If this is reality, lead us onward – as the set is a mindblowing batch of trippy psych-funk from The Heliocentrics – even more offbeat and experimental than before, in ways that make the combo the true heirs to the legacy first begun by Stark Reality! The album's definitely funky at the core, but it's also filled with loads of amazing sounds – instruments tuned weirdly, played weirdly, and produced weirdly – so that over the heavy drums, there's often lots of freaky, fuzzy bits and tripped-out sounds – in ways that make the record feel like some lost acid trip outtakes from the Westbound studios of the early 70s – or like some obscure funk band that dropped acid at Andy Warhol's loft! The packaging offers up a visual example of what your ears will be going through when you tune into the music – and titles include "Mysterious Ways", "Collateral Damage", "Black Sky", "Calabash", "Path Of The Black Sun", "Mr Owusu I Presume", "Eastern Begena", and loads of cool interlude tracks too. CD

A fantastic mix of heady sounds and heavy funk from The Heliocentrics – and a record that continues the vibe of their previous set – in which the team of Malcolm Catto and Jake Ferguson were joined by the lovely vocals of Barbora Patkova! Patkova's presence is just what the group needs to really ground their sound – a female singer up front, but one who's as equally comfortable with distortion, fuzz, and echoey spaces as the two instrumentalists – a trio who continue that unique tradition of psychedelic funk that we first loved in Catto's early work on Mo Wax! Titles include "99% Revolution", "Hanging By A Thread", "Nonsense (part 1)", "Light In The Dark", "People Wake Up", "Burning Wooden Ship", and "Elephant Walk". LP, Vinyl record album

The debut full length from Heliocentrics – the cosmic funk project from Malcolm Catto and a tasteful group of players – touching on funky drummer hip hop beatcraft, hazy psychedelia, leftfield jazz and global accented grooves! The Heliocentrics have backed DJ Shadow on occasion, and Catto has drummed in the service of Madlib's material in the past – but Out There does stand out, a modernist instrumental groove in world of its own! Catto is on drums and piano for the set – and the group is well stocked on drums and percussion throughout – plus heavy bass, some Eastern strings, modular synth, flute, clarinet, sax and vibes. It may be out there, but they found a funky atmosphere! Titles include "Distant Star", "Flight 583", "Once Upon A Time", "Beyond Repair", "Sirius B", "Untitled", "They Are Among Us – Part 1", "Zero Hour", "Joyride", "American Empire", "Before I Die", "Age Of The Sun", "They Are Among Us – Part 2", "Winter Song", "World Of Masks", "Falling To Earth" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Not the original Quatermass EP from The Heliocentrics – but material that takes off in an even fuller, heavier direction – and which may well be the funkiest sounds we've heard from these guys so far! The music is stunning right from the very first heavy bassline and sharp drum crackle – more focused, more full-on, and more funky than before – with this mindblowing mix of super-tight rhythms and nicely trippy work on keyboards and guitar – all freaky and fuzzy, but always with a sense of purpose, too – and never just crazy for the sake of crazy! These guys really hit a new high with this set – simply wonderful, and at a level that has us falling in love with them all over again. Titles include "The Pit", "Gas Bottle", "Discovery", "Phenomenon Of Man", "Telekinesis", "Night & Day", "Looking Back", "Mass Psychosis", and "The Final Conclusion". CD

The debut full length from Heliocentrics – the cosmic funk project from Malcolm Catto and a tasteful group of players – touching on funky drummer hip hop beatcraft, hazy psychedelia, leftfield jazz and global accented grooves! The Heliocentrics have backed DJ Shadow on occasion, and Catto has drummed in the service of Madlib's material in the past – but Out There does stand out, a modernist instrumental groove in world of its own! Catto is on drums and piano for the set – and the group is well stocked on drums and percussion throughout – plus heavy bass, some Eastern strings, modular synth, flute, clarinet, sax and vibes. It may be out there, but they found a funky atmosphere! Titles include "Distant Star", "Flight 583", "Once Upon A Time", "Beyond Repair", "Sirius B", "Untitled", "They Are Among Us – Part 1", "Zero Hour", "Joyride", "American Empire", "Before I Die", "Age Of The Sun", "They Are Among Us – Part 2", "Intermission", "Winder Song", "World Of Masks", "Falling To Earth" and more. CD

