Heavenly Sweetness France Vinilo y CD

Review: Parisian producer Blundetto has a growing reputation thanks to a string of fine singles that join the dots between cosy downtempo beatscapes, fresh neo-soul and crackly dub reggae. Yet for all his successes, he's yet to really break through. This third full-length - his first for two years - could change all that. Produced and performed with a laidback confidence, the 11 tracks variously touch on clavinet-heavy reggae (see the excellent cover of Alan Toussaint's soul staple "Hercules"), Afro-soul, hip-hop, R&B (the string-laden slow jam "It's All About"), and even breezy Latino sounds (the Meters-go-Cuban vibes of "I'll Be Home Later").

Review: Piloted by Ibiza-based producer Guts and Los Angeles' crate-digger Mambo, the Beach Diggin' series gleefully gathers together sun lounger-friendly cuts from around the World. While there's always a lazy, sun-ready feel to their selections, they stick closer to soul, funk, disco and boogie than many other like-minded collections. This fourth volume in the series is packed with more obscure, horizontally inclined material from the likes of Sue Barker (not the former tennis player, obviously), Alex Khaoli (the talk box-sporting, electrofunk-era jazz-funk beauty of "Cross Lines"), Brooski (the close-dance sweetness of "This Love"), and Jemaa (the reggae-soul shuffle of "Bob Marley").

Review: Since the Beach Diggin' compilation series launched a few years back, a number of its obscure, Balearic-minded selections have been given full length reissues of their own. We can probably expect a number of the tracks from this brilliant fifth volume to get the same treatment. As usual, the wide-ranging track list is thick with highlights, from the synth-heavy, French language reggae of Raphael Toine's 1986 bubbler "Femmes Pays Douces" (taken from the artist's frustratingly hard to find Ce Ta Ou album) and vibraphone-laden jazz-funk smoothness of Yasuko Agwa's sought-after "L.A Night", to the barely-known brilliance of Andre Maria Tole's Cameroonian gem "Sweet Dole". In other words, it's another essential selection.

Review: Heavenly Sweetness has described this sophomore full-length from genre-straddling musician/producer/vocalist Leroy Thomas as being like "Miles Davis meets the Beastie Boys". While that's partly accurate - several of the tracks blend hip-hop beats and crunchy rock guitars with jazz instrumentation and spacey electronics - Cliquish is awash with other influences, too. Some will hear the influence of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the energetic funk-rock of "Asako", while "Mandy Jo" and "Snicka Bar" feel similar in sound and ethos to the work of Outkast and Plantlife. As for "Calm Down", it's classic soul-jazz with a smoky, contemporary twist. Yet for all the genre-fusing eccentricity, Cliquish holds together impressively, thanks in no small part to Thomas' distinct vision.

Review: This compilation of obscure, rare and little-known French jazz was put together by the people behind the Digger's Digest online store - record dealers with a particularly deep knowledge of weird, wonderful and frankly rather expensive avant garde European music. Listening to the selections, you can tell. Seriously, only the most dusty-fingered Gallic jazz-heads will have come across any of the tracks before. Stylistically it gives a good overview of trends in French jazz from the late 1960s to early 1980s, taking in spiritual jazz, free jazz, modal, hard-bop and Caribbean flavours. Picking out individual highlights is tough, though today we're mostly enjoying the haunting flutes and clarinets of Michel Rocques' "Ricardo" and Rupture's gorgeous "Israel Suite".