UK

The Sofrito Super Singles series is on the cusp of double figures and this offering from collective main man Frankie Francis and the excellent Simbad might just be their best work so far. As ever with Sofrito, there's a sense of music education that comes with this record as the label shines the light on Gwo Ka - the folkloric rhythm of Guadeloupe - and one of its greatest voices in Esnard Boisdur. The focus here is Bosidur's 1991 track "Soufwans" (which translates as Sufferance for those not au fait with Guadeloupian) which in the hands of Francis and Simbad is flipped into a hypnotic house production replete with deep bassline and some killer synths. The accompanying dub mix will probably appeal to the deeper house selectors too as there's some killer drum programming on that one.

Ace London tropical disco crew Sofrito return with another crucial twelve that introduces both us and you to the lesser spotted Nigerian Acid Boogie! The epitome of hen's teeth rarity, Benis Cletin's "Jungle Magic" was originally out on Afrodisia in 1979, and still sounds absolutely amazing today. A tough bassline combines effortlessly with a thumping groove that sits between Lagos and Detroit, whilst a brilliantly crazy acid synth lead lends the track a truly psychedelic edge. Add to this the vocal elements that channel the spirits of Donna Summer and Lee Perry and you cannot help but dance. The flip is just as good, "Money Makes Man Mad" launching straight into an infectious uptempo groove of percussion, funked out guitar licks and cowbell. The playful rhythmic interchange between the organ flourishes and storms of gut punching percussion lay will have explosive results. Highly recommended!

Repress of the debut Sofrito Super Singles which celebrates the Afro-disco and boogie scene of South Africa, - where Salsoul meets Soweto. Comes housed in a new look Sofrito house sleeve. The three track EP features Teaspoon & The Waves - led by veteran alto player Teaspoon Ndelu. They released one album in 1980, covering a mix of disco and funk sounds for the SA dancefloors. Oh yeh Soweto is a cheeky version of Lamont Dozier's Going Back To My Roots - changing the lyrics and toughening up the beats, but with the same killer riffs. Saturday Night Special is from the same LP, a spaced out Afro Disco groove with excellent percussion and psychedelic synths, re-edited by the Sofrito team. The B side features a track by the Nzimande Allstars - another mysterious group of session musicians. The drawn out groove of Highway Sporo Disco fuses a heavy disco backing with jive guitar and stellar horns and organ for a unique taste of the underground sound of the Cape.

Jay, now 25 years old, has become one of the leading artists in the latest generation of Detroit electronic music-makers. In the five years that he has been on the scene, he has released the “Scorpio Rising EP” on Theo Parrish's Sound Signature Records, “Karmatic Equations” on Kyle Hall's Wild Oats Music, and featured on Funkineven’s “Abyss”, all the while gig-hopping from New York to London, Japan to Australia and all points in between. In 2015, Jay took it to the next level with the foundation of his own record label Watusi High, releasing the inaugural EP: “School Dance”. "Broken Knowz" signals a departure from Jay’s previous output. Disillusioned with the constraints of drum programming and the associated deficiencies translating human feeling or emotion; he retreated to his mother’s basement, picked up his drumsticks and started recording into a multitrack mixer for the first time. This was key for Jay, as he knew he wanted the album to sound more live, more natural, and more human. Consequently, ‘Paradise Valley’, ‘Boolin’, ‘Yemaya’ and lead track ‘Knowledge Of Selfie’ are founded on loose-knit, shuffling breaks with Jay’s signature keyboard runs marauding over the top. Refreshingly exposed and overtly reliant on the sheer weight of the grooves, it’s a mighty debut from a young man seemingly oblivious to the weight of expectation associated with the pantheon of music-makers hailing from his hometown.“Broken Knowz” is only the third longplayer on Ninja Tune’s Technicolour imprint which has delivered a string of exceptional leftfield club music EPs from Florian Kupfer, Legowelt, Nathan Melja, NY*AK, U and superb albums from Levantis and Hieroglyphic Being.

Rare brazil album made available again through MR Bongo, incl. 'Voce Abuso' & 'Kabaluere. Nice! A truly fantastic record that sounds the way it looks – psychedelic rock, samba-funk and tripped out MPB. Features ‘Kabaluerê’ as sampled by Marcelo D2 on his hit ‘Qual e?’. Arranged by Rogerio Duprat, featuring legendary guitarist Lanny Gordin. Antonio Carlos & Jocafi were a very successful and famous Brazilian writing duo, born in Bahia. They worked with the likes of Wilson Simonal, Rosinha De Valença, Trio Mocotó, Milton Banana, Toquinho and more. Originally released on RCA Brazil in 1971, this was the duo’s debut LP. Two versions of the album cover exist in Brazil – this, the psyched-out, burnt out version, and a much less exciting photograph of the chaps, pressed to include the single ‘Desacato’ which became a popular hit in Brazil and several European countries.