If this is reality, lead us onward – as the set is a mindblowing batch of trippy psych-funk from The Heliocentrics – even more offbeat and experimental than before, in ways that make the combo the true heirs to the legacy first begun by Stark Reality! The album's definitely funky at the core, but it's also filled with loads of amazing sounds – instruments tuned weirdly, played weirdly, and produced weirdly – so that over the heavy drums, there's often lots of freaky, fuzzy bits and tripped-out sounds – in ways that make the record feel like some lost acid trip outtakes from the Westbound studios of the early 70s – or like some obscure funk band that dropped acid at Andy Warhol's loft! The packaging offers up a visual example of what your ears will be going through when you tune into the music – and titles include "Mysterious Ways", "Collateral Damage", "Black Sky", "Calabash", "Path Of The Black Sun", "Mr Owusu I Presume", "Eastern Begena", and loads of cool interlude tracks too. LP, Vinyl record album

If this is reality, lead us onward – as the set is a mindblowing batch of trippy psych-funk from The Heliocentrics – even more offbeat and experimental than before, in ways that make the combo the true heirs to the legacy first begun by Stark Reality! The album's definitely funky at the core, but it's also filled with loads of amazing sounds – instruments tuned weirdly, played weirdly, and produced weirdly – so that over the heavy drums, there's often lots of freaky, fuzzy bits and tripped-out sounds – in ways that make the record feel like some lost acid trip outtakes from the Westbound studios of the early 70s – or like some obscure funk band that dropped acid at Andy Warhol's loft! The packaging offers up a visual example of what your ears will be going through when you tune into the music – and titles include "Mysterious Ways", "Collateral Damage", "Black Sky", "Calabash", "Path Of The Black Sun", "Mr Owusu I Presume", "Eastern Begena", and loads of cool interlude tracks too. LP, Vinyl record album

Interstellar funk, cosmic jazz and spacey live band hip hop from Malcolm Catto & the Heliocentrics –incredible material from one of most mindblowing combos in the global hip hop funk underground! The tracks on Fallen Angels were compiled from vinyl only EPs on Now Again, as well as some previously unreleased tracks, and it's a pretty impeccable display of the diverse shades of soundscapes the group trades in. The drums and bass skew towards gritty classic funk, with distant, dusty organ groove, off kilter percussion, and unpredictable washes of sound. Includes both the instrumental and vocal versions of "Distant Star" with Percee P and Doom, plus the "Sirius B" remix with Vast Aire and "Before I Die" with Guilty Simpson – tracks that showcase their pretty much unrivaled abilility to bring their diverse style into a leftfield hip hop realm, plus the planet rocking jazz funk on "The Oracle" and "Dance Of The Dogons, Pt 2", plus "Space Time Girl", "The Gorn", "Vibrations Of The Fallen Angels" and Noise". CD

The debut full length from Heliocentrics – the cosmic funk project from Malcolm Catto and a tasteful group of players – touching on funky drummer hip hop beatcraft, hazy psychedelia, leftfield jazz and global accented grooves! The Heliocentrics have backed DJ Shadow on occasion, and Catto has drummed in the service of Madlib's material in the past – but Out There does stand out, a modernist instrumental groove in world of its own! Catto is on drums and piano for the set – and the group is well stocked on drums and percussion throughout – plus heavy bass, some Eastern strings, modular synth, flute, clarinet, sax and vibes. It may be out there, but they found a funky atmosphere! Titles include "Distant Star", "Flight 583", "Once Upon A Time", "Beyond Repair", "Sirius B", "Untitled", "They Are Among Us – Part 1", "Zero Hour", "Joyride", "American Empire", "Before I Die", "Age Of The Sun", "They Are Among Us – Part 2", "Winter Song", "World Of Masks", "Falling To Earth" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Interstellar funk from Malcolm Catto & the Heliocentrics – the space thumping "Distant Star" featuring MF Doom and Percee P – plus the non-album instrumental "Space Time Girl"! "Distant Star" is a perfect example of just how adaptable the spacey jazz & funk instrumentalist style of the Heliocentrics can be – matched perfectly well with both the sci fi hip hop stylings of MF Doom and the straight from the street poetry of MC Percee P! "Distant Star" also features cuts by Stones Throw labelmate J Rocc, while the "Strange Version" changes the beat around a little bit, as well as the order the rappers appear. "Space Time Girl" has some impeccable funky drums and distant organ grooves, and spare funky atmosphere from here to the farthest reaches! 12-inch, Vinyl record

