A beautiful celebration of the first ten years of Heavenly Sweetness – a fantastic French record label that's not only given us spiritual jazz from giants of the 70s, but also opened our ears to both new sounds from contemporary artists, and a wide array of rhythms from around the globe! All those elements are perfectly balanced here – showing Heavenly Sweetness as an imprint that can live up to the legacy of earlier European giants – with a similar culture-crossing vibe as MPS or Saravah, but a much more contemporary approach too! Titles include "We People" by Doug Hammond, "Blue Train" by Byard Lancaster, "Mother Of The Future" by Anne Wirz, "Don't Stress Me Out" by Monette Sudler, "Valse Pour Helene" by Florian Pellissier Quintet, "Flow Like A River" by Robert Aaron, "Rip With John Coltrane" by Patchworks, "Journey To The Shore" by Dopegems, "September Sun" by Jacaranda Muse, "Sam's Intro" by Rongetz Foundation, "Where's My Soul" by Baron Retif & Conception Perez, "Our History" by Anthony Joseph, "Voices" by Blundetto, "Don't You Know" by Leron Thomas, "Want It Back" by Guts, "Womanarium" by Sly Johnson, "Untitled/Inspiration From Home" by Don Cherry, "Dead Sea Scrolls" by Raphael, "Ode To Ethiopia" by John Betsch Society, and "NT" by Tagi with Georgia Anne Muldrow. 40 tracks in all! CD

The Heavenly Sweetness label celebrates its first ten years in business – with a special birthday present of all-exclusive unreleased tracks! This set doesn't look back at the previous decade of the label, but instead points the way forward – with a wonderful selection of newly-recorded tracks by some of hte label's best artists – including some who've helped define their groove strongly in recent years, and some whose talents are soon to be presenting full length sets for the company! As with the previous ten years of records, the music here is a fantastic blend of new styles and global elements – some strands of soul, jazz, and hip hop influences – but often used in ways that are completely fresh and contemporary – at a level that's made Heavenly Sweetness one of our go-to labels for new and interesting sounds over the past decade. Titles include "You Party Too Much" by The Mule, "O Circo" by Cotonete", "Have A Little Faith" by Blundetto and Ken Boothe, "An Ba Galba" by Roger Raspail and Vincent Segal, "Tijan Ka (2017 version)" by Edmondy Krater and I Live, "Tijan (Hugh LX rmx)" by Edmondy Krater, "F*ck With The Police" by Florian Pellissier Quintet with Roger Raspail and Nawer, "Hip Hop Muse (Lefto rmx)" by Rongetz Foundation, "Be The River" by Anthony Joseph and Hanyo, and "Move In Silence" by Guts with Patrice, Feve, Djeuhdjoah, and Lieutenant Nicholson. CD

A beautiful celebration of the first ten years of Heavenly Sweetness – a fantastic French record label that's not only given us spiritual jazz from giants of the 70s, but also opened our ears to both new sounds from contemporary artists, and a wide array of rhythms from around the globe! All those elements are perfectly balanced here – showing Heavenly Sweetness as an imprint that can live up to the legacy of earlier European giants – with a similar culture-crossing vibe as MPS or Saravah, but a much more contemporary approach too! Titles include "We People" by Doug Hammond, "Blue Train" by Byard Lancaster, "Mother Of The Future" by Anne Wirz, "Don't Stress Me Out" by Monette Sudler, "Valse Pour Helene" by Florian Pellissier Quintet, "Flow Like A River" by Robert Aaron, "Rip With John Coltrane" by Patchworks, "Journey To The Shore" by Dopegems, "September Sun" by Jacaranda Muse, "Sam's Intro" by Rongetz Foundation, "Where's My Soul" by Baron Retif & Conception Perez, "Our History" by Anthony Joseph, "Voices" by Blundetto, "Don't You Know" by Leron Thomas, "Want It Back" by Guts, "Womanarium" by Sly Johnson, and "NT" by Tagi with Georgia Anne Muldrow. 17 tracks in all! LP, Vinyl record album

The title's a great one for this album by Blundetto – given that the groove is beautifully deep, and the music moves at a pace that would make it hard to do anything but dance slow! Yet the set's not a sleepy one – as it's got all the richness and complexity of previous Blundetto efforts, and show the continuing evolution to dubbier corners of the musical spectrum explored on the past few records – a revision of Jamaican roots, but with a sound that's never standard reggae at all – despite guest appearances from Ken Boothe, Cornell Campbell, and others. Titles include "Good Ol Days", "My Weed My Queen", "Passed The Worst", "Have A Little Faith", "Story Never Told", "Colombette", "Chamber Dub", "History Dance", and "Satta". CD

A jazzy instrumental with a very classic vibe – served up with some especially nice keyboard work from Florian Pellissier – who you might know from records issued under his own name! "Inside Outside" owes a fair bit to 70s funky jazz for inspiration – but it's also got a crackling sort of rhythm approach – played live, but maybe inherited a bit from the broken beat generation – which gives the music an urgently current vibe. Side one features the long core track of the tune – originally written by MPS legend Joanne Grauer – and side two features two Phil Asher/Restless Soul reworks. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Guts bills this set as "an Afro-Tropical experiment" – but to us, the album's just a further expansion of his wonderful talents as a producer – which have really come a long way in just a few years! Guts maybe got his start in hip hop, but he's able to embrace a globe's worth of sound, especially in a project like this – which we might liken to some of the more globally-conscious records by Quantic – although Guts is working here on the Parisian scene, and maybe has even closer access to cross-cultural channels! The set includes work by plenty of guests – a lineup that includes Pat Kalla, Pinduca, Nazare Pereira, Emma Lamadji, Kandy Gura, CAtia Werneck, Djeuhdjoah, and others – on titles that include "Voyaging Bird", "Ja Nao Ha Mais Paz", "Li Dous Konsa", "Sa Ce Kado", "Kenke Corner", "Mucagiami", "Penda", and "Matadou". CD

Really driving percussion, and some great horns as well – the former served up by KOG, who also delivers some fantastic vocals on the set – the latter from The Zongo Brigade, who work in a great mix of funky rhythms, jazzy horns, and some sweet keyboards too! The set's very different than most Afro Funk albums in recent years – with an unbridled style that's clearly driven by the energy of KOG, whose expressions really have things leaping out on most tracks right from the start – then keep things warm all the way through. Titles include "For My Money", "Medowo", "Imela", "Agoro", "Mona Lisa", "Transmission", "Mad Up", "Dr Mensa", "Sahara", and "Suro Nipa". CD

Really driving percussion, and some great horns as well – the former served up by KOG, who also delivers some fantastic vocals on the set – the latter from The Zongo Brigade, who work in a great mix of funky rhythms, jazzy horns, and some sweet keyboards too! The set's very different than most Afro Funk albums in recent years – with an unbridled style that's clearly driven by the energy of KOG, whose expressions really have things leaping out on most tracks right from the start – then keep things warm all the way through. Titles include "For My Money", "Medowo", "Imela", "Agoro", "Mona Lisa", "Transmission", "Mad Up", "Dr Mensa", "Sahara", and "Suro Nipa". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album in many years from Edmondy Krater – an overlooked musical genius from the scene in Guadeloupe – and one who maybe sounds better here than ever before! Krater's always had an ear for blending jazz with some of the more recent currents of the island – but that concept is maybe expressed here most perfectly in the handling of his music by Heavenly Sweetness – a label who've been a recent champion of his classic records, and a great choice for bringing him back into the studio. Krater vocalizes, and plays trumpet, flugelhorn, djembe, and other percussion – with a tight quintet of bass, drums, and additional percussion – plus some great Fender Rhodes – and titles include "A Pa Jodi", "Mi Yo Rive", "Ti Jan Ka", "Lage", "An Ka Sonje", "Nou Kontan", and "Jouwe Tanbou". LP, Vinyl record album

The best album yet from one of the hippest groups working on the French scene today – a group that really explodes with modal and spiritual energy that take us back to the 70s – but who also have a lean, focused sense of delivery that's all their own! The group's led by Florian Pellissier on piano, but is a strongly cohesive unit that also features this brilliantly bold bass work from Yoni Zelnik, plus drums from David Georgelet, saxes from Christophe Panzani, and trumpet from Yoann Loustalot – all players with just the right sense of tone and color to match Pellissier's vision! The album features a bit of guest work – vocals from Arthur H on two tracks, and Antony Joseph on one more – plus guest percussion throughout – on titles that include "Bijou Voyou Caillou", "Hibou Bleu", "Boca", "Colchiques Dans Oles Pres", "Espion", and "Colosse De Rhodes" – plus a great version of the Azymuth classic "Jazz Carnival". CD

Mad music that's unlike anything else we can think of – a killer collection of funky grooves from the Ethiopian scene of the 70s – offered up here on a vinyl-only compilation! The set's a great one if you've heard the music of Mulatu, but want to dig a lot deeper – as the cats included on this set are most of his contemporaries from the golden years of Ethiopian music – and most of them work in a similar offbeat, other-worldly sort of style! Rhythms are skittish, horns are hypnotic, and the vocals on some of the tracks have a weird appeal that really transcends the boundaries of language – almost like another instrumental element that fits in wonderfully with the heavy grooves underneath. Titles on the collection are pulled from various volumes of the Ethiopiques series – making this set kind of a distillation of all its greatness. Tracks include "Yebeqagnal" and "Ene Negn Bay Manesh" by Girma Beyene, "Queresh Endewaza" by Samuel Belay, "Ewnetegna Feqer" by Hirut Bequele, "Lomiwen Teqebeletch" by Mahmoud Ahmed, "Gedamay" by Getatchew Mekurya, and "Metche New" by Asselefetch Ashine & Getenesh Kebret. LP, Vinyl record album

The best album yet from one of the hippest groups working on the French scene today – a group that really explodes with modal and spiritual energy that take us back to the 70s – but who also have a lean, focused sense of delivery that's all their own! The group's led by Florian Pellissier on piano, but is a strongly cohesive unit that also features this brilliantly bold bass work from Yoni Zelnik, plus drums from David Georgelet, saxes from Christophe Panzani, and trumpet from Yoann Loustalot – all players with just the right sense of tone and color to match Pellissier's vision! The album features a bit of guest work – vocals from Arthur H on two tracks, and Antony Joseph on one more – plus guest percussion throughout – on titles that include "Bijou Voyou Caillou", "Hibou Bleu", "Boca", "Colchiques Dans Oles Pres", "Espion", and "Colosse De Rhodes" – plus a great version of the Azymuth classic "Jazz Carnival". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal album of sounds from the groundbreaking Ethiopian scene at the start of the 70s – a full length collection of previous 45s from the excellent Ahma Records label – home to revolutionary sounds that continue to influence new generations of listeners! The music here represents the Golden Age at its peak – sounds that partly reform older traditions with new modernist ideals, partly shift sideways from western influences, to the sorts of enigmatic, other-worldly styles you'd know from the music of Mulatu and some of his contemporaries! And lest you think that "hit parade" means commercial crass, think again – because these tunes are every bit as mindblowing as the music you'd find on the seminal Ethiopiques series. Titles include "Addis Abeda Bete" by Alemayehu Eshete, "Tezeta" by Seifu Yohannes, "Yeberehe Lomie" by Abayneh Degene, "Gara Ser Naw Betesh" by Teshome Meteku, "Asha Dedawo" by Menelik Wossenachew, "Ayamaru Eshete" by Essatu Tessema, and "Hedech Alu" by Muluken Melesse. LP, Vinyl record album

Mad grooves from the Ethiopian scene of the 70s – featuring work by the enigmatic Mulatu, plus some of the other extra-cool artists on that country's groundbreaking soul and funk scene! Mulatu plays Fender Rhodes and organ on his tracks – grooving with a slow, snakey approach that's almost a bit like the work of Sun Ra, but which also has distinct African touches. The sound here is quite different than the Nigerian funky work of the 70s – much more laidback and open-ended, with less American influences, and a really unique approach! Titles include "Yekermo Se", "Yegele Tezeta", "Munaye", "Metche Dershe", "Kasalefkut Hulu", and "Tezeta" by Mulatu Astatque; "Heywete" and "Bemgnot Alnorem" by Bahta Gebre Heywet; and "Yetesfa Tezeta" by Tesfa-Maryam Kidane. Vinyl release of tracks pulled from the Ethiopiques CD-only series, done with some good notes. 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

