Kicked off with some tracks that captured the rough 'n' ready UK Hip Hop scene that dropped my jaw when I moved from breakbeat house heaven (Stevenage) to soul music Mecca (London) in 1991. The nostalgia trip concludes with a deferential nod to acid-jazz, the forgotten genre that flash-flooded the 90's.

The main section is where I'm at now - loving soulful house music. This particular lot includes deep, broken, Latin, African, Jazz, as well as your pure and simple strong vocal tracks. Things round off gently with some essential winter night Jazz-fusion & Soul.

Favourites

Demon Boyz - Glimmity Glammity (1991)

This gem of UK braggadocio is all the more amusing when set next to the slick American delivery of Lakim Shabazz on 'Pure Righteousness'. Mixing Ragga lyrics with top deck of the bus chitchat, this is an audio landmark of the anthropological miracle we know as 'London'.

Galliano - Golden Flower (1992)

Don't know about you, but I'd always wondered how much better Galliano would have sounded without the poetry-rap business. This B-side passes the mic to Omar. And there you have it, one of the best Talking Loud tracks, still as fresh as your latest Japanese import.

Passion Dance Orchestra - Worlds (Beyond The Ozone) (2003)

DJs will know that recurring dream where you suddenly have to step behind the decks of the ultimate club when the star DJ no-shows and the irate crowd stares at you as you cue your first record. Well, this is the track the crowd currently goes nuts to in my head. The ascending piano and string introduction takes a slow, confident route into solid beats. Deep. Jazzy. German.

Freddie Hubbard - People Make The World Go Round (197?)

Just a beautiful record. The strings, bass and drums under the solo at the end force you to shut your eyes and nod/shake/roll your head in complete accordance with whatever it was the players were feeling. Not the best record to drive to then.

Minnie Ripperton - Here We Go (1979)

If this track had been on that mix tape you gave that girl you really, really liked back at college... well, who knows what could have been. Certainly, any girl unaffected by the insistent heat of these vocals probably wouldn't have been worth a TDK SA90 anyway.