Recorded on 15th February 1954 and 23rd / 30th July 1956 in Hollywood, California. Baker’s 14-track debut vocal album, originally released on Pacific Jazz in 1956.

Live! is an album recorded in 1971 by Fela Kuti's band Africa '70, with the addition of former Cream drummer Ginger Baker on two songs.

A stylish selection of city pop, funk and modern soul from Japanese label Nippon Columbia, selected by DJ Notoya and featuring cult classics and rarities by Hiroshi Sato, Hatsumi Shibata, Hitomi 'Penny' Tohyama & many more.

Soundway Records present a new compilation of twenty rare and mostly unavailable tracks from the slick and sassy world of Nigerian pop music and club culture of the early 1980s.

Following on almost exactly a year to the day from the release of their acclaimed debut “For the first time”, the band have harnessed the momentum from that record and run full pelt into their second, with “Ants From Up There”.

Blue Note Re:imagined is a brand-new collection of classic Blue Note tracks, reworked and newly recorded by a selection of the UK scene’s most exciting young talents.

An ocean of water has passed under the Zero 7 bridge since we originally issued this collection of music.

Dorothy Ashby was an American jazz harpist, one of the very few who used her instrument to play credible jazz and bebop.

Double vinyl remastered from the original masters and pressed extra loud for DJs. There are very few albums across any genre that stand the test of time better than 93 ‘Til Infinity, the classic debut record from the Hieroglyphics crew’s very own Souls of Mischief.

Although Simone covers songs by Bob Dylan and The Beatles, among others, most of the versions feature arrangements substantially different from the original recordings.

Carole King brought the fledgling singer / songwriter phenomenon to the masses with Tapestry, one of the most successful albums in pop music history. A remarkably expressive and intimate record, it's a work of consummate craftsmanship.

All in all, a rare treat composed of, er, rare treats. Thoroughly recommended.

The Bristol-based trip-hop pioneers had, potentially, a huge task on their hands to follow up the hugely influential 1991 debut album ‘Blue Lines.’ But they managed it with apparent ease, delivering a record that would end up in a Rolling Stone list of the ten coolest albums of all time. Co-producing with Nellee Hooper, the Massive Attack collective delivered another masterstroke by utilising guest musicians and vocalists throughout the album, as they had on ‘Blue Lines.’ This time, without Shara Nelson, they included Nigerian singer-songwriter Nicolette, Jamaican reggae veteran Horace Andy and, perhaps most memorably, Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl on the title track, which became a UK top 15 single. Credit: udiscovermusic

For most artists who are discovered behind the mixing boards, making the transfer from producer to MC proves a daunting task. Fortunately for Kanye West, his verbal skills more than rise to the challenge of his consistently superior beats.

Recorded live at the Village Vanguard on June 25, 1961, the same night as Sunday At The Village Vanguard, this set rounded out what became known as an early "full" portrait of Bill Evans.

A highly creative record which pitchfork described as consisting of "wistful soul and warm funk", through his exploration of heartbreak and his own mental health issues. A worthy testament to Mac MIller.

Spot the ad!

A cosmic coming together that sees two of Luke's secret weapons, re-edited and re-contextualised by the man himself to provide optimal dancefloor euphoria.

Van Morrison went a long way towards defining his wild Irish heart with his first two classic albums: the brooding, introspective Astral Weeks (1968), and the expansive, swinging Moondance.

No matter how controversial, it remains one of the greatest and most influential hip-hop albums of all time.

A tripped- out, cosmic, Spanish language version of Jamie Principle & Frankie Knuckles' all-time classic 'Your Love', complete with an extended club re-edit from Luke Una & Luke Solomon.

"The Stone Roses" is the debut studio album by the British rock band The Stone Roses, released in 1989. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums in British music history.

Witch was the first band in Zambia to release a commercial album — 1973’s Introduction.

In a career laden with highlights and hallmarks in the annals of soul history, Just As I Am is rather overlooked as one of the best soul debuts ever issued.

It’s a deeply personal oering about her trek to falling back in love with musical composition over the past four years.

The double album is Lamar's first studio album release since Damn (2017), his first album release under his creative collective PGLang, and his final project with TDE (under which he previously released four albums and was one of their flagship artists).

