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With their second album Kin Sonic, Jupiter and Okwess transcend the Congo's unexplored musical heritage and dive into a pool of modernity. We're invited to savour his latest recipe, the Okwess ('food' in the Kibunda language) which is the fruit of all the encounters and influences he has absorbed during his many journeys around the world. It's a recipe based on perfect alchemy.

Yishak, composer and keyboard player from Addis Ababa known to his country for his innovative compositions and unique sound. His ability to transform traditional Ethiopian songs into spacey Minimal-Wave gems creates an ultra hypnotic and psychedelic atmosphere, a sound that you have never experienced before. A genuine talent who carried the long tradition of Ethiopia into another level...

Shelter is one Alan Briand, a young Parisian producer with a strong melodic centre producing a sound that pulls on the Zouk, the Afro, the Balearic and the Ambient palette. Zon Zon Zon is only his fifth release and his first mini album, following the series on International Feel that has brought us material from Len Leise, Wolf Muller and CFCF.

International Feel first met Shelter on a trip to Paris a few years back. It sounds like a story from a Nick Hornby novel, but there's a record shop in Paris called L'International Records, run by a guy called Dave who has a group of young French DJs, producers and promoters that visit the store, hang out and buy and listen to music - a story no doubt currently being repeated throughout the world as new generations immerse themselves in the culture. Shelter is a producer who has sucked up all that he has been hearing around him for a number of years and is now producing a quality sound, pulling on the exotic.

The seven tracks on this mini-album are taken from an extensive pool of Shelter's melodic magic. Some people lead on the beats, some on the production, but Alan focuses on the melody, with the beat closely tied in as support. Señor Zalla starts the album with an afro vibe, closely followed by the Zouk-style of Zon Zon Zon and Port-au-Cœur's mellow Balearic tones, as Shelter twists nature's sounds into his own sonic world. Bucolica, an upbeat wonder of a track, turns to the ambient mantra of Courant Rouge and it's distant cousin Courant Bleu, a classic rhythmic balearic piece with syncopated melody and delayed drums. La Volière (the French can make even bird cage sound beautiful) brings the album to a close with a smile in the mind's eye.


Zon Zon Zon is universal. It could easily have been created in Ibiza or Canada, Australia or Africa. It was in fact recorded at Paris 11, where Shelter forged beauty through the sounds of nature and uncovers a wisdom in its simplicity. We can expect good things from Alan. Here's the first chapter.

Record Store Day 2016, limited to 3000 copies.

Genre-hopping club night Banana Hill present their first release, as they begin to share the music that forms one of the UK's most unique parties. Though taking influence from around the globe, their journey as a label begins in Morocco, with multi-instrumentalist Majid Bakkas reworked for the dancefloor by co-founder Cervo.
With both tracks taken from the incredible 2001 album African Gnaoua Blues (Igloo Records), the A-side features 8-minute groove workout 'Soudani Manayou', a perfect fusion of Gnawa guitar and afro-jazz sensibilities. On the flip, a club-ready version of 'Mrhaba' leaves the original spirit intact but brings a definitive peak-time bounce, complete with a whirling flute breakdown. Full sleeve artwork comes from Colombia-based artist Bethany Porteous.

The Paris-based Collapsing Market label unveil a reeel gem of found art with Tschashm-e-Del:
a radio play recorded in Iran sometime during the '60s by Morteza Hannaneh, co-founder of the
Tehran Symphony Orchestra with Parvis Mahmoud and the grandfather of Collapsing Market co-
owner Cyrus Goberville, who discovered the recording on a tape at his home.
Without definitive records to go from, Tschashm-e-Del was presumably recorded in the '60s
(certainly pre-revolution) and quite possibly broadcast on Radio Tehran. Now restored from
the original reels, it reveals a gorgeous and important suite of music set to a Ghazal - an ancient
Arabic ode, or poetic expression of the pain and beauty of love, loss or separation - written by
Hatef Esfehani, who was a famous Iranian poet of the 18th century.
The ghazal deals with the founding principles of Sufism and monotheism through a love story
between Hatef and a Christian girl, with Morteza Hannaneh's musical arrangement matching the
specific rhyming structure of its ancient classical form, itself rooted in tradition stretching back
to at least the 10th century, whilst also incorporating string elements of western orchestration
relating to Hannaneh's background in composing for cinema.
It's the kind of music you might expect to turn up on a Folkways or Dead-Cert release and is here
presented with artwork made by Thomas Jeppe, a noted artist familiar with Persian culture, the
sleeve image depicts the Ashura procession.

For the fourth release of Hello Sailor Recordings, boss lady Renata do Valle curated the sounds of Fatnotronic and Joutro Mundo, two of Brazil's major Disco forces, to collaborate on the project, featuring edits from Gretchen 'Super Sexy' and 'Tudao' from Banda Black Rio. The new versions deliver a longer and punchier bass line and a groove that got extended to satisfy our ears and resulting in a dance floor-minded record, faithful to its original brilliance.

Jonas Rocha, the talent behind Joutro Mundo has been active in the underground scene of Rio de Janeiro for over 17 years.
Jonas has produced several parties in Rio, including the legendary Bootleg party that has run for over ten years.
Both as DJ and producer, he stood out with projects such as Superagua which gave him recognition as a producer and made him a featured DJ at the Red Bull Music Academy in 2002.
As Joutro Mundo got a great response in the nu-disco & disco re-edit scene worldwide. Founder of a project aiming to preserve the sacred chants of Brazil and with an intention to overcome prejudices toward the neglected indigenous tribes of South America, whilst working to approach contemporary music, Rocha won the award 'Funarte de Musica Brasileira' with the CD Cantos Yawanawa.

Fatnotronic is comprised of Rodrigo Gorky and Phillipi Alves.
The duo is known for an effervescent energy at parties and imprinting it onto their music. Their edits, often of obscure Brazilian Boogie, Disco and Balearic, is a meticulous work of long hours record digging in their native Sao Paulo.
Fatnotronic has released work under Chit Chat Records, Deewee and Razor-n-Tape.
The latter, which featured the anthem Margarida, was debuted live on BBC Radio6 with the blessings of Fatboy Slim.
They also recorded an exclusive live mix for "Diplo & Friends" on BBC Radio1, showcasing their latest productions and Brazilian charm alike.

After a successful first collaboration for a 12" in 2016, Zimbabwean mbira maestro Jacob Mafuleni and his wife percussionist / singer Martha THom have teamed up once again with French electro-funk producer Gary Gritness, this time for an album recorded in Paris during the last RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY festival.

Roots reggae vocalist Barry Brown had a very distinctive singing style. His most obvious role model was the fragile tenor of Horace Andy, but Brown gave his delivery further distinctiveness with a range of wordless slurs, some of which were doubtless inspired by the creatures of the animal kingdom. As with his friend and fellow west Kingston resident, Johnny Clarke, Brown got his start in the many talent shows that were regularly held in the downtown Kingston area, and also got early experience on west Kingston sound systems such as Tape Tone, which gave rise to Barrington Levy, Trinstan Palmer, Sammy Dread, and Rod Taylor among others, Taylor and Brown even had a short-lived duo called The Aliens for a time. Such was his widespread popularity that several different producers all claimed to have been the first to capture his voice on tape, but it is undeniable that Bunny Lee was the first to bring Brown to prominence through the outstanding 1978 hit, 'Step It Up Youthman,' an optimistic meditation on the merits of self-determination, which led to this popular debut album of the same name, as with Johnny Clarke's Enter Into His Gates With Praise, the Step It Up Youthman LP mixed hard-hitting songs of Rastafari devotion with well-executed cover tunes.

