Back catalogue: Funk

Review: Seun Kuti has released his highly anticipated album Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head) via Record Kicks to great excitement. This album, executive produced by Lenny Kravitz and featuring Fela Kuti's original engineer Sodi Marciszewer, marks a significant milestone in Kuti's career. Following his Grammy-nominated album Black Times, this release showcases his evolution as both an artist and activist. The album features six powerful tracks, each embodying themes of resistance, resilience, and revolution. The track 'Dey,' featuring Damian Marley, emphasises self-empowerment, while 'Emi Aluta' pays homage to revolutionaries, featuring the innovative Sampa The Great. 'T.O.P.' critiques societal values, promoting empathy and a connection to nature. 'Love and Revolution' highlights Kuti's belief in love as a catalyst for change. Kuti expressed gratitude for Kravitz's brotherly support and Sodi's guidance during the production process. He continues to uphold the legacy of his father, Fela Kuti, using his music to inspire social change. This album promises to redefine contemporary Afrobeat while staying true to its roots. Fans can expect an album that entertains, inspires and ignites activism.

Review: Pausa presents 'Big Band Jazz Vol 2', the 1983 lp from Bob McConnell & The Boss Brass. Nice big band bossa & jazz, including 'No More Blues'.

Review: Wah Wah presents another acid folk delicacy from The Village Thing catalogue. 'The Sun Also Rises' was recorded by Graham Hemingway (vocals, guitar)
and Anne Hemingway (vocals, dulcimer, glockenspiel, vibes, percussion). They were occasionally joined by John Turner (string bass, finger-picked & with a bow)
and Andy Legget (whistle on one of the songs). It features an amazing tapestry of acid folk sounds with great male/female vocal harmonies. On the sources of this
record you will hear echoes of The Incredible String Band, Comus, C.O.B and Tir Na Nog, but of course delivered with the own personality of this Cardiff duo, very
hippie sounding with a very trippy atmosphere. The album was originally released in 1970, and our reissue will include one bonus track not on the original release,
taken from a 1972 Village Thing sampler. Comes in beautifully reproduced artwork in nice matt finish. Not only a top listener, but also a beautiful addition to your
acid folk collection.

Review: This Heinz Von Moisy release on Wah Wah Records is limited to 500 copies! Don't waste any time, get hold of this funky classic while you still can.

Review: To single out a release in catalogue of the 70s famed 'tax scam' label TSG is a hard ask the level of quality remained both consistently and inexplicably high during its two years of operation. Thus calling 1619 Bad Ass Band's 1976 self-titled album a stand-out release doesn't honour the spirit of the catalogue, and yet, by all accounts, everything about this monolithic funk and soul unit is striking.

Prices on the second-hand market for the original LP and 1978 Graham International reissue have priced out virtually everyone for decades. P-Vive is thrilled to be reissuing the album on vinyl fitted with an iconic Japanese obi strip.

Review: Re-issue. Rare grooves, funk thangs and breaks & beats.

Review: 28 of the most classic 50 Cent samples on a double LP!

Review: Having fulfilled his reggae ambitions, Snoop returns to the source with this incredible homage to the original funk that hip-hop spawned from. Referencing Bootsy Collins with his new moniker, he's teamed up with one of Stones Throw's most consummate funk purveyors Dam Funk. We don't need to tell you the result; authentic, sexy and smooth, it's a time machine that whisks us back to the late 70s and early 90s. From the dreamy textures and overdubbed harmonies of "1Question?", the shiny proto-R&B mothership moment "Do My Thang", everything about this screams class. Timeless funk made by two masters, we guarantee this will sound just as hot in 10 or 20 years.

Review: Brooklyn-based band 79.5 make music right now, rather than being some long-lost acts from the 80s as you might expect from the cover. The group consists of singer, songwriter and composer Kate Mattison, singer and rapper Lola Adanna, drummer Caito Sanchez, bassist Andrew Raposo and sax player and flautist Izaak Mills. Their self-titled album comes on Razor-N-Tape and captures the sound of New York City perfectly with soul and psychedelic melodies that are hard to match. From 70s underground disco to acid jazz to and sweet pop sounds, they draw on it all for this fine concoction of dancefloor gems, which also serves as a protest at the often all too male dominated world of dance music.

Review: By now, most know the story of 94 East. The Minneapolis band was founded in 1975 by Pepe Wille, and included amongst its' members a precocious teenager called Prince Rogers Nelson. They made over an album's worth of recordings in 1977, which remained something of a secret until Willie released them in the mid '80s to capitalize on Prince's solo success. Here, these pioneering recordings are once again made public in tribute to the sadly departed Purple One. What's so remarkable about them isn't their high quality - you'd expect that given Prince's involvement - but rather how they sound like prototypes of the distinctive "purple funk" sound that the legendary artist later made his own. The album also includes "If You Feel Like Dancin", which is arguably one of the finest "proto-house" records ever made.

Review: By now, most know the story of 94 East. The Minneapolis band was founded in 1975 by Pepe Wille, and included amongst its' members a precocious teenager called Prince Rogers Nelson. They made over an album's worth of recordings in 1977, which remained something of a secret until Willie released them in the mid '80s to capitalize on Prince's solo success. Here, these pioneering recordings are once again made public in tribute to the sadly departed Purple One. What's so remarkable about them isn't their high quality - you'd expect that given Prince's involvement - but rather how they sound like prototypes of the distinctive "purple funk" sound that the legendary artist later made his own. The album also includes "If You Feel Like Dancin", which is arguably one of the finest "proto-house" records ever made.

Review: In the posthumous release 94 East featuring Prince, listeners are treated to a glimpse of Prince's early musical journey, showcasing a remarkable talent that was obvious even at the age of seventeen. Collaborating with Pepe Willie and the Minneapolis-based funk group 94 East, Prince's influence on the tracks is unmistakable. The album captures a raw and vibrant energy, reflecting the glam-funk sound that Prince would later make his own. Tracks like Just Another Sucker demonstrate Prince's compositional prowess, while If You Feel Like Dancin and Lovin' Cup offer a taste of his signature blend of soulfulness and melody. Filled with funky grooves and infectious rhythms, the album is a great example to Prince's early genius. Clocking in at just over an hour, it's a danceable journey through Prince's formative years, leaving listeners craving more of his iconic sound.

Review: 94 East's debut studio compilation, Dance To The Music Of The World features the late great Prince showcasing his multi-instrumental talents on drums, guitar, and synthesizer. Originally recorded in the summer of 1978 at Sound 80, Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the same sessions as 'Lovin' Cup' and 'Just Another Sucker,' the title track remained unreleased in its original 1978 form. Additional recording took place at Blue Wave Recording Studio, St. Philip, Barbados, by Pepe Willie, as with the other tracks featured on here. It is a great collection of funked-up sounds from the Purple one that remind of his untouchable genius.

Review: Over the next few weeks, Past Due will be reissuing a swathe of material from The 9th Creation, a Californian funk and soul band whose 1970s and early '80s releases have been extensively sampled over the years. "Reaching For The Top" is one of the band's more intriguing albums. It was initially released in 1977 by legendary NYC label Prelude, and you can tell. While it remains rooted in West Coast funk and soul, the album's nine tracks contain far more nods to disco and Philadelphia soul - rather than the dominant commercial forces in black American music - than almost any of their other albums. Highlights include the rubbery funk hustle of "It Ain't Right", the sugary disco-funk swing of "Why Not Today" and the gospel-tinged brilliance of "He's Coming".

Review: A Certain Ratio's core trio of drummer Donald Johnson, bassist/vocalist Jez Kerr, and multi-instrumentalist Martin Moscrop make ACR Loco a perfectly fluid and funk album. In fact, on this, their first album in more than ten years, the Manchester post-punk outfit are as funky as they have ever been. Their tried and tested sound gets nicely updated with modern beat driven sounds and plenty of redefines to today's political strife in the lyrics. There are plenty of smooth and cool synth led grooves like 'Get A Grip' and messages of unity on 'Family' that we can all relate to.

Review: Kamal Abdul-Alim is an accomplished teacher, bandleader, composer and trumpeter who has been making high class music for many years. It has taken him to gigs all over the world and to working with all manner of bands, big and small. Drawing on the post-box sounds of the 50s and layering in 60s free-form jazz with his own fine textures, he is a real underrated artist and master of improv. This record includes hugely sought after jazz-dance bomb 'Brotherhood' as well as four other lengthy classics.

Review: Jazz Room reissue the infamous first mini-album by Abacothozi. Formed in 1973 by bassist Berthwel Maphumulo, Mac Mathunjwa on organ, Innocent Mathunjwa on drums, Joe Zikhali on guitar, Thema Maboneng was released in 1975, before being almost immediately forgotten. However, a recent rediscovery by diggers and curators Kon & Amir, for their lauded Off The Track Volume Two: Queens compilation, sparked a renewed interest; the South African four-piece shared equal responsibility in writing and arranging these six instrumentals, which are tight and full, and come replete with Hammonds, well-surrounded guitar, and cross-sticking snare hits.

Review: Here's yet another rare '80s compilation with even more deep cuts than the last. Where do they find them all? Heavenly Sweetness clearly know but they ain't telling! They are showing though, and here on Digital Zandoli they reveal 12 newly discovered disco, boogie and zouk tracks recorded about 30 years ago in the West Indies. We're clearly spoilt for choice on this record, but highlights include the synthetic sea breeze grooves of Puzzle Pulsion's "Mwoin Ka Songe", the mellow Afro grooves of Zanman's "Poutchi" and the abstract body music via a sandy beach vibes of OR EA's "Biguine Inferno".

Review: In celebration of 50 years in the performing arts, Idris Ackamoor presents Artistic Being for Record Store Day 2025-a powerful blend of jazz, spoken word and activism. Featuring the voices of acclaimed actor Danny Glover and stage legend Rhodessa Jones, this record captures highlights from the Underground Jazz Cabaret, which was performed during Black History Month 2024 at The Lab in San Francisco. Co-produced by Ackamoor's Cultural Odyssey, the release fuses poetic storytelling with evocative musical textures while reflecting on social justice, identity and resilience. Artistic Being is a profound statement from a visionary artist.

Review: The cleverly deceptive genius Patrick Adams was born March 17, 1950 in New York City. Some people are just destined for greatness and Adams was one of those. He wrote his first song at 12, made his first record at 16 and produced his first track at 17. It would take several more years for the world to realize his genius. In 1966 Patrick joined a neighbourhood group and they immediately auditioned for a role in "Up The Down Staircase". The boys won the part of the high school dance band and are featured in a segment of the Warner Brothers film. Two months later the guys, now known as "The Sparks," were signed to Curb/MGM. But after failing to chart the label quickly dropped them. The Sparks continued performing and touring together for four more years. Patrick's next success came the following year (1967) when he wrote "You've Got To Learn Something" for the children's show "Sesame Street". In 1970 Adams left the group to take a job as A&R Vice-President of Perception/Today Records. During that period he also worked as a sideman with numerous artists like Astrud Gilberto and Les Variations. In 1974 Patrick teamed up with Peter Brown to form P&P Records. The label was distributed by Morris Levy's Roulette Records and housed the sub-labels Queen Constance, Heavenly Star, Jay Star, Chocolate Star Records and many more. He also started PAPMUS his own production company. During the next four years, as disco was merging, Adams became a key figure in its growth scoring countless hits including: "Atmosphere Strut" with Cloud One, "My Baby's Got E.S.P." with Four Below Zero, and "Lady Bug" by Bumblebee Unlimited. 1978 was Patrick's breakthrough year. The infamous song was "In The Bush". "I did not sit down and invent the phrase "Push Push In The Bush" in a moment of meditative genius. I was in the recording studio looking for a chant to put on the chorus of this last hot track for the Musique album. I was thinking out loud of my older brother and his friends. Sometimes they would chant - "To The Bush". This was a reference to a dance club that they frequented. A true indicator of how times have change, the first time Patrick played the cut for his label head honcho Marv Schlacther yelled, "Patrick, I can't put that out!" After some serious discussion it was decided that it would be included on the album but not promoted as a single. About three weeks later, the cover story on Billboard Magazine was that about 600 radio stations were banning some naughty record called "Push Push In The Bush!" exclaims Patrick. The rest as they say is history. Over the course of the next three years Patrick Adams racked up an impressive 22 hits. As the disco-era changed, so too did Adams. In the 1980's he would lend his creative genius to such notable acts as Salt 'N' Pepa, Keith Sweat and Carol Lynn Townes. In the 1990's he helmed recordings by Eric B. & Rakim, Paul Lekakis and Morris Day. Patrick has received the ASCAP "Songwriter Of The Year" award three times. He has multiple Gold and Platinum record awards and at last his very own 'Best Of' collection.

