PAUL HILLERY Vinilo y CD

Review: Masterful curator Paul Hillery returns with another essential instalment in this wonderful BBE series. Volume 3 continues his tradition of unearthing rare, high-quality tracks so it is a perfect companion to his Children of the Sun trilogy. This one spans funky folk, jazzy AOR, lo-fi dub and DIY folktronica and includes numerous gems like Sheila Chandra's ethereal vocals and Tim Green's euphoric grooves, a playful vibe from Gil De Ray on 'Something About Nothing' and plenty more besides. With extensive sleeve notes, this is a deep sonic journey that also cements the man behind it as an expert archivist.

Review: The little known folk-funk genre does what it says on the tin. Here on this third volume in a wonderful series so far, compilation curator Paul Hilery does a fine job of portraying the best obscurios in the style, salvaging the very best of such flukily serene funk music and its stylistic cognates. Classic cuts from unlikely celestials such as Tim Green and Jeff Outterman are paired with case examples of neo-psychedelia, vocal raga, soft rock, and trip-hop, at once stretching the very furthest definitional corners of the term "funk" while making for a shimmering trip. Bobbi Keith's 'Give Me Time' has to be the highlight, coming agogo with chord-soaked backings and pealing electric piano, as Keith's nearly genderless voice flits over the mix.

Review: From an ardent blogger to an in-demand compiler, Paul Hillery's obsessive approach to music discovery has taken him far. As well as working with the likes of BBE, he's been fostering a working relationship with Re:Warm which now yields a second volume of the fantastic Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours series. The title is instructive, and somewhere in the folds of private press joints and forgotten album cuts Hillery finds a thread which binds together seemingly disparate sounds. There's delicate singer-songwriter seances from the likes of Lucy Kitchen and psychedelic, roving magic from Stallions remixing Findlay Brown and much more besides.

Review: Once unsung but now enjoying a revitalised career as a compiler and curator, Paul Hillery began his musical journey as a tour DJ for The Polyphonic Spree. But even long before this, he'd a niche knack for tracking down obscure musical gems. The breadth of his curatorial talents are demonstrated once again on We Are The Children Of The Setting Sun, which has no explicit genre focus but sonically segues through folk, psychedelia, and new age obscurities - and only ones with the utmost pristine sound at that. From the beauteous harmonic dulcimers of Graeme Gash to the closing Chicago Soul paeans of Reggio McLaughlin, we're urged to "drop out to the musical pulse that unites us all."