New releases last eight weeks: All genres

Review: Contemporary Afro-house producer and record procurer Auntie Flo tops up his flux-satisfactory A State Of Flo label with a re-pressed bleary-eyed house number, 'Green City', a track first released in 2024 and which paid homage to the Afrobeat legend and activist Fela Kuti. First debuted in a revelrous setting at 2019's We Out Here Festival, the track has since evolved into a staple of Flo's live sets, building on the contemporary folktronic fervour for records built out of obscure sample sources. In this case, the track evolves around a field recording captured in Nairobi, his motherland. East African Ambassa Mandela from the band Sarabi resounds on vocals, while contributions from Yohan Kebede of Kokoroko on keys, Ziggy Funk on guitar, Laurie Pitt from Golden Teacher on drums, and Glasgow's Joe Howe (Ex Ben Butler & Mousepad) on saxophone follow. 'Aker The Lion God' contrasts to the A's rather grand spirit crescendo with a downbeat deep house digestif.

Review: After the critically acclaimed Avoude (5 stars & 'Top of the World' on Songlines, Bandcamp top pick, Le Monde, BBC Radio, Pop Matters), Sol Power Sound proudly presents a scorching remix EP from West African psychedelic powerhouse Dogo du Togo & the Alagaa Beat Band. Rooted in Togo's deep cultural and Vodun traditions, Dogo's sound is reimagined here by a heavyweight lineup of producers. Captain Planet kicks things off with a percussive African house groove, while Sol Power All-Stars ask, What if Prince joined Dogo in 1983? The result? A synth-laced funk HIIT workout. Detroit icons John Beltran and Blair French bring Afro-Brazilian and deep house flavors, before Glenn Echo closes with a mind-bending 12/8 dub trip.

Review: This London-based crew follows up their recent and acclaimed Akyio project with a 12" that dives deep into the vibrant rhythms of Brazil. The original is by the unique Samba De Matuto Leao Do Norte De Maragogi and was recorded by DJ Tudo. Kolago Kult offers a mix that is packed with Latin swagger, organic percussion and jumble of hand drums while the late Master Tiao adds his vocals to this samba-inspired street sound. Kolago Kult then steps up with two psychedelic remixes that are packed with heavy and dubby rhythms and many layers of percussion. A truly global journey, this one.

Review: Bosq's take on Konkolo Orchestra's 'Le Secret' feels like the moment when an Afrobeat anthem gets suited up for the club. Infused with his trademark Latin disco edge, the remix blends the rich pulse of Afro rhythms with sleek, dancefloor-ready beats. It's clear Bosq's move to Colombia has added a fresh sense of urgency to the track: percussion snaps with precision, while lush, warm keys wrap around the groove. The instrumental mix on the B-side strips it back, leaving only the track's hypnotic beats and intricate textures to breathe perfect for DJs looking to build atmosphere. This is Bosq's take on Afrobeat, refracted through his own shimmering lens, and it's infectious.

Review: Heavyweight sonic Afro-botics from Nikodemus, Barzo and Mr Doris on 7" wax. The trio team up here with Dinked Records for a double-bill 7" in veins of amapiano and broken beat, primed for crate sifters and floor ambulants alike. On the A, 'Want Some More' delivers Mr. Doris' signature blend of rhythmic muscle and Afro-Latin swang, while the flip flops Nickodemus with Barzo and Zongo Abongo for 'Show Your Power': a bold, percussive cut straddling broken beat, house, and ska. Somewhere between 126 and 128 BPM, both are utter floor finishers and could easily intro your next Afro-house set as they could provide it a sense of continuous, mid-set body.

Review: ANAN is a project by DJs Roberto Agosta and Massimo Napoli and it takes its name from their surnames, repeated twice. Their new album is inspired by jazz, 70s psychedelia, Afrobeat, cumbia and soul and was recorded in a space in Catania, Sicily, where they melded those inspirations into a versatile and innovative sound. The session musicians manage to really lay down some deep melodies to give the album a live session feel. Tracks like 'Eden' and 'Naif' combine cinematic jazz with African influences, while 'Eros' blends Ethiopian and Indian cultures. 'Mind' offers a hypnotic cumbia and 'Etna' evokes spiritual psychedelia. The album includes also collaborations with The Invisible Session which take things to even higher spiritual planes.

