Back catalogue: International

Review: Eroya is a Lagos-based collective bridging generations of musicians who trace Nigerian music from the 1940s to today's Naija grooves. Their sound weaves so called styles such as palm-wine, agidigbo, juju, highlife, Afro-funk and Afrobeat traditions. Key members include Sina Ayinde Bakare, son of juju pioneer Ayinde Bakare, juju legend Fatai Rolling Dollar, Afro-funk saxophonist Prince Eji Oyewole and Afrobeat pianist Duro Ikujenyo of Fela Kuti's Egypt 80. Highlights on this album include Alaba Pedro's soulful 'Ekaete', Tejebaby's hypnotic 'Africa', and Oyewole's flute-led 'Experience'. With its bubbling jazz textures and deep rhythmic energy, Eroya is a perfect tribute to Nigeria's enduring musical contributions.

Review: On a new compilation tracking the performances of various mouth organ groups in the region, Sub Rosa head Guy Marc Hinant levels a timely critique at the commodification of southern Chinese traditional styles native to Guizhou Province. Though he uses the term Miao here, he also reflects on the label's unfortunate popularisation as a product of global market economisation, a trend which between 2006 and 2013 he witnessed first hand, having lived in the area of Dali, Yunnan. This arresting eight-track compilation follows Hinant's very real effort to champion authentic, non-commercial musicians over and above ethno-touristic copycats and recuperators, resulting in this reverent, on-the-ground collection of wedding dances and travelling songs.

Review: This remarkable compilation revives the raw, defiant sound of Bourini Records, which was a short-lived but vital Libyan label active from 1968 to 1975. Far from Cairo's polished pop mainstream, these recordings capture a gritty shaabi hybrid sound that emerged from Egypt's more marginalised regions. Featuring 15 mostly Egyptian artists, including standouts like Sheikh Amin Abdel Qader and Abu Abab, this essential collection showcases striking contrasts such as growling vocal theatrics, haunting laments and minimalist instrumentation that come with an outsider energy that found Bourini's artists voicing the struggles and spirit of the everyday. Over 50 years later, this music is still brilliantly urgent and honest.

Review: Prepare yourself for a wry chuckle, as we impart the fact that the compilation you see hyperlinked before you was not at all prepackaged, with work cut out for its curators. Rather, it came from the source, having first manifested as a pile of Ghanaian highlife LPs buried at the bottom of DJ Jerry Frempong's wife's garden. Frempong is the son of one of one of the most prominent former Ghanaian-British label owners, Anthony Roberts Frempong of Asona Records, whose founding movements in the South East London district of Peckham proved highly popular helping disseminate highlife music in the English capital. BBE Music owner Pete Adarkwah caught wind of the serendipitous discovery and approached Jerry to discuss the reissue of this historic catalogue, which you hear here. The sweetest of early and untrodden highlife highlights are heard here, including sparklers by Kantata, Jewel Ackah, Sam Yeboah, Mr Cee and even Thomas Frempong himself.

Review: International favourites on the boogie-and-beyond selection circuit, Horse Meat Disco deliver the first edition in a brand new compilation tracking yet more heat disco of a Brazilian flavour. Some 13 years in the making, much love and attention has been poured into this compendium, which unearths tracks from the seemingly endless urban goldmines of Brasilia and Rio, twin obsessive loci, nurtured by founding member Luke Eagle amid an extended exploration of the South American nation's dance music culture. Having learned to dance samba and paraded the Rio Carnival, this is a compilation rooted in worldly experience, made up largely of 7" finds. Chief among the brilliants are Ze Carlos' Italoesque wonder 'Venha' and the well-spiced 'Sol De Verao' by Lafayette, spanning years' worth of digging.

Review: A thrilling journey into the golden age of Peruvian cumbia with 28 tracks from the vaults of Discos MAG. Spanning 1964 to 1987, the compilation sees the evolution of a genre that blends Colombian and Cuban tropical rhythms with western influences like 60s beat and psychedelic rock, enriched by indigenous Amazonian and Andean melodies. The result is a kaleidoscope of sound that pulses with life and energy, seamlessly bridging tradition and innovation. Electric guitars intertwine with echoes of orchestral styles, reflecting the influence of figures like Hugo Blanco and Lucho Bermudez while maintaining a distinctly Peruvian identity. Tracks from iconic bands such as Los Diablos Rojos, Los Ecos and Los Demonios del Mantaro highlight the genre's diverse textures, from upbeat anthems to hypnotic grooves. It's a definitive showcase of Peruvian cumbia's enduring vibrancy and cultural depth.

