Juno Recommends International: March 2023

Review: As part of its 10th anniversary, Emotional Rescue reunites with Steve Coe to serve up another reissue from his legendary label. Now comes a selection of tunes that were only released as a white-label promo back in 1984. Original copies if you can find them go for eye wateringly high amounts but now you can own the gold for a much more reasonable fee. 'Can't Face The Night (club mix)' is a unique mix of disco and Indian melody with soaring vocals uniting all on the dance floor. A dub mix follows as does the epic Chuggy Discomix part 1 & 2 which is drawn you and lavish in its grooves and intoxicating melodies.

Review: Cultural icon Don Letts joins forces here with the masterful musician Greg Foat and producer James Thorpe to make a new entry into the Relatin project series. It is one where artists engaged with Latin musical roots from another era and update them for the here and now. Here they bring plenty of heavy dub vibes and great special awareness to a tune by Venezuelans Un Dos Tres. Greg Foat & James Thorpe also step up with a remix that is just as heavy and summery.

Review: Manu Dibango's grooves will never dull with time. The Cameroonian sax man made some of the most infectious, feel-good funk to ever transmit from the African continent, and here's one of his heavy-hitting high-watermarks, reissued by Soul Makossa. African Voodoo originally came out in 1972, a year that saw nearly all Dibango's most revered jams cut loose on an unsuspecting public. These sessions were recorded in France with Yvan Julien on trumpet, Slim Pezin on guitar, Jacques Bolgnesi on trombone and Lucien Dobat on drums to name but a part of the line-up, but of course it's Dibango holding court on the vibes, marimba, sax and organ who brings the unmistakable magic to the music.

Review: The result of three years of digging through tapes of "strange music" in the Radio Mogadishu archives and restless research to find the musicians involved, Analog Africa's latest compilation shines a light on Somalia's previously undocumented dance music scene. It features tracks recorded between 1972 and '91 by a variety of unknown artists, with the assembled music touching on disco, psych-funk, Moog-laden club-focused instrumentals and heavyweight, Bob Marley-inspired reggae rhythms. It's a hugely vibrant and entertaining set of off-kilter and unusual Somalian translations of American and Caribbean music styles, with the bumper accompanying booklet offering up a wealth of little-known information.

Review: Madrid via Cuba musical gang El Combo Batanga have finally dropped this new double-sider 7". It was teased by the early reals sou the a-side which brings plenty of dance floor filing heat with 'El Que La Rompe La Paga'. It's packed with samba shuffle, expressive horn work and results, and relentless keys work designed to get the ass moving. On the flip is 'Toca La Campana' which is a little less dense but not less rhythmic in the way it sways to and fro with fiery Spanish vocals and funk riffs.

Review: Naples-born jazz drummer Tullio De Piscopo has many an album and band project to his name, but his solo career kicked off in 1974 with this album of incendiary drum grooves which have long since been coveted by crate digging beat junkies. There are a variety of approaches explored, from Western rockist grooves to Afro-Cuban and much more besides, presented in a library format with infinite uses. Or you might well just want to lose yourself in these percussive escapades, such is the dynamism of De Piscopo's playing. A highly prized item now finally in reach for all drum aficionados.

Review: The seemingly endless list of compilations that Wagram have been working on over the last years keeps on turning out gold. This time after editions looking into tech, soul, house and everything else, they serve up an overview of calypso. Arriving in a lovely gatefold sleeve, this one takes in key tracks by all the masters of this form such as Atilla the Hun, Lord Invader, Sonny Rollins Four, Mighty Panther and Henri Debs Sextet & Paul Blamar in a selection that will have you feeling the sun on your face in no time.