Back catalogue: All genres

Review: After the success of the first Alessandroni Proibito box set, which sold out in pre-sale before it even hit the stores, Four Flies is proudly back with Volume 2 of the compilation. This new release too features five exclusive 7" singles, housing a total of ten seriously rare tunes. All previously unreleased in physical format, the tracks have been carefully selected from the soundtracks of five obscure Italian films from the late 70s - sexy flicks that flirted with the line between erotic and explicit, and which are now largely forgotten, having been out of circulation for decades. As was the case with the previous volume of the compilation, Alessandroni's music rises above the films' flimsy plots, improvised actors, and amateurish production, exuding his distinctive touch thanks to the (typically Italian) artisanal approach he took to his musical craft. The composer let his creativity run free, playing with his instruments at home as if he were in his own little amusement park; trying to have fun and produce something entertaining and captivating with just the few means at his disposal.

Review: Maya Blandy's latest single, Lemons, is a vibrant and infectious track that seamlessly blends upbeat urban funk with an acid jazz sound, resulting in a potential pop hit. The song takes a spin on the classic adage about making the best out of life's challenges, presenting it with a fresh and edgy perspective. With its catchy hooks, groovy rhythm, and Maya Blandy's convincing vocals, Lemons is destined to be an instant hit once heard.
The Side-2 is equally as good with 'BIB (Bitch In Black).' This song oozes with soulful vibes, showcasing Maya's mesmerizing vocals against an urban beat backdrop. The addition of a horn section adds depth and richness to the track, elevating its sonic experience.

Review: A whole host of crucial funk reissues are landing right now courtesy of the good folks at BGP and up there with the nest of them is this one from Chester Randle's Soul Senders, an ensemble featuring a rotating vests of musicians from America that were active in the 60s onwards. Their 'Soul Brother's Testify' came in two parts, both of which take up one side each of this 7", and were mainstays of the deep funk movement that rose up around the late 90s and early 2000s. They still do a job now with their hard hitting breaks and funky ass riffs.

Review: Al Cisneros is perhaps best known for his part in legendary bands like stoner kings Sleep and doom monoliths OM, but he's also been exploring realms of dub for the past 10 years via his Sinai label and crucial drops on ZamZam Sounds and Drag City. He's now gathered together that decade of work in this immense box set, which gives you heavy, brooding masterpieces like 'Dismas' and 'Teresa Of Avila' all gathered together in one definitive drop of leftfield dub excellence. For fans of Muslimgauze and Scorn as much as King Tubby, this is a vital testament to the experimental potency locked within the tradition of Jamaican version excursions.

Review: To commemorate the 30 year Anniversary of Cypress Hill's debut album, Get On Down presents the complete album on 7 inch vinyl singles for the first time ever housed in a deluxe casebook. Cheeky, goblin-like rhymes come courtesy of lead vocalist B-Real and hypeman Sen Dog, doing justice to the two-tone rapper-hypeman formula of the day, trailblazed by Public Enemy. An important slice of history homing in on one of the few hip hop acts to straddle the rivalry between East and West Coast rap at the time.

Review: It was big news this year when hip-hop legends De La Soul finally made all of their music available to stream on digital platforms. That move was backed up by them also dropping a load of reissues of their finest albums and now we have, for Record Store Day/Back Friday, this special coloured vinyl boxset featuring their most iconic LP, 3 Feet High and Rising, on seven individual 7"s, making them perfect for DJ deployment. The box set also includes a funky slipmat making this a perfect Christmas gift for the hip-hop head in your life.

Review: Slowcore originators Duster hear several of their most noted singles and short-play projects collected into a single boxset, here courtesy of Numero Group. Including the EP 'Apex, Trance-Like', which more or less describes the ensuing sonic character of the entire project here, the featuring tracks 'Light Years' and 'Four Hours', like their titles, seem to compact long stretches of space and time into more palatable experiences. Outtakes also feature, as well as an exclusive Duster-branded handkerchief.

Review: While influencing a massive array of modern emo, pop-punk and indie-rock outfits, Hot Water Music have made it abundantly clear that they don't feel the need to go home just yet.

Their latest, sad times lamenting opus, 'Feel The Void', sees the group recording for the first time with latest addition Chris Cresswell (The Flatliners), who stepped into the band initially for live settings upon Chris Wollard taking a sabbatical for mental health reasons.

Now, for the first time since 2004's 'The New What Next', the band have opted to work with producer Brian McTiernan, arguably responsible for the three best albums to come from HWM during their 'glory days'.

Beyond a return to form, everything from the anthemic 'Hearts Stay Full' to the muted crawl of 'Ride High', screams of a seasoned group of artists with so much more to say. While often replicated, 'Feel The Void' outsads, outfeels and outriffs any would be imitators, and only further cements a status that really was in no need of maintenance.

