With our FUNK FACTORY special covering some of the baddest bands on the planet (Dap-Kings, Breakestra, Whitefield Brothers, Lefties Soul Connection, Cookin’ On 3 Burners & Malcolm Catto of the Heliocentrics) and our focus on PLANET MU, whether we’re cold lampin’ with the original funki dred JAZZIE B or sweating to the tropical rhythms of GWO KA and TUMBELE in Martinique and Guadeloupe, SHOOK #07 goes deep in the science of rhythm. The launch of HOMEGROWN, the first major exhibition of UK hip-hop, is our excuse to go back in time with London Posse, Demon Boyz and many more. We get the DATA REDUCTION from ZOMBY and gOnj@$ufi. MAX ROMEO tells us how he almost burned down the offices of Island Records, HUDSON MOHAWKE talks about making tracks for Rihanna, while Stefan Lakatos remembers learning to play the trimba from MOONDOG. For all you jazz heads, CARL CRAIG, MARCUS BELGRAVE and WENