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It’s done this by putting out a steady stream of releases showcasing music that would otherwise remain well under the radar of most Western music fans from countries as diverse as Iraq, Nepal, Palestine and North Korea.

Their latest release, Radio Thailand, is a two-CD collage of material recorded from Thai radio over a 15-year period from 1989-2004. The stylistic diversity of the music presented is staggering, ranging from Thai folk and pop to traditional ceremonial music via rock, rap and unabashed novelty tunes. These are brought together with bursts of news reports, DJ patter, radio idents, commercials, sacred chants and anything else that caught the compiler’s imagination into a dense and exhilarating aural patchwork.

Each collage has been stitched together with wit and great taste. The overall result is one of the most fun and straightforwardly enjoyable compilations likely to be released this year. Radio Thailand’s inclusive approach also largely succeeds in capturing something of the flavour of contemporary Thai culture by allowing the gathered material to speak for itself, unmediated and in its own voice.

My only real gripe is that, perhaps inevitably, the sleeve contains almost no information about the music inside, leaving the frustrated listener with little idea of how to track down any of the gems that Sublime Frequencies have unearthed. But Radio Thailand remains that rare thing - a musical journey that is both ear-opening and great fun. Where to next?