Back in stock: Funk

Review: Azymuth's Outubro is just one of the many vibrant and captivating albums in their oeuvre that embodies the essence of Brazilian jazz-funk fusion. Released in 1980, it features the cult collective's signature blend of infectious rhythms, intricate melodies, and soulful improvisation. The album's title track stands out as a shining example of the band's musical prowess with its irresistible groove and lush instrumentation and throughout the record, Azymuth showcase their mastery of blending traditional Brazilian rhythms with elements of jazz, funk and electronic music to create a timeless and immersive that remains a classic in the realm of Brazilian music.

Review: Mr. Bongo takes us back to the release of Waltel Blanco's jazz-funk masterwork, 'Meu Balanco', first released in 1995. Noted for its accumulation of Blanco's various skills picked up over the course of his years as a session musician in Brazil - for the likes of Marcos Valle and Elis Regina, to name a few - this LP is a rollicking instrumental ride, just as suitable for film soundtracking as it is for home listening. Many-an electric piano, bass lick and buzzing horn cement the vibe of the boom in Latin cinema at the time of its release.

Review: In the forty-two years since the release of Ege Bamyasi, no-one has done as much to blend the spheres of experimental rock music and the avant-garde than Can, whilst also maintaining a hip-shaking primal pulse and delivering a radiant wash of kaleidoscopic sound that defies classification. Ege Bamyasi still stands as one of their crowning achievements, and one whose spooky reverberations have made their presence felt throughout a mighty chunk of the rock and dance music of the decades that have followed. An otherworldly masterclass for the ages.

Review: Light In The Attic do the preservative god's work of reissuing the rare Going To My Baby's Place by West Coast funk and soul singer Vernon Garrett. His debut album, released in 1975, this is a dynamic, un-fluffed funk breakthrough, following an extended panhandle of 45s that characterised his rarefied career for almost a decade before he moved onto full-lengths. Expanding the bittersweet mood that had characterised his career until this point in time, we hear the likes of 'Something Went Wrong', 'Don't Do What I Do', 'One Man's Loss' and 'Going To My Baby's Place', across which we hear a consciously stoic Garrett duly acknowledge the natural peaks and troughs of life, through which he recognises that it's all necessary for one well lived. Vernon's wild and powerful songs come backed by incandescent performances by members such as Jimmy Gough and Leon Kittrell, who would later form L.T.D. and David T Walker.

Review: This is a new record of unearthed delights by Leon Keita, a longtime singer and multi-instrumentalist from Mali. On the eponymous 'Leon Keita', we hear Malian music fused with sensibilities from Sudan-Guinea and Burkina Faso, with modern pop and electronic influences, impeccably played in a smattering of crisp guitars, love-sung lyrics and laboured rhythms. All laid to a fresh pressing, the A-side hears three rather relaxed beauties, while the B moves into more idealistic and hedonic directions, not least the conclusive 'Dakan Sate, Korotoumi'. Brought back to our attention by Analog Africa, 'Leon Keita' serves yet another top serving and reminder of Mandingue culture, the influence of which stretches across the world; 'Dalaka' was a recent hit, making it as far as the Colombian coast.

Review: Fela Kuti and Tony Allen are your key starting points when it comes to the wild frenetic Afrobeat fusion Nigeria gave us in the late 60s but dig a teeny bit deeper and you'll find multi instrumentalist Tunji is right behind them. Armed with his band The Benders, Tunji ran a tight ship and perhaps should've done with a little more recognition. Now living and gigging in London, he's curated this essential collection of tracks from Afrobeat's most prolific era.

Review: Analog Africa have put together their 31st compilation here, and it's another essential, well curated overview of a fantastic funk sound, focussing on the genre's greatest originators, namely Osayomore Joseph, Akaba Man and Sir Victor Uwaifo. All of these artists' primary skill was to strip down funk down to its core essence and use it as a foundation to rebuild their own unique interpretations. Each one is imbued with the spirit of the Edo culture and all 12 cuts here pulse with driving rhythm and raw musicianship, bright keys and tripped-out guitars that bring the funk in utterly fresh and thrilling ways.

Review: The result of three years of digging through tapes of "strange music" in the Radio Mogadishu archives and restless research to find the musicians involved, Analog Africa's latest compilation shines a light on Somalia's previously undocumented dance music scene. It features tracks recorded between 1972 and '91 by a variety of unknown artists, with the assembled music touching on disco, psych-funk, Moog-laden club-focused instrumentals and heavyweight, Bob Marley-inspired reggae rhythms. It's a hugely vibrant and entertaining set of off-kilter and unusual Somalian translations of American and Caribbean music styles, with the bumper accompanying booklet offering up a wealth of little-known information.

Review: In 1977, Gaye Mody Camara, a young Soninke raised in Mali's Kayes region, settled in France to found his own empire modelled psychically after the great Soninko empire. Initially selling wax, kola nuts and other goods in his Parisian outlets, he rapidly started distributing cassette tapes and eventually producing a multitude of recordings for his own label, Camara Production. Crossing paths and collaborating over the next four decades with legendary artists, griots and industry moguls like Boncana Maiga and Jean-Philippe Rykiel, Camara became one of the great independent music producers of his generation, and a pillar of the Parisian Soninke diaspora. Released in close collaboration with Camara and with the assistance of Daouda N'diaye, one of A.P.S' (Association pour la Promotion de la langue et de la culture Soninke) historical members, this selection of songs and accompanying notes aim to shed a light on an intricate culture and its modern music, unjustifiably unknown outside of West Africa and the various diasporas around the world.