Andy Votel again delves into the world of tripped-out acid-folk and unearths another mighty fine selection of obscurities for the second volume of ‘Folk Is Not A Four Letter Word’. As with volume one, Carol Batton kicks off proceedings with an enchanted poetry intro entitled ‘Winter’ before we’re treated to delights such as the Indian influenced ‘Son Of God’ from Parchment, Pentangle’s ‘I Saw An Angel’, Alexis Korner & CCS’ ‘Sunrise’ which is reminiscent of David Axelrod in places, and the beautiful simplicity of Woody Simmons’ ‘Grey Today’. Kick back, relax and let the tranquil waves wash over you.

Andy Allen

Brown’s Bag aka Ward Brown, follows up his 2005 debut ‘Labor Of Love’ with ‘Soul Satisfied’, a collection of contemporary soul/R&B with strong seventies sensibilities. Whilst the production is a little smooth for my current tastes there’s no denying the quality of Brown’s vocals which particularly shine on the mellow groover ‘You’re Contagious’ and the funky ‘Me Around’. The real standouts for me though are catchy up-tempo Diskonauts Remix ‘No More Lies’ and the Markydisco Jazzy Remix of ‘Things You Say’, a slick stepper, both by Marc Mitchell (the original versions of which appear on ‘Labor Of Love’). Both are destined to blow up big time on the modern soul scene over the coming months.

Andy Allen

Kenny Garrett is often mentioned in the same breath as Miles Davis due to the time he spent with Davis’ band during the late 80s/early 90s but Garrett has steadily been releasing his own albums as leader since 1984. His latest offering ‘Beyond The Wall’ features pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Robert Leslie Hurst III, drummer Brian Blade and percussionist Ruggerio Boccato along with jazz legends Pharoah Sanders and Bobby Hutcherson on tenor sax and vibes respectively. Together they have created nine stunning compositions rooted in modal and spiritual jazz, taking in eastern sounds along the way. Nedelka Echols adds her vocal tones to ‘Qing Wen’ ‘Kiss To The Skies’ and ‘Gwoka’, all of which are nothing short of brilliant, as is the firing title track ‘Beyond The Wall’, ‘Now’ and the haunting ‘Realization (Marching Towards The Light)’. Trust me this is a modern classic.

Andy Allen

Compiled by DJ Nova, this fifteen track selection focuses on some of the top picks from his weekly Nova Planet radio show (www.rodonfm.net). Nu-jazz is the order of the day whether it be in its’ more traditional jazz combo form or electronic based. Included are gems from recent times such as Was A Bee’s version of ‘On A Clear Day’, Soulstance’s delightful waltz ‘Moon Vision’, Big Bang’s ‘Summer Fields’ plus the electric mix of ‘Broken Samba’ by Nature’s Plan, Sabrina Malheiros’ ‘Passa (Venom’s Remix), and the amazing ‘Higher Skies’ by Alessandro Oliviero. For anyone who missed these cuts first time around this is an essential package.

Andy Allen

Chici Mann is the new project by Antibalas’ guitarist, Marquitos Garcia. It’ll be of no surprise for people who have heard Antibalas to hear that Garcia has stayed with what he knows best- afrobeat- but has added more experimental sounds, with the use of a childhood Casio keyboard and 80’s drum beats. This might sound like a mish mash of ideas but it makes the whole project a little more interesting to listen to and it’s good to see people pushing this forward, rather than trying to copy the greats like Fela and Allen. Highlights for me have been “Soul Freedom” and “Who You Runnin’ From”. Simply Kindred Spirits never put a foot wrong.

Simon Harrison

Scarborough is not a town you’d usually associate with hip hop but Kista has been causing quite a stir with his DJ sets, graffiti work and productions. Just for starters you must check out his “Talk with God” which featured Tableek from the excellent Maspyke. The twelve tracks here are sourced by Kista and are an ace selection of laid back hip hop instrumentals by artists from all over Europe. Many of the names will be unknown to you but that shouldn’t detract you from the quality beats. The artist work has been created by Breakface who’s done illustrations for Lowdown and Wax Poetics magazines, which adds to the finishing touch.

Simon Harrison

Jazzman is one of my favourite re-issue labels and has been responsible for me spending hours trying to get more information on the artists that have been released on their collectable 7" and 12" series. The albums Gerald has put together over the years have always been well thought out with informative sleeve notes and saved us a fortune because some of the rarities featured are well out of my price bracket. Good Things: The Story Of Saadia Records continues with more quality selections and includes all the information you would want to know. Saadia was based in Miami in the 60s and released many rare, one-offs but the most important thing being that the music is top quality which shines through on tracks by Pearl Dowell, Robert Moore and Little Beaver.

Simon Harrison

Freddy Fresh is one busy man: He’s dj-ed all over the world, compiled what seems like hundreds of DJ mixes and compilations, runs several record labels and somehow also has time to get into the studio to produce a huge back catalogue. Stark Ravin’ is a new label set up by Freddy and to kick things off he’s brought in a gifted mc The Conductor Crucified for this new project. This first thing I noticed was that the productions were not what you’d usually expect from a so-called hip hop album. No jiggy business here, just simple quality beats with quality vocals and lyrics. You must lend your ears to the old skool sounding "Paradise O’ Bleeding" and "Heart Vs. Hardware". I hope this is just the start of something special from these guys.

Simon Harrison

Dego and Marc return after six years with another sure to be classic and sought after album. From the moment I pressed play I knew this was another album I will treasure for years to come. Proceedings kick off with the Rotary Connection style “Morning Child” with beautiful vocals from Carina Andersson, who sounds amazingly similar to Minnie Ripperton and, of course, featured on the cover of “Les Fleur”. The guests are, of course, top notch but I bet people were queueing up to work with the duo. They include Jody Watley, Talita Long, Larry Mizell, Face, Phonte, Bembe Segue & Kaidi Taitham to pick a few at random and all sound wonderful with the strings, drums and beautiful arrangements. Also watch out for the cover of “Superwomen” featuring Terry D: it’s up there with the best of their previous re-works. A little late for album of 2006 but it’ll be certainly up there in 2007, mark my words.

Simon Harrison

I’ve been playing this more & more over the past few weeks, a special priced double CD from one of India’s most popular contemporary singers. Classically trained but not afraid to collaborate or bring his excellent voice to other styles, he’s been the regular singer for A.R. Rahman and worked with John McClaughlin in the reformed Shakti. Also includes a video of his 1998 hit ‘Breathless’ Superb.

Graham Radley