soleil rare 17 - iron wings.

Miriam Makeba - Quit It.

The queen. Mama Africa. The youngsters can't remember the years of apartheid, and what coloured and mixed people had to go through in South Africa back in the days. From abroad, Miriam fought the regime, and got banned in return. She returned to her homeland only when Mandela got out of jail, in 1990. 

This track, "Quit It", is one of her world successes, showcasing deep lyrics about addictions. It's sweet, but it's like listening to your grandma whispering harsh truth to your ear. 

It was sampled, among others, by French rapstar JoeyStarr for "Gaz-L". 

Mustafa Ozkent Orchestra - Karadir.

If you ever find this album in its original pressing, keep it, don't tell anyone and worship it. Because it is probably one of the rarest LP's of Turkish psych music. Which means it's highly wanted.

This sample galore gets heavy on the drums and has more funk to it than your average US funk record. The flavor is unbelievable. 

Mustafa Ozkent may not be the most famous Turkish contemporary musician, leaving this position to Baris Manço and Erkin Koray. But the talent is equal. A compulsory listen. 

Hector Lavoe - Mucho Amor.

La Voz indeed. Puerto Rican salsa singer Hector Lavoe got famous alongside band leader Willie Colon, as the band singer. Because of Lavoe's drug addiction, Colon cut him from the cast. This resulted in Hector Lavoe spreading his wings as a solo act. The two remained friends nonetheless and kept working together. 

"La Voz" is Lavoe's first solo album, released on Fania Records. It was produced by Willie Colon. "Mucho Amor" wasn't the main hit on this album but still is a nice introduction to salsa music.  

Gal Costa - Sebastiana.

Simply one of the best albums ever. Released in 1969, the eponymous album counts among the must-have albums of Brazilian music. It was recorded under the guidance of Rogerio Duprat, and includes Gilberto Gil and Caetono Veloso among the musicians. 

Gal's voice here goes fast, as the music takes her into a frenetic rhythm. Highly enjoyable as it gets stuck in your head. Nice production work also. 

Rahul Dev Burman & Mohd. Rafi - Naag Devta.

Mr. Dev Burman is the ultimate legend of Bollywood film scoring. His talent for creating timeless melodies is undeniable. Moreover, his music constitutes bridges between the Western pop styles and Indian pop music. "Naag Devta" is one of these tracks in which Rahul went brutal on the beat, adding lots of small elements to a simple rhythm. Add on top of this the echoed voice of Rafi, and powerful choirs, and here you go with a Bollywood anthem. Curry funky shit. 

Kwan Jit Sriprajan - Panatibat.

I already said it, but it's not one's reflex to link funky music and Asia. But a few diggers proved otherwise. And this phenomenon has an explanation. The American influence spread over the years in Asia, along with the construction of its army camps and bases. And in the South-East Asia area, the Vietnam war had an incredible influence on music. Bangkok became the leisure spot we know and local bands included foreign influences to their sets. "Panatibat" is a nice example of Thai pop, although more influenced by traditional Thai music than by touches from abroad. 

Get over tha language barrier and let your body respond to this. 

Jacques Schwarz-Bart feat. Jacob Desvarieux - Déshabillé.

These two need an introduction to those who are not familiar with Caribean music. Jacob Desvarieux is the leader of Kassav', the most prominent band of the French West Indies. He's well known for his rough voice, which makes everything he says very sensual. Jacques Schwarz-Bart, aka Brother Jacques, is a Guadeloupean now NYC-based saxophonist and producer. People know him as a backing musician, for jazz and nu soul acts like D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Eric Benet, Me'shell, or Roy Hargrove. 

"Déshabillé" has a relaxing effect, thanks to a flawless production, mixing flutes, light but firm percussions, and discreet acoustic guitar and bass. Not your conventional zouk hit, but so soulful. 

Mulatu Astatke - Yèkèrmo Sèw.

I don't think Mulatu Astatke still needs an introduction. Creator of the ethio-jazz genre, he almost single handedly put Ethiopia on the map of world music.

I included this song in the selection, but if you've seen "Broken Flowers" by Jim Jarmusch, you already know it. 

So good. 

Rolling Beats - Don't Ask Me Why.

This sound comes from Indonesia and, oh God, it's funky as hell. Yeah, garage rock is not a Western exclusive. The lyrics are very simple, the style reminds of the early Beatles, the drumbreaks are on point, and you'll go "la la la" in a blink. 

Actually, the Rolling Beats flew out of Indonesia, because of the political regime, and chose to land in Netherlands, where they had a little success on the garage scene. 

For your info, the 7" went for almost £200 on eBay.

Boubacar Traoré - Pierrette.

African music lovers, get over here as Boubacar Traoré and his guitar are featured in this selection. Mali can be proud of having this voice and these fingers in its local roster. Traoré's life is a novel.

A popular composer in the 1960's, he remained a poor musician and was forced to silence when the political regime changed in 1968, because of his support to the previous president. Boubacar Traoré chose to remain silent for 20 years, then emigrated to France, where he became a common construction worker. When a British producer finds one of Traoré's few recordings, he tracked him down, and made him record "Mariama" in 1990. Since then, Boubacar Traoré has been living off his music. 

True story. beautiful story, just like this song. Feel the chills.