There is such a lot of fantastic hiphop around at the moment, it’s great to hear an album full of mostly instrumental beats. Written and produced by Boris Mezga from Stuttgart, he is one name you will need to keep an eye out for in the future. Within the first few tracks you can see Boris is being influenced by the right kind of producers; from Madlib to Sa-Ra, but creating his own sound. With twenty tracks totalling over 70 minutes, this is a joy to listen to. Even better you can download the full album for free on Tokyo Dawns website

Over the last five months, three beautifully packaged 12’s have been released, produced by the genius Matthew Herbert and featuring stunning vocals from Moloko’s leading lady. All nine tracks from the three 12’s now come complete as a cd package. Of course we have Herbert’s quirky productions skills, which are perfectly suited to Roisin’s vocals, who sounds not a million miles away in style to Herbert’s long time collaborator and wife Dani Siciliano. You have the sought after ‘Night Of The Dancing Flame’, smoker ‘Sinking Feeling’ and my personal faves ‘Ramalama (Bang Bang)’ and ‘Sow Into You’. Keep an eye out for the forthcoming single because it’s supposed to be remixed by someone special.

Now when it gets to the third in a series, some compilations get very tired – you know what to expect and they usually miss the boat altogether from the time its mixed to the eventual release date. But not here, the Unabombers manage to hit the spot with every track. From the slow funked up sound of the highly rated Platinum Pied Pipers, the blissful vocals of S.I.A. right through to the awesome isolee remix of Cardiology by Recloose. Regulars at Electric chair in Manchester will no doubt snap this up, but i’d also recommend it to anyone with a bit of soul – its as simple as that.

Warp’s newest recruit used to be the main man behind Super Collider. His solo work has been highly anticipated and judging by this album it was definitely worth the wait. The first single ‘When I Come Back Around’ is superb and carries the vocal funk of people such as Amp Fiddler. Lidell also borders on Northern soul on the track ‘Music Will Not Last’, furious funk on ‘New Me’ and some lodown jazz piano on ‘What Is It This Time’. Overall the album is very refreshing and gets better by the listen. A million miles away from the usual Warp releases this man is also well worth checking out live if you get the chance. Warp are Brilliant!

NMS return with more funk-fuelled instrumentals on this their fourth album. Most people seem to remember these guys for their funk version of NuYorican Soul’s ‘Nervous Track’ and here they have covered Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Ain’t No Telling’ and Donny Hathaway’s ‘Zambezi’ to great effect. NMS is led by the exceptionally talented guitarist Eddie Roberts and all eleven tracks are as tight as you’d expect with raw and stripped down productions. Keep an eye out for their excellent funk remix of Soldiers of Twilight’s house anthem ‘Believe’

Following on from 2004’s ‘My London Friends’, Arision have kindly given us a chance to own a copy of this now legendary jazz album, where the original sells for big bucks. Recorded at the Living Room in Paris in 1973, this has to be up there with the best piano jazz albums ever recorded. Here Marco plays both the fender Rhodes and piano, to amazing effect with Jacky Sampson on bass and Charles Saudrais on drums, to achieve those funky basslines. Watch out for more reissues from the Arision stable.

This is the first full vocal album produced by Dego, who has also brought in second in command Kaidi Tatham in on the act. This is the kind of album that will become a true classic in years to come and that is not just because of the two names already mentioned. This is also due to the incredible soulful vocals of Deborah Jordon, which fit the productions perfectly, and if that isn’t enough Bembe Segue is on backing vocals. Perfect for home listening and also for any club set. That should be enough reasons for you to spend your hard earned cash. 

Roger Robinson is now into his tenth year of programming poetry, performing, writing and teaching, and currently divides his time between London, New York and Trinidad. He has been hailed the UK’s answer to Saul Williams and just listening to the stunning 7" single ‘Nicola’s Song’ you can see why there is quite a buzz around the release of his debut ‘Illclectica’. Produced by Roger and Rob Mac from Scratch/Speeka, they have arranged twelve brilliant tracks of various styles and moods, with exceptional poetic lyrics from Roger. Whatever you do, do not miss out on this wonderful album, you won’t regret it.

It seems like Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet has been getting some serious attention over the pond recently. He’s just finished remixes for Madib and Jaydee’s Madvillian and his next single ‘Sun Drums and Soil’ is remixed by Sa-Ra, so what a perfect time to release his fourth instalment. You must be aware from the start that this is intense and downright mad but don’t let that put you off because it’s very cleverly produced, with all manner of influences mixed in the pot. Look out for the limited double vinyl because hidden in there is the full album on cd, perfect for home listening.

What struck me when I first listened to this album was I couldn’t quite believe this was their debut; it felt like they’ve been at this game for years. There are the big singles ‘Different Spaces’ and ‘Pheromone’ with not one of the other tracks can be called a filler, well maybe except the ‘Interlude’. It’s just tip top quality. Give this a listen when you’re next on a record hunt, you’ll be walking out of the shop with a copy.

It’s not often I buy compilations but recently there have been some absolute gems. Here John Kong hand picks a brilliant selection of Canada’s finest jazz recordings and how many of us really knew that their jazz scene was so good. All the tracks were chosen for today’s dancefloors and Mr Kong deserves a pat on the back because they do exactly what they say on the sleeve. These tracks only received infrequent airplay on CBC and were available in very limited quantities, so it’s great to have a starter, to kick off the show. Simply this is beautiful and a great to start your Canadian jazz collection.

This has been a long time coming and it’s great to have the finished copy. Things kick off with the amazing title track, which has been on playlists for well over a year and still sounds fresh. ‘Blue Eye Blak’ will satisfy the broken beats head with tracks like ‘Gotta Be A Place For Us’ and ‘Movin On’ and also for people just on the lookout for a damn good album, this has it all. This is a fantastic debut and yes, all the production was done by the man himself. Top marks to People Records

Looking at this album sleeve I was really unsure what to expect: electro or some new wave gubbins but this is a down right beautiful album, which wipes the floor with all the ‘lounge’ style compilations that are currently flooding the market. Things kick off with the lovely ‘Whistling In Tongues’ and all you need to do is sit back and listen to the wonderful experimental sounds. Perfect listening for when you need to calm down when stuck in a traffic jam.

I think most of you have heard or read about the Broadcite collective, so I won’t go into too much detail but these guys have been around for a number of years, creating their own music scene in London. We are now finally starting to their productions released on their own label and here is their first compilation, which features tracks signed from Public Transit and Sonar Kollektiv. This maintains the idea that anything goes but quality music is Broadcite’s number one objective. With tracks that cover just about every style inc. Funk, Broken Beat, Nu Jazz, Electro and Soul, you just can’t go wrong, adding this to your musical collection.