A stunner of a joint effort from Ethio jazz funk visionary Mulatu Astatke and psych funk genre-busting combo the Heliocentrics – a record we had the highest hopes for and still find wildly above and beyond our loftiest expectations! The collective touch on some classic Mulatu compositions, but the bulk of the material here is brand new, and purely collaborative – if you know the Helioecentrics or you know Mulatu, you can clearly hear what each bring to the table – and it works together brilliantly! There's often a gritty funk bottom end, the best drums and percussion, fat electric bass lines underneath Ethio jazz inspired sax, trumpet, trombone and flute – swirling psychedelic flourishes with theremin and other effects that never take away from the groove. Mulatu's on vibes, percussion, Wurlitzer, drums and keyboards – and his compositions and the Helios trade back and forth throughout the set. There's some additional Ethiopian instrumentation and atmospheric vocals in the mix on some tunes, and more of an astral, avant funk vibe on others, but there's always a brilliant confluence of styles. Bottom line, the album is everything we wanted it to be and more – this will undoubtedly be favorite for years to come! Titles include "Masenqo", "Cha Cha", "Addis Black Widow", "Mulatu", "Blue Nile", "Esketa Dance", "Chik Chikka", "Live From Tiger Lounge", "Chinese New Year", "Phantom Of The Panther", "Dewel"., "Fire In The Zoo", "An Epic Story" and "Anglo Ethio Suite". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the coolest set so far from this excellent combo – a record that infuses their unique blend of Afro Funk with some slightly psychedelic currents – as you might guess from the cover! The record's not entirely in the territory of a group like the Heliocentrics, but there's certainly more fuzz than before – yet always balanced with the forward-moving rhythms that the group does so well, plus plenty of that soaring brass work that graces their name – horn lines that are in a fantastic tradition that includes both styles from New Orleans and Nigeria! Titles include "The Pit", "But At What Cost", "Aethervision", "Little Ghosts", "Hox C", "Echo AD", "A Web A Knot A Tangle", and "Doom Country". CD

Maybe the coolest set so far from this excellent combo – a record that infuses their unique blend of Afro Funk with some slightly psychedelic currents – as you might guess from the cover! The record's not entirely in the territory of a group like the Heliocentrics, but there's certainly more fuzz than before – yet always balanced with the forward-moving rhythms that the group does so well, plus plenty of that soaring brass work that graces their name – horn lines that are in a fantastic tradition that includes both styles from New Orleans and Nigeria! Titles include "The Pit", "But At What Cost", "Aethervision", "Little Ghosts", "Hox C", "Echo AD", "A Web A Knot A Tangle", and "Doom Country". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the coolest set so far from this excellent combo – a record that infuses their unique blend of Afro Funk with some slightly psychedelic currents – as you might guess from the cover! The record's not entirely in the territory of a group like the Heliocentrics, but there's certainly more fuzz than before – yet always balanced with the forward-moving rhythms that the group does so well, plus plenty of that soaring brass work that graces their name – horn lines that are in a fantastic tradition that includes both styles from New Orleans and Nigeria! Titles include "The Pit", "But At What Cost", "Aethervision", "Little Ghosts", "Hox C", "Echo AD", "A Web A Knot A Tangle", and "Doom Country". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the heaviest set of sound library grooves you'll ever hear – but that's probably no surprise, given that the package features some key Heliocentrics elements in the mix – including lots of psychedelic production next to fierce work on drums from Malcolm Catto and Jake Ferguson! There's plenty of breaks on the record, but settled in nicely amidst keyboards and other electronics from the great Jessica Lauren – an artist we've loved for years – plus bass and lots of other instruments from Jake, and bits of flute and trumpet too. Tracks are mostly instrumental, and while the record follows the sound library style of tight funky grooves, there's also some of the darker, more brooding Heliocentrics elements in the mix too. Titles include "Dune", "M For Drums", "Emotions Run Dry", "Freestyling", "Well Well Well", "String Fantasy", "Train A Coming", and "I Wonder". LP, Vinyl record album

