Spacey sounds from the enigmatic Iasos – a legendary figure in the 70s underground – and an artist with a heck of a great ear for organic electronics and unusual recording techniques! This cool collection of Iasos' music was put together by Carlos Nino with the guys at Numero – and as such, it's got a really sensitive feel – a way of bringing together the sounds and stories that really get at the subtle genius of Iasos – packaged in a lavish set that also features lots of vintage photos too. The style is often quite personal, and almost naive – as Iasos works on guitar, keyboards, amplified flute, and other odd tape and studio effects – all flowing out with a style that's often a bit cosmic, and pretty darn compelling. Titles include "Crystal Petals", "Procession On The Horizon", "Cloud Prayer", "Rainbow Canyon", "I Passion You A Leap Of Love Flame", and "Spring Temple Forest". CD

Prime material from Cannonball and David Axelrod – and despite the biblical leanings of the title, the record is pretty darn funky! As they did for the Zodiac, Cannonball and Adderley take a trip through a host of cultural milestones – stopping along the way to turn each one into a new pillar of soul, working with Rick Holmes, who narrates the set in the same way he did on the Zodiac albums. Brother Nat Adderley and George Duke are among the players in the album's very funky backing – and tracks include "Make Your Own Temple", "Amani", "Space Spiritual", "Eternal Walk", and "Gone". Oh for the days of the double LP concept jazz record! LP, Vinyl record album

Spacey sounds from the enigmatic Iasos – a legendary figure in the 70s underground – and an artist with a heck of a great ear for organic electronics and unusual recording techniques! This cool collection of Iasos' music was put together by Carlos Nino with the guys at Numero – and as such, it's got a really sensitive feel – a way of bringing together the sounds and stories that really get at the subtle genius of Iasos – packaged in a lavish set that also features lots of vintage photos too. The style is often quite personal, and almost naive – as Iasos works on guitar, keyboards, amplified flute, and other odd tape and studio effects – all flowing out with a style that's often a bit cosmic, and pretty darn compelling. Titles include "Crystal Petals", "Procession On The Horizon", "Cloud Prayer", "Rainbow Canyon", "I Passion You A Leap Of Love Flame", and "Spring Temple Forest". LP, Vinyl record album

A great title for an equally great little record – one that marks a whole new stage of genius for Philly soul maestro Vikter Duplaix! Vikter's been making our world plenty brighter with his music for a number of years, but with this record he earns our respect even more – by smoothing out some of the rougher edges of earlier sides, and going for a focused, positive sound that's really tremendous! There's a sense of presence here that's undeniable – not just the role of a hip singer who showed up on many singles at the start of the century, but a focused artist committed to changing the world through the power of his music. Duplaix is working here with a number of different producers – most notably James Poyer, but also Michael Angelo Saulsberry, Ron Trent, Sebastian Arocha Morton, and Omar Edwards – but throughout the set, the sound is very unified and very personal, not the sort of scattershot, studio-hopping work that you'll get in most of the R&B mainstream these days. A few tracks here appeared on the earlier Stimulation EP – but the album's the full presentation of the message that started with that one – featuring 12 tracks that include "Make A Baby", "Pure", "Another Great Love Gone By", "A Life Worth Living", "For Life", "Stimulation", "The Way That I Feel", "In The Middle Of You", "I See The Sun", "Nothing Like Your Touch", "Fade It", and "Temple Of Thoughts". CD

