Augustus Pablo - Message Music (Pressure Sounds)

The Pressure Sounds label had another browse through the catalog of melodica king Augustus Pablo and for 'Message Music' focused on some his lesser-known productions from the 1980s, a period when Pablo both as a musician and as a producer tried to adapt to the increasing digitalization of Jamaican music.

Ras Zacharri - New Horizon (Shem Ha Boreh Records)

Even though 'New Horizon', the second long player by Ras Zacharri (still somewhat unknown in Europe) is certainly not a bad album, it doesn't match up to 2009's 'Herbs Man'.

La Chiva Gantiva - Pelao (Crammed Discs)

No idea what their band name exactly means, but the story of La Chiva Gantiva - a group of Colombian expatriates who found each other in music - is the same as that of Spanish band Che Sudaka, but from a musical point of view the two bands are quite different.

Amsterdam Klezmer Band - Katla (Essay Recordings)

Yours truly is certainly no expert where klezmer is concerned - don't ask me to explain the difference between sirba and oompah for example - but fortunately the language of music is universal enough to make that unnecessary.

Earl Sixteen - The Fittest (Heartbeat Europe/Rounder)

Not Easy At All Productions and JahSolidRock appear to have become the purveyors of the Heartbeat Europe label, because after Chezidek and Apple Gabriel it is now Earl Sixteen's turn to put his best foot forward on their riddims.

Zongora - Doverie (Muziekpublique)

What do you get when you bring together a Brussels violinist (Nicolas Hauzeur) and guitarist (Benjamin Clement) with a number of Gypsy musicians? The answer is Zongora.

Ocote Soul Sounds - Taurus (ESL Music)

Ocote Soul Sounds (the word "ocote" is derived from the Nahuatl word "ocotl" and in Central America is frequently used to refer to coniferous trees) is the brainchild of Adrian Quesada (Grupo Fantasma) and Martin Perna (Antibalas) describing their music as "psychedelic, Afro-Cuban influenced pan-Latino analog funk" and just as with Grupo Fantasma, we were seriously impressed with the music this band turns out.

Luciano - Rub-A-Dub Market (Irievibrations Records/Grooveattack)

How in God's name (something you may take literally in this case) can Luciano keep turning out one solid album after the other as if it's nothing? One of the reasons could be the fact he constantly works with different producers and riddim suppliers - variety is the spice of life - and for 'Rub-A-Dub Market' that were the Austrians of Irievibrations (the label that already surprised us in the past with releases by, among others, Sojah and Mark Wonder) and that results in a lot of recognizable riddims: 'Living My Life' is a tune on the Lovebird riddim we already knew from Sojah's 'Crisis' or Elijah Prophet's 'Mother Nature' and 'Always Around' explores the delicious Caribbean Riddim (known from Elijah Prophet's 'Piece Of Ganja').

Lobi Traore - Barra Coura: Acoustic Bamana Blues & Bwati Kono: Raw Electric Vibes From Bamako (Kanaga System Krush)

The American Kanaga System Krush label operates under the motto: "Putting money into the pockets of the artists & music into the hands of the people!" and focuses on music from West Africa.

Taraf de Haïdouks & Kocani Orkestar - Band Of Gypsies 2 (Crammed Discs) + Boban I Marko Markovic Orchestra & Fanfare Ciocarlia - Balkan Brass Battle (Asphalt Tango Records)

Ten years after the release of their legendary album 'Band Of Gypsies', Taraf de Haïdouks presents this successor.

Tamikrest - Toumastin (Glitterhouse Records)

On 'Toumastin', the successor to their 2010 debut album 'Adagh', Tamikrest sounds somewhat more aggressive; lyrically anyway, because musically speaking this album again offers the hypnotic desert rock we've become so fond of in Europe.

Africa Unite - Rootz (Universal)

Sometimes the title of an album already tells the whole story and that is definitely the case for 'Rootz' by Italian reggae veterans Africa Unite (30 years in the business!).

Blick Bassy - Hongo Calling (World Connection)

On his second album Blick Bassy continues to excel at the ideal Sunday morning music, but 'Hongo Calling' might groove a bit more than predecessor 'Léman'.

Little Roy - Heat (Pharos Records)

Little Roy may be responsible for some of the biggest hits in reggae history ('Tribal War', 'Prophesy'), all too often the cover versions of his songs are many times more famous than his own originals.

Various Artists - The Karindula Sessions: Tradi-Modern Sounds From Southeast Congo (Crammed Discs)

Staff Benda Bilili has barely conquered the world or "music anthropologist" Vincent Kenis is already introducing us to something completely different.

Prince Blanco - Unify On The Hi-Fi EP (Renegade Recordings)

'Unify On The Hi-Fi', the debut EP by Prince Blanco, carries the seal of approval of Canadian dub-guru Dubmatix who also produced the disc.

Gentleman - Diversity Live (Bushhouse Music/Island/Universal)

Where else but at the Summerjam festival could Gentleman record his new live album? His home game in Cologne does what it's supposed to: 40 songs spread over two discs with guest contributions by Soldiers Of Jah Army, Christopher Martin and, of course, the two background angels Tamika and Mamadee.

Oojami - Time Is Now (Self-published)

We're often presented with projects that mix Western music with ethnic elements, but in the case of Oojami (born Necmi Cavli), a deejay from Bodrum in Turkey who mixes dance music with oriental influences, that unfortunately means a watered-down version.

La Pegatina - Xapomelön (Kasba Music)

For their new album, 'Xapomelön' (a "Catalanisation" of the French "chapeau melon" or "bowler hat"), La Pegatina drew inspiration from American comics.

Balcony Players - Balcony Go Crazy (Self-published)

'Balcony Go Crazy' is the ecologically friendly debut (the disc itself is packaged in a box made of recycled cardboard and for each sold copy the band promises to plant a tree) of Rotterdam based band Balcony Players, a quintet balancing on the vague border between folk and world music or in this case klezmer and Balkan music.