Four decades have failed to dull the album’s power and awe-inspiring scope. It’s been cited as a favorite by figures like Prince, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey – and Wonder himself. “Of all the albums, Songs in the Key of Life I’m most happy about,” he told Q magazine in 1995. “Just the time, being alive then. To be a father and then letting go and letting God give me the energy and strength I needed.” Credit: Rolling Stone

Music That Inspired Buena Vista Social Club

The definitive female singer songwriter album of the 70's 1971's Blue is just about as perfect as an album can be.

Circles is the sixth and final studio album by Mac Miller. Conceived as a sister album to 2018's full length Swimming, the album was completed with the assistance of Jon Brion, with whom Miller worked on Swimming and had been working together on Circles at the time of his passing.

This collection features sixteen of the most renowned salsa and Latin soul singles released on Fania Records, and its subsidiaries, between 1964-1978, making it the perfect introduction to the legendary catalog.

Timepeace was recorded in 1998 after a 15 year long career break and won the United Nations's Time For Peace award for outstanding artistic achievement contributing to world peace.

Long before the likes of Daft Punk and Air, Ludovic Navarre, better known as St Germain, was breaking new ground as one of the original french dance artists.

For this classic encounter, the only collaboration ever between Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, Duke sat in with the John Coltrane Quartet for a set dominated by Ellington's songs

without 'rubber soul,' there would be no psychedelia.

Disco from a label that digs for Japanese jazz, funk, soul, rare groove and disco music.

Aretha Franklin disproved the notion that once you leave the church, you can't go back. She returned in triumph on this 1972 double album, making what might be her greatest release ever in any style.

It is with great joy that we present the Mr Bongo edition of Marcos Valle's 1983 self-titled masterpiece. A pure vintage that features the ultimate Brazilian-boogie cult-classic 'Estrelar' and iconic 80s cover art that sees a gloriously sun-drenched Marcos dressed in a pink v-neck t-shirt surrounded by a generous selection of deadly-looking neon cocktails.

Million selling album originally released in 1999 on Jive Records.

The 4th Led Zeppelin album, untitled but commonly known as "Led Zeppelin IV" or "Four Symbols". Originally released in 1971 it became their biggest seller and one of the biggest selling albums of all-time.

Often cited as one of the best hip-hop albums of the '90s, 'Illmatic' is the undisputed classic upon which Nas' reputation rests.

2000 Blacks Got To Be Free is a musical collaboration between the African American vibraphone player Roy Ayers and Fela.

Get out! Fight!” The Lijadu Sisters’ Horizon Unlimited is the insurgent afrofunk their second cousin Fela strived to create.

Small Changes is the eagerly anticipated follow-up to Michael’s eponymous third LP, the Mercury Prize winning, and Grammy Award nominated Kiwanuka.

Females have never figured strongly in the ranks of blues and rock guitar players, but the woman featured on this LP can claim to be one of the formative influences on modern rock ‘n’ roll guitar.

After putting down the saxophone, the instrument he has become synonymous with, Shabaka returns with his first full length album under his own name.

Kiwanuka is the follow-up to Michael’s number 1 album, Love and Hate, released back in July 2016 that resonated broadly both critically and in the public’s affections, netting the British musician his second Mercury Prize nomination and his second and third Brit nominations too.

London Brew is inspired by Miles Davis’ album, Bitches Brew. Recorded in December 2020 at the Church Studios, this three-day recording session brings together 12 London-based artists

It seems hard to believe, given the career full of revolutionary and hugely influential stylistic shifts that followed, that this superb record was only David Bowie's fourth.

"Backed By Jimmy Bond And Albert 'Tootie' Heath, This Album Showcases Her (Nina Simone) Ballad Voice As One Of Mystery And Sensuality And Her Up-Tempo Jazz Style With Authority And An Enigmatic Down- Home Feel That Is Nonetheless Elegant. The Album Also Introduced A Fine Jazz Pianist. Simone Was A Solid Improviser Who Never Strayed Far From The Blues." - Thom Jurek, AllMusic

The British jazz / hip hop fusion collective Us3 founded in 1992 in London and its notable members included producers Mel Simpson and Geoff Wilkinson. 

Jamie xx releases a remastered version of his debut album In Colour on Young Turks.

Debut album by English indie rock band. 

Fragments is the most emotionally intense record that he - aka Simon Green - has ever had to make. It’s no surprise that it’s also his masterpiece.