Guts bills this set as "an Afro-Tropical experiment" – but to us, the album's just a further expansion of his wonderful talents as a producer – which have really come a long way in just a few years! Guts maybe got his start in hip hop, but he's able to embrace a globe's worth of sound, especially in a project like this – which we might liken to some of the more globally-conscious records by Quantic – although Guts is working here on the Parisian scene, and maybe has even closer access to cross-cultural channels! The set includes work by plenty of guests – a lineup that includes Pat Kalla, Pinduca, Nazare Pereira, Emma Lamadji, Kandy Gura, CAtia Werneck, Djeuhdjoah, and others – on titles that include "Voyaging Bird", "Ja Nao Ha Mais Paz", "Li Dous Konsa", "Sa Ce Kado", "Kenke Corner", "Mucagiami", "Penda", and "Matadou". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing music from the golden years of Ethiopian Music – a set of tracks that will take you beyond the music of Mulatu, into a wealth of other talents from the scene at the same time! The sound here is incredible – a mix of heavy funk, spacey jazz, and other exotic touches all coming together – a unique sort of sound that's beyond referent, and which is easily some of the freshest music on the planet back in the 70s! The vinyl-only collection pulls tracks from different volumes of the Ethiopiques CD titles – and offers up a strong focus on the funkiest and grooviest numbers from that legendary series. Tracks include "Muziqawi Silt" by Wallias Band, "Hasabe" by Ayalew Mesfin, "Antchin Yagegnulet" by Tamrat Ferendji, "Amlak Abet Abet" by Asselfetch Ashine & Getenesh Kebret, "Temeles" by Alemayehu Eshete & Hirut Bequele, and "Aynotchesh Yerefu" by Samuel Belay. LP, Vinyl record album

The title's a great one for this album by Blundetto – given that the groove is beautifully deep, and the music moves at a pace that would make it hard to do anything but dance slow! Yet the set's not a sleepy one – as it's got all the richness and complexity of previous Blundetto efforts, and show the continuing evolution to dubbier corners of the musical spectrum explored on the past few records – a revision of Jamaican roots, but with a sound that's never standard reggae at all – despite guest appearances from Ken Boothe, Cornell Campbell, and others. Titles include "Good Ol Days", "My Weed My Queen", "Passed The Worst", "Have A Little Faith", "Story Never Told", "Colombette", "Chamber Dub", "History Dance", and "Satta". LP, Vinyl record album

Anthony Joseph takes a trip back to his roots – recording this album in his home turf of Trinidad, for a set that may well be his best record to date! The music sparkles with all the sunny touches you might guess from the title – but also has all those deeper, righteous currents that Joseph has brought to recent records – a very hard-to-define blend of jazz, funk, Caribbean roots, and other global elements – served up here with plenty of guest help from Meena Joseph, 3 Canal, John John Francis, Ella Andall, and Brother Resistance. The sound is great – with a powerful vibe that's gotten Anthony huge acclaim overseas, even if he's yet to take hold on this side of the Atlantic. Titles include "Sufferings", "Sans Souci", "Bandit School", "Dealings", "Dig Out Your Eye", "He Was Trying", "People Of The Sun", "On The Move", and Jungle". LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of albums from Hiroshima – collected together in one 2CD set! First up is Third Generation – a real breakout album for Hiroshima – and a set that seems to show up in just about every collection of vintage fusion albums we look at! The set's the group's third, as you might guess from the title – and it's got the Hiroshima quintet sliding together in a perfect groove – soulful fusion that's maybe got a strong Cali vibe, but which occasionally has a few exotic touches on the instrumentation – all handled in a style that's kind of an 80s update of the Japanese soul fusion mode of the late 70s. Rhythms are electric at a few points, but their offset by some koto, shamisen, and nice use of flutes and saxes by leader Dan Kuramoto – on titles that include "Heavenly Angel", "We Are", "Ren", "From The Heart", "Sukoshi Bit", "Long Walks", and "Distant Thoughts". Another Place is a record that definitely has Hiroshima taking their origins seriously – as although the album's still got the same fusion vibe as before, it almost seems to step up even more Japanese elements too! The rhythms are maybe a bit more programmed than in the past, but the album also makes use of wood flutes, koto, taiko, shamisen, and other Japanese instrumentation – and features some occasional vocals from June Kuramoto too – all in a slinky fusion style with a slight eastern current. Titles include "One Wish", "Save Yourself For Me", "I Do Remember", "The Game", "Undercover", and "What's It To Ya". On Go, Hiroshima are maybe moving a bit far from the fusion of their roots – but the overall sound here is still sweetly electric, and served up in a nice mix of eastern and western styles! If anything, the group seem even more focused on melody – not in a commercial way, but using more stripped-down instrumentation at times to focus on the special sweetness created in the compositions of leader/reedman Dan Kuramoto – who also plays keyboards and even a bit of shakuhachi on the album. There's vocals on the set – sung lead and soulfully by Barbara Long – but the main focus is instrumental, and titles include "Go", "I've Been Here Before", "311", "Obon", "No 9", "Why Can't I Love You", and "Hawaiian Electric". CD