Along with his rival, Cornell Campbell, Johnny Clarke was one of the most esteemed singers of the roots reggae era. Having grown up next door to a popular sound system on Waltham Park Road in western Kingston, Clarke's early fascination with music led him to hang out at Studio One with Jacob Miller while still at school. He then made the rounds of talent shows with Barry Brown, Sugar Minott and the Diamonds, which led to a debut recording in 1973, for the pianist Glen Stair, which remains unreleased. An early effort for Clancy Eccles, 'God Made The Sea And Sun,' was not promoted properly, though 'Everyday Wondering,' for Rupie Edwards, impacted in Britain, 'Golden Snake' for Stamma Houghton and a cover of Smokey Robinson's 'You Really Got A Hold On Me' for Glen Brown were also false starts. The breakthrough finally came in 1975 when Clarke linked with Bunny Lee, who had him voice the Rastafari landmark 'None Shall Escape The Judgement' (written by Earl Zero, who failed to muster a credible take), which kick-started the 'Flying Cymbal' craze. Clarke's resultant debut album, Enter Into His Gates With Praise, mixed hard-hitting Rastafari devotional material with sympathetic cover versions of classics by the likes of the Paragons, Slim Smith and Delroy Wilson, along with a few reggae renditions of some vintage American R&B.

Wonderful, joyous new recordings of Afro-Colombian roots music, from the Pacific coast of the country.
Currulao, cumbia, bunde, juga, requentilla, chalupa.
Warm, rolling marimba de chonta, thumping cununo and bombo drums, and rhythmic, digressive alegre, crisp, ringing, move-your-body guasas and maracas, all-out singing, gorgeous and exuberant, full of life. It's hard to track down music in this style, and this is a downright tremendous example, a musical elixir. In handsome, silk-screened sleeves, too.

We are proud to announce the third release of the Tony Allen & Africa 70 (Disco Afro Series): featuring remastered original versions of Jealousy' and remixes produced by Loya (Reunion Island).

Multi-instrumentalist, initially playing jazz as well as African music, Sébastien Lejeune discovered electronic music when he was living in mainland France. This was the golden age of Warp Records figureheads IDM who had a huge effect on him, in particular the naïve melodies of Plaid and Boards from Canada. During a trip back to his homeland Sébastien became Loya. From that moment on, he started to mix Réunion maloya, Mauritian séga and Indian music with footwork tempo. He blends traditional maloya drums, beatboxes and synths, harmonizing the powerful vocals of Indian Ocean Island singers.

Tony Allen Afrobeat groove inspired me a lot to create the patterns with my drums machines which is the basic of my production work. The Indian Ocean Rhythms formerly coming from Africa recover the true sense on this beats.'

In 1975, Tony Allen recorded his debut album, Jealousy, the first of three made with Afrika 70 and produced by Fela Kuti. Jealousy is according to many still the highlight of his 4 solo-albums, featuring 2 afro-beat gems Jealousy' and Hustler'. Recorded at Decca's 16 track Abule-Oja studio in Lagos, Nigeria. Originally released on Soundworkshop Records in 1975.

You take a trio of the fnest traditonal griot musicians from Mali and put them in a studio with Western music's most revolutonary string quartet - and the resultng album is one of the most richly rewarding musical collaboratons you are likely to encounter.
Together the Kronos Quartet and Trio Da Kali have created an album that is rich in texture, hauntngly melodic and strikingly inventve as violins, viola and cello combine with balafon, ngoni and the powerful female voice of Hawa 'Kassé Mady'
Diabaté in transcendental style. David Harrington, who founded the Kronos Quartet in 1973, describes the album as one of the most beautful Kronos has done in forty years.' All three Da Kali members come from hereditary musical families, Balafon
player and musical director Lassana Diabaté was a long-tme member of Toumani Diabaté's Symmetric Orchestra and has recorded with Salif Keita, Taj Mahal and many others. A musician of great subtlety and inventon he has honed a virtuoso
two-balafon technique to perfecton. Bass ngoni player Mamadou Kouyaté is the eldest son of the instrument's greatest exponent, Bassekou Kouyaté and he holds down the groove in his father's band 'Ngoni Ba'. Singer Hawa 'Kassé Mady' Diabaté
is the daughter of Mali's greatest traditonal singer, Kassé Mady Diabaté, and the power, range and phrasing of her voice led David Harrington to compare her to the late queen of American gospel, Mahalia Jackson.
Kronos Quartet have earned an enviable reputaton collaboratng with contemporary composers such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley and Laurie Anderson and with world music icons from Argentnian tango hero Astor Piazzola to Bollywood singer Asha Bhosle.

