Gorgeous roots. Seemingly super laidback and above-it-all but utterly trenchant. All the singing is sublime, including the back-up. The gentle nyabinghi percussion and keyboard stabs are beautifully restrained, as Sylvan Morris brings his genius to the mix. Same dub as the original 45. A stone classic. We could listen for days.
Plus the 12 Tribes launch a two-headed-shark attack on the flip, featuring maestro Pablove Black. No less than an instrumental cut to George Beaufort’s insurgent Reaching Our Goal, and a sick, synth excursion on the revered Black Star Liner rhythm.

Moody, class-conscious, early-eighties Diamonds from the same little red book as Bodyguard. Determinedly defiant, with an edge of menace. Tight, textbook Gussie’s; your-time’s-up horns; masterful, stripped and detailed dub. Ace.

His swansong, in 1962, setting his warmly bluesy, swooping beseechments within the new jazz bossa sound. With Willie Bobo on drums. Kenny Burrell is superb.

Ace, loose, mystical roots, with sick synths, slacky tidy guitar, and Jarrett pouring himself into the mic. With a thumping dub led by saxophonist Jerry Johnson.

Norway’s finest hardanger fiddle player, performing traditional tunes from her native valley Hallingdal.
Wonderful.

‘Oud-player with The Handover, Eissa was mentored by two legendary figures in Egyptian music: composer and multi-instrumentalist Abdo Dagher, and oud master Hazem Shahin. The music here is heavily rooted in both Egyptian classical music and a number of different folk music traditions, but it goes its own way, through expansive and intricate original compositions.
‘The epic title track, with Eissa playing oud exclusively, takes up two thirds of the album. It seamlessly transitions into heart-stopping recitation of the thirteenth century poet Baha´ al-din Zuhayr… serious, loving, tender and insistent, all at once. Visionary and virtuosic, but at the same time warm and close.
‘A future classic.’

Classic deep Detroit house; featuring Marc Kinchen’s extended club mix.
Plus Carl Craig’s reconstruction of Help Myself.