Back catalogue: International

Review: The FunkyJaws Music label invites us deep into their world for a third time here with another delicious 12".It's a various artists EP that features one of our top disco favourites - Eddie C. He opens up with 'Do You Wanna Dance' which has vocals pacing about the mix and old school acid bass twangs under raw house drums. Elado's '25.4 Millimeters' is a Middle Eastern funk workout with spangled drum hits and the flip side brings twisted acid disco and the cosmic trip that is 'In Your Ear With It' from Funkyjaws themselves.

Review: Mushroom Pillow is on a proud and so far successful mission to bring back Latin American music from the 60s-80s via its Relatin project. it's all about mixing up the traditional and the modern and putting fresh spins on what went before. Many of the originals they look to have gone unnoticed the first time round and that's the case here as Franc Moody adds his own twist to Elia & Elizabeth's 'Alegria.' His remix is a sympathetic one that gets the hips swinging over fat and funky disco bass and beneath the sunny Latin vocals. He strips them away on the instrumental version on the flip.

Review: Portuguese producer Fradinho takes care of the fourth release from Eclectic Beats Music and does them proud. This is a sunny and worldly trip through broken beat with hints of musical styles from Brazil and Africa, jazz licks, funk and soul. The lively instrumentalism brings plenty of energy to the cuts starting with 'Afro Fado' which has big horns and 'Brasilenco' which is aimed squarely at the rump. 'Cabanas' is a more pensive and spiritual cut and 'Freedom' pairs soft chords with prickly stick work. Two further gems will have you moving and feeling in equal measure.

Review: Available here for the first time on vinyl, Lebanese singer Fairuz's 1991 album - previously only sold on CD and tape - has lost none of its romance or immersive qualities since the last time you heard it. Meanwhile, if this is your first outing with the eastern Mediterranean siren, prepare to dive into a mesmerising experience in which Arabic tones meets jazz-funk on an impressive scale, with unarguably rich depth.

A career spanning six decades, Fairuz is nothing short of a legend in her home region, with many citing her among the most famous vocalists from the Arab world. The Soul of Lebanon, no less, her voice is incredible but the work she aligned with, and pushed into the mainstream, is perhaps what's most impressive. Straddling genres and cultures with aplomb, the tragedy of the western music industry's homogenous attitude means many are still unaware. Thankfully, here's chance to rectify that.

Review: Farid El Atrache's Nagham Fi Hayati is one of those cult records that diggers pride themselves just for knowing about, let alone owning. It now gets a first ever reissue since its initial release in 1974 by the Voice of Lebanon label thanks to Wewantsounds. It is a soundtrack to the eponymous movie and has been sampled by the likes of The Beatles. El Atrache's unique vocal style and rare versatility is showcased across the tracks as as some brilliantly funky world rhythms on monster grooves like 'Hebina Hebina' which is said to be a favourite of Brian Eno, no less.

Review: Thanks to an upsurge in interest in zouk, the synthesizer-heavy tropical style that emerged from the French Antilles in the early 1980s, reissues of superb but hard to find gems from the style's original heyday are becoming increasingly popular. This one from Strut Records is a peach. Originally released in 1988, "Las Pale" is the sole album from Feeling Kreyol, a female trio from Guadeloupe assembled and produced by local studio buffs Darius Denon and Frankie Brumier. It remains a brilliantly effervescent and colourful set, with the trio adding strong and attractive to distinctively tropical drum machine rhythms, shimmering synths, kaleidoscopic melodies and jangling guitars. In other words, it's a giddy blast of electronic tropical brilliance. Don't sleep.

Review: Amaro Freitas, hails from Recife, Brazil, and is propelled through life through by searching out different experiences. Venturing to Manaus in the Amazon basin in 2020 before starting work on this album, pianist Freitas immersed himself in a transformative journey that influenced his musical creation profoundly. Collaborating with the Satere Mawe indigenous community, his album Y'Y pays homage to nature and ancestral wisdom. Through tracks like 'Mapinguari (Encantado da Mata)' and 'Uiara (Encantada da Agua) - Life and Cure,' Freitas weaves tales of powerful spirits and mystical encounters. Incorporating elements from Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous cultures, the record is a significant exploration of connection, tradition, and the incandescent power of enchanted spirits.

Review: You might know Airto Moreira and Flora Purim as the King and Queen of Brazilian Jazz and for good reason. They have spent more than the last half decade putting out some of their homeland's finest and most richly rewarding jazz albums as well as playing exhilarating live shows all over the world. They have found favour with jazz lovers everywhere as a result, from Japan's concert halls to the UK's jazz-funk scenes. If You Will was their last album back in 2022 and it got a Grammy, and now A Celebration: 60 Years - Sounds, Dreams & Other Stories brings together some of their best work from over the last 60 odd years. Essential stuff.