ups", "Buzzers", "Psoriatic", "The Escape" and "A Lover Loves". CD

You've never heard of The Winston Brothers before, but their music is definitely familiar – as the group features players from funk combos Mighty Mocambos, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, and Hamburg Spinners – coming together here with an equally great sense of groovy energy! The rhythms are nice and funky, with plenty of heavy drums from Lucas Kochbeck – but there's also a great ear for the odd offbeat sound, which really keeps things interesting – elements that sneak into the mix and give the record way more of an edge than just a funky combo trying to evoke the glory days. Titles include "One Thing", "Free Ride", "Brother's Strut", "Think", "Metering", "Drift", "Hang On", "Boiling Pot", and "Winston Theme". CD

The soulful sound of Bukky Leo takes off in all sorts of directions here – served up in a sweet soup of remixes by some great overseas talents! The work has the same Afro Funk vibe as some of Bukky's classic records – complete with his searing tenor work and strong lead vocals – set up in core instrumentation that includes plenty of percussion, keyboards, and super-tight horns – elements that are reworked and expanded here through the different mixes in the set! Tony Allen plays drums on some tracks – and titles include "Scelleton (Gilles Peterson mix)", "Annarkey (Dennis Bovell mix)", "Genre Jam (Leslie Laurence mix)", "Obedun (Orlandon Voorn mix)", "Summer Sax Breeze (Leslie Laurence mix)", and "Unisex Dilemma (Laurie Laurence mix)". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful Japanese ambient session from the 80s – one of a rare breed of records issued by the Misawa Home Institute Of Research – partly as a project to integrate music and sound into everyday residential life! Hiroshi Yoshimura begins the set with one long track, the moves into shorter melodies, before then going into another long track in the middle – all to create this beautiful shifting soundscape that echoes some acoustic elements amidst a gentler, organic electronic backdrop. There's a real sense of poetry to the record, which is gently compelling throughout – on titles that include "Time After Time", "Something Blue", "Surround", "Water Planet", and "Time Forest". CD

A beautiful Japanese ambient session from the 80s – one of a rare breed of records issued by the Misawa Home Institute Of Research – partly as a project to integrate music and sound into everyday residential life! Hiroshi Yoshimura begins the set with one long track, the moves into shorter melodies, before then going into another long track in the middle – all to create this beautiful shifting soundscape that echoes some acoustic elements amidst a gentler, organic electronic backdrop. There's a real sense of poetry to the record, which is gently compelling throughout – on titles that include "Time After Time", "Something Blue", "Surround", "Water Planet", and "Time Forest". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful Japanese ambient session from the 80s – one of a rare breed of records issued by the Misawa Home Institute Of Research – partly as a project to integrate music and sound into everyday residential life! Hiroshi Yoshimura begins the set with one long track, the moves into shorter melodies, before then going into another long track in the middle – all to create this beautiful shifting soundscape that echoes some acoustic elements amidst a gentler, organic electronic backdrop. There's a real sense of poetry to the record, which is gently compelling throughout – on titles that include "Time After Time", "Something Blue", "Surround", "Water Planet", and "Time Forest". LP, Vinyl record album

A whole new level of genius for Herb Alpert – a record that's light years away from his earlier work with the Tijuana Brass, and which has the trumpeter stepping strongly into the world of smooth jazzy fusion! The title track here went platinum the minute it was released – and became an end-of-the 70s instrumental anthem that seemed to drift out of speakers around the country. The rest of the album's pretty great too – built on the modes explored by Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, and other soulful fusion players of the 70s – but cast out with a bit more drama overall. Titles include the seminal jazz dance classic "Rotation" – plus "Rise", "Street Life", "Aranjuez (Mon Amour)", "1980", "Angelina", and "Love Is". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the darkest music ever recorded by this legendary German group – but maybe that's no surprise, as Timothy Leary's along for the ride – living in exile overseas, after his escape from an American prison! Leary is credited with vocals and "direction" – and whatever direction he took the group in, the proceedings resulted in some of their most experimental music – very layered, textured sounds that are heavy on guitars and electronics from Manuel Gottsching, with voices that drift through the larger mix from Leary, Michael Duwe, and guests – all in a very dreamlike, spooky sort of way! The set is divided up into the long "Space" and "Time" suites – one on each side. CD

