Soundway Records present Kenya Special: Selected East African Recordings from the 1970s & ‘80s - a treasure-trove of rare and unusual recordings from East Africa. Spread out over two CDs and one triple LP, Kenya Special is accompanied by detailed liner notes, original artwork and photographs.It follows on from Soundway’s much acclaimed African ‘Special’ series that to date has focused on the highlife and afrobeat output from 1970s Nigeria and Ghana.

Strut introduces a pioneering new compilation 'A Dancefloor In Ndola,' curated by revered East African DJ, Kampire. This release marks an evolution in Strut's approach to compilations, showcasing emerging DJ talent from across the world and embracing an innovative approach to musical discovery from the next wave of selectors.

Congo's turbulent and exhilarating '70s: Nightclubs and dance floors were packed to the brim in the capital, Kinshasa. Exuberant crowds, still giddy from independence a decade prior, grooved to the sounds of the country`s classics. In fact the whole continent was submerged into the Congolese Rumba craze. Encouraged by the fantastic productions of the Ngoma label, vibrant radio waves had been spreading the Congo sound from Leopoldville all over the continent, becoming the countries' No.1 export. The unexpected success nurtured an incredible wealth of talented musicians. One of them was Verckys, who, at age 18, became a member of the country´s most dominant and influential band; Franco´s OK Jazz.

'African grooves with a more laidback feel can be found on this excellent retrospective. Leader Verckys is one of the titans of Congolese music, a former Franco associate whose exploration of the region's folkloric rhythms like the cavacha was laregly responsible for the soukous beat which followed. The ten tracks here are magnificent, upful rhythm zephyrs.' The Wire

This compilation collects a number of 7” singles produced by Audio Productions Ltd. in Kenya’s capital Nairobi in the first half of the 1980s and released on the Wendo, Lulus, Mlima and APL imprints.

Ray Barretto a.k.a. King of the Hard Hands (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006), was an American jazz musician, widely credited as the godfather of Latin jazz. He was also the first Hispanic to record a Latin song which became a "hit" in the American Billboard Charts.

Estrellas is the seventh studio album by the Gipsy Kings released in 1995 in Europe and a year later in the United States, under the title Tierra Gitana…

This is an album spawned from a memorial to Emilio Vandenedes, a radio man from L.A. and Miami. A multitude of Cuban artists who knew and loved him turned out to perform a memorial service of sorts, which eventually evolved into a full-fledged album. The artists on the album range from 18 to 83 in age, and include some of the great legends of Cuban music (as well as American jazz in Al McKibbon): Chucho Valdes, Francisco Aguabella, Pio Leyva, and others. The quality of the music is enough to make any given fan of the Cuban roots craze (spawned in the U.S. by Buena Vista Social Club, among others) turn and take a second look at what had been happening in Cuba prior to Ry Cooder. Newer generation players also appear, including the vocal group Bamboleo, flutist Orlando Valle, and bassist Carlos del Puerto, Jr. As usual, all of the major styles (guajira, rumba, comparsa, bolero, son, descarga, bata) of Cuban music appear in some form in the midst of the playing.