Limited edition of 300 copies on 45rpm audiophile vinyl.

THE SPIRIT OF INDONESIA is the new curated collection of traditional tunes from various regions and ethnic groups of the South East Asian archipelago. These historic live recordings are as 'first-take' as it gets, conveying the true soul and spirit of this wonderful country though discrete pieces coming from very different heritages.'

Limited edition of 300 copies on 45rpm audiophile vinyl.

From the Metal chimes of the Gamelan, to the Burmese harp, passing through the Chinese Hu Ch'in, a traditional and ancient chordophone-bowed lute, EARLY INSTRUMENT IN ASIA is a sheer historical document that represents some of the most ancient instruments known to mankind.

Mikkel Nordsø and Ole Thiell are no newcomers. Influential key players both on Copenhagen's jazz scene and on the international circuit since the late 1970s, they have recorded and performed with such greats as Santana, L. Subramaniam, Jan Akkerman and George Duke to name but a few. Their numerous
local projects include the much revered Bombay Hotel trio featuring Kenneth Knudsen. On their first record from 1989, they bridged the gaps between fusion jazz, new age and traditional Asian folk music into ethereal expressions that stand out even today.
With this new album for Music For Dreams, the duo delves deeper into that soundscape with an even more profound knowledge of their instruments. With Nordsø on the flute and guitar and Thiell on various percussion instruments, they form a musical language together that reaches high spiritual levels while carefully blending electronic instrumentation to complete the experience.
Guest vocalist Caroline Francesca steps in on the opener "Good Morning" and the closer "Sun Fo Ni" - the first being a sun-drowsy Brazilian-inspired jam, while "Sun Fo Ni" leans further towards crisp English folk. The inclusion of Francesca comes naturally, as she is the daughter of percussionist and long-time collaborator Jacob Andersen (who also releases on Music For Dreams as Bongo Entp.) making this quite a family affair.
Named after a harbour town in Morocco, the track "Essaouira" weaves field recordings of children playing in the sun together with brooding oriental folk and a discrete drum machine beat.
For "Japtal" the flute takes centre stage, leading us on a serene journey that unfolds into improvised passages along a chugging heavy groove, escalating and releasing in tempo much like the breathing techniques of yoga.
"Velvet Sky" sees the duo at their most relaxed, letting it ride on feather light ambient chords and noodling out into a wigged out prog rock ballad.
"B Phrygian" takes us into ancient Anatolian territory, again showcasing the duo's vibrant live instrumentation with Thiell hurling an army's worth of percussion layers onto the dusty beaten path laid out by Nordsø's stone-faced psychedelic assaults.
This album is a classic in the making already getting strong support from Phil Mison and Manchester's Moonboots who declared it "the best record I have heard in the last 10 Years!" Don't miss...

Uncanny, fervid music from fire-walking rituals, recorded in the village of Agia Eleni, Serres, Greece, in 1979 (and originally released in a tiny edition by the redoubtable Editions Zero and Echomusic), alongside killer new invocations - excoriated, dread, ecstatic, driven - summoning the saints their own way.

Mindanoo Mistiru means 'What is the Unknown' and Gold From Wax refers to the layers of meaning in Amharic poetry.

Ethiopia has many languages and styles of music.

