Neil Ardley, Jack Bruce, Jon Hiseman, Dave Gelly, Jim Philip, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Barbara Thompson, Derek Wadsworth, John Mumford, Michael Gibbs, Tony Russell, Derek Watkins, Harry Beckett, Henry Lowther, Ian Carr, George Smith, Frank Ricotti…
‘The range, invention and depth evident on Le Dejeuner Sur L’Herbe outstrips most large ensemble jazz albums of the time; at times muscular and powerful, at others delicate and sensitive, the interplay of the musicians, arrangements and compositions make for a stand-out recording that bristles with confidence and energy.’

A mouth-watering collaboration; plus flips from Al Wootton and Ottomani Parker.
‘The opener Last Breath is a late-hour pelter: relentlessly moody and hypnotic, with heaving sub-bass pulses. Tunnel Drift switches lanes with its distinctive tech-stepping 90’s throwback style; a forward-thinking take on a nostalgic sound.
‘Al Wootton’s contribution is characteristically fresh and inventive dubbed-out house, with his signature layering of atmospheric textures, and a deep and groovy bassline.
‘After a blissful opening, the Ottomani Parker excursion overlays driving percussion with horns, keys and live hand-drumming; an uplifting finale.’

‘The beating heart of the golden age of Ethiopian music, the Ibex Band was the driving force behind such stars as Aster Aweke, Tilahun Gessesse, Girma Beyene, and Mahmoud Ahmed. Led by bassist Giovanni Rico and guitarist Selam Seyoum, Ibex relentlessly reshaped Ethiopian music, blending traditional 6/8 rhythms with Western influences like Motown, and knocking out more than 250 albums, 2,500 songs.
‘Stereo Instrumental Music is a rare gem from this era, recorded in 1976 at the Ras Hotel Ballroom in Addis Ababa.’

Her classic third LP, from 1971, originally released by Odeon Brazil.
‘Gems like Que Bandeira, composed by Marcos Valle, blending funk/soul and bossa/MPB; Esperar Prá Ver, co-written by her brother Renato Corrêa, with its stunning arrangement and an epic bassline that is hard to get out of your head; the archetypal samba soul of Só Quero; and vocal-driven groovy jams like Por Mera Coincidência and Rico Sem Dinheiro, spiced with celestial strings and heavy-duty drums and basslines.’

Giddying soul music from early-eighties Estonia!
A rework of I See Red by Frida, from Abba, with raw fiddle, and poetic new lyrics by Velly about camels and maidens; plus an unnerving version of Feel Like Makin’ Love.
Check it out!

A tough, funky, full-throated cross between raw boogie and Modern Soul, out of Jackson, Mississippi.
Ticking high hats school of Earl Young; bonkers bass.
Originally released by Joe Shamwell on his Shakin’ label, this was the Chymes’ first release, just prior to their deal with RCA.

Reviving three vintage Trojan selections: Jah Thomas Meets King Tubby Inna Roots Of Dub, Jah Thomas Meets The Roots Radics Dubbing, and Hidden Treasure.
With the Revolutionaries, later the Roots Radics, and Scientist.

Her classic, debut album from 2005; now out on vinyl for the first time.
A precociously masterful collection of sambas and bossas, featuring some of Brazil’s very best musicians, including Azymuth crew.

‘Egypt’s ‘official’ popular music throughout much of the twentieth century was a complex form of art song steeped in tradition, well-loved by the middle and upper classes. The music business was highly structured and professional; centred in Cairo. However, far from the metropolis, to the north and northwest, in towns like Tanta and Alexandria and extending across the Saharan Desert to the Libyan border, a raw, hybrid shaabi/al-musiqa al-shabiya style of music was springing up, supported by small, upstart labels.
‘This compilation covers the full range of styles presented by the short-lived but fecund Bourini Records, launched in the late 1960s in Benghazi, Libya. Gobsmacking moments include Basis Rahouma’s transformation into a growling, barking man-lion, and Reem Kamal’s onwards-and-upwards hand-clapping party banger, with a grooving nihilistic dissonance reminiscent of the Velvet Underground. The thorough-going contrast with mainstream Egyptian popular music is stark in Ana Mish Hafwatak, its vocal woven deftly through a constant accordion drone, and the sparse, slow-burning lament Al Bint al Libya. Whereas the mainstream was aspirational, projecting Egyptian culture at its most refined, the performances captured by Bourini were authentic expressions of ordinary, everyday life. More than half a century old, this music has lost none of its urgency, presence, or relevance.’

‘Wild ecstatic vocals, distorted electric guitars, rocket bass, and an amphetamine beat! Unlike anything else, this is THE high life music you’ve always wanted — ceremonial music played with abandon and extreme intent, honoring the living and dead alike.
‘In Toliara and its surrounding region, funerals, weddings, circumcisions and other rites of passage have been celebrated for decades in ceremonies called mandriampototse. During three and seven days, cigarettes, beer and toaky gasy (artisanal rum) are passed around while electric orchestras play on the same dirt floor as the dancing crowds and zebus. Locally and even nationally renowned bands play their own songs on makeshift instruments, blaring through patched-up amps and horn speakers hung in tamarind trees, projecting the music kilometers away. Lead guitarists and female lead singers are the central figures of tsapiky.
‘What results during these ceremonies is unclassifiable music of astonishing intensity and creativity, played by artists carving out their own path, indifferent to the standards of any other music industry: Malagasy, African or global.’

‘Sound collages, bitter laughs, and deranged miniatures based on poetry and percussion recorded in a punk burst, along with field recordings and other oddities.
‘200 copies, screen-printed sleeves, risograph insert.’

Plaque is a young Bristol label which knows what’s what; always worth checking.
Tiny runs so look sharp.
‘Founder of KUMP and Meth.O tapes, Lyon’s Marc-Étienne Guibert (AKA Gil.Barte) awakens his new Mert Seger moniker for a shadowy Plaque excursion. Nine slow burners strike from the murk with venomous precision.’