International Recommendations April 2015

Review: Here lie the deepest foundations of highlife ever curated. Researched with passion and attention to detail by Dr Markus Coester, this not only traces the popular Nigerian and Ghanaian genre to its earliest roots (Fela Kuti's earliest recordings are on here - never released in over 50 years!) but also its global footprint as the sound and its creators floated between London and Lagos for recording sessions and creative free-for-alls. Complete with detailed notes, photos and classic adverts of the era, this is the ultimate highlife time capsule that keeps on giving. Superb as always from Soundway.

Review: Founded by Julio Ernesto Estrada and heavily inspired by the Fania All-Stars, legendary Latin funk troupe Fruko Y Sus Tesos delivered over 10 albums during their 30 year tenure. Most prolific in the mid 70s, these cuts are taken from the band's prime; "El Preso" is a firing mambo that dynamically strips back to just a raw piano backbone before building up with its overwhelmingly tight horns. Things get a little strange on the B as the band over Swing Sextet's "Bang Bang" with warped, wonderful and ultimately psychedelic results. Stunning.

Review: For those interested in the development of black South African music during the height of the oppressive apartheid regime, Strut's excellent Next Stop Soweto series has always been essential listening. This fourth instalment is, unsurprisingly, another cracker, and is once again packed with high-grade material that perfectly showcases some of the best hybrids of Western rock, soul funk and disco with indigenous South African styles. Highlights are plentiful, and include the riotous dancefloor madness of The Movers' "Soweto Disco", the synthesizer-heavy wooziness of TY Boys, Xoliso's chunky stoner funk-rock, and the anthem-like, slap bass-propelled brilliance of Harari's "Give".