Review: Admas' debut album, Sons of Ethopia, is probably best known for "Kalatashew Waga", a polyrhythm-fuelled chunk of melodious synthesizer funk that was memorably remixed by Andras Fox back in 2015. Here, the in-demand album gets an official reissue for the first time since it first appeared on the obscure African Heritage Records label way back in 1984. The band's unique blend of styles and instruments - think synthesizer-heavy instrumental boogie, electronic Afro-beat, dewy-eyed AOR soul and cheery highlife - remains as alluring and surprising as ever. Given that original copies are almost impossible to find, this is a much-needed reissue.

Review: First released in 1979 during the heyday of Brazil's jazz-funk movement, Antonio Adolfo's Viralata has long been considered an era-defining release by those who know. Given that original Brazilian copies are frustratingly hard to come by, this official reissue from Far Out Recordings - who previously worked with Adolfo on his 2007 set Destiny - should be an essential purchase for all those who dig Brazilian music. A little more jazz-focused than albums by contemporaries such as Azymuth, much of "Viralata" is slick, polished and incredibly well produced, with notable samba influences amongst the unashamed tributes to leading American artists. As you'd perhaps expect, the musicianship is astonishing.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record warped, creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent working condition***


First released in 1979 during the heyday of Brazil's jazz-funk movement, Antonio Adolfo's Viralata has long been considered an era-defining release by those who know. Given that original Brazilian copies are frustratingly hard to come by, this official reissue from Far Out Recordings - who previously worked with Adolfo on his 2007 set Destiny - should be an essential purchase for all those who dig Brazilian music. A little more jazz-focused than albums by contemporaries such as Azymuth, much of "Viralata" is slick, polished and incredibly well produced, with notable samba influences amongst the unashamed tributes to leading American artists. As you'd perhaps expect, the musicianship is astonishing.

Review: Classic psychedelic rock singer Han Young-ae was a big deal back in the 80s and 90s, then disappeared before returning with a new album in 2014. This album, Vol 2, on C Sharp comes on limited transparent yellow wax with an insert and nine tracks that fuse her theatrical rock singing style with old school 90s rock licks and cold electronic drums on the opener then switch it up entirely for the sentiment soul ballad on track two. There are more soft rock pieces, 80s disco tinged rock, and many other weird and wonderful in between sounds from this cult artist. It shows she has come a long way since starting out with a folk band in the 70s.

Review: Les Disques Bongo Joe and DJ Tom B. have linked up for a second volume of their Africa Negra Anthology Vol. 2 series featuring 13 remastered tracks from Sao Tome and Principe's most celebrated musical group. The originals have been digitised from studio tapes by their tour manager and come alongside a booklet with updated liner notes and vintage photos. Africa Negra was founded in the 1970s by Horacio and Emidio Pontes and is renowned for their fine Puxa and Rumba fusion. This volume highlights unreleased sessions from 1979 and 1990 and showcases the incredible skills of lead vocalists Joao Seria and Sergio Fonseca. Following Joao Seria's recent passing, the group has reformed with Sergio Fonseca and new members for equally captivating live performances.

Review: This is a killer afro disco re-issue of hard-to-find self-titled "African Suite" album from 1980. It's clear from the get-go why this LP is so sought after by deep house and loft style DJ's around the world. This is excellent, unforgettable music.

Review: After forming from the ashes of a lauded jazz group in 1972, Sierra Leone's Afro National went on to release countless killer singles and albums that effortlessly joined the dots between jazz, highlife, funk and more traditional West African sounds. Here, the laudable Africa Seven label celebrates the band's legacy not by gathering together their most famous tracks, but rather cuts with the most insatiable dancefloor chops. The hits come thick and fast, from the punchy Afrobeat/highlife fusion of opener "Jokenge" and the rolling, low-slung goodness of "Mr Who You Be", to the jaunty, celebratory brilliance of the Juju-influenced "Sonjo" and fuzzy sweetness of the compilation's closing track, "Mother In Law" (which, incidentally, is far more enjoyable than any weekend visit from the in-laws).

Review: A true lesson in Afrobeat right here as Miguel Toro, Gyver Hypman and Augusto recreate some of Tony Allen's classic rhythms and deliver them as neat, funk-coated instrumentals. Perfect for DJ sets and sampling alike, a huge amount of musicianship and thought has gone into these. From the super mellow rim shot riddim of "Niaja Breaks" to the more thriving frenetic flavours of "Afrobeat Jam" (a beat that's found favour with the likes of Toddla T et al in recent years), this is a fine revisitation and a genuine education.

