Time Capsule

Review: Serginho Meriti is a forgotten great of Brazilian funk, who was largely active in the early 80s but had thus far been overlooked by the reissue hounds. That all changes now as Time Capsule jump on his classic 1981 album "Bons Momentos", which transmits to you across the ages in a beautiful cascade of limber Latin heat. The tracks are playful and joyous, not least when aping recognisable musical motifs on tracks like "Malandro Velho". The slower jams hold up too - throughout the honey-coated arrangements and Meriti's smooth croon take on an intoxicating quality that can't fail to leave you feeling good, whatever the weather.

Review: Time Capsule's latest dive into lesser-known Japanese musical culture doesn't focus on dusty old music from the dim and distant past, but rather relatively obscure music made between 2008 and 2016 by artists specializing in "Island music" - a kind of hard-to-pigeonhole and stylistically eclectic sound with a defiantly tropical twist. This eclecticism makes for great listening and some genuinely unusual and entertaining musical fusion. For proof, check the hybrid jazz/reggae/jazz-funk flex of Speak No Evil's self-titled opener, the reverb-laden, bottle-neck Balearic blues of Aqatuki and the dub disco-with-surf guitars of Altz. Best of all, though, is probably the dubby exotica of Keichi Takanka, who delivers two contrasting versions of the same track ("City of Aleppo" and "City of Dub"). Top stuff!