A compilation of the deepest and most affecting songs by The Philosophers National from Nigeria, beginning in the 1970s. Lilting, multi-layered, pulsing music, with muted trumpet solos, mesmerising guitar runs, driving percussion, and concise and clear-eyed lyrics sung so beautifully by Celestine Ukwu.
‘Celestine ditched the jaunty dance rhythms and relatively facile lyrics typical of the reigning highlife tunes, and ignoring the soul music tropes most of the highlife bandleaders were appropriating in an effort to inject new life to their ailing format. Instead Celestine concocted a new highlife style that was more contemplative and lumbering; with the layering of Afro-Cuban ostinato basslines and repetitive rhythm patterns that interlocked to create an effect that was hypnotic, virtually transcendental. Meanwhile, Celestine himself sang as he stood coolly onstage in a black turtleneck and a sportscoat, looking like a university professor. The message was clear: this was not necessarily music for dancing—even though the rhythms were compelling enough. This was music for the thinkers’ (Uchenna Ikonne).

Outsider, casio versions of the Electric Prunes, Ramones and co, al fresco in early-eighties San Francisco.

Knockout Larry Heard; deep and soulful. It carries you back through the years… and away.

Mid-seventies Harry J dub, led by keyboardist Leslie Butler, but featuring Joe White on melodica. The original LP plus eight spaced-out dubs from the vaults, including a dubwise take on Me And Mrs Jones. (There’s no messing with Billy Paul’s singing, though. Thankfully the melodica comes to the rescue.)

Only a previously unreleased Curtom recording, from the sessions for Closer To The Source, in 1977.
‘A beautiful floating mid-tempo dancer, with anthemic lyrics, in two different 7” edits: a short-intro version, perfect to drop in the middle of set to keep the dancefloor moving; and a version with the original forty-second intro, using the fantasic female backing vocals as the outro.’

TW’s first Blue Note session was The Jody Grind. His debut as leader, at 23, Natural Essence is a winning mid-sixties set of his own compositions. Post-Trane dancers, jams; some lovely tunes. Woody Shaw, too.

Dennis in full flight, over genius Niney rhythms, tuff like iron. Two all-time reggae greats at the height of their powers, plus Soul Syndicate and King Tubby pon spot. Classics like Tribulation, If You Are Rich Help The Poor, and Travelling Man. Always very hard to find.

This is sensational; hotly recommended.

“The holy grail of British Asian music; the album that birthed the British Asian dancefloor.”

‘Recorded in London in 1982, the nine-track album combines producer Kuljit Bhamra’s searing synthesiser melodies and hammering drum machine rhythms with the Punjabi-language folk singing of his classically trained mother, Mohinder Kaur Bhamra. Part early acid house experiment, part north Indian tradition and part disco-funk, the record was a futuristic outlier: the south Asian fusion sounds of bhangra were only just beginning; the mainstream crossover music of the Asian underground was more than a decade away; and the British Asian diaspora were largely relegated to meeting at weddings and community events, rather than at the disco’ (The Guardian).

Sylford has gifted us some stone classics: Deuteronomy and Lambs Bread, with Glen Brown; Burn Babylon and Jah Golden Pen, with Joe Gibbs. And here’s another humdinger, this time with Clive Hunt.
Heavy, aching, bass-bin murder. It’s a must.

Classic Vinyl Series.

Banging, key Messengers. Blakey is on fire; Shorter is vicious.
Hubbard bows out of this line-up with a passionate tribute to the Congress of Racial Equality.
Classic Vinyl Series.