Soundway レコード& CD

Review: Remastered release of Circus Underwater's 1984 self titled outing, including unreleased tracks taken from the original quarter inch tapes. Something of an unsung, DIY prog-electronic masterpiece, Circus Underwater now comes reissued with an insert, which retells the unique story of this oddball duo. An incredibly obscure LP and musical project first conceived under the aegis of Washington DC label Glass Wing, its two founding members are still unknown to us; all we know is that they are/were two friends who set off on a psychic quest - from the beatnik suburbs of their US capital city to the parallel hippie recesses of San Francisco - and produced this ambient prog jetsetter in the process.

Review: Curiosities is the second album in the trilogy from in-demand New Zealand multi-instrumentalist and producer Lord Echo. Six years after initial release, this reissue sounds as vital as ever and is extra DJ-friendly given that it is spread across two slabs of wax. It covers plenty of ground from escapist tropical ambient to lovably lazy dubs via vivid disco-funk. Highlights come in the form of "Molten Lava" and its heart wrenching vocals and the gospel grooves of "The Creator Has A Master Plan". Winter might be fast approaching, but so long as you have sounds as warm and sunny as these around, summer will never feel too far away.

Review: Fela Kuti and Tony Allen are your key starting points when it comes to the wild frenetic Afrobeat fusion Nigeria gave us in the late 60s but dig a teeny bit deeper and you'll find multi instrumentalist Tunji is right behind them. Armed with his band The Benders, Tunji ran a tight ship and perhaps should've done with a little more recognition. Now living and gigging in London, he's curated this essential collection of tracks from Afrobeat's most prolific era.

Review: Revisionist history is just as important for music as it is for geopolitics or economics, so we're more than happy to recognise this 'Alternative Vision Of Argentinian Music' throughout one of the most important decades in popular music history. Whereas popular thought tended towards Argentina being a hotbed for 'rock nacional' (national rock) music made in the post-dictatorship return to democracy, here Soundway focus on the more extreme ends of the experimental music fringes that cropped, thanks to the newfound freedoms allowed by neoliberal policies. Arthur Russell-esque disco, downtempo battle breaks, avant-garde obscurities - it's all there.

Review: Having explored the rich heritage of Nigeria and Ghana with well researched vigour, Soundway turn to Kenya for their next adventure... A rare insight: while Lagos was churning out seminal Afrobeat compositions, Kenya took to western influences in a much subtler fashion. With heavy emphasis on the Kenyan benga and Afro-Cuban rumba there's a much deeper, local folk presentation and format throughout most of the selection. Complete with detailed notes and beautiful presentation (like all Soundway compendiums) this won't look out of place in any collection.

Review: The mighty Soundway Records label head Miles Cleret and DJ/collector Jeremy Spellacey turn their expert digging and curatorial skills to the Soca Dub & Electronic Calypso sounds of 1979 to 1998 on this bumper new triple pack. The 17 tracks touch on obscurities, instrumentals and dubs, vocal edits and all manner of roots, boogie, reggae, house, soul and disco gems. It makes for a never less than heart swelling collection that bring immediate sunshine to even the most rainy, cold days in the north of England. Highlights are plentiful, but our picks of the bunch are Bill Campbell's "Body Beat" which does exactly what it says on the tin, Adonijah's disco stomper ("It's Alright") and Levi John's "Soca", a lo-fi oddity with brilliantly loose drum work.

Review: Soundway offer us a new compilation featuring 20 rare tracks from the currently much talked about world of Nigerian pop music; a zeitgeist of their early 1980s club culture. The country's economy was booming at the time and so was its recording industry. Strongly influenced by '70s disco and funk, this new generation were, as the liner notes explain "Eager to sound as American as possible with no hint of the fervour for afro-beat, afro-rock and afrocentric thinking that the 1970s had thrown up". The original albums that many of these singles came from go for exorbitant prices online, so here's a chance to snap up some of the periods finest music, remastered across three 12"s.

Review: Ritmo Fantasia is the name of this superb 21 track selection, and it has been curated by Berlin-based, Venezuelan-born producer, DJ and record obsessor Trujillo. As the name suggests, this is music plucked from the outer fringes of the Spanish electronic scene from the 80s and 90 with plenty of proto sounds from the worlds of bleep, hip house, electro, boogie, Iberian pop and plenty more. It is a treasure trove of obscure but essential grooves for Balearic heads and music lovers alike. The artwork alone is worth the cover price, so big up Soundway for this one.