Soil & “Pimp” Sessions have release their 6th album this year and they are at the Jazz Café today (and WOMAD tomorrow) so as the warmed up in Camden Town, I grabbed a few words with front man Shacho.

Since The Simonsound appeared on the Jonny Trunk OST Show on Resonance 104.4FM recently, people have noticed that I seem close to obsessed by him; this may be true but I’d not be the only one.

Simon’s appearance on Jonny Trunk’s OST show the weekend raised more questions than answers so lets get the man himself to explain more about The Simondsound in a sort of Part 2 exclusive for FLY Global Music.

The new album Blackmagic is out now on Brownswood Recordings and as we’re so in love with it at FLY, it was time for chat with the man himself.

Everyone’s favourite global punk protest singer Manu Chao plus interviews with Gilles Peterson, Oumou Sangaré, Gilberto Gil, Ojos de Brujo, Baaba Maal, Tony Allen, Jane Ginsberg and more

Zoë Street Howe attends Iceland’s You Are In Control digital / music conference and Rettir music festival for a blast of clean air, bright sparks and fresh thinking

Jamie Woon is relatively still at the start of his career even after the success of ‘Wayward Stranger’ of a couple of years ago; Hectic grabs a quick chat at Cargo where he’s on the same bill as Joe Bataan and James Pants!

Not often we get in before Gilles Peterson, but before you get to hear the GP podcast with Emanative, here’s our exclusive interview with Nick Woodmansey (it’s a long one but worth it IMHO)

Like Manu Chao, who they recently supported, Peyoti for President is a political act expressed through globe hopping musical adventures. Named after a drug-induced dream for a better society, Peyoti for President is the brainchild of Pietro Dimascio

Louise Gray, the music correspondent for the New Internationalist, has written the most thought-provoking and enjoyable exploration of this whole ‘world music’ thing. She tells Fly what led her to write a book unlike any other on this subject

A must see artist, Rachael Bell is a multi talented singer, acoustic guitarist and pianist

Gary Crosby and Peter Edwards — respective members of Nu Troop and Tomorrows Warriors (that’s jazz bands if you were wondering) were over at Rich Mix on Sunday 13th July

Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide show this week was a slight change in tack as he focused on “In new beats we trust”. But hang on, I recognise that voice, it’s MamikO! What’s she doing in Amsterdam?

Karen Pearson, better known as Karen P, has just compiled the latest episode of …Broadcasting for Sonar Kollektiv so it was a great time to catch up with the Radio “Oscar” winner to find out why she’s so hectic at the moment.

If you recently used the words ‘accordion’, ‘gypsy circus’, ‘warm beats’, ‘glockenspiel’, ‘gentle’ and ‘lullaby’ in the same sentence, then chances are pretty good you were talking about Sweden’s Detektivbyrån

From deep within the Carpathian mountains comes something both mysterious and mesmeric. DJ Shantel is truly a creature of the night. Beware he is on his way

Marcina Arnold is a secret talent living in the heart of London. I went to meet her in Stockwell to speak to her about her new release on Counterpoint Records, an EP called ‘Introducing’

You can expect to hear me fooling around coz I like to laugh, you can hear a bit of old school cus I like to remember and you can expect to hear some guitars and strings and oohs and ahhs!

“It feels natural and I never forget how lucky I am”, says Roachford

Her international latest album Born & Raised hits the stores, and has reached mainstream markets both in the US and UK. Leaving positive impressions on national press

“‘When I’m With You’ was only a single. I did a demo of it on a four track tape machine (tedious work, but I had no other equipment, not even a decent computer). Then I recorded it with Dixon, who had his new ‘studio’ set up and I didn’t know how to use most of the machines. It was one of his first recordings as well, so we fiddled around for ages on that track until we were happy with it

Once hailed the UK Queen of Soul, Julie Dexter’s career has some what taken a different direction. Julie Dexter says, “I’m satisfied with where I am considering the fact that I’m not a major artist, I’m not signed to a major label. So as an independent artist I’m satisfied, I don’t think I could have done much better independently on my own, so yeah I’m satisfied.”

