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Review: Hot Casa France reissue a sultry drum workout from master Turkish darbouka player Yasar Akpence's 2004 album 'Passion Percussion'. 'Desert wind' layers unbelievably tight darbouka trills and phrases over a pulsing, almost dembow-esque core, making for a perfect Balearic DJ tool for any occasion. We can imagine this one bookending hypnotic techno wormholes in a small hours Donato Dozzy set, with its wide stereo drum intrusions and tight production longing to be aired off a suitably weighty soundsystem. Truly chameleonic and compelling music!

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: 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: Opa's Back Home was first reocrded in 1975 but not released until 1996; it was the fourth and final album by the esteemed Uruguayan fusion band, whose preferred admixture was usually some melted pot of funk and samba, making for an impressive heuristic building on their intuitive recalling of their mutual upbringing in South America. Mysteriously (for reasons unknown to the band), Opa's debut was shelved and remained so until the mid-1990s. But the story goes that it was recorded after renowned label producer and owner Larry Rosen heard the band playing in a Brooklyn nightclub; with this in mind, Back Home makes for an ironic title, since the sonic turn expressed by the band is not one of homesickness, but rather that of an immersion in New York's metamorphous music scene ('Brooklynville' has an instant proto-hip-hop vibe, if not for its original urban field recording, then certainly for its bulbous broken funk twang). Now reissued on vinyl and CD via Far Out, you won't want to miss this round trip.

Review: In terms of being an afrobeat legend, Pasteur Lappe is Cameroon's Fela Kuti, an unsung hero who was ahead of the game back in the 1970s and 1980s, and one whose been famous for burning the pockets of many diggers nowadays. Luckily, Africa Seven have compiled some of his best work onto a ten-track LP, ranging from the funky oddities of "More Sekele Movement" or "Na Real Seke Fo'ya", to the future-zouk sound of "Sanaga Calypso", and plenty of jazzy, popped-out, disgruntled soulfulness to satisfy anyone from Gilles Peterson to Cherrystones. Heavy and warmly recommended.

Review: Not to be confused with 80s synth-poppers or an early Carl Craig alias, Psyche is in fact a crack team of players from Naples who have been active for some two decades. In more recent times you might have heard Marcello Giannini, Andrea De Fazio and Paolo Petrella playing as part of Nu Genea's touring band, but after their first tour in 2018 they formed this project as a means of exploring a more minimal, flowing approach to playing their chosen instruments. If Psyche is in some ways a back to basics record, it's also a showcase for their incredible talent at weaving gently psychedelic grooves from simple ingredients. The sound has a perfect treatment, with plenty of reverb and analogue warmth in the mix, all the better to savour the laconic instrumental pieces the band perform.

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.

Review: French label Wagram is a go-to when it comes to quality compilations that take a broad look at certain sounds and scenes, and this one is an on-going series that focuses on house sounds with an Afro undertone. The grooves are lively and often come with plenty of percussion. The drums hit hard but with funk, the vocals are Afro-centric and plenty of irresistible hits come thick and fast from the jazzy tribal swagger of 'Imbalaye' to the big steel drum party sounds of 'Viet Dao' (Klement Bonelli & Yann DL remix). Another great collection of colourful Afro house sounds.

Review: Brazilian producer Zopelar is a real wizard when at work in the studio. He has done disco-tinged full lengths, synth-laced house sounds, deeper than deep grooves and now steps up to Sudd Wax with another brilliantly musical EP. It opens with the shimmering pads and free-flowing keys of 'Papaia' which then gets a Byron The Aquarius Jazz Twist mix that cuts even more free and gets even more cosmic. 'Jazz Class' is a funky one with golden chords and astral pads and the flip brings three more house gems laced up with the sort of meaningful melodies you don't often hear in this genre.