MINT

The latest reissue on the constantly on-point Athens of The North imprint comes from Brief Encounter, a North Caroline soul, disco and boogie outfit from North Carolina who released two albums between 1977 and '81. "We Want To Play For You" is taken from the latter, and offers a hazy, surprisingly sweet - if undeniably floor-friendly - take on the New York boogie sound of the period. With bold pianos, fuzzy vocals and occasional percussive breakdowns, it ticks all the right boxes. Flip to the B-side for "Sweet Tender Loving", a sumptuous, string-drenched disco-soul number that boasts a particularly impassioned vocal and a huggable, feel-good groove.

New Zealand based crate digger Frank Booker invites good friend Julien Dyne to drop the second release on his new imprint Down In the Basement.JD picks up where The Man Called Booker left off on Vol 1 and gets straight up to speed cutting up rare boogie, disco and Afro jams and employing his trademark raw cuts in an old school style, while lacing oodles of FX 'n stuff into the mix.The overall sound is reminiscent of the early Idjut Boys material, which is so close to Mr Booker's heart.

If 2014 was a breakthrough year for Mo Kolours and Reginald Omas Manmode IV, then 2015 has served a similar purpose for the third Deemamode brother, Jeen Bassa. Here, he follows up the well-received All My People 12" with Time Waves, a mini-album that showcases his take on the family's now familiar globally focused, "deep house-meets-MPC-beats" sound. Predictably, it's something of a humid and smoky treat, delivering tracks bristling with soulful intent, rich musicality, dusty beats and wayward samples (sources include Mauritian drum records, scratchy reggae, and blazed East Coast hip-hop). While there are some superb individual tracks, it should be considered as a single artistic expression; judged in these terms, it's very special indeed.