Review: There are an awful lot of great records in the J Dilla's catalogue, but few can match the consistent quality and coherent construction of Welcome 2 Detroit, his 2001 breakthrough album. Designed as a love letter to his home city with a sample palette and blend of styles to match, it saw the late producer and a string of then largely unknown local MCs showcase their vocal talents over some of his best ever beats. This lusciously expansive 20th anniversary box set does a brilliant job in expanding on the original album, with the 12 included "45s" pairing vocal mixes with instrumentals, unreleased cuts and occasional remixes. The included hardback book is brilliant, too, and packed with first-hand accounts of the creation of a now iconic LP.

Review: It may come with an eyebrow-raising price tag, but what's on offer here is undeniably alluring: a box set of 10 seven-inch singles containing all of the songs from Louie Vega's brilliant Expansions In The NYC album - an all-star affair in which the Masters at Work man celebrated his love of New York disco, boogie and house. The album itself is incredible, with fantastic musicianship, arrangements and vocals, while the cast list - which includes original electrofunk outfit Unlimited Touch, Peech Boys main man Bernard Fowler, Honey Dijon, Cindy Mazelle, Moodymann, Kerri Chandler and his son Nico - is similarly impressive. It's a great product, packed with brilliant music: a fitting finale to this portion of the ongping 'Expansions NYC' project.

Review: Japanese rapper MC RYT hails from the Serpat Crew and this expansive new record finds him step out with producer Djar One and Kesta AKA Kool Kest. It is a limited album that packs in plenty of different and effective styles from classic boom bap sweeter R&B-tinged joints via jazz swing sounds. Favourites include the laidback and louche sounds of 'On & On', the deep rolling 'Space Talk' with its hard bars and 'Izakaya Style', a nice jazz and loungey cut with a guest sport from Le Jules. This is a superb addition to the shelves of any beat lover and hip hop head.

Review: This is a new remix-release by Mothers Favorite Child, a soul-funk collective led by producer and multi-instrumentalist Paris Toon. With the original hearing MFC enlist the vocal lightwork of Portlandian singer Saeeda Wright, now comes a new remix of 'Purple Funk' - the first version was a cleanly produced, ecstatic track, and implictly dedicated to the legacy of one entirely unique musical stalwart and legend - Prince - as well as another friendly face, the late drummer John Blackwell. Now, however, Swedish remix darling Opolopo lends it a daring new spin, leaving much tight, airy headroom between the beats, and plenty of room for suspenseful, floorbound play.

Review: The arrival of the Acapellas Anonymous series in the mid/late '80s was a massive gamechanger, giving immediate access to DJs and producers to hundreds of vocal samples that would have taken a fortune (and a lifetime) to collect. Edit king Mr K has rebuilt, remastered, and carefully portioned them onto a five disc set of 7-inch singles, "including all the classic vocal bits that became iconic samples," and more than a few new additions to bring things up to date. You'll know more than a few of these on first listen, others you may have never even realised were samples, but no-one will underestimate the power of a great vocal sample dropping in the right way in the right mix. An absolute essential.

Review: Run-DMC's vital Down With The King album is now a hard to believe three decades old and so Get On Down mark the occasion with this special red & clear vinyl 7" real of its title tune for its 30th Anniversary. The album - their sixth at the time - marked a superb comeback for the band having already hit massive sights with the previous platinum album Tougher Than Leather. Gangsta rap had rather pushed the group to the sidelines but this one brought them back to the fore with its catchy melodies and crunchy beats as well as superb bars. On the flip here is the low slung and classic boom-bap sound of 'Come On Everybody.'

Review: The Strokes The Singles - Volume 01 is a 7" vinyl boxset comprised of the ten original vinyl singles released from the band's first three studio albums. Utilising the original singles artwork, the boxset will include standard black 7" vinyl of 'The Modern Age', 'Hard To Explain', 'Last Nite', and 'Someday' taken from Is This It (2001), while '12:51', 'Reptilia', and 'The End Has No End' comes from Room on Fire (2003), and 'Juicebox', 'Heart In A Cage', and 'You Only Live Once' are culled from First Impressions of Earth (2006), all with their accompanying B-sides.

Review: We Jazz Records' periodic seven-inch box sets are a good way to keep up with the Finnish label's unique but often in-demand releases. This third edition is packed to the rafters with (relatively) recent treats, with highlights including the head-nodding spy-jazz suspense of the Stance Brothers' 'On Top' (which is available in two equally as alluring variations), the jaunty Steve Reich-goes-jazz brilliance of 'Erzeben Koma' by Koma Saxo, the Hamond-sporting lounge vibes of Eric Malmberg's 'Till Minne Av Lilly Lindstrom' and the experimental nu-jazz suite that is Otis Sandsjo's 'Tremendoce'. Top-notch, inventive and hugely entertaining: a must-have!