Excellent mid 70s duet jazz from pianist Dave Brubeck & alto Paul Desmond! Duets 1975 is a nicely laidback work from the duo – playing here with no other accompaniment, in a spare set of material that's incredibly fragile and intimate – and all the better for that. The move is a real change from the pair's more famous sides of the late 50s and early 60s – and with no drums and bass to get in the way, they drift around warmly, working together and apart as old friends with a great deal of sympathy for each other. Titles include "Koto Song", "Blue Dove", "Stardust", "Alice In Wonderland", and "Summer Song". CD

A stunning achievement as a leader from Alabaster DePlume – material that's maybe some of the most powerful he's ever given us, even though the core of the record comes from the same sessions as his previous album, Gold! As with that record, the material here was originally performed at the Total Refreshment Centre in London, but is then completely transformed by DePlume as he works his way through the recordings – shifting things around, changing up the original sounds, and letting the selection and mixing process create the album's sound in the best International Anthem style – but also at a level that showcases DePlume's compositional ear! Alabaster plays tenor, guitar, and keyboards – and other musicians include James Howard on guitar, Tom Herbert on bass, and Sarathy Korwar on drums and tablas – and there's a number of other voices who drift through the mix as well, sometimes with full lyrical contributions, sometimes in more subtle ways. Titles include "Did You Know", "Levels Of Human", "Not Even Sobbing", "Sibomandi", "Greek Honey Slick", "Broken Again", "Naked Like Water", "The Best Thing In The World", and "To That Voice & Say". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning achievement as a leader from Alabaster DePlume – material that's maybe some of the most powerful he's ever given us, even though the core of the record comes from the same sessions as his previous album, Gold! As with that record, the material here was originally performed at the Total Refreshment Centre in London, but is then completely transformed by DePlume as he works his way through the recordings – shifting things around, changing up the original sounds, and letting the selection and mixing process create the album's sound in the best International Anthem style – but also at a level that showcases DePlume's compositional ear! Alabaster plays tenor, guitar, and keyboards – and other musicians include James Howard on guitar, Tom Herbert on bass, and Sarathy Korwar on drums and tablas – and there's a number of other voices who drift through the mix as well, sometimes with full lyrical contributions, sometimes in more subtle ways. Titles include "Did You Know", "Levels Of Human", "Not Even Sobbing", "Sibomandi", "Greek Honey Slick", "Broken Again", "Naked Like Water", "The Best Thing In The World", and "To That Voice & Say". LP, Vinyl record album

Very early work from this legendary Ethiopian musician – a very haunting blend of voice and piano, often recorded with a very echoey tone – in a style that's completely unique! Emahoy Tsege Marian Gebru comes across in a very intimate mode here – on songs that have a deeply personal vibe, and which really go beyond the boundaries of language because of that – communicating these moments of fragile beauty and subtle spirituality with the way that Emahoy's vocals rise, float, and drift along with her spare, watery lines on piano! Titles include "Don't Forget Your Country", "Ethiopia MY Motherland", "Tenkou Why Feel Sorry", "Clouds Moving On The Sky", "Ready To Leave", and "Is It Sunny Or Cloudy In The Land You Live". CD

Pure bossa magic – and a wonderful illustration of why the early music of Joao Gilberto was so tremendous! (Actually, all of his music is tremendous, but that seems to be especially the case here!) The tracks are all fantastic – breezy, breathy, and almost effortlessly sung throughout – songs that drift in air almost of their own accord, yet also manage a gently rhythmic groove that's probably the best definition of the style of bossa that you could ever hope to find! Most numbers feature acoustic guitar upfront in the mix alongside the vocals, plus a bit of light percussion – and even when there's fuller orchestrations on the record, they're used spaciously and gently – often with some nice jazzy inflections. Titles include "Briga Nunca Mais", "Ho Ba La La", "Rosa Morena", "Bim Bom", "Lobo Bobo", "E Luxo So", "Aos Pes Da Cruz", "Saudade Fez Um Samba", and "Desafinado". This CD edition includes 3 bonus tracks, from Cantando As Musicas Do Film Orfeo De Carnaval – "A Felicidade", "Manha De Carnival" and "O Nosso Amor". CD

