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Review: Togo Soul 2 is a fantastic compilation of rare Togolese recordings spanning 1974 to 1989. This treasure trove captures the essence of Lome's vibrant music scene and blends traditional voodoo chants, soul, and electro funk. Despite challenges in locating tracks and rights holders, after eight years of perseverance, 13 gems were selected with the guidance of Roger Damawuzan. Featuring stars like Akofa Akoussah and Gregoire Lawani, these tracks showcase Togo's rich musical landscape amid political influences. With original albums commanding high prices online, this selection offers a glimpse into a golden era of Togolese music, celebrating diversity and innovation.

Review: French outfit Chateau Flight have spent two years in the studio making music, playing around and experimenting and now the fruits of that work are presented on this new album La Folie Studio. It is full of the sound of analogue machines conversing and the artists themselves speaking through their darkened basslines or eerie pads. Occult worlds are crafted, ambient soundscapes are cooked up and leftfield cosmic explorations occur throughout a journeying album full of a wide range of emotions. This lovely record features guests on the odd track such as Johnny Nash on guitar, Cosmic Neman mumbling on 'Mange', John Cravache playing 'his special organ" and Bony Bikaye singing on 'Esika Molimo Ezali'. It's an occult world of left of centre sound that will keep you coming back for more.

Review: The much loved llian crew reverts to its Skee Series here and serves up more magic from Skee Mask aka Munich mainstay Bryan Muller. He has roasted pretty exclusively here and never fails to innovate with each new drop. This one again hits the mark across seven elastic techno cuts that are underpinned by lovely dub weight and propelled by tight, pinging kicks. 'Dachtekker' is lit up with hi-tek soul synths straight from Detroit, 'Double Standard' is deliciously deep and driving with swirling pads smeared around up top and 'Small Stone S700' manages to pair soul-drenched chords full of subtle joy with kinetic drum programming that makes you want to move. Superb.

Review: While rooted in the quintessential sound of the late 1950s and early 1960s, UK jazz ensemble The Jazz Defenders explore fresh territory while honouring their jazz heritage on their third album, Memory In Motion. Tracks like 'Chasing Fantasies' and 'Fuffle Kerfuffle' showcase their swing jazz finesse, while 'Meanderthal' and 'Snakebite Playfight' infuse soulful grooves akin to 1960s jazz legends. Collaborations with UK rapper Doc Brown on 'Rolling On A High' and the uptempo funk of 'Net Zero' add modern flair, while introspective moments like 'Take A Minute' and the closing 'Enigma' offer a serene balance. Memory In Motion celebrates jazz's legacy and innovation, blending tradition with contemporary influences for an immersive listening experience.

Review: Chicago outfit Wavelength tap into the funk traditions of bands like Parliament here with a seductive and rather sleazy new EP for Soulistic 360. The whole thing has been arranged by Windy City soul innovator Rahaan and comes on white marbled vinyl 12". Opener 'Can You Handle This Funk' is slow, steamy, sensuous with its languid kicks, live, raw drums and drawled vocals all luring you into the groove. The remix is a subtle teak of the original and on the flip is 'Kemetic Dance Party' which brings more Afro style drums and some bold sax lines to get things going in a more energetic way.

Review: The cult favourite Dark Entries hits 15 in style here and celebrates in the only way it knows how - with more great music. This time it is the legendary synth-punk yahoos Crash Course in Science aka Dale Feliciello, Mallory Yago, and Michael Zodorozny who are in the spotlight. The group formed back in 1979 and set out to make music using toy instruments and kitchen appliances. Their punk-y, aggressive, angular sound soon found a hardcore fan base and gave rise to big tunes like 'Cardboard Lamb' and 'Flying Turns.' In 1981 they recorded Near Marineland, a full-length that never actually saw the light of day but does now and shows the band moving into more diverse and polished territory.

Review: Lol Hammond is a former member of Spiral Tribe and early live techno act The Drum Club who now makes music on his own as Wah Wah Planet. Back in 1990 is when he penned this fantastic five track Balearic house EP alongside Russell Crone and with female vocal contributions from Lucy Sian. It very much lay out an early blueprint for UK street soul and the opener on the A-side 'Jewel' explores a romantic theme with hooky pop lyrics. Things get more left of centre on the 'Love FXU' with three trips into a smoother sound world perfect for sun kissed island dancing and with influences ranging from early breakbeat and trip hop to elements of dancehall music.

Review: Rush Hour has been one of Europe's independent musical powerhouses for decades now. Now only does it have Amsterdam's best record shop, but it throws the best parties and puts put the fresh new records from several different genres. next to that of course they also know how to dig deep and unearth vital reissues, which is what they do here with a triple headed Japanese house affair. Katsuya Sano keeps it OG Chicago with his 'I Need Luv', then Junichi Soma offers the analogue depths of 'Ubnormal Life' and Shuji Wada shuts down with more brilliantly atmospheric sounds on 'Endless Load.'