Mixing it up with Amy Winehouse hasn’t deflected jazz guitarist Femi Temowo from his mission

Wunmi is a true polymath. Dancer, designer, singer — if she said she was going to be a painter, you’d have to expect the art world to take notice. She can also talk and talk. Matthew Daniel tries (and fails) to get a word in

Jamaican heritage, classic soul and a touch of Culture Club. Welcome to the eclectic world of a British soul survivor

Uncomfortably numb hyper modern jazz geeks from Stockholm

Balkan music connoisseur Jill Sellner finds out from band members Ionita Nicolae and Costica Trifan what keeps them going with such exuberance after the death of their beloved patriarch, Ioan Ivancea

There was only one place to be this week and I didn’t make it. But there’s no time to lament that, as ‘The Love Theme’ EP is here to raise our spirits

Out East, the Vortex swirls jazz goodness around but west London has its own pockets of perfect jazz. Our favourite is Hammersmith’s Basement Jazz Sessions. We caught up with accidental jazz entrepreneur Joel Reeves on the eve of Elan Mehler Quartet’s visit

“I basically gave a friend of mine my CD but she was like ‘Oh I’ve got a friend who I could play this to’, and I didn’t know who she was talking about. I was just like, ‘oh cool, she’s just given away a CD’. Then, about two months later, I got a call saying Gilles had heard it, and he wanted to sign me to his label

Sitting backstage before the gig supporting The Black Seeds in London, Eva Be’s musical journey seemed ready to take off!

For those in the know, Alison Crockett is one of the big voices of soul. Matthew Daniel catches up with her as she realeases her new album

When Jonny Trunk sends you an email headed “Music for lunatics,” it still comes a surprise to see Bod, moon landings and porno somehow weaved together

There’s a new riot of sound coming straight out of East London. It’s beautifully noisy and breaks rules, both musically and culturally. Call it the new ‘alternative’ — in the original sense when the word actually referred to music bristling with ideas, rebellion and youth-powered energy rather than the conveyor belt of insipid indie kids playing over-familiar tunes and chords

On stage he’s a wild torrent of punk energy channelled into an eclectic musical output. In person, he locks eyes with you and declares in his accented English, “you are my brother.” Rachid Taha is a self-confessed hippy punk rocker with a big heart

The last time we met Florian, we were contemplating what a hectic year he’d had. We’ve had to grab him again as he’s almost exploded with activity since January

Israel’s premiere soul collective are representing soulful music, regardless of genre

The debut album by Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band lives up to everything that the ‘Buddha’ 12” promised. Yep, it’s that good

“And there is Chavez… dancing!” laughs Ojos de Brujo percussionist Xavi Turull, remembering their recent tour in Venezuela, “We even have it on video.” We travel to Buenos Aires to catch up with the band on tour

There was some great stuff on Great Stuff last year but 2007 has started even better. Hectic gets head honcho Rainer Weichhold to explain why their stuff is so great, the relationships with their sub-labels and how they are getting back to their roots.

When Stee Downs got together with Trevor O’Shea a couple of years ago, their main ambition extended as far as getting a club night together to promote soul, jazz, funk, disco, dub, reggae and all the bits in the middle. They’ve come a long way and have recently launch their own label, Scribble Records..

Ray’s Jazz hosted a talk by one of jazz’s great composers yesterday, Mr. Graham Collier. Hectic was right at the front to make sure he didn’t miss anything

When I met Nick Matthews recently he was telling me that his latest project Earth Corporation Enterprises: “is an arts based web portal for all things creative, inspiring and slightly beyond definition.” Uh huh.

The good groove will out on the nation’s airwaves and e-waves but finding it is a different matter as it keeps switching locations

Mercan Dede, born Arkan Ilicali, has his own reasons for using nine different stage names even though his friends believe that “he has a multiple personality disorder.” He explains; by using many names he tries to avoid becoming a popular product with a well-known brand name. For him it does not really matter what you are called or how your name sounds as long as someone calls you with sincere love and affection

Seth Lakeman has come a long way since his first taste of the West Country’s folk clubs as a young child but twenty years on he is clearly a musician who doesn’t like to be away from home for long.

From DJ and remixer to singer-songwriter the dual personality of one of Ninjatune’s hottest artists was an interview Fly couldn’t turn down.

What a twelve months it’s been for Florian Meindl but nothing in his career to-date would indicate he’s in the habit of slowing down.

Bellowhead have enough members to start their own football team, which for an English folk band is fairly impressive (although it would be fairly motley crew of folkies, jazzsters and classical musicians who made up the numbers).

Having evolved from experimental, industrial and EBM group Clock DVA in the eighties and early nineties, to solo dance floor techno as Sector, Dean Dennis has arrived at his current Nohno project with an open mind.

