Beautiful Bandcamp spring-has-sprungers selected by Secret Soul Society‘s Cal Gibson.

This year the longed-for return of spring has been somewhat tempered by thoughts of World War III possibly having broken out: but on the basis that any distraction is a godsend in such dark times, here’s a few mystical moments carved out of the musical ether. Tune in, turn on and blessed be the peacemakers.

 Depending By The Time | Hideki Ishima | Wamono Series

180g records do it right: Far East New Rock Invention 1969 – 1975 is another worthy offering of esoteric wigged-out rawk n’ roll given a whole bunch of Kyoto kisses. One of the compilations of the year for sure.

The Lords Of Creation | Mike Johnson | Cuneiform Records

Completely unclassifiable bonkers schizoid rock meets jazz meets the spirit of Zappa somewhere on the way to the intensive care unit. Ideas piled on ideas piled on ideas piled on oblique strategies. Gotta love the bravery and ambition on this one.

Plenty For All The Masses | Dagmar Zuniga

Wigged out wonky lo-fi freak folk for fractured times: Dagmar Zuniga comes armed with knowledge gleaned from the sorcerer’s apprentice. Mystikal in all the right places and full of  unfaked wonder: gnarly (is that still a word?) as hell.

Friends | Esmeralda | Dial-Up Connection

Slow down low down bubblegum soul meets kitsch dancefloor balearica on this early 90s find: straddling the line between the good, the bad and the thugly it’s a miniature gem of an album: cheesy but tasty and good for the soul.

The Only One | Marshall Watson

Marshall Watson has a canny way with a melody, a sure-fire touch and a grasp of sundown electronic soul that very rarely misses. Warm, bubbly, inviting and sweetly subtle: master at work.

Ah Ya Layla Yumma (Laroz Remix) | SHIRAN & BAKAL | SHIRAN

Dancefloor alert as this traditional Iraqi song gets a shiny late night re-tooling for the wide-eyed and restless. Slinky, kinky, rinky-dinky: a summer smash perhaps? You never know…can definitely see it popping up in all sorts of record boxes and getting the party well and truly started.

Adin Gban Non Chouwe | Analog Africa

Absolutely firing collection from a mysterious figure apparently known as the devil’s prime minister which suggests he may have been a trifle challenging to work with. Backed by Orchestre Poly-Rythmo this is high quality late 70s dancefloor fire: one for the dancers and romancers, a proper rollercoaster.

Shadow Of The Land (feat. Dean McPhee) | Seabuckthorn | laaps

Composer Andy Cartwright opens up and hunkers down in his Seabuckthorn guise: moody, moving and melancholic this is ten excursions into texture and rhythm that really hit the spot. Lots to lock into and lose yourself in: a confident, searching collection that repays attention.

Diane Maxwell ‘Love Charms’ | The Jazz Sinners | Right Tempo / Mono Jazz / Easy Tempo

Ah well sometimes you find yourself winding your way back to those old tunes that somehow never date: The Jazz Sinners is chock full of killer vocal cuts and effervescent instrumentals selected by the easy tempo crew that all swing hard and low. Classy, sassy jazzual business for the headz. Catch a groove.

Waves Crash Mix | Sorcerer

Sorcerer kicks ass: he always has, always will. Here he comes up with 46 minutes of goodness: a decade’s worth of secret weapons and hard drive happenings. It’s all great, all with that Sorcerer touch of magic (doh!). Here’s to many more years of noodling and doodling around: Sorcerer got it going on.