Review: BBE has delivered something of a future classic here, as decorated Eastern European harpist Alinha Bzhezhinska and British tenor saxophonist Tony Kofi join forces on a picturesque full-length excursion dedicated to the memory of spiritual jazz maestro Pharoah Saunders. It's a genuinely unique and hugely evocative affair, with Kofi's meandering, mesmeric melodies and inspired improvisations snaking in and out of Bzhezhinska's dreamy harp motifs and melodic percussion instruments (think bells, marimbas, vibraphone, xylophone and so on). It's not a familiar musical palette, but it's one that consistently delivers - and then some. Our picks of a very strong bunch include lucid opener 'Tabula Rasu - Blank Slate', the exotic and psychedelic 'Audite Me - Hear Me', and the picturesque, meditative closing cut, 'Altera Vita - Another Life'.

Review: Public Possession welcomes back Aroma Pitch for another four tracker that bares all their usual hallmarks - namely lots of warm analogue sounds that unite everything from driving to Balearic beats via big room nu-disco and playful in-between sounds. 'Millennium Surfer' opens with a wash of gently twirling synth arps and 80s drums, there is a fantastically bubbling bassline and dubby feel to 'Balearic Shift', while 'Staub Groove' is a more thumping house cut with weird synth textures. Without doubt it is closer 'Areal Earth (dub)' that wins the EP with its ethereal pads, dreamy vibes and smooth dub house low end.

Review: DJ Agitated is an alias of a producer who we are told made an appearance on the superb remix album that reworked the best of Steffi's The Red Hunter. Now they join the Dolly TS series with some banging techno that surges along at high speed and never lets up. The Magic Overlooked EP is one that makes no concessions to current trends but instead taps into the essence of good techno no matter when it is made. The melodies are infused with plenty of soul from Detroit, the drums are well-designed and the moods are hard but uplifting.

Review: Hardcore trad house devotees Chixwax keep it nostalgic once more here with a new EP from Nacho Marco that ticks all the boxes for party start house without ever getting trite. Each one makes bold use of the celebrated Roland 909 drum machine and so they all come with booming low ends and punchy drums. None more so than the chord laced and bumping opener 'File 1.' 'File 2' brings dreamy pads and soft focus xylophone melodies Roy Ayres would love and ' File 3' taps into a 90s New York sound. 'File 4' brings a low slung and more dubby rhythm topped with Detroit chords.

Review: Nick and Astro, known collectively as Potatohead People, join forces once again on a tantalising teaser 7" from their upcoming album, Eat Your Heart Out'. Featured on 'Paradise' is the highly hyped Canadian artist Diamond Cafe, whose velvety vocals grace this early 80s-inspired blend of digital sex funk that will remind you of Sade, El Debarge, and Prefab Sprout. Describing his music as "bathing in a cloud of honey on a very foggy night," Diamond Cafe's performance is nothing short of magic here. On the flipside, Nick Wisdom puts his spin on the track, infusing it with dub elements and enhancing the bassline.

Review: The second part of Sushitech's three-part vinyl-only series looking at the work of Dexter is another 12" doozy. The UK underground mainstay has been behind many cult and much sought-after records over the years and they all fuse obscure dub and acid tech house in smart ways. They were recorded between 1997-2004 and if you can find any OGs then you will be paying upwards of 100 quid for them. This slab has three driving but deep sounds carefully detailed with wispy pads and filtered vocals for perfect backroom deployment.

Review: SOLO 500 is back on their own self-titled label with the third entry in Galaxy Sound Company's series and again it digs deep into jazz-funk to turn out some killer breaks. Up first is the main theme from 1974's subway hijack movie The Taking Of The Pelham One Two Three and it is one with a funky, jazzy, high-octane sound that has been sampled by Company Flow, Mix Master Mike and many more. On the backside is an edit of a tune from Manfred Mann Chapter Three's self-titled 1969 LP. This one has been famously sampled by The Prodigy. Another great little 7".

Review: This is the third installment in the Local Sugar Diggers Series from Scruniversal in which old and rare records from the label head's friend's collections get reworked and edited. This one is a collab between ScruScru and an equally passionate digger from Cyprus known as Dwaal. Both tunes offer quite different looks but with great results. The first is the steamy and loose-limbed 'Destination? Funk!' with its squelchy bass and neat guitar riffs, while the flipside is a super deep and lush downtempo jam, 'Camelot Chill'. This one has romantic sax notes and gentle grooves with jazzy keys finishing it in style.