Virgo Stomach Vinyl & CDs

Review: Four years ago Ethio-jazz elder Mulato Astatke came good on a promise he made way back in 2009 and joined forces with Australian collective Black Jesus experience to record a collaborative album. That album, "Cradle of Humanity", did a good job in fusing traditional Ethiopian songs and musical sounds with heady dancefloor grooves rooted in soul, funk and jazz. "To Know Without Knowing" takes a similar approach, balancing certified dancefloor workouts (see the fiery Ethio-funk-meets-Latin jazz flex of "Mascaram Setaba", bustling "Kulun Mankwaleshi" and breezy soul-jazz number "To Know Without Knowing") with deeper, more downtempo excursions that are every bit as alluring.