David Horridge
Journey Within

The Zenmenn and John Moods follow up their brilliant debut 'Enter The Zenmenn' in a similarly improvised way with another timeless, modern classic. Think AOR (Adult Oriented Rock) with a teaspoon of Celtic sentimentalism, a pinch of big city Country wrapped in a late night '70s style jam. Sublime!

Cool story: 60s psychedelic folk strummer Cutter was spotted busking in an LA subway by one of the Claremont 56 team. Instantly submitting to his acoustic charms, they struck up a creative relationship. Together they created the cosmic beauty that is "Strutting Serpent". Sitting somewhere between Cat Stevens and Paqua, it's the epitome of Balearic timelessness. For added psychedelic majesty flip for a future version of Cutter's classic folk stunner "Gift Of Our Fathers". Wow.

Weird and warm aural treasure from 1989 in British duo Woo's meshing of acoustic instruments and electronic experimentation. This second album of theirs is a breezy odyssey somewhere between freak-folk, post-punk, ambient jazz and new age from another planet... Brian Eno but freakier.

MAJOR TIP! 17 varied re-works of classic Funkadelic cuts from Detroit's top producers across three slabs of wax... Highlights come thick and fast, from the deep house/P-funk fusion of Alton Miller's take on "Get Your Ass Off and Jam" and Andres' loose, hip-hop influenced revision of "Music For My Mother", to the thrusting loops and heady late-night hypnotism of Anthony Shake Shakir and T-Dancer's version of "Standing on the Verge". While many of the versions stay relatively faithful to the original, the more "out-there" interpretations - see BMG's outer-space ambient dub of "Maggot Brain" and Moodymann's epic revision of "Cosmic Slop" - are also consistently impressive. Yesss to this!

Modern Country is the 4th LP by guitarist and composer William Tyler, excellently backed by multi-instrumentalist Phil Cook (Hiss Golden Messenger, Blind Boys of Alabama), bassist Darin Gray (Tweedy), and percussionist Glenn Kotche (Wilco). On this LP, Tyler explores more focused melodic themes rather than ethereal wanderings. Modern Country is a collection of songs about the vanishing America that still exists on back roads, in small towns, and on AM radio stations. In a time when so many certainties and assurances have vanished, Tyler doesn't offer optimism or pessimism but rather a calm and measured commentary in our age of anxiety.