Tags: European

Review: The latest must-cop record from the good people at Big Crown is a real summer special. Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band serve up some seriously soul-enriching grooves, with the impossibly warm and good time vibes that come from steel drums on each and every one. The beats are rooted in funk, with fat bass and expressive horn work bring each one to life. There are sojourns into dub, disco and jazz, and the whole thing bris with so much character and personality that it cannot but put a smile on your face.

Review: Spanish reissue label Rocafort present this wonderful slice of highlife from Konkolo Orchestra, this time on nice blue wax as well as a plain black version. It's not exactly clear where, or indeed when, exactly the band came from, but their sound is all you need to worry about. 'Blue G' is a lilting, shuffling message of love and support for future generations, and from the message to the effervescent musicality, it's a no-brainer. On the flip, 'That Good Thing' is an instrumental that spirals outwards on the sweetest keys, joyous brass and dreamy guitar, driven by a pattering drum section to radiate good vibes wherever it's played.

Review: Belgian-Moroccan singer Aicha Haskal is at the heart of this fabulous project which sees her joining creative forces with super-talented musicians from the Belgian scene. Between them, the group has a mad diverse spread of backgrounds and influences which means their music too is broad in scope - psychedelic sounds and funky grooves, Arabic melodies and European rhythms all feature in this album as do rap and parlando. Egyptian poet Abdelhamid Farag penned their first single 'Ghalat' and now this album expands around that with music that fights the oppression of women and fights for revolution.

Review: Lebanese singer Pol Seif has linked with various European instrumentalists for this Molo Sayat project , which has its base camp around the Med. The band compose their material in Arabic, Italian and Romani languages and their first release on Zephyrus Records oozes a soul soothing calmness and plenty of colourful folk sounds. The musicianship is second to none as saxophone, clarinet, double bass and trumpets are all blended into one smooth and beautiful soundscape as Serf's voice adds another layer of magic. Whether jazzy and upbeat such as 'Kai Zhas Seka' or slow and mournful like 'Adame' these are all essential sounds.