These recordings were made in the Empire of Ethiopia in 1971. The music recorded in Addis Ababa uses masenko fiddles, craar and bagana lyres, washint flutes and kabaro drums. There is folk music played in Addis Ababa tej beit bars with vocals, craar, masenko, washint and kabaro, Ethiopian Christian songs accompanied by the bagana large 'Harp of David' and Mary Armeede's craar accompanied Amharic sung poetry. There are Afar chants and flutes from the Danakil Desert, Anuak thumb piano, Nuer harp, laments and drumming, a Konso dance and a Gidole flute dance from the Sudan and Kenya borderlands.

Horace Andy's greatest artistic achievement, surpassing even his Skylarking set for Studio One. With definitive reworks of songs he first recorded for Bunny Lee and Derrick Harriott (Money Money and Lonely Woman), a deadly version of Lloyd Robinson's Cuss Cuss, and a first outing for Spying Glass, later versioned by Massive Attack. Musicians include Wackies regulars like Owen Stewart and Oral Cooke from Itopia, and Ras Menilik and Jah T, also Sleepy's multi-instrumentalist spar Myrie Dread from the recent In The Light sessions for Hungry Town. At the desk, Lloyd barnes, Junior Delahaye and Douglas Levy coax unequalled vocal performances from the singer, showcased in ineffable extended mixes.

Music knows no boundaries and trespasses every geographic wall and culture. Rooted in Lausanne, Switzerland, Professor Wouassa is a living testimony of this - a special blend that brings together the principal Swiss afrobeat players into one groovy pot, cooking uplifting and infectious afro music.

Born in 2003, the combo released their first album Dangerous Koko! early 2011 and soon picked up airplay in such diverse countries as the UK, Greece, Brazil, Canada, only to be reinforced by their incredible live delivery - and soon invited to be the opening act for Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 in the reputed Cully Jazz Festival. After a string of memorable concerts throughout a packed tour, 2015 marks the release of Grow Yes Yes!, mixed by none other than Malcolm Catto (The Heliocentrics, Mulatu Astatké, to name very few) and with featured appearances by afrobeat shining stars Seun Kuti and Ebo Taylor.

The album, about to be re-issued on Matasuna Records - house of the smouldering hot new project Dem Juju Poets - and for the very first time on vinyl, will surely add fuel to the fire across dancefloors everywhere.

Serema, its first track, laces Ebo Taylor's smokey voice with an almost Cuban feel melody, preaching a message of love while Doumadem is a testament to the afro beat heritage, Thais Diarra's voice hovering beautifully over a landscape of heat-infused rhythm, cropped with precise horn stabs and arrangements that would make Antibalas proud.

We dare you to stand still while listening to We Thit. Seriously. If you aren´t compelled to dance to it, check your pulse. Surely something will be racing inside you.

Sunu Reou is a vintage, slow tempo afro groover and it is only fitting that it has Seun Kuti as its guest, proving, if proof were needed, that Professor Wouassa are a singular musical project that pays homage to and does not shy away from mixing afrobeat, high-life and ethio-jazz with contemporary funk. Yes Yes!

LP with poster. U-Roy was a true reggae pioneer, dubbed The Originator for good reason. Bursting onto the Jamaican scene in the earliest 1970s, he pioneered the vocal approach called toasting,' which in addition to branching out Jamaican music into a new era, was also heavily influential on an American genre in its infancy: rapping. U-Roy's style and charisma are always on display, and - as with all of his classic records - the groove rules all. Presented on black vinyl with a poster of the glorious, ganja-drenched cover art, it's the perfect chance to revisit one of the more underrated voices in Jamaican musical history. Previously issued on CD and LP. Available digitally, but physical formats are out of print. Last offical vinyl issue was around 1990.

STRUT start 2016 with Soul Sok Sega a stellar compilation diving deep into the musical marvels from the island nation of Mauritius.






La Vie En Badinage

She's back! As a cross-pollinating creativity recaptures the UK jazz scene, Zara McFarlane returns with a new single. Working with much-feted drummer and producer Moses Boyd, she channels parallel musical legacies all at once.