Donny Hathaway's third solo studio album, 'Extension of a Man', followed the soul singer's lauded 1972 collaboration with vocalist Roberta Flack.

Mercurial bassist and bandleader Charles Mingus was signed to Columbia records for the briefest of time during 1959.

Second only to Kind of Blue by Miles and Jazz Samba by Stan Getz, as the most commercially successful jazz record of all time (it even contained a single for the pop charts, Paul Desmond's magnificent Take Five'), Brubeck brilliantly popularised jazz and offered it as a palatable alternative to Bobby Vee

Two Piers release the second in their ‘Presents’ compilation series with Steve Mason (Beta Band, King Biscuit Time) stepping up to the curation table to deliver a stunning compilation of tracks entitled ‘The Romance of Unknowing’.

Released in 1988, the album has somewhat grown in cult status to frequently appear on a number of greatest albums of all time lists.

Little Simz is a boundary-breaking musician and cultural curator, recognised as one of the UK’s most captivating and visionary artists.

Never Too Much: Greatest Hits' is the companion piece to the documentary 'Luther Vandross: Never Too Much', produced by Sony Music Vision and FoxxHole Productions.

Lou Reed's second solo album Transformer is an album that everyone should own. 

Simon Green (AKA Bonobo) returns with his fourth and finest album, Black Sands. 

"People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm" is the debut studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released in 1990.

Island Records presents Nick Drake's second album 'Bryter Layter' in the Back To Black format.

Mysteries Of The World is the stunning final studio album from legendary Philly supergroup MFSB. 

In Ghana “to chop” is to eat, so the phrase No Funk, No Chop quite simply means; deliver afro funk and disco bombs, or no one will eat today.

Universally regarded as one of the greatest collaborations between the two most influential musicians in modern jazz (Miles Davis notwithstanding), the Jazzland sessions from Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane should be recognized on other levels. While the mastery of the principals is beyond reproach, credit should also be given to peerless bassist Wilbur Ware, as mighty an anchor as anyone could want. These 1957 dates also sport a variety in drummerless trio, quartet, septet, or solo piano settings, all emphasizing the compelling and quirky compositions of Monk.

Strut present the first official reissue of a landmark album in the field of African music, Mulatu Astatke’s Mulatu Of Ethiopia from 1972.

Originally released on 21st October 1983, the recording of Soul Mining began in the spring of 1982, when the then 20-year old Matt Johnson, financed at this point by London Records, de-camped to New York to record 'Uncertain Smile' with producer Mike Thorne.

With a clear back to basics approach, The Doors fifth album Morrison Hotel released in 1970 was a showcase for all members of the group to highlight their artistic strengths. 

Many great singers passed through the hands of late great soul/R&B producer Jerry Wexler, from Aretha Franklin to Dusty Springfield, but Etta James was a singer he willingly waited 20 long years to work with.

Floating Points’ first album in four years, Crush, twists whatever you think you know about him on its head again. 

'Tokyo Dreaming' is a superb selection picked from the highly collectible Nippon Columbia label and its Better Days sub-label. For the occasion, we've teamed up with journalist and Japanese music expert Nick Luscombe who was granted rare access to the much-guarded Nippon Columbia's vaults for a masterful selection encapsulating the fascinating sound of Tokyo in the late 70s and 80s. 

Remastered reissue of the funk/Afro classic, Lafayette Afro Rock Band's Soul Makossa from 1973.

After the success of 1974's Natty Dread and 1976's Rastaman Vibration, Bob Marley was not only the most successful reggae musician in the world, he was one of the most powerful men in Jamaica.

Ten songs that ultimately changed the world. Ten songs pulled from precedent-establishing albums recorded between 1963 and 1966.

Al Green Greatest Hits, features the classics Let's Stay Together, How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, Tired Of Being Alone and Love and Happiness amongst many other gems from his catalogue.

Always a dancefloor friendly act, The Remixes (originally issued 25 years ago) is the sound of the Roses biggest tunes revisited by many of the foremost names in UK dance music at that time – including legends such as Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne and fellow Mancunians 808 State and A Guy Called Gerald.

Sunday at the Village Vanguard is a live album by jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans and his Trio consisting of Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian. Released in 1961, the album is routinely ranked as one of the best live jazz recordings of all time.