The Berlin-based Afro-fusion outfit Jembaa Groove have been on our radar since their debut album ‘Susuma’ brought their dreamy, light touch blend of soul and jazz-influenced highlife and Afrobeat to the world. Formed in late 2020 by Ghanaian percussionist, vocalist and songwriter Eric Owusu and Berlin born bassist, composer and producer Yannick Nolting, they have a new 4-track E.P. out soon and it’s a beautifully relaxed affair with sublime collaborations with highlife revivalists The Cavemen, Mali’s brilliant Fatoumata Diawara, and Nigerian singers Azekele and Tim Lyre to ensure a sublime listening experience. If you love acts such as Kokoroko, then this is undoubtedly for you. Read / Listen.
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Joseph 'Three O'Clock In The Morning' (Mr Bongo) - compilation premiere
Cosmic producers and acclaimed record collectors Psychemagik have proved that they know how to get their hands dirty and dig out the obscure and unusual to pull an interesting compilation together. One half of the Psychemagik duo, Skyrager (aka Danny McLewin) has done the business again on a brand new comp for Mr Bongo titled ‘Coconut Dreams’. An eclectic, widescreen soundtrack to a mythical utopia where everything is just groovy, it includes this brilliant slice of hard-to-find cosmic folk-soul from Joseph. Funky, urgent and transcendental, 'Three O'Clock In The Morning' hits that same spot that Terry Callier hits in tracks like ‘Candyman’ - lifting your soul high and bright.
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Scrimshire 'Bring Our Light To Every Corner' (Albert's Favourites) - a review
Nine albums in and Adam Scrimshire has made a record that surely deserves to be in all the ‘Best Of’ lists of 2026. The multi-instrumentalist, producer and label head has drawn on the spiritual-soul-jazz-folk of 60s and 70s artists such as Terry Callier, Pentangle and Charles Stepney, merging it with a widescreen cinematic vision worthy of David Axelrod, invited a swathe of wonderful guests and just opened his heart. Joyful, reflective and with a much needed sense of communion, this is a glorious record for these fractured times. Read / Listen.
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Loma Suyo 'Olor De Tu Tierra' (Earthly Measures) - Premiere!
We are delighted to host the premiere of the new single from Loma Suyo aka Liz Fullerton and Ish Quintero. A bouncy, folk-infused slice of electroacoustic cumbia with a touch of dub pressure in the mix, the duo take the knowledge and skills they developed on the East Coast hip hop, beats and folk scenes and weave them delicately into their shared emotional and historical explorations of their Mexican and Colombian Andean back stories. Read / Listen.
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Nana Osei Twum Barima ‘Journey to the Unknown’ (Zephyrus) - a review
Reflections on family, grief, love, tradition and courage make up this exceptional album from the Ghanaian multi-instrumentalist and seperewa player Nana Osei Twum Barima. Taking a leap of faith, this talented young man transplanted himself to Ghent in Belgium where familial loss would haunt but also inspire him to create some extraordinary songs on his kora-like seperewa. Blessed with a golden tenor voice and a willingness to expand upon the musical traditions he grew up with, this is quite some debut. Read / Listen.
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Msindaba Jazz Band 'Msindaba Jazz Band' (Imetoka Collective) - a review
We do LOVE a bit of street music here at Truth & Lies. From samba blocos de rua to New Orleans’ Second Line tradition, that celebratory coalition of drums, brass, singing and the inevitable body movement that follows is the lifeblood of why we initially came together. We have, however, never heard it quite like this before. In fact, unless you have ever attended a wedding in Tanzania’s sprawling capital, Dar es Salaam, you probably haven’t either as this four track E.P. from the six-member ensemble Msindaba Jazz Band claims to be the first tarumbeta band to have ever been recorded in a studio! It’s loud, exhilarating and pulsing with life. Read / Listen.
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Lekan Animashaun 'Low Profile (Not For The Blacks)' (Strut Records) - a review
We don’t often cover reissues but we felt compelled to look at this superb album from Fela’s second and final bandleader Lekan Animashaun that is getting a new lease of life via Strut. In the time-honoured Fela Kuti album format of two extended compositions that span either side of the record, this is heavyweight Nigerian Afrobeat featuring key members of Africa 70 (latterly Egypt 80) and was produced by Fela himself who also contributed on keys. Read / Listen.
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Altered State: A conversation between author Matthew Collin & Justin Turford (Truth & Lies)
Movers presents an evening celebrating the reissue of Matthew Collin’s legendary book "Altered State: The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House (Deep Cuts)" via White Rabbit.
Join Truth & Lies’ Justin Turford in conversation with Matthew Collin as together they trace the stories, politics and cultural shifts surrounding acid house, ecstasy culture and the underground scenes that changed Britain forever.
Expect conversations, book signings and DJs taking things late into the night at Movers. FREE ENTRY!
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Anna Ling 'BTTFL (Lucky Sun Remix)' (Lucky Sun Recordings) - single premiere!
We are delighted to host the premiere of this superior downbeat remix of a song by the wonderful alt-folk artist Anna Ling. A mesmerising ‘trip hop’ rework from Lucky Sun (aka Tom Lown), ‘BTTFL’ is just perfect for this rare May heatwave here in the UK. Anna’s otherworldy harmonies loop into the ether whilst Tom’s live drums keep it slow and steady. Simple and quite beautiful, we are in classic Fila Brazillia or K&D territory and it’s just what the doctor ordered.
