A jazz record, but one with a vibe that's all its down – and a sound that definitely echoes some of the tropical elements hinted at in the title and on the cover! Laurent Bardainne is a saxophonist who blows with a really rich sound – nicely soulful, and with a raspy, laidback quality that's really seductive – set up here amidst a mix of acoustic and electric elements, including great percussion, occasional keyboards, and just the right electric basslines to trip things along in a sweet midtempo groove! The mix of jazz soloing and nods to global elements takes us back to similar French albums of the 80s – and most of the set is instrumental, although there are occasional vocals from guests, next to great use of outside sound recordings too. Titles include "Singing", "Eden", "We Try", "Serpent Kaa", "Gobules Rouges", "Dance For Eternity", "Welcome", and "Meilleur". CD

A jazz record, but one with a vibe that's all its down – and a sound that definitely echoes some of the tropical elements hinted at in the title and on the cover! Laurent Bardainne is a saxophonist who blows with a really rich sound – nicely soulful, and with a raspy, laidback quality that's really seductive – set up here amidst a mix of acoustic and electric elements, including great percussion, occasional keyboards, and just the right electric basslines to trip things along in a sweet midtempo groove! The mix of jazz soloing and nods to global elements takes us back to similar French albums of the 80s – and most of the set is instrumental, although there are occasional vocals from guests, next to great use of outside sound recordings too. Titles include "Singing", "Eden", "We Try", "Serpent Kaa", "Gobules Rouges", "Dance For Eternity", "Welcome", and "Meilleur". LP, Vinyl record album

Laurent De Wilde on piano, Ira Coleman on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. CD

On Golden Hair Gil Evans on piano and electric piano, Laurent Cugny on keyboards, Philippe Sellam on alto saxophone, Pierre-Olivier Govin on alto saxophone and flute, Denis Barbier on flute, alto flute and piccolo flute, Bernard Francois on French horn, Bobby Rangell on alto and soprano saxophone and flute, Andy Sheppard and Charles Schneider on tenor saxophone, Gilles Salommez on trombone, Christian Martinez, Francois Chassagnite, and Stephane Belmondo on trumpet, Didier Havet and Philippe Legris on tuba, Lionel Benhamou on guitar, Benoit De Mesmay on keyboards, Dominique Di Piazza on electric bass, Stephane Huchard on drums, and Stephane HuchardMarilyn Mazur and Xavier Desandre Navarre on percussion. CD

A beautiful hymn to the sun from saxophonist Laurent Bardianne – an artist who's not afraid to play with the rhythms a bit, while still offering up some jazz-based material at the core! Bardianne plays tenor in a quintet that also has lots of great Hammond organ from Arnaud Roulin – and both artists add in a bit of electronics too – but the most striking aspect of the record might be the rhythms, which are served up in blend of bass from Sylvain Daniel, drums from Philippe Gleizes, and percussion from Roger Raspail – all players with a real global sensibility, who push the music past standard jazz, with a very free-flowing vibe. The whole thing's very much in the best cross-cultural mode that we love from the French Heavenly Sweetness label – and titles include "La Vie La Vie La Vie", "Adieu My Lord", "Destination Danger", "Verte Gronouille", "Sarang", and "Kenya Sunrise". CD

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Don't be fooled by the title, because the music here isn't really techno – but more the roots of techno – pulled from an array of older jazz, soul, house, and club recordings – brought together in a weird mix of styles by Laurent Garnier and Carl Craig! There's still a relatively dancefloor-heavy vibe on the tracks – and many of the numbers are ones that predate the use of the word techno, but feature elements that would grow to much greater importance as the genre exploded in the 90s. Part B of the vinyl version features 11 tracks that include "Journey In Satchidananda" by Alice Coltrane, "NTT DoCoMo" by Arpanet, "Sea Shake" by Drexciya, "Join In The Chant" by Nitzer Ebb, "It's A War" by Kano, "Dance Boy Dance" by Alexander Robotnick, "Bettino's Bounce" by Funkadelic, "No More Words" by Yello, "Disco Circus" by Martin Circus, and "Burning (MK club edit)" by MK. LP, Vinyl record album

A baker's dozen of tracks from Ernest Saint Laurent, Phoenix, Oomiaq, Scenario Rock, Cosmo Vitelli, Riff HiFi, P.Jack, Rob, Bertrand Burgalat, ZFO, Bosco, Mellow, Sebastien Tellier. CD

The second and a half entry in the great Trip Do Brasil project – a selection of remixes, rarities, and live tracks pulled from the earlier sessions for the first two albums! As with those gems, the style here is Brazilian remixology – much more abstract than other projects of this nature, with the original Brazilian influences hidden fairly deeply in the wash of house rhythms, heavy beats, warm keyboards, and other modern dancefloor touches. Titles include "Tente Imaginar" by Larry Heard, "Obrigao (Live)" by The Deal, "2 Notes Samba" by Gekko, "Kotu Rete (kybo mix)" by Mental Remedy, "Todos Os Caminhos" by Doctor L with Lenine, "Search 4 Love" by Cam, "Bossanovitch" by Novo Navis, "Brazil.com" by Isolee remixed by Freaks, "Tiu Ba La Quieba" by The Boyz From Brazil remixed by WR, and "Ibis Vermelho (Ibis Frisco mix)" by Rom remixed by Ernest St Laurent. CD