Review: Recently, Svert has released a swathe of Olli Ahvenlahti reissues, giving a new generation of listeners a chance to get acquainted with the Finnish jazz great's best work. The Poet was originally recorded and released in 1976, and saw pianist Ahvelahti collaborate with a wide range of musicians on a set that looked to the U.S jazz-fusion and jazz-funk scenes for inspiration. It's perhaps most famous for the break-digger's favoruite "Grandma's Rocking Chair" - famously turned into a 16-minute percussion epic by Kenny Dope back in 2001 - but there's plenty of other highlights to enjoy. The smooth "Aura", which sounds a little like Bob James jamming with Azymouth, is particularly potent.

Review: The Dutch musicians around DJ and producer Phil Martin
(The Jazzinvaders, The Houdinis) and musician Ton van der Kolk
play an enormous groove establishing their own version of afro-funk.
'Afro Soul System' by Aiff is out on Unique.

Review: Following Hot Casa's reissue of his second album The Black Isaiah Of Africa in 2017, here comes the long awaited repress of Kingsley Aigbologa Bucknor's incredible debut album. Rarer than hen's teeth, known to pass hands for triple figures and so vibrantly freeform and longform; both extensive 15+ minute tracks take up a side each as Kings and his 16 player / 10 backing singer Afrodisk Beat 79 troupe lay down two crisp Afrofunk trips. Singular.

Review: Serious reissue business: Be With take us back to 1971 for Air's one and only album. The brainchild of Googe Coppola (who you may recognise from Fire Island or cameos with Jeremy Steig) and her partner in jazz Tom Coppola, you can hear vapour trails of the pastoral, laidback folk of the late '60s with a more forthright funk energy and jazz mindset as the lovers and their bandmates dazzle us with meandering melodies and stories; from The Doors level organ frenzy of "Baby I Don't Know Where I Love" to the galloping momentum of "In Our Time" that suddenly stops dead into an almost medieval breakdown by way of ballads such as "Sister Bessie" and Afrobeat-style horn chaos like "Lipstick", this really captures an exciting time in music and, if the music is as honest as it seems, a rather exciting time in the lives of the Coppolas too...

Review: Ajate's third album, Dala Toni, is a vibrant fusion of Afro groove and Japanese traditional Ohayashi music, showcasing the band's innovative approach to blending diverse musical traditions. Founded by Japanese musician Junichiro "John" Imaeda after a revelatory experience in West Africa, Ajate brings together ten passionate musicians to create music that transcends cultural boundaries. Utilizing a mix of traditional instruments like drums, flutes, and bells, as well as handmade bamboo instruments crafted by Imaeda himself, such as the unique 'Jaate' and 'Piechiku,' Ajate's sound is both powerful and distinctive. Their incorporation of Afrobeat rhythms and Japanese vocals adds further depth and richness to their music, reflecting themes of human connection, unity, and the joy of life.Having gained acclaim for their explosive live performances in Japan and beyond, including appearances at prestigious festivals like Sukiyaki Meets The World and WOMAD UK, Ajate's music resonates with audiences worldwide. With Dala Toni, they continue to push the boundaries of global music, solidifying their position as pioneers of the genre "made in Japan."

Review: Akin Nathan's Ijama is one of those rather mythical artists that related just one album, but an album that has endured through time and remains a classic to this day. It was a band formed from Akin Nathaniel, Big John Oaikhena, Didi Lead, Frankie Ntoh Song, Geoffrey Omadehbo, Johnny Woode and Yakubu Daniel and their 'Sweet Country' came in 1982 in their native Nigeria. It's a lush tapestry of sounds from across the world, all with an Afro twist - funk, soul, world and country all feature next to boogie and Afrobeat with plenty of hooky vocals.

Review: Akira Ishikawa's first band was Count Buffaloes, a collective who emboldened his jazz fusion explorations and yielded countless albums of psych-charged, groove-oriented magic. Now Cinedelic are turning their attention to the 1970 album Bakishinba: Memories Of Africa and offering new listeners a chance to savour its sweet and rare delights. If you dig the way the likes of Santana brought Latin, jazz and rock flavours together in pursuit of good-time, enlightening musical expression, you're going to love the sound on this record. It's a gem of Japanese jazz fusion which no discerning digger should be without.