Review: Strut introduces the highly anticipated third volume in the Disques Debs International series, diving deeper into the archives of one of the greatest French Caribbean labels, Disques Debs, based in Guadeloupe. Founded by Henri Debs in the late 1950s, the Debs studio naturally doubled as a record label and ran for over 50 years, releasing more than 300 7" singles and 200 LPs, cementing it as one of the foremost record labels to prize Caribbean music history. Not just limited to Guadeloupean musicians but also Martinicians and Parisians, the likes of Jocelyn Mocka, Mariz, Dominique Parol, Christian Yeye and Alex Rosa make this a thixotropic record, mercurial and restless as it is rooted in forms of zouk, biguine, gwoka and, of course, the nascent electronica. This third volume flaunts the label's dynamic latter-day period, as it interpreted the analog electronic dreams of the 1980s.

Review: Asiko Tito is one of many lost gems of Nigerian music. It has been curated by Lagos' legendary Jazzhole and feature music first recorded in the late 90s. The 10-track compilation captures Afrobeat, Yoruba-funk, Afro-funk, highlife and spiritual jazz gems that reflect Lagos' rich musical tapestry. Each track blends traditional rhythms with modern influences which are the hallmarks of the city's vital scene. Jazzhole is a label led by Olakunle Tejuoso and his son and has been a cultural institution for over 30 years thanks to its championing of African and Afro-diasporic sounds. This is another welcome reissue that reminds us of Nigeria's enduring creativity.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Strut introduces the highly anticipated third volume in the Disques Debs International series, diving deeper into the archives of one of the greatest French Caribbean labels, Disques Debs, based in Guadeloupe. Founded by Henri Debs in the late 1950s, the Debs studio naturally doubled as a record label and ran for over 50 years, releasing more than 300 7" singles and 200 LPs, cementing it as one of the foremost record labels to prize Caribbean music history. Not just limited to Guadeloupean musicians but also Martinicians and Parisians, the likes of Jocelyn Mocka, Mariz, Dominique Parol, Christian Yeye and Alex Rosa make this a thixotropic record, mercurial and restless as it is rooted in forms of zouk, biguine, gwoka and, of course, the nascent electronica. This third volume flaunts the label's dynamic latter-day period, as it interpreted the analog electronic dreams of the 1980s.

Review: Strut continues to explore the vast archives of Disque Debs, a long-running, Guadalupe-based label that, over the course of half a century, released a wealth of music from the Caribbean. In the process, Henri Debs imprint helped launch the careers of countless French-speaking artists while not only showcasing stylistic movements such as zouk, bouyon and merengue, but also bold, colourful and tropical takes on existing Caribbean, Amercian and European sounds. Highlights include - but are in no way limited to - the slowly unfurling, synth-heavy shuffle of Sadi Lancreot's club-ready 'Dou Se Vou Ki Siwo' and the horn-heavy tropical disco brilliance of Dominuque Parol's 'Come On Baby'.

Review: Dating back to the 1920s, rai music emerged in Algeria as a synthetic hodgepodge of Islamic regional and religious musical styles with Western harmony and electronic instrumentation. Located in the major coastal city of Oran, rai music bisected a nighttime economy that emphasised bawdy nightclubs and cabaret, resulting in a distinctive Andalusian-Arabian style. This new compilation from Wewantsounds, joined with curating musician and rare vinyl record exponent Cheb Gero, documents the very cream of the rai scene from the time of the late 80s and early 90s. Cheb Zahouani, Chaba Zohra and Abderrahmane Djalti all epitomise the dashing verve of this mostly tape-bound scene.

Review: Encore has been remastered from the original tapes and features 11 compositions by Arthur Verocai who was joined by the legendary Azymuth, Ivan Lins and a nine-piece string section. The album was a long-awaited follow-up to his 1972 debut so bridges 35 years and bottles up Brazilian influences with American soul and cinematic experimentation. Initially overlooked amongst his wider canon, Verocai's debut gained cult status thanks to Far Out Recordings' Joe Davis who rediscovered it in the late 80s. In 2004, producer Dave Brinkworth brought Verocai back to the studio to reignite his musical brilliance. A master arranger, Verocai's work with Brazilian legends shaped his visionary sound and have helped to cement him as a timeless force in music history.