Key Sun Ra albums for ESP records – the Heliocentrics World trifecta – in a 3CD set! The work here is a bit more intense than usual – almost cerebral at times, with very contemplative passages on percussion and reeds, offset by strong piano lines from Ra – all in a mode that marks a sharp break from earlier Saturn albums. Volume One finds the group working in an interstellar formation that holds up strongly with the Saturn sides – John Gilmore on tenor, Marshall Allen on alto, Teddy Nance on trombone, Chris Capers on trumpet, Danny Davis on flute and alto, and Ra on piano, bass marimba, and some especially nice electronic celeste! Things get quite out at points – freer almost than other Arkestra sides of the time – and titles include "Outer Nothingness", "Other Worlds", "Nebulae", "Dancing In the Sun", "The Cosmos", and "Of Heavenly Things". Volume Two has a freer feel than the first volume, and a bit more avant-oriented work overall. Ra and the group play a lot of percussion – and Ra himself is on tuned bongos, piano, and clavioline, which has a very nice spooky sound! The reed work on the album is by Robert Cummings, John Gilmore, Pat Patrick, and Marshall Allen – with bass by Ronnie Boykin and percussion by Roger Blank. Tracks include "Cosmic Chaos", "House of Beauty", and "The Sun Myth". Volume Three features tracks recorded during the sessions for Volume Two, but it was lost to the sands of time for nearly 40 years! Like that previous album, this one features a smaller version of the Arkestra than usual – an octet that has Ra working with core hornmen Pat Patrick, John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, Walter Miller, and Robert Cummings – supported by a rhythm section that includes Ronnie Boykins on bass and Roger Blank on percussion. Apart from a lot of added percussion by various members of the group, the instrumentation overall is relatively straightforward – even if Ra's compositions are not. The set kicks off with the 17 minute "Intercosmosis" – a relatively free, stretched-out tune – then is followed by shorter numbers that travel along darker, more introspective pathways. These titles include "World Worlds", "Interplanetary Travelers", "Mythology Metamorphosis", and "Heliocentric Worlds". CD

The first ever comprehensive anthology of Ethio Jazz from unrivaled master Mulatu Astatke – put together by our heroes at Strut Records – the same label that released Mulatu's stellar collaboration with the Heliocentrics just a year earlier! Strut picks material from his prime 60s & 70s years – records like the landmark Mulatu Of Ethiopia LP, rare compilations and 45s – with the full participation of Mulatu and with access to all the labels he worked for at the time! Naturally, it includes the early recordings made in the UK in the early-to-mid 60s, the benchmark material for the Worthy label 60s & early 70s, and the amazing stuff he recorded back in Ethiopia in the 70s for Phillips and other labels – backed by his All Star Band, Ethiopian Quintet and others. Landmark Ethio Jazz at its finest – it's hard imagine a better overview! Titles include "Yekermo Sew", "I Faram Gami I Faram", "Shagu", "Mulatu", "Fikratchin" with Menelik Wossenatchew, "Yegelle Tezeta", "Emnete", "Ebo Lala" with Deifu Yohannes, "Dewel", "Mascaram Setaba", "Ene Alantchien Alnorem" and more. 20 tracks in all. CD

A fascinating full length departure from DJ Shadow – an album that's more or less made up of genre suites – rolling from sound library groove, to hood-shaking hyphy hip hop, to topical post-Katrina commentary, to beat-driven live instrument avant funk! The album's flow is more or less held together with the occasional backing of the Heliocentrics – featuring drummer Malcolm Catto – as a tight rhythmic backdrop in a number of spots with heavy drums plus keys, vibes, bass and guitar. But even more tracks are buoyant bombs of deeply pulsing, heavily thumping contemporary hip hop. The album is ultimately kind of a mess, but it's a very ballsy one – featuring some of Shadow's most mainstream hip hop productions ever – which is actually in itself a pretty radical move when you think about it! Titles include "This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way)", "3 Freaks" feat Keak Da Sneak & Turf Talk, "Turf Dancing" feat The Federation & Animaniaks, "Keep Em Close" feat Nump, "Seein' Thangs" feat David Banner, "Broken Levee Blues", "Artifact (inst)", "Backstage Girl" feat Phonte Coleman, "Triplicate/Something Happened That Day", "The Tiger" feat Sergio Pizzorno & Christopher Karloff, "Erase You" feat Chris James, "What Have I Done" feat Christina Carter, "Enuff" feat Q-Tip & Lateef The Truth Speaker, "Dats My Part" feat E-40, "3 Freaks (Droop-E rmx)" feat Mistah FAB, Turf Talk & Keak Da Sneak and more. CD