A beautiful later album from Ivan Lins – recorded in that wonderfully mature style he developed in the 80s, a mixture of his earlier vocal work, with touches of jazz, and some of the Brazilian soulfulness of the Milton Nascimento generation. The backings on the tracks is relatively electric – produced with a lot of "space", in a style that helps the instruments drift around Lins' always-captivating vocals. The album's got a soaring righteousness that prevails despite a few tinnier touches here and there – and it's filled with strong tracks that include "Vieste", "Maos", "Illuminados", "Paixo Secreta", and "O Ceu Mudou". LP, Vinyl record album

A groundbreaking little record – and one that's hardly ever been matched again! Liquid Liquid sprang onto the scene with this amazing debut EP for 99 Records – a set that's got a wicked blend of funky drums, post-punk darkness, and this cool criss-crossing of modes that perfectly sums up the genius of the New York scene at the time! The record features lots of percussion throughout – drums, roto toms, congas, and plenty more – mixed with these brooding basslines that remind us of Jah Wobble at his best, and echoey production that almost feels like an American take on Martin Hannett at his best – especially at those moments when weird, eerie vocals drift through the instrumentation, barely at the edge of hearing. Titles include the classic "Bellhead" – plus "Groupmegroup", "Rubbermiro", "Lub Dupe", and "New Walk". LP, Vinyl record album

The sublime debut album from Argentine guitarist Agustin Pereyra Lucena – a musician who learned plenty from the bossa guitar generation of the 60s, then took things into his own hand with this wonderful record! Agustin's acoustic guitar is the main instrumentation on the set – supported by light percussion, warm basslines, and some occasional wordless female vocals – which drift in and out of the set with a really wonderful tone – kind of breezy and gentle, a lot like the way that Baden Powell would have used a female voice on some of his European recordings during the same time – nicely moody, and almost more like a musical element rather than the usual lyrical style of vocals on a record. Tracks include a killer version of "Canto De Ossanha" – unlike any we've ever heard – plus "Tema Para Martin", "O Astronauta", "Samba Do Aviao", "Tristeza De Nos Dois", "Pro Forma", and "Berimbau". CD

The sublime debut album from Argentine guitarist Agustin Pereyra Lucena – a musician who learned plenty from the bossa guitar generation of the 60s, then took things into his own hand with this wonderful record! Agustin's acoustic guitar is the main instrumentation on the set – supported by light percussion, warm basslines, and some occasional wordless female vocals – which drift in and out of the set with a really wonderful tone – kind of breezy and gentle, a lot like the way that Baden Powell would have used a female voice on some of his European recordings during the same time – nicely moody, and almost more like a musical element rather than the usual lyrical style of vocals on a record. Tracks include a killer version of "Canto De Ossanha" – unlike any we've ever heard – plus "Tema Para Martin", "O Astronauta", "Samba Do Aviao", "Tristeza De Nos Dois", "Pro Forma", and "Berimbau". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully burning work from Japanese saxophonist Kohsuke Mine – a player who cut some fantastic albums in the 70s, even though he never fully got his due on this side of the Pacific! The vibe here is very much in a post-Coltrane spiritual mode – with the leader blowing both tenor and soprano sax, and really working some amazing long, visionary lines on his instruments – sometimes really soaring off with Impulse Records-like energy, other times hitting more modal modes that remind us that Mine was one of the most powerful, soulful forces in the Japanese jazz scene at the time. The rest of the lineup is excellent too – and the album features additional tenor from Hideo Miyata, plus piano from Fumio Itabashi, bass from Hideaki Mochizuki, and drums from Hiroshi Murakami. Titles include "Thirsty", "Self Contradiction", "Spin Drift", "Daguri", and "Expectation". LP, Vinyl record album

