Analogue rich sounds from the very furthest reaches of the globe. Our favourite albums from 2024 that will take you on a trip.
Karate Boogaloo
Hold Your Horses
Striking instrumentals from the DIY-funk experimentalists. Some of the year’s biggest “do not miss this” moments come on Karate Boogaloo’s ludicrously tight Hold Your Horses, a mode-setter if ever we’ve heard one. The Melbourne funk band are just one hundred percent in the pocket, cine-soul, dub and spiritual atmospherics swaying around like a lava lamp.
Kit Sebastian
New Internationale
The swirling and evocative combination of Anatolian rock and vintage global grooves... London-based duo Kit Sebastian are Kit Martin and Merve Erdem and their New Internationale album marks their debut for the mighty Brainfeeder. Merve grew up in Istanbul, studying in Rome before settling in London. Kit grew up between suburban London and rural France. Their paths offered up opportunities to soak up a wide and rich tapestry of sonic influences: from the contemporary UK jazz scene, the chic French new wave, Latin tropicalia, and knotty and winding Anatolian rock, to create a lush and heady sound that is as timeless as it is vibrant. We have been firm fans for a few years now, especially of their superb 2021 release Melodi LP on Mr Bongo, and New Internationale is their grandest statement yet. They retain the vintage synths and the classic world-wide psychedelia, but more now than ever, their orchestration really swirls. Merve’s vocals are enthralling, yearning but confident and idiosyncratic. Kit’s soundscapes are denser than ever, with zither, harpsichord, conga, bongo, synthesizer, balalaika, organ, saxophone and more crafted into such sophisticated grooves.
New Internationale is a trip. Jazz-inflected cinematics, vintage hues and decades of artistic reference lovingly rolled into something exotic and heady. Kit Sebastian have always made a beautiful noise, but this latest set really does expand on their songwriting and dizzying ambition.
Hiatus Kaiyote
Love Heart Cheat Code
The Melbourne-based soul band return with the sumptuous new Love Heart Cheat Code on Brainfeeder. The power of the voices is so amazing that you almost lose track of all the super smart and bonkers music that's going on. Almost! Reappropriated tones and styles make for a dizzying and ambitious soundtrack. A dancefloor thriller.
Ghost Funk Orchestra
A Trip To The Moon
Epic vibes from beyond the space frontiers from New York’s Ghost Funk Orchestra. There is a richly analogue hue to it all, with exotica and sci-fi tones, huge springing reverbs and blasts of horns. With such dense arrangements, it’s almost all too much to take in on one listen, but the vastness makes it an (intergalactic) trip well worth hopping right back on again.
Thee Sacred Souls
Got a Story to Tell
Got a Story to Tell is the second studio LP from San Diego soul trio Thee Sacred Souls and it really is majestic stuff. Recorded and produced by Gabriel Roth at Penrose Recorders, in Daptone’s Riverside, CA studio, it has such a smooth, sweet-soul sound, but avoids sounding over-produced or stuffy. A rich falsetto, the best reverbs and smart use of new funk tones and strings.
Glass Beams
Mahal
Melbourne-based trio Glass Beams are one of the year’s most transportive listens. Mahal has such a dusty vibe, contemporary DIY production via 1970s travelogues. A psychedelic fusion of surf rock and traditional Indian music, they create moods instantly and their knotty and evocative grooves really keep you locked in. Their ornate gold masks further add to the mystery and enigmatic state of mind.
Mulatu Astatke & Hoodna Orchestra
Tension
Tension is the urgent and winding collaboration between Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke and Hoodna Orchestra - Tel Aviv’s number one Afro funk collective. Produced by and featuring Dap-King Neal Sugarman, there is a intense and hypnotic drive, with Mulatu floating in and out of the waves. We’re pretty taken with this one, it has to be said.
Thee Marloes
Perak
Perak is the debut LP on Big Crown Records from Thee Marloes, a young soul band out of Surabaya, Indonesia. The trio - who also self-produced - really have nailed the fundamentals, floating keys, drums in the pocket and guitar licks that cut through, all with super-smooth vocals. They lock in from the first beat and it all feels pretty effortless.
Orquesta Akokán
Caracoles
The richest and most transportative music. Caracoles is one of those albums and Orquesta Akokán are one of those bands that just come out of nowhere like a lightning bolt, a fully formed vision of vibrance. It is an album that you’ll feel like you might have heard before - even in flashes - and it’s one that will have you donning the Canotier and worshipping hot nights and ice-cold drinks.
Assembled and led by Cuban vocalist José “Pepito” Gómez, Orquesta Akokán is a multi-generational big band collective linked by the music's deep-rooted traditions. Caracoles - their debut for the esteemed Daptone label - is full of vitality, a latin jazz groover with both elegance and panache. It was cut live to tape over a three-day session at Havana’s hallowed, state-run Estudios Areito, and this marvellous LP sure does capture the vibe. In the same way that the iconic Buena Vista Social Club introduced that collective to the world, this hugely danceable set feels sure to bring Orquesta Akokán (Akokán is a Yoruba word used in Cuba meaning “from the heart”) to euphoric new audiences and wider acclaim. Conga-driven rhythms with brass, piano and jubilant vocals: it really cooks!
