This debut release from People Tree Records, appropriately entitled ‘Welcome To The People Tree’ focuses on folk flavours from the past to the present. Over fifteen tracks we’re treated to tripped out delights such as Linda Perhacs’ ‘Paper Mountain Man’, John Martyn’s ‘Glory Box’, ‘Swallow’ from Circulus and a version of the evergreen ‘Corn Riggs’ by Marked & Joff. Joy Jones contributes ‘Troubles (Cure Me)’ but the real standouts are ‘Pure English Honey’ by former Mother Earth front man Matt Deighton, the poetic ‘Where The River Bends’ from Cry Earth and the outstanding jazz-folk sound of Grand Union’s ‘Morning Brings The Light’.

Arision again dig deep to bring us a welcome re-issue of Gruppo Jazz Marca"s Italian rarity "Mitteleuropa". Here pianist Roberto Magris extends his usual trio to accommodate a horn section giving the compositions a much fuller sound than that found on their "Comunicazone Sonora" album (also re-issued on Arision), which is most effective on the immaculate "Dedalus".

Already off to a flying start with the likes of Ben Westbeach and a UK issue of Soil & Pimp Sessions, Gilles Peterson and Simon Goffe’s new Brownswood label now unleashes the outstanding debut from The Heritage Orchestra. The forty plus collective in collaboration with Chris Bowden present a selection of beautifully crafted cinematic jazz-funk arrangements. From the set’s opener ‘Mothers And Daughters Now Mothers’, a nine minute epic, you know you’re in for a treat. The drama continues with breathtaking moments such as ‘Sky Breaks’ featuring vocalist Liz Swain and ‘Tell Me Stories’ with Natalie Williams on lead but this is an album that really needs to be savoured in its entirety.

It’s always a pleasure when an album comes along that you weren’t expecting and completely blows you away. It was hip-hop bands like Public Enemy that got me into electronic music and it’s been very interesting over the years to see how things have progressed and gone wider afield. The Recluse Crew are from Helsinki and produce some of the funkiest heavy bassline beats you’ll hear. Perfectly suited lyrics are from Dirty Smarts and LLC. It sounds like these guys have been honing their skills for years and getting tips from the masters. Finnish hip-hop may not have sprung to mind previously but this is heavy weight stuff. I’ll be keeping an eye on Kool Kat in the future.

It was only a few months ago that part 1 was released and it goes to show how much excellent music Tru Thoughts have up their sleeve when they can release part 2 so soon. You may be thinking ‘not another compilation’, but wait- this has some wonderful gems. Nostalgia 77 is releasing albums almost as quick as Quantic and two of his tracks are here. Nativeland, which was recorded live at the jazz cafe is brilliant, and the track with Wah Wah 45s Capstone is beautiful. Also featured are the ace first instalment of the collaboration with Quantic and Spanky Wilson and ace remix of Alice Russell’s "Mirror Mirror on the Wolf" by Bonobo. Hip-hop is covered by Simpson, Dirty Diggers and Phi-Life Cypher, with some funk by The Broken Keys… Pheew.

Those of you who have been on the ball will have noticed that a number of tracks from “All I Can Provide” have been released on 12″ over the last few months. With productions from Vikter Duplaix and King Britt, those guys gave Clara the exposure she deserved but it’s the tracks with Slope, Atjazz, Sandboy and Meitz that really make this album worthwhile. These four producers cross broken, boogie and soul to make Clara’s voice sound her best yet. S.K continues their domination.

Paul Murphy has been on the scene since the beginning and it’s only in recent years, that outside of London he’s been recognised and received the press and attention that’s years overdue. Paul has been producing for a number of years and it’s so good to finally hear his debut. “The Trip” features the previous singles “Jazz Room”, “Seven Samurai”, “Budapest Chachacha”, “Soul Call” and some corking new tracks. The wonderful fitting tribute to Herbie Mann and the title track is certain to find a home with nu-jazz and house heads to become a late summer anthem. Ensure you seek out and support a true legend!

2006 has been an amazing year for music and there has been no let-up on weekly releases since January. Trying to listen to everything is difficult due to time and if you play across the board it’s hard to give each piece of music the attention it deserves. So after “Modern Sleepover”, “Please Please Please Me” from the Wah Wah 45s compilation a few months ago and recently “Garden of Dance”, I was ready for something special and believe me this is more than something special- it’s going to be a masterpiece, if you’ve got your head screwed on properly. The lyrics are clever and some of the funniest you’ll hear this year, certain to put a smile on your face, if not split your sides.. When was the last time you heard a band sing about being a carrot or a lobster and this is only the start. Todd Terje has been quoted saying “that he nearly wet his pants when he heard “Modern Sleepover”: you’ve been warned.

After much anticipation Amp Fiddler’s sophomore set is finally with us. ‘Right Where You Are’, ‘Faith’ and ‘Dope’ from the limited edition 10"s are all included on the vinyl but unfortunately the latter is omitted from the CD version. On first listen it’s these tracks that standout but by the second play it becomes apparent there are more gems contained within. ‘Ridin”, an uplifting Philly disco influenced track is certainly one of the highlights for me along with the old school stepper ‘Heaven’ featuring Stephanie McKay and ‘Hustle’ a stunning sensual Marvin-esque piece with strings provided by Larry Gold.

Following a number of impressive 12s for Sonar Kollektiv and Still Music Enrico Crivellaro aka Isoul8 delivers a full album of deep house delights. The tracks from the 12s, ‘Give It Up’ featuring Valerie Etienne, ‘Speak Your Word’ with Rasiyah & Osunlade, ‘Free’ featuring Just One and the magnificent Paul Randolph fronted ‘On My Heart’ are all present and correct. Cuts such as ‘How I Feel’ and ‘No Longer Fear’ with Marcus Begg on vocals pay homage to the old school and come complete with drum machine hand-clap effects. ‘Clover’ and ‘So Simple’ again graced by Paul Randolph and Rasiyah respectively both have a real sunshine vibe and feature gentle acoustic guitar touches. Not to be overlooked though is the collaboration with Kaidi Tatham ‘A Silent Force’, an atmospheric track which echoes the sounds of the jungle.

Ben Lamdin’s latest Nostalgia 77 project has got to be his finest to date. Available on limited edition vinyl only it includes 3 outstanding ethereal jazz works. The title track, a 22 minute epic is a disjointed yet essential listening experience. ‘Well Being 1’ features some serious drum work reminiscent of Art Blakey but the standout has got to be their rendition of Adele Sebastian’s ‘Desert Fairy Princess’, a beautiful example of modality.

Jazzy Sport has been mostly associated with hiphop projects, and let thier producers dip their toes in other styles. Cro-Magnon stood out because they went for all things disco, perfectly suited to the dj sets of Greg Wilson, Maurice Fulton, DJ Harvey, Idjut Boys, to name a new. There is the style of disco you might expect but also thrown in there are influences of funk, reggae and soul. Excited? you should be.