Review: Also known as the Heads Funk Band, Akwassa were a Nigerian afrobeat ensemble who only produced a few LPs under that particular moniker, but they're ones that have lasted well in the memories of collectors worldwide. La'lla was their 1975 debut, originally out on the Afrodisia label, and we have it here once again in reissue format by PMG out of Austria. "Funky Girl" kicks the party off with a groove that is might difficult not to like - upbeat vocals meet funky synth lines and quirky organs to make a true summer blazer - but the rest of the album follows in a similarly excellent style. "Orule", for example, is one of the best undiscovered afro bombs we've heard in time, those sweet soulful vocals riding high amid a fast-paced percussion rhythm, while others are deeper still and evoke the true spirit of African soul. Very highly recommended.

Review: Kalita has a fine record of unearthing holy grail records and reissuing them to rabid fans around the world. The latest is a real corker even by their standards - an unrelated album of soul, gospel and disco songs from Al-Dos Band. It is part of the first drop for Record Store Day 2021 and immediately melts the heart. 'Don't Come Smiling Back' is a deeply emotive slow jam with an impassioned vocal and pained chords, while 'Your Presence' is a much more rapturous and uplifting bit of musical worship, 'Some Things Don't Mean A Thing' is a robust and rugged bit of strident disco with magic funk riffs, and 'Love Jones Coming Down' is a real dance floor heater.

Review: RECOMMENDED
It was two in two for Alabama Shakes when they first unveiled this bonafide swamp rock masterpiece. Released in 2015, Sound & Color took the blueprint laid out with Boys & Girls and then kicked up into fifth gear. It's soul. It's blues. It's sweat-soaked funk. Most importantly, though, it's the kind of record that keeps giving the more you listen, sounding equally at home in the 1950s as it does the 2010s.

It's hard to really put into words the level of husky, pained, heart-on-sleeve musicality at the core of this record. Brittany Howard's voice might never again sound as utterly distraught and reflective, pained and somehow filled with hope for a brighter day. Individual readings aside, this is among the finest blues records to land this century, and ranks up there with some of the greats of the 20th, so don't sleep on this edition complete with closing tracks recorded live at the legendary Capitol Studios.

Review: Fusion five-piece Aldorande are no fustians when it comes to full-length LPs. These self-styled groove adventurers remain radically open to the sound, thanks to their stylistic touchstone, 70s funk, and its diachronic conduction of future styles. Recorded on tape in a top Parisian studio, their third record Trois brims with trifect textures, bold phrasing, and soaring choral waves. Mathieu Edouard's precise drumming is glued to the spot by Erwan Loeffel's plaited percussion, all the while Laurent Guillet's fingertips and Florian Pellissier's splayed hands make the best uses of Fender Rhodes, axe and Minimoog.

Review: Much like the rest of the labels who have re-released Alessandro Alessandroni's material over the last three or four years, Four Flies Records have understood what this Italian maestro represented to the wider electronic movement. Sadly, the man passed away almost one year ago, but he has left a dynasty for years to come, and this is made all the more true given that this latest release, Lost & Found, has never even seen the light of day, until now. Branded as a soundtrack, this is a perfect representation of what the man did, and that was to produce music with a vision and a theme in mind, regardless of whether it truly existed or not. In fact, these gorgeous slices of exotica would certainly make for a delightful OST, with everything from ambient to disco, jazz and funk featuring across its 17 masterful tracks. This is inimitable gear - and warmly recommended.

Review: Sonor Music here present the complete and previously unreleased soundtrack of 1976's Italian erotic comedy cult La Professoressa Di Scienze Naturali, which was directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini. With Italian sexy symbol Lilli Carati and filming done in the beautiful Ischia island, it's an incredible film with a score to match. Filled with cinematic sounds, library music and flirtations with funk, jazz and soul, it's in part funky, occasionally break-y, and always hugely erotic. This majestic downtempo soundtrack will bring spice to any listing session and features artwork designed by John Henriksson.

Review: The magnificent Luaka Bop label has been showcasing the work of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah - a master of Afro sounds and rhythms that cut deep - for a while now across several albums and compilations. He hails from Edo State in southern Nigeria and is known for holding sermons of the religious as well as musical sort. After various volumes of work and the superb World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife Of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah record comes this new series of gems that show off his unique take on international rhythms across four long, ever evolving and always engaging grooves.

Review: How often does a superstar band leader hand his band over to his drummer, while he steps back to become a sideman? That's what Fela Kuti, undoubtedly the coolest, hippest, best known African musician on the planet, did in 1975. "Afro Disco Beat" is the complete seventies anthology of the drummer and music director of superstar Fela Kuti's band Africa 70, the creators of a new style called 'Afrobeat', one of the (if not THE) hippest rhythmic music styles of the seventies. Tony Allen was an incredible drummer of whom Fela Kuti said "he sounds like four drummers".

