Philantropiques

First up, a confession: having seen French jazz/soul/funk/rap producer Guts on stage and been less than impressed, I had low expectations for Philantropiques, despite the fetching cover art by visual artist Mambo. How wrong I was. Having made his name as a beatmaker, Guts – a sort of 21st-century Claude ‘Buddha Bar’ Challe – has incorporated live sounds into his sampling, sequencing and programming. And the results aren't just great, they're outstanding.

Buoyed by a live band on bass, drums, horns and the excellent Cyril Atef on percussion, and a clutch of guest singers and musicians including rising-star saxophonist Jowee Omicil, Guts gifts us a tropical Afrobeat album that grooves, trances and grooves some more. Highlights, like influences, are numerous, with jazz-funk at a premium: opener ‘Voyaging Bird’ is a riot of colour, percussive chaos and soaring horn melodies. Angolan vocalist Vum Vum lends his sweet Portuguese tenor to ballad ‘Mucagiami’; Caribbean toaster Black Sage sing-speaks over swaying reggae riddims on ‘Sa Cé Kado’.

True to name, Guts is the album's engine room, deftly driving the likes of ‘Matadou’, a tempo-switching instrumental with big-band horns and big-bottomed bass, and dance-floor stomper ‘Shake It and Rise Up’. Diverse, catchy, down and dirty – if there's a tour I'll be right at the front.