On 'All Africa', Zara McFarlane re-casts a landmark track by Max Roach. Taken from We Insist!, his 1960 album born of the US' then-ascendant Civil Rights Movement, it saw avant-garde jazz used as vehicle for protest. With Roach and vocalist Abbey Lincoln at its core, it nodded to the growing independence movements then emerging in several African nations. The original track's celebration of the present, past and future of Africa feels as relevant now as it did in 1960.

Taking the original's all-out, percussive trip into a looser, more softly mesmerising kind of territory, this new version combines pulsing rhythm with a brighter musicality. The Alternate Take, meanwhile, follows a more groove-oriented direction. Punctuated by bursts of horns and a foot-tapping, syncopated rhythm, it hints at a globally-interconnected spirit.

High calibre, late 70s deep UK roots and culture classic, featuring the I n I Band. Top 100 tune, as played by Jah Shaka.

Previously featured as an album track, by The Regulars, released for the first time with the dub. Unearthed from long lost master tapes, remastered for heavy system use. Comes as a coloured 10" in grey card sleeve

Repress an old Camille album... maybe ok on vinyl Eheh..

A-side discomix, one of the rarest and best Wackie's 12"s, B-side PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED wicked '70s roots!
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Killer vintage Bullwackies! The Happy Love song was originally released on a Tribesman 12", one of the least known but most killer Wackie's 12"s of its day. A propulsive rhythm is behind the group licking back the tune cut by the IQ's in Jamaica a couple years earlier. The B-side was retrieved from tape, an unknown vocalist extolling the virtues of the roots rock reggae coming from Wackie's studio in the turbulent New York City of the 1970's. A must have for all Wackie's diehards, another level of the pyramid unearthed, and more to come!

First time reissue of the very first dub LP released in NYC, 1975! Part of the genesis of the Jah Life label!
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First time reissue of "Kaya Dub" from 1975, noted as the first ever proper dub LP pressed and released in New York City. The eponymous LP is among the first set of releases on the KAYA label. This imprint was the first to showcase the partnership of Percy Chin and Hyman "Jah Life" Wright as producers and cornerstones of the burgeoning NYC reggae scene of the day. Though these tracks originate from Jamaica thru a connection with Pat "Jah Lloyd" Francis and have also been released elsewhere, this is none the less a killer selection of dubs from Tubby's and Randy's. In sound and visuals, "Kaya Dub" serves as a fantastic snapshot of the music and vibes of roots reggae in the mid '70s, among the best dub LP's of its time.

Record Kicks presents a new limited edition 45 vinyl by UK rock steady/soul/dub combo Pama International feat 2 super soulful cuts. On the A side the new single "Wake Up" flipped by "I crid Till I Stopped" on the B side.
In their first 10 years Pama Int'l recorded 9 albums, 3 BBCRadio 1 Maida Vale sessions, won the Rebel playlist on BBC6, and became the first new act to sign to Trojan Records in 30 years. Their collective nature saw them work with members of The Specials, Madness, Steel Pulse, Style Council, Galliano, Kasabian, Mad Professor, Toots & The Maytals, Jimmy Cliff to name a few.
Wacth out, the 45 is limited to 500 copies worldwide.l

For over forty years, the Apostles of Aba have stood as the jewel in the crown of the music scene in Eastern Nigeria. Since their formation in 1973, the band has turned out memorable performances in a variety of styles including rock, soul, funk, pop and reggae. Even today, the Apostles continue to thrill audiences in their hometown of Aba with dazzling shows.
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Cultures of Soul is proud to present one of the Apostles' more obscure—yet relentlessly funky recordings in a full-color
custom reverse board jacket. Banko Woman, originally released on the eponymous LP on Love Day Records in
1977. Straddling the world realms of afro-funk and disco, the track has long been a coveted dance floor filler amongst
DJs, and for the first time is available for a wider audience. On the B-side is Faith, Luck & Music,' also from the original Banko
Woman album.