Review: Since its release in 1999, Tony Allen's Black Voices album has earned a reputation as an overlooked modern classic. While a scaled-down reissue appeared on Kindred Spirits in 2014, this edition marks the first "full repress" of the original double-album version. The Doctor L-produced set remains hugely alluring, thanks largely to the warm and attractive mixture of Allen's loose and languid Afrobeat rhythms, fluid jazz and jazz-funk instrumentation and vocals that recall the legendary drummer's work with Fela Kuti. Like the original set, you'll find a number of tasty dancefloor reworks nestled on the second disc, with the fuzzy and disco-fied PsychojujuMix of "Ariya" - complete with rubbery bass and sweaty drum solos - standing out.

Review: On its' original release in 2002, Tony Allen's HomeCookin album was arguably a little overlooked. Like its' predecessor, 1999's Black Voices, the set updated the legendary drummer's Afrobeat sound for a new millennium. As this timely reissue proves, it was a particularly successful exercise. The album's genius lies in the Nigerian sticks-man's combination of traditional elements - most notably his loose, skittish polyrhythms, guitars and punchy horns - with elements of future-jazz, modern soul (see the brilliant Eska collaboration, "What's Your Fashion") and hip-hop. British rapper Ty excels himself on a number of killer cuts, though it's a more traditional Allen style dancefloor workout - the sublime "Crazy Afrobeat" - that really stands out.

Review: Kindred Spirits get a big, heartfelt hug from Juno for their Tony Allen reissue series, in which they lovingly restore and repress 12"s from the master of afrobeat. The No Discrimination EP was first recorded in 1978, shortly after Allen ended his decade long collaboration with Fela Kuti. The silky funk of the title track suits the message of peace contained within the lyrics; flip over for the awesome "Ariya" - a reminder, as if we needed one, that Allen is truly one of the finest drummers in existence. Those already enamoured with the percussive charms of irresistible rhythms of the Nigerian's work will be all over this - for those of you yet to succumb to this man's singular talent, there's no better place to start.

Review: This is a posthumous tribute album to the late Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, who was one of the pioneers of Afrobeat music and a longtime collaborator of Fela Kuti. The album features Allen's drumming mixed with new compositions by the American producer Adrian Younge, who is known for his work with artists like Ghostface Killah, Kendrick Lamar and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The pronouncement that "jazz is dead" is certainly a controversial one, but Younge's aim there is to equate Allen with the spirit of jazz as a whole. The jubilant warpery and tremolo-ing flutes of lead tracks like 'Ebun' should be enough to know: like the impenetrable durability of jazz, Allen will live on through his work.

Review: This is a posthumous album by the Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, one of the pioneers of Afrobeat music and a longtime collaborator with the genre's founder, and activist, Fela Kuti. The album features Allen's last recordings before his death in 2020 - which were in turn produced by the American composer, lawyer and producer Adrian Younge, otherwise known for his most prominent work with rappers Ghostface Killah, Kendrick Lamar and Jay Z. Guided by Younge's chops on production, the album hears Allen's trademark stark, cacophonous funky-drummed rapture, amid a heavenly collision of keyboard janks and offbeat shoulder-raising shrugs.

Review: Heroic Nigerian drummer Tony Allen put out this landmark album in 1984, but the sounds bare all the hallmarks of his best 70s material. The grooves are super chunky and many say the title track here is one of Allen's best ever tunes. It has a punchy hook and political sentiment that really resonates while the rest of the tunes are not too shabby either. There wired up with electronics next to the trumpets, drums and percussion and have a super cool Celluloid Electric Africa vibe as a result. A regal and dub version is included of that title track meaning this reissue won't hang around for long.

Review: Two titans of African music come together for a collaboration that will sadly never be repeated after the passing of the late Hugh Masekela. Allen's instantly recognisable drumming and Masekela's iconic trumpet are a match made in heaven - after all their paths first crossed back in the 70s thanks to Fela Kuti's galvanizing energy. Forget the throwback stuff trying to capture the spirit of the originators, this IS the originators sounding cool and deadly in every way. Funk lovers, Afrobeat heads, curious ears and dancing souls take heed - this right here is an unmissable transmission from two grandmasters in their field.