A pair of rare gems from The Electric Prunes – both of which feature key production help from David Axelrod! Mass In F Minor is a beautifully baroque batch of tracks, written and arranged for the Electric Prunes by the great David Axelrod – a really groundbreaking mix of modes that had quite an impact back in the late 60s! The record shows Axelrod's perpetual fascination with the spiritual – mixed with that great modern style of funk that he was forging at Capitol during the late 60s. The record's not really preachy, nor is it proggy. It's more of a complex blueprint of rock, jazz, funk, and touches of soul – all hung together on the same sort of "mass" structure that Axelrod would later use with Cannonball and on his own. Titles include "Kyrie Eleison", "Gloria", "Benedictus", and "Sanctus". Release Of An Oath is the second album done by David Axelrod for The Electric Prunes – and arguably the best! The album's a bit unusual, in that none of the original Prunes were actually working on the session – and instead, Axlerod's almost fully at the helm – putting together the set in a way that's quite similar to his own solo albums over at Capitol! As with those, there's a bold, spacious sort of instrumentation here – richly orchestral, but also quite funky at times – punctuated by great drums from Earl Palmer, bass from Carol Kaye, keyboards from Don Randi, and guitar from Howard Roberts – who's really tripping out nicely here! The work uses the Jewish Kol Nidre mass as its conceptual focus – but really takes off with plenty of tripped-out Axelrod flourishes that make the whole thing a fair bit more psychedelic than anything you'd ever hear in temple. Titles include "Holy Are You", "The Adoration", "Our Father, Our King", "Kol Nidre", and "General Confessional". CD

The fourth full length set from NERD, and one that really shows the group at the top of their mainstream game – maybe more in the territory of catchy soul than before, and definitely heading in the direction that Pharrell would take in his solo work to come! There's a bit of hip hop in the mix, but the production is bumpingly upbeat, for tunes that are unabashedly hook-heavy – served up with help from Nelly Furtado and TI, on cuts that include "Party People", "Hypnotize U", "Help Me", "God Bless Us All", "Sacred Temple", "Wanna Jam", "The Man", "Hot N Fun", "Life As A Fish", "Nothing On You", "Victory", and "Perfect Defect". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe one of the most sharp-edged albums in years from Thievery Corporation – if not ever – thanks to the presence of a fair bit of hip hop guest stars, in a large roster of talent that includes Mr Lif, Raquel Jones, Zee, Notch, Lou Lou Ghelichkhani, Shana Halligan, Elin Melgarejo, and Puma! The duo definitely have that classic approach to a groove that you'd know from their earlier work, but they've also moved way past the bossa, easy, and soundtrack references of before – to modes that embrace more 70s funk and soul, as well as vintage hip hop production – plus some Jamaican currents that you might guess from the album's title. Tracks include "Ghetto Matrix", "Strike The Root", "Love Has No Heart", "Lose To Find", "Weapons Of Distraction", "Fight To Survive", "Babylon Falling", and "Drop Your Guns". LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever full length presentation of a legendary live set from D'Angelo – recorded early in his career, and working through a host of classic tunes that really add in a nice layer to his own great music! D'Angelo's caught here in the legendary temple of groove – London's Jazz Cafe, home to some of the best funk and soul shows in Europe over the past few decades – and a perfect setting for the singer to really break past his more hitbound material, and relaxed in an old school format with a tight funky combo on the stage. The crowd is extremely enthusiastic, and the whole thing falls together beautifully – with a hard raw soul vibe that's similar to, but edgier than, D'Angelo's studio albums – much funkier overall, and more in a 70s soul mode. Instrumentation is very heavy on Fender Rhodes – and titles include "Sh*t, Damn, Motherf*cker", "Me & Those Dreamin Eyes Of Mine", "Brown Sugar", and "Cruisin" – plus great covers of 70s soul hits "Fencewalk", "Can't Hide Love" and "Sweet Sticky Thing". 2LP set features titles never issued before – including a 9 minute long take on "Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first straight jazz albums we've heard on Schema Records in years – and a great one! The album follows the rich tradition of older jazz referenced by the label's newer work – a soulful sound that recalls the glory days of the Italian jazz scene of the 70s, when both American and European players were cutting some incredible work in the country. The group's actually a quintet (not a quartet as their name would imply!) – led by the Lo Greco brothers on bass and drums, but featuring some great tenor and soprano sax work by Michael Rosen and flute by Sandro Cerino – and even offers up separate tenor and flute versions of 2 of the tracks on the albums! There's a laidback, soulful, almost spiritual feel to the best numbers – easy-going, yet never tired or uninspired – and it's great to hear an all-acoustic group on Schema that can share the magic of the label's more dancefloor-oriented acts. Titles include "Somethings That You Know", "Reflections", "Dropping Four", "A Journey To The Temple", "Through The Planet", and nice takes on "Stella By Starlight" and "Giant Steps"! CD