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Carol Maia & Jeremy Gustin ‘it's nice to see a lake in your eyes’ (Hive Mind Records) - a review
The debut partnership of Carol Maia and Jeremy Gustin has delivered an album of rare alchemy. With thousands of miles between Carol’s home studio in Rio de Janeiro and Jeremy’s in Brooklyn, and with the help of a few friends from their respective cities, they have created a record that is intimate, softly experimental and transcendental in its poetic beauty. Read / Listen.
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Charlie Chimi ‘Disco Chimi’ (Club Coco) - a review
What would a record by a Dominican Republic-raised Cuban artist now residing in Brooklyn sound like? Well, all of those places at once if you’re Charlie Chimi and this is the debut artist album for Coco Maria’s new label. Afro-Cuban rhythms, no-wave garage punk edge, homemade funk and a fearless middle-fingered attitude towards generic straightforwardness are all here. It’s also fun, surreal, irreverent and ace. Read / Listen.
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Rave At Your Fictional Borders ‘Analogue Nomadism’ (Meakusma Records) - a review
Since finding the final third piece of their trio last year with the inclusion of Moroccan drummer and singer Salim Akki, Rave At Your Fictional Borders have moved at quite a pace to realise (and release) their first full album ‘Analogue Nomadism’. As always, spontaneity is at the root of their improvised grooves. Their self-titled ‘Global Experimental Music’ was created and recorded over a week in the L’Bridge studio outside Kenitra in Morocco, the resulting album a sprawling collage of trippy textural strangeness and rhythmic explorations that punch and intrigue in equal measures. Read / Listen.
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Web Web 'Slave To The Rhythm' (Compost Records) - PREMIERE!
The ace German jazz outfit Web Web are back with a brilliantly realised set of jazz covers of ‘popular’ music. From Talking Heads and Jimi Hendrix to Joe Jackson and Nirvana, they have completely torn up the rules and had some fun as they explore the possibilities of each song. We are delighted to premiere an energetic spiritual version of Grace Jones’ 1985 mega-hit ‘Slave To The Rhythm’. Who doesn’t love a cover?
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Dorea ‘O Que Mais Você Quer Saber De Mim?' (AJABU!) - a review
It’s taken hitting his forties for the Salvador de Bahia singer-songwriter Dorea to release his second album but who’s in a rush? Indebted in many ways to Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges’ 1972 masterpiece ‘Clube da Esquina’, his introverted songs of love, the sea and of life’s contradictions are beautifully recorded. Breathy, hushed vocals, Baroque clarinets and finely played acoustic guitar accompany his words of longing but he can also make it bite with a subtle rock edge when he wants to. Read / Listen.
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Momoko Gill 'Momoko' (Strut Records) - a review
Momoko Gill’s debut album is a remarkably assured and well-rounded collection of songs that bridge jazz, soul, electronica and more. For those enamoured by her collaboration with Matthew Herbert, wait until you hear this, her unique songwriting, production and multi-instrumental skills are on full display on this dazzling record. Read / Listen.
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James McClure ‘A dizziness from the unsaid’ (MOLK Records) - a review
The ‘unsaid’ is what many of us are feeling. The world’s ever-growing violence constrains our ability to describe it. South African born but now living in Amsterdam, trumpeter and composer James McClure has delivered an album of late night jazz-blues that gives voice to his own ‘unsaid’ thoughts and it is as beautiful as it is free. Read / Listen.
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Dominic J Marshall 'The White Prince' (self release) - a review
Unlike anything else out there, Dominic J Marshall’s ambitious new album covers a lot of ground. The former Cinematic Orchestra prodigy draws in Thundercat style fusion, UK rap, Dilla-esque wonkiness, synth-funk and a unique hybrid of virtuosic jazz, classical, electronica and Baroque influences to create an eighteen track opus that sounds like the future. Read / Listen.
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Ancient Infinity Orchestra 'It's Always About Love' (Gondwana Records) - a review
Double-bassist and composer Ozzy Moysey has brought together a 15-strong orchestral jazz band from the ever rich scene in Leeds and created an album that leaves one with a sense of peace, joy and community. Spiritual jazz at its core but intertwined with folk and classical elements, ‘It’s Always About Love’ is a glorious and natural progression from their debut record for the excellent Gondwana Records label. I usually like it more apocalyptic but I’ve been completely seduced by this album’s uplifting feeling of love and freedom. Read / Listen.
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YAHYA a.k.a. Constantine Weir 'Certainty Beyond Logic' (Itez) - a review
Student of Sufism, co-founder of Galliano, spoken word poet and musician, Constantine Weir has delivered an album of exceptional potency for these times. Soul music with an inner core of blues, jazz and the Caribbean is the vehicle for his sometimes personal, sometimes universal words of power and hope. The music draws in parts from gospel, folk, Sly Stone, Terry Callier, Islamic Africa and the Deep South, still managing to sound like the London that reared him. A limited vinyl only release, do not sleep on this. Read / Listen.
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Shake Stew 'TEN ONE TWO' (Traumton Records) - a review
The Austrian ‘krautjazz’ septet Shake Stew are celebrating ten years of heavy, rhythmic improvisational jazz this year with an outrageously ambitious double album called ‘TEN ONE TWO’. This isn’t a ‘Best Of’ record, Lukas Kranzelbinder’s outfit have recorded sixteen new compositions (plus a third edition out later in the year) and they are a powerful reminder of their status in European jazz circles. Not unlike the great Sons Of Kemet (RIP), their lineup of two bassists, two drummers and three horns make a serious statement - hypnotic grooves, intense interplay and a trancelike attitude to improvisation. It’s amazing. Read / Listen.
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