Comet France Vinyl & CDs

Review: Ayizan's lone album, 'Dilijans' originally came in 1984. Since then, it has been seen as something of a slept-on, hard-to-find classic. Musically it joined the dots between "compas" (a style popular in Dominica and the Antilles) with folk, jazz, funk and soul. This is the latest reissue and a great chance to cop a record that is the epitome of breezy, soulful, sun-kissed tropical goodness. Top tunes range from the chant-along, carnival-ready flex of the title track and marimba-fired, beat-free brilliance of 'Tem'.

Review: Full Moon Ensemble's Crowded With Loneliness is one of the French free jazz scene's early classics. It is now the first reissue from Comets new series and it comes on lovely gatefold vinyl. Produced by Claude Delcloo, it has echoes of Pharaoh Sanders and politically-engaged French poetry (most of which was inspired by US poet Bob Kaufman) over next-level drumming. The band saw very little commercial success but was much loved on the live scene. They all went their separate ways as a result and left behind this holy grail which is now available to all once more.

Review: Few sounds transcend time like Afrobeat, and few artists defined it as profoundly as Tony Allen who has long been the genre's legendary heartbeat. In 2011, Allen recorded a masterful rhythmic session for Comet Records' Afrobeat Makers Series where his drumming, unconstrained and deeply expressive, speaks a universal truth through its unique cadence. On this album, La BOA-La Bogota Orquesta Afrobeat-engages Allen's legacy in a remarkable dialogue led by Daniel Michel. The Colombian band blends Afrobeat's essence with their unique rhythms and merges Caribbean beats, Pacific grooves and Andean influences into a fittingly lively tribute and a seamless cultural exchange where Bogota meets Lagos.

Review: Ebo Taylor And The Pelikans were Afro-funk masters of the seventies. Their self-titled 1976 record is one of the most well-regarded and highly sought-after Ghanaian funk offerings and now it gets a high-quality reissue by Comet Records. This album contains the legendary 'Come Along' and is the first time revered artist, arranger, musician and producer Ebo sang the seminal Ghana funk tune. He is joined throughout by the 12-piece Cape Coast collective The Pelikans led by Bessa Simmona with rhythm guitarist Fifi Orleans Lindsay.