A lost treasure from the legendary Ennio Morricone – a soundtrack written for a crime film starring Charles Bronson & Telly Savalas, and handled with all the spare subtlety of his best work! Bruno Nicolai's directing the orchestra on this one – and isolated instruments include electric harpsichord and woodwinds that drift along nicely in the tunes – mixed with some harder arrangements on a few of the album's more driving cuts. Morricone strikes a great balance here – occasionally hitting sweet notes, but then often falling into these dark depths that perfectly fit the bleak world of the film. Tracks include the lovely slow groover "Riassunto", plus the tracks "Rito Finale", "Svolta Definitiva", "Dolcemente Acre", "Norme Con Ironie", "Citta Violenta", "Mille Volte Un Grido" and more. 2LP pressing, with 21 tracks in all. The complete soundtrack on vinyl for the first time! LP, Vinyl record album

Leila Pinheiro's first album – first issued back in 1982, with a spare and jazzy post-bossa style that reminds us of some of Gal Costa's work from the same period! Leila's vocals are wonderful – slightly deep with lots of jazzy phrasing, set to arrangements that drift along in a mixture of electric and acoustic instrumentation – a wonderful blend, and one that gives the record a depth that you don't always find in some of Pinheiro's more recent recordings. The set includes songs by Francis Hime, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Donato, and Cateano Veloso – and titles include "Tudo Em Cima", "Bons Amigos", "A Porta", "Coracao Vagabundo", "Lua De Cetim", and "Nossa Rua". LP, Vinyl record album

An image that conjures up the delight we experience every time we drop a needle on a record – kicking back and letting our mind drift away to the music! And sure, maybe we're not as likely to drop the cover on the floor as this guy – we are record collectors after all – but we certainly share his sense of bliss as the musical notes stream out of the speaker! As with our Dot Dash design, this one's an upgrade from our previous shirts – 100% ring-spun cotton, well fitted, crew neck, and super-soft! Clothing

An image that conjures up the delight we experience every time we drop a needle on a record – kicking back and letting our mind drift away to the music! And sure, maybe we're not as likely to drop the cover on the floor as this guy – we are record collectors after all – but we certainly share his sense of bliss as the musical notes stream out of the speaker! As with our Dot Dash design, this one's an upgrade from our previous shirts – 100% ring-spun cotton, well fitted, crew neck, and super-soft! Clothing

An image that conjures up the delight we experience every time we drop a needle on a record – kicking back and letting our mind drift away to the music! And sure, maybe we're not as likely to drop the cover on the floor as this guy – we are record collectors after all – but we certainly share his sense of bliss as the musical notes stream out of the speaker! As with our Dot Dash design, this one's an upgrade from our previous shirts – 100% ring-spun cotton, well fitted, crew neck, and super-soft! Clothing

An image that conjures up the delight we experience every time we drop a needle on a record – kicking back and letting our mind drift away to the music! And sure, maybe we're not as likely to drop the cover on the floor as this guy – we are record collectors after all – but we certainly share his sense of bliss as the musical notes stream out of the speaker! As with our Dot Dash design, this one's an upgrade from our previous shirts – 100% ring-spun cotton, well fitted, crew neck, and super-soft! Clothing

An image that conjures up the delight we experience every time we drop a needle on a record – kicking back and letting our mind drift away to the music! And sure, maybe we're not as likely to drop the cover on the floor as this guy – we are record collectors after all – but we certainly share his sense of bliss as the musical notes stream out of the speaker! As with our Dot Dash design, this one's an upgrade from our previous shirts – 100% ring-spun cotton, well fitted, crew neck, and super-soft! Clothing

An image that conjures up the delight we experience every time we drop a needle on a record – kicking back and letting our mind drift away to the music! And sure, maybe we're not as likely to drop the cover on the floor as this guy – we are record collectors after all – but we certainly share his sense of bliss as the musical notes stream out of the speaker! As with our Dot Dash design, this one's an upgrade from our previous shirts – 100% ring-spun cotton, well fitted, crew neck, and super-soft! Clothing

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Fantastic work from the great Charles Brown – an equal mix of jazz and blues, delivered with a smooth, sophisticated touch that really helped move things forward in the postwar years! 20 classics from his years at Aladdin Records. CD

... CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Fantastic work by The Drifters – not only proof that their career was still going strong, but also a landmark batch of uptown soul tracks that set the blueprint for so many other New York artists of the 60s! The album includes the hits "On Broadway", "Up On The Roof", and "Under The Boardwalk" – but there's a dozen tracks, and they're all great! Other tracks include "Rat Race", "I'll Take You Home", "Let the Music Play", and "If You Don't Come Back". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