This killer 45 spotlights Vassilis Vassiliadis, the underdog from Athens who's now ranked as number one in Greek psychedelic laiko and tsiftetelli. The great flipside was not a difficult choice. A super rare and highly sought after anti-mod anthem (full lyrics + translation will appear on our forthcoming compilation) by Vangelis Perpiniadis, a reknown singer, composer and bouzouki player of the golden era of Greek Laika music.

We will pass the crown of 'Farfisa King' from Morocco to Greece!

This killer 45 spotlights Vassilis Vassiliadis, the underdog from Athens who's now ranked as number one in Greek psychedelic laiko and tsiftetelli.

The great flipside was not a difficult choice. A super rare and highly sought after anti-mod anthem (full lyrics + translation will appear on our forthcoming compilation) by Vangelis Perpiniadis, a reknown singer, composer and bouzouki player of the golden era of Greek Laika music.

Ginger Johnson's life is one of the greatest untold stories of African music in Europe. A Nigerian immigrant to London in the late 1940's, who quickly became the rhythmic backbone to the big band of The Edmundo Ros Orchestra and the jazz group of Ronnie Scott. By the mid 1960's Ginger was considered the only Afro-Latin percussionist to book, which is why he played with everyone from Georgie Fame, Quincy Jones through to The Rolling Stones.

Ginger Johnson was also mentor, guide, guru and father figure to a young Fela Kuti. Gingers house in London was a vibrant hub of African music activity for Fela and an entire host of African & Caribbean musicians who would gather there to catch up, eat and jam for hours on end. To Fela, and all the younger musicians who gravitated around Ginger, he was simply known and addressed as 'Father'.

Ginger was also instrumental in the beginnings of The Notting Hill Carnival. His own venue, Club Iroko in North London, was a creative hub for groups like Osibisa, Cymande, and also a welcome hang out for visiting legends like Art Blakey, Roland Kirk, and Elvin Jones.

I Jool Omo is an infectious, happy rhythmic extravaganza, where layers of pulsating drums are perfectly meshed with jazzy flute, saxophone and a hypnotic guitar riff whilst the collective vocal lifts the entire track into a high energy, mesmerizing groove. As the chief exponent of the African talking drum, the thunderous beat that opens Talking Drum leaves you in no doubt as to the power and impact of Gingers skilled drumming.

Ginger Johnson's music is built upon a bedrock of African drums, hi life, and jazz, and is the forerunner of Afrobeat - and Gingers direct and vital influence upon the genre's undisputed champion Fela Kuti is just one part of a fascinating and underappreciated story that only now is being recognised for its significance.

"2" A Jungle Brother The Jungle Brothers' 1988 debut, Straight Out The Jungle, was important for many reasons. It was sloppy and goofy but had moments of real focus and social consciousness. It was a true kitchen sink' record, that caught a rap fanbase enraptured by Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions a bit off-guard. Also of note, beyond the excellence of the album itself, the Jungle Brothers were the fulcrum for what would become the Native Tongues movement - they came first, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest followed, under their guidance. By 1989, the group had even more confidence, plus a Warner Bros. contract and advance in their back pocket. They used it to great advantage on the self-produced and criminally underrated Done By The Forces Of Nature, expanding their sonic palette and continuing their Afrocentric approach to music and life. Singles like What 'U' Waitin' 4' and Doin' Our Own Dang' (with De La and Q-Tip, alongside Monie Love) showed the group's fun side, which has also lead the way in the hip-house' movement. But things weren't all fun and games, as deeper, more pensive album tracks like Black Woman,' Beeds On A String,' and Acknowledge Your Own History' show. It was another accomplished mix of fun, frolic and knowledge-of-self, proving that you could be serious in the rap game but still let off steam and fill the dancefloor. Done By The Forces Of Nature stands as one of the most cherished hip-hop documents of the late '80s among true-school heads, and this edition is the perfect way to revisit this classic thinking-man's (and woman's) rap platter. Issued for the first time ever on 2-LP with the original picture sleeve artwork, it also comes with a reproduction of the original insert, with credits and lyrics.