Review: US house legend Dennis Ferrer's debut album The World As I See It was a masterclass in soulful, emotive house music that really cut rherough when it arrived in 2007. Blending gospel, Afrobeat, and deep NYC roots, Ferrer avoided big-name features in favour of fresh vocal talent while delivering heartfelt tracks like 'Run Free' and 'How Can I Let Go.' The iconic 'Son of Raw' and 'Underground Is My Home' bring dancefloor fire, while 'Change the World' and 'Dem People Go' showcase Ferrer's cultural depth. With rich percussion, fat basslines and sincerity throughout, this isn't just a house albumiit's a powerful work that transcends the club and still bangs today.

Review: Charif Megarbane, the Beirut-based multi-instrumentalist and composer, stretches his sonic vocabulary on this sprawling new full-length, a genre-hopping journey that draws as much from the Lebanese coast as it does from the wider diaspora. Where his earlier work painted intimate portraits of local life, this one looks outwarditoward cultural entanglement, exile, and exchange. 'Hanadi' kicks things off with a sax-led, Somali-inspired groove, while 'Dreams of an Insomniac' drifts through hazy keys and fluttering violin. 'Al Dollarji' recalls his signature Mediterranean funk, full of ornate strings, but 'Al Bahriye' disrupts the flow with hip-hop motifs and vocal samples. Collaborations feel purposeful: 'Helia', with Swedish composer Sven Wunder and the Stockholm Studio Orchestra, layers lush cinematic strings into Megarbane's idiosyncratic palette. Even miniature pieces like 'Sfiha' or 'Preamble to the Conclusion' feel essential, punctuating the record's narrative of displacement with clarity and warmth. It's a collection that resists linearity, folding nostalgia and innovation into a rich, borderless soundian informal transmission between traditions, cities and moods.

Review: Osunlade's latest release continues his transformative journey, evolving from a major-label ghostwriter to one of deep house's most spiritually attuned and culturally conscious figures. His Yoruba Records imprint has long been a conduit for globally infused, soul-drenched house music, but here he turns inward, stripping things back to something more meditative while maintaining his signature warmth. 'Wiggle Room' opens with rhythmic vocals, strings and congas that gently invite movement. The pace slows in 'PASS!!,' building a quiet tension, before 'Hang Nail' introduces Middle Eastern-inspired melodies and sharp, punchy beats. 'Luv' offers a burst of warmth with lush chords and smooth vocals, capturing the essence of that classic deep sound. In 'She Represents,' heavy 303 basslines pay tribute to Shirley Chisholm, intertwining excerpts from her iconic speech with commanding rhythms. 'So Long...Stranger' reflects on the isolation of the pandemic, a quiet moment of introspection, before 'Modular Movements' closes the collection with an emotionally charged resolution. This set offers a journey that balances movement and stillness, reflecting Osunlade's own pathideep, unhurried and reverent, like the house music he's crafted throughout his career.

Review: First put out back in 2007, Soundz of Freedom is a landmark album in Bob Sinclar's discography. The French man has long been a towering figure in the world of house music with many chart hits and a DJ diary that takes him on endless trips around the globe. This album helped get him there and is now being reissued for the first time as a double vinyl. It has already been certified gold and features collaborations with renowned stars such as Axwell, Tocadisco, Ron Carroll, Jamie Lewis and Mousse T. Between them they explore plenty of accessible house sounds from deep to vocal to Afro-leaning and they have all aged well enough to still do a job to this day.

Review: Dating back to the 1920s, rai music emerged in Algeria as a synthetic hodgepodge of Islamic regional and religious musical styles with Western harmony and electronic instrumentation. Located in the major coastal city of Oran, rai music bisected a nighttime economy that emphasised bawdy nightclubs and cabaret, resulting in a distinctive Andalusian-Arabian style. This new compilation from Wewantsounds, joined with curating musician and rare vinyl record exponent Cheb Gero, documents the very cream of the rai scene from the time of the late 80s and early 90s. Cheb Zahouani, Chaba Zohra and Abderrahmane Djalti all epitomise the dashing verve of this mostly tape-bound scene.

Review: This remarkable compilation revives the raw, defiant sound of Bourini Records, which was a short-lived but vital Libyan label active from 1968 to 1975. Far from Cairo's polished pop mainstream, these recordings capture a gritty shaabi hybrid sound that emerged from Egypt's more marginalised regions. Featuring 15 mostly Egyptian artists, including standouts like Sheikh Amin Abdel Qader and Abu Abab, this essential collection showcases striking contrasts such as growling vocal theatrics, haunting laments and minimalist instrumentation that come with an outsider energy that found Bourini's artists voicing the struggles and spirit of the everyday. Over 50 years later, this music is still brilliantly urgent and honest.