Classic Hank Williams – with titles that include "Too Many Parties & Too Many Pals", "I Dreamed About Mama Last Night", "Beyond The Sunset", "The Funeral", "Be Careful Of Stones You Throw", and "Pictures From Life's Other Side". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavenly sweet soulful stuff from the Ben E. King years, including "Hey Senorita", "Lonely Winds", "Oh My Love", "Sweets For My Sweet", "Room Full of Tears", and more – plus the unreleased cuts "Sometimes I Wonder" and "Night Shift". Same great package as the other volumes, with a reproduction of an original cover on the front, and great notes inside. CD

Sweetly swayin' stuff from the early 60's years, and loads of great lesser-known tracks like "Mexican Divorce", "Loneliness or Happiness", "She Never Talked To Me That Way", "Rat Race", and "Another Night With The Boys" – plus the unreleased tracks "Beautiful Music" and "Only In America" – and two Rudy Lewis solo tracks! 20 cuts in all. CD

Titles that include "Baltimore", "Sometimes I Wonder", "Oh My Love", "This Magic Moment", "Some Kind Of Wonderful", "Up On The Roof", "Stranger On The Shore", "On Broadway", "Under The Boardwalk", and more – 40 tracks total! CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

The golden hits of The Drifters, but a set that mostly features on the group's great second chapter at Atlantic Records – a time when original singer Clyde McPhatter had left the group, and Ben E King and Rudy Lewis came in with a very different style in the lead! Lieber & Stoller were strongly behind the group at this point, really making magic with the rhythms of the tunes too – those unusual rhythms that really set the early 60s Drifters apart from the pack – as you'll hear on cuts that include "There Goes My Baby", "(If You Cry) True Love, True Love", "Dance With Me", "This Magic Moment", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "I Count The Tears", "Some Kind Of Wonderful", "Up On The Roof", "On Broadway","Under The Boardwalk", "I've Got Sand In My Shoes", and "Saturday Night At The Movies". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer set – early RPM recordings of the great John Lee Hooker – nice and raw, and with all the hard-hitting quality of his best early work! Titles include "Driftin From Door To Door", "She Left Me On My Bended Knee", "Good Rockin Mama", "Let Your Daddy Ride", "Don't You Remember Me", and "Hug & Squeeze You". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly strong collection of country cuts from a very unusual scene – material recorded for the tiny Cuca Records label in Wisconsin – a company who was more likely to open their doors to just about anyone, than they were to carefully pick who got to record in their studio! Yet because of that approach, Cuca was able to capture some fantastic sounds that would have otherwise been lost to more commercial concerns – music that here represents an underground of country singers and late rockabilly acts from the scene in southern Wisconsin – all artists with the kind of twang and subject matter you'd be much more likely to discover down in Tennessee! As usual with Numero Group, the record is as musically great as it is culturally compelling – put together with plenty of care, and a stunning set list that includes "Happy Don't Last Forever" by Nancy Lee Jordan, "Little Hero" by Dixie Drifter, "Cardinal" by John D Curnow, "Six Foot Down" by Gene Ski & The Troubadours, "There's A River" by Sam Podnay, "Hello Houston" by Johnny Madrid, "Wanderer" by The Lavenders, "Challenge" by Larry Phillipson, "Run Little Girl" by Harrison Two, "Heaven Help The Working Girl" by Janet Kaye, "Trouble Sweet Trouble" by Curley Fields & The Kentuckians, and "When I See You" by Rog Winters & The Plainsmen. LP, Vinyl record album

16 classic tracks – mostly from the post-Clyde McPhatter years of The Drifters – with Ben E King on lead vocals on a number of cuts! CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A great little album by The Drifters – different than most of their other work for Atlantic, but still quite nice! The bulk of the album features the group running through jazzy versions of pop tunes – like "Quando Quando Quando", "More", "The Good Life", and "Desafinado" – all of which they do quite well, with a classy sound that fits well with the arrangements by Ray Ellis. The album also features one more regular tune by the group – the single "Saturday Night At The Movies", a killer uptown soul number arranged by Teacho Wiltshire. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album