There's nothing Scotch Bonnet Records like more than a time-travelling global link-up. Latest release Raggamuffin Soldier enlists ageless Jamaican dancehall singer Robert Lee for a silky statement of his longevity. The riddim is a crisp lick of haunting Brit-digital collectors' grail Aggro - built by uncompromising New Zealand producer Naram. It's a JA, NZ and UK alliance sure to conquer dances around the world.

Aoki Tomoyuki is best known as the guitarist & vocalist of Up-Tight (Alchemy Records), recordings which mix plaintive echo-drenched imprecations, bitter-sweet folk and nihilistic guitar noise reminiscent of Les Rallizes Denudes and Mizutani's Velvetian ballads. Multi-instrumentalist Harutaka Mochizuki's saxophone improvisations recall other lonely satellites like Masayoshi Urabe, Arthur Doyle, Anthony Braxton and Kaoru Abe. Aoki and Harutaka have been recording together for a couple of years and this is their first new collaboration after a remarkable self-released CD in 2014. Terribly human, passionate and intense, their association is just one of the most inspiring and burning free units since the apex of the P.S.F Records era.

Hasegawa-Shizuo is Hirotomo Hasegawa and Shizuo Uchida. Hasegawa is the lead singer of the early 80s Japanese punk/hardcore group Aburadako (Greasy Octopus), while Uchida was a long-term member of Keiji Haino's medieval dream-drone unit, Nijiumu. He was involved in many projects such Le Son de L'os, Kito Mizukumi Rouber, L'extase Métallique and many more. Their duo has been active for a decade, being documented on a few scarce releases. Here, the group's instrumentation is highly unorthodox once again, placing Uchida's mysterious bass textures against the skirl of Hasegawa's hichiriki, an ancient double-reed wind instrument, the whose haunting upper register tones are an unmistakable feature of gagaku court music. Deliriously strange and enigmatic, their enka cover sounds like a dark composition of their own, associating humour to their unique strangeness.

Enka is a Japanese musical style, like a torch song ballad, deeply sentimental and nostalgic, particularly popular among the post-war generation.

The LP comes in a silkscreened gatefold jacket with obi (grey, blue, white) insert + postcard, with liner notes by Alan Cummings.

At the borders of rub-a-dub dancehall and experimental electronica you'll find the music of Trilion. This ramshackle Raggamuffin Israeli collective mutated from a collaboration between acid rock band 3421, the Easy Rider emcees and Ranking Levy from My Lord sound system. Their debut album No Future With No Past, released by Glasgow's Scotch Bonnet records is a seamless fusion of sparse dubscapes, saw-toothed psychedelia and raw dancehall vibes. Trilion productions bubble through a myriad of unusual moods from blissful to threatening. By contrast the lyrics courtesy of Levy, General G, Yuta B, Mentor Irie, Guma Ranks and the exquisitely exuberant Miss Red are feisty and down to earth. Describing themselves as a musical Caesar salad' Trilion's music, like their line-up, is in a constant state of flux. Splicing the strut-and-thrust of a sound system party with disruptive digital dystopia, No Future With No Past is reminder that everything is connected - and music opens the mind...

A1. ORCHESTRA OF SAMPLES
A2. HANGMAN
A3. UNITY THROUGH MUSIC
A4. EASTERN BASCHET
A5. KORA BOREALIS
A6. BEACHCOMA
B1. RAPSCALLION
B2. SUNDOWN (THAT'S A FACT)
B3. THE AMERICAN
B4. SITAR HERO
B5. HERBAL HAZE

Unique project using new recordings with over 200 musicians from 25 countries

[H] B4 CLAUDIO - BHAÏ ABOO B5 CHRISTOPHE - MO PARRAIN [] C1 CYRIL LABONNE - POP SOUL SÉGA