Daniel Haaksman had the look of a man who’d had an early start to the day but as soon as he started talking about baile funk, he lit up as bright as the proverbial Christmas tree

Digby Fairweather celebrates the news that the operators of Classic FM have secured a license to cast their magic on jazz for a new DAB radio station due to start broadcasting this Christmas — some of our readers are more circumspect though

The Show of Hands entourage has a true rock ‘n’ roll ethic in the backstage rituals before their gig at London’s Bloomsbury Theatre, as Fly’s Wyl Menmuir found out…

Following the debut album The First Cut, the difficult follow up: My Life At 33 has a touch of John Peel about the title but I wanted to get the Dr. (aka Simon Ward) back on the Isle of Wight (so to speak), site of his Bestival triumph

When things are painfully simple and from the heart, they can still sound like the most complex of machinery. But open your mind to the true ethos of emotive music and the spirit of what the jazz scene has stood for, and you’ll realise that the message is from the soul and true.

Dubbed ‘that rarest of jazz beasts: a genuine star’ by The Independent on Sunday, award-winning British jazz musician Dennis Rollins is currently touring to promote his third album, Big Night Out!, his funkiest yet and we have three signed copies to give away!

A Berber born in Algeria, the songwriter and performer, Akli D compares the world to an ocean of riches of which so far he has only had two cups. From street performer to playing at the London Jazz Festival, we join him on his journey

With the compilation CD John Peel: Right Time Wrong Speed: 1977-1987 released on the 9th October and with John Peel Day a recent memory, Hectic gathers reflections from the leftfield scene

Patrick Forge recalls the club that was: “inspirational, revolutionary, celebratory, radical. It was a family, it was a congregation. It was our Paradise Garage.”

It’s not often that Hectic hangs out with stars of radio and TV but as Zane Lowe was in the house today, I took the chance to grab a few words with the man of the brown couch fame.

Ponder the essence of tango for any length of time and soon you’ll realise that it’s a music form like no other. No other genre comes close to the sense of tragedy, tension and melancholy that it exudes. Responsible for spearheading a renaissance of this criminally marginalized music form is the production trio Gotan Project

CrazyBread are one of the best bands on the London scene you have never heard of. Funky, soulful, witty and sexy to boot, it’s probably fair to say that their sound is just now gelling together from the impossibly diverse elements making it up

If you’ve been wondering why we haven’t heard from Sidewinder (aka Alan Bryden) for some time, one of the reasons is that he’s just returned from six months living in São Paulo! Hectic tracked the Glasgow resident down to the basement home of Radio Saturn where it was a good time to ask…

Sometimes the best things in life really are free (or at least cheaper than you were expecting) as Conon Murphy finds out when he hooked up with Natacha Atlas, riding high on her best-received album in years

DJ Jose Luis has been burning the candela at both ends bringing Londoners endless club nights, and now Latino London has its own show on Resonance FM featuring cutting-edge Latin sounds including reggaeton of course…

Following on from the success of the inaugural 2005 event, The second Wychwood Music Festival will be held over the weekend of 2-4 June 2006 at Cheltenham Racecourse and is already proud to boast an impressive line up of artists including Mercury Nominees, Awards for World Music Winners, Folk Awards Nominees, the most hotly tipped new Indie artists and classic festival bands that is sure to make it one of the most talked about events of the year, again

Three and a half years of writing and production culminated in the release of Greenissimo’s debut self-titled album on Dangerous Drums Records. Comprised of Esther Cowen and Charlyn Green Hashmi, Greenissimo is setting out to make some changes. Breaks with melody. Soul and downbeat.

With a pure voice that charges your deepest emotions and a sound that will keep you entranced, it is unsurprising that Julia Biel is working her way into our musical psyche

Amparo Mercedes Sanchez, the creative core of Spain’s Amparanoia, is smiling. I get the impression she smiles a lot, and she has every reason to. Her latest Latin-infused album is flying off the shelves helped by a recent BBC World Music Award and her band pack concert venues as reports of their thrilling live performances spread across Europe. It also means Amparo is very busy.

Gordon Edge has amassed a wealth of experience in the last 15 years of DJing and trumpet playing. Taking DJing to a new place by introducing live trumpet playing while spinning records has led Edge to play the world over, from Lithuania to Japan.