A fantastic musical tribute to the filmmaking genius of the late Agnes Varda – a set that brings together work from her earliest films of the 60s, all the way through some of her important contributions to cinema in the 21st Century! The scope of styles here is great – sometimes jazzy, sometimes more serious – sometimes vocal, and sometimes instrumental – yet that also reflects the range of styles that Varda brought to her films as well. The set features music by Michel Legrand for Cleo De 5 a 7, Francois Wertheimer & Orchidee for L'Une Chante L'Autre Pas, Matthieu Chedid for Visages Villages, Joanna Bruzdowicz for Jacquot De Nantes and Sans Toi Ni Loi, Laurent Levesque for Les Plages D'Agnes and Agnes De Ci De La Varda, Christian Legrand for HLM Et Cine-Roman, Michel Colombier for Pour Agnes, and Jean Michel Defaye for Le Bonheur. LP, Vinyl record album

Michel Colombier created some mighty funky music in the French scene of the late 60s and early 70s – including some with Pierre Henry and Serge Gainsbourg – and this standalone soundtrack effort is definitely part of that really great legacy in music! There's a nice current of funk amidst the larger orchestrations on some of the best cuts – mixed with a few other sweeter sounds too – all handled with that really inventive approach that easily made Colombier one of the key cats pushing forward the sound of the scene at the time. The set's got a vocal tune sung by Drupi – and titles include "Violence Et Solitude", "La Baie", "Constance Et Laurent", "La Mort", and a number of variations on "Le Hasard Et La Violence". LP, Vinyl record album

Great early work from Vangelis – recorded years before his new age drippy stretch, at a time when he was fresh off work in the amazing Aphrodite's Child, where he really learned to make some amazing sounds on his keyboards! There's a nicely spacey vibe to the set, and some really dark currents too – as Vangelis plays lots of Fender Rhodes, plus a bit of percussion and mellotron – often in offbeat ways, and with contributions from Laurent De Gasperis on flute, percussion, and mandolin. Although a soundtrack, the music is plenty visual on its own away from the film – and titles include "Giudecca", "Venezia", "Ruga Do Pozlic", "Marina", "La Contessina", and "Ma Dove Sei". LP, Vinyl record album

The US release of 3 soundtracks to films produced by Dino De Laurentis – the best of which is Roy Budd's Stone Killer. The soundtrack is one of the darkest Budd scores ever, designed to accompany a brutal police film starring Charles Bronson. The main theme has a nice electronic sound that's kind of like the "Mystery Movie" theme from the 70s, then the score moves into some nicely turgid regions that feature spare Fender Rhodes riffs underpinned by dark orchestral scoring. Occasional beats and jazzy rhythms move into the picture from time to time, and the overall sound is excellent! The other two soundtracks aren't as great, but they're both combined on one side of the record, and don't take up as much space as Stone Killers, which gest all of side two! LP, Vinyl record album

Mad music from the Dutch scene of the 70s – music recorded either in The Netherlands, or the Dutch part of Belgium – pulled together here in a collection that's filled with ear-opening funky gems! The music here isn't straight soul, funk, or jazz – but rather criss-crossing musical styles that often have a little bit of each – often with these qualities that remind us of better-known soundtrack or folk-funk songs from the time – but which take on very different qualities, given the difference in language! There's plenty of great drums throughout, loads of killer keyboards, and basslines that can make just about any sort of song a funky nugget – and as with other titles on the Sdban label, the whole thing's a real revelation – a gateway to music that we never would have discovered otherwise – but now find that we can't live without. Titles include "Eva's Pakje" by Jimmy Frey, "Zomerliefde" by Laurentius, "Onheil" by Lamp & Lazerus, "Gemendg Gevoel" by Herman De Bruycker, "Wie Weet" by Spectrum, "Het Oink Beest" by Elly & Rikkert, "Maan Dag" by Daan Broos & Dapokaster, "Nooit Meer" by Josine Van Dalsum, "Handicap 2000" by Daan Broos, "Het Huis Van Wilde Tederheid" by Luk Bral, and "Hollandse Taal" by Moeder En Haar Jongens. LP, Vinyl record album

One of Oscar Peterson's most sophisticated albums of the 60s – an extended suite of tracks dedicated to the soul and spirit of Canada! The tunes are all originals, and have a really lush, vivid sort of feel – one that still has undercurrents of Peterson's usual soulful style, but which also has Oscar painting these very vivid images in sound! The material is performed by a trio with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – and although the tunes aren't familiar, we'd rank this one right up there with Peterson's most inventive material of the time. Titles include "Laurentide Waltz", "Ballad To The East", "Blues Of The Praries", and "Wheatland". LP, Vinyl record album