Natty Bo, frontman of Ska Cubano, is pure old-school showman. He breezes into the interview in his trademark, distinctly ska-like yellow suit, complete with retro white shirt underneath. A matching hat, white shoes and fingers adorned with countless rings as he grins to reveal a metal-capped front tooth…

The events of 1492 are surprisingly present for Maurice el Médioni. Up until his mother’s generation, the family still spoke the languages of El Andalus (Arabic and Spanish) in their home in Algeria. Some part of Maurice el Médioni was left behind in Spain when the Jews were expelled, just as 460 years later, he would leave something of himself behind in Algeria.

Displaced, abandoned and yet somehow triumphant, the Sara Tavares story is as extraordinary as her music. Join her on the journey from saudade to balancê

Soulution. What a brilliant name for a record label? Not only that, the Paris-based wax makers have put out six 12 inchers to date and they just seem to be getting better.

Gerry Hectic digs in the crates for Carlos Niño and Fabian ‘Ammon’ Alston’s project, Ammoncontact

When the sparkling flamenco fusion album Orillas hit my desk, I sprung into action to get in touch with the author. And then nothing for over a year. It was worth the wait though as we get the skinny on his new album…

The Baker Brothers have got a new 12” coming out and it features soul diva Vanessa Freeman. I tracked down the band’s bass player & vocalist Chris Pedley to walk into his world (for a little while).

With the release of Barí, Ojos de Brujo produced not only one of the most exciting releases of recent years but declared a manifesto. Fly caught up with ODB’s DJ Panko to talk flamenco, graffiti and how to beat the multinationals at their own game as their new album drops

EveryUrbanThing.com’s founder AK gives us the lowdown on what’s coming along for hip hop in 2006

Ian Dury’s henchmen may still be sex-and-drugs-and-rock ‘n’ roll-ing, but they still find time to shake up the jazz scene with a bevy of solo projects…

Fly’s Jeremy Balius got in touch with Alessandro Boschi in Verbania in the north of Italy, just as he returned from Granada (from yet more flamenco guitar studying) to find out what’s going on with this ambient flameco guitarist who day dreams of Vega

“This column is dedicated to all the wonderful international tunes that most people either don’t know about, or can’t be arsed to cover. I hope it inspires you all to start digging a little deeper.” Phil Meadley kicks off a regular feature dedicated to global beats

Music for Crocodiles breaks away from the pack and heads for the lucrative world of big name female vocalists but it does so with charm and a sultry flavour all of its own

During a recent and, it has to be said, lengthy interview with Mixmaster Morris, the conversation turned to the much missed John Peel

It was one of those couple of weeks when the Blue Room boys of Chris Coco and Rob da Bank just kept mentioning their mate, Mixmaster Morris. Gerry Hectic tracked down the man himself

The news that a specialist jazz emporium is closing down is not surprising news these days but for anyone that has enjoyed spending hours flicking through the albums, CDs, cassettes, books, magazines or just hanging out listening to the staff’s choice on the Hi-Fi, it’s a sad start to November

It would be redundant to lament the over-saturation of under-produced soulful or chilled out house compilations on the market. Perhaps it is of surprise then to find a house DJ tucked within the pages of Fly

With the release of Robert Mitchell’s Trust just around the corner, it’s a good time to catch up on Ms Jordan’s busy year of festivals and releases and to hear about her future plans

Home-loving songstress Kate Rusby is caught in a lacrimonious web of tales of longing, betrayal and loss. No wonder at all then that she is the girl who couldn’t fly

“Oh! And when is the Nucleus gig again?” says Ben Lamdin, aka Nostalgia 77. Ben’s been particularly busy recently, perhaps explaining his forgetfulness…

Pantone Records is the current Brighton based project of Gavin Smith, former Mr. Bongo and Disorient head and DJ extraordinaire

There aren’t too many times in your life that a guy says to you, “I’m starting a five week tour with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings on Monday.” But that’s exactly what Malcolm Catto said to Brian Cross (aka B+) at the Bank Holiday Cargo ‘Launch Party’ promoting the release of the Keepintime Project DVD and CD.

“You can do hip hop music with a smile,” says MC Solaar on an interview for Radio 4 regarding French hip hop and that’s how I feel about French band La Cédille

Misty Oldland is not just determined to maximise her musical impact, she is just as concerned with minimising her environmental one. After a number of albums and collaborations over the last 15 years, she has released Forest Soul on her own label Mistic Discs

Family, friends and fans of Neil Ardley met on Tuesday, 26th July at St. Paul’s Parish Church to celebrate the life and achievements of a true polymath who enjoyed life to the full.

Before her sassy performance at this year’s WOMAD in Reading, the glamorous singer Lura shared stories of her unique Cape Verdean ancestry with a slice of cake to celebrate her thirtieth birthday. Beautiful, intelligent and absurdly talented, there is a huge buzz about this young singer who has been likened to the great Cesaria Evora

It would seem that German hipster quartet Dublex Inc. is founded on the amalgamation of individualities into a synthesized singularity. This sheds light onto the Dublex sound as hip hop, breaks, funk, jazz, samba and madness are all stirred into the same stew.

For those that scour old-fashioned airwaves or modern streaming audio, you’ll have spotted that Madtone has made some serious dub From The End Of The Short Wave

France’s Kafig dance company has made quite a splash internationally with its blend of hip hop, circus arts, modern dance — in short, a virtual melting pot of dance forms.

If…Music’s Jean-Claude Thompson brought Aaron Jerome to Fly’s attention at the beginning of the year and, true to his prediction, it’s an increasingly busy time for Aaron as his ‘soulblending’ skills are much in demand.

Radio Tarifa employ flamenco to decode the DNA of music, travelling back in time or across continents on voyages of discovery, sounds are picked apart, melodies examined and reassembled and from these fragments new creatures are made back in their laboratory. The end results form a fabulous menagerie of impossible music — earthy, tip-of-your-tongue familiar, beautiful and simultaneously challenging, unlikely and on the run

Alex Wilson is an established pianist on the British jazz and Latin scenes at the tender age of 30. He has played with Courtney Pine, Roberto Pla, Gary Crosby’s Nu-Troop and has developed his own solo career more recently. Jose Luis catches up with him before Latin Splash ‘05.

When I asked a friend about one of her favourite bands, Show Of Hands, she said, “Steve is the good looking one and Phil is the cuddly one.” It wasn’t quite what I was after so it was lucky I caught up with them between two of the 100 gigs they’ll be playing this year

Mariza has just begun a major European tour to promote her new album, Transparente. Fly caught up with her somewhere between Cologne and Munich to find out more about her new directions in sound.

The seven-strong South Yorkshire/ North Indian/ Afro-Caribbean/ Iraqi/ Andalusian musical explosion that is the Angel Brothers are in the middle of "a deranged rock 'n' roll school trip that never ends."

The Black Country area is famous for being the cauldron of the Industrial Revolution. Arguably, the most musically famous offspring are Robert Plant (West Bromwich) and Beverley Knight (Wolverhampton). Hopefully, independent label Black Country Route will improve matters.

It's tempting to file Lupen Crook under'Contemporary Folk, Singer/Songwriter' when there's not much else to go on. All I knew of him less than a week ago, was a short set in a marquee five minutes walk from Camden Town tube station.

Also going under the name Lighting Head, you may have come across Glyn 'BiggaBush' Bush previously as he was a member of Rockers Hi Fi -- whose tracks regularly appeared on compilations such as the influential Kruder & Dorfmeister Sessions...

Sam Frank, based in Japan, traces the path that led the Chemical Brothers to Osaka and ponders what makes a band crossover the language barrier

Nippon-Speedy-Express No. 17 is now up and running on Samurai FM. As promised, Gerry Hectic meets up with Wah Wah 45's boss Dom Servini on the Platform before the Express departs.

Of late, my record collection has been attacked by an increasing amount of yellow. This is no cowardly statement. If anything, the exact opposite as it represents the covers of one of the most out-there jazz labels around. London based Cosmic Sounds. It was time Hectic got more info from their top man, Zeljko Kerleta.

Break Reform are Simon S, JJ Webster & Nanar. With a Gilles Peterson Worldwide session planned, two recent 12"s and a new album coming out, it seems to be all coming good all at once. Just to make sure Fly doesn't miss out, Gerry Hectic tracks down Simon S to get updated and find out about the Japanese connection.

Fly might be about music mostly but every now and then we like to consider our readers other needs. Amma reflects on Ghanaian food inside and outside Ghana

New website Every Urban Thing has set out to be a one-stop shop for all things UK and urban. We asked main man AK to give us his top picks of the moment.

Andy Sheppard makes himself out to be a bit of a hired gun, one day working with Massive Attack, the next playing a gig in Italy, the next recording a version of 'New York, New York' for an advert, and all the while touring a series of gospel and spiritual improvisations around the UK.

Gilles Peterson on the music, the biz, DJing, girls, Brazil, radio, Selfridges, his mum, smoking and Elton John

Augustus Casely-Hayford, or just Gus to most people who know the urbane and influential leading light behind Africa 05, talks to Fly about turning round public perceptions of African arts.

I'd not heard of Mod X (real name, Vincent de Azevedo) before but apparently he's got a background in classical piano, successful commercials and an ability to mix up hip hop, house, raga, soul and afro.

Multi-instrumentalist Nitin Sawhney must have one of the most hectic schedules in the business. In between writing orchestral pieces and film scores, DJing, playwriting and planning his next tour, he is putting the finishing touches to his new album when I catch up with him at his South London studios.

Each sound that Tobin gets his hands on (which has in the past included spitting and motorbikes) is warped and sampled, eventually weaving a bit of a spell around the unsuspecting listener. His latest victim: none other than Fly's Zoe Street...

Ensuring a very happy New Year for beatniks everywhere, here is a huge 'hurrah' for British jazz from BBC Four, in the form of a star-studded landmark series balancing archive treasures, personal testimonies and highlights from a weekend of high profile concerts at London's Barbican.

Having spent the best part of his twenties playing in bands all over the capital, drummer Brian Hedemann fuses his experience in hip hop, jazz, drum n'bass and garage to finally realise his own musical vision.

Astonishingly talented young saxophonist Carla Marciano has been taking people's breath away with her mastery of Coltrane's techniques and her own fresh style. We caught up with the new horn voice from Italy.

They are frighteningly clever, they are multimedia, they are Mexican and they are over here (as long as you are in London). Meet Manas -- Avant Gardists with Latin Spirit

This duo's haunting music, inspired by the melancholia of the Portuguese soul, is refracted through the prism of the spaghetti western. They create open musical spaces in which to contemplate where fatalism meets fatality.

This is the boss of Afro Art! This is one half of the Paul Murphy and Marc Woolford Project that had one of the biggest 12’s of the year with the Spiritual South Remix of ‘Jazz Room’. So when it comes to compiling your own label’s ‘Best Of’ CD you know it’s going to be No. 1 on the tracklisting.

The doors are locked, the fuse is lit! Bring some Joy into your life at the London Jazz Fringe Festival

Coming out of Ed Simpson's band, Davide Mantovani went on to form Polaris. We catch up with him as part of our season of interviews with the artists at the London Jazz Fringe Festival

First in a series of profiles to prepare you for November's London Jazz Fringe Festival at the Ritzy. Lautrec frontman Ed Simpson tells us about his band and how he decided to start a festival one day.

While they're rubbish for the latest chart hits, public libraries across the UK offer a chance to find music and artists you haven't heard. In the first in a regular series Paul Murphy checks out some old tunes to be found in East London's Hackney Library, starting with two discs of legendary reggae producer Joe Gibbs.

With her incredible voice and distinctive look, Mariza has taken the beautiful Fado music of Portugal to a global audience. Fly talks to her about fame, frocks and music.

To coincide with the release of UNKLE's second album Never, Never Land the ICA held a four- day design showcase entitled Subject 2 Change. This small exhibition coincides with UNKLE's first release since 1998's Psyence Fiction.

The Black Dog were perhaps the most mysterious and influential so-called Techno act to appear in the burgeoning late eighties/ early nineties dance scene. Little was known about this collective apart from the fact that they were a threesome, that they didn't like their pictures being taken for publicity and that there was a collective interest in Egyptology.

Aziza does not hold opinions, she deals only in articles of faith. She tells a good story though…

If you look closely, you will find a jewel in the record store. Amidst the vinyl obsession and hype of the last couple of years, a small London based label called Pussyfoot has peacefully released a distinguished catalogue of music. Richard Houston investigates.

One of the brightest and most exciting new scenes to emerge in recent years has been that of the nouveau French dance scene. Perhaps the label most responsible for bringing these fresh new sounds to a wider audience, has been Source records. Their stunning Sourcelab compilations have helped promote the talents of exciting new producers such as Air, Zend Avesta, Gilb-R, and DJ Cam, whilst confirming the genius of artists such as La Funk Mob, The Mighty Bop and Eric Rug.

Since its beginning, electronic music has touched many aspects of art, but popular electronic musician Jean-Jacques Perrey has, apart from having worked with such stars as Edith Piaf, Charles Trent and Walt Disney, really been the pioneer of popular electronic music. With Gershon Kingley he made probably the most humorous and innovative records of the '60s and '70s, long before the likes of Kraftwerk the Detroit techno originators. So take your chance to meet him. Jean-Jacques is here, from France, talking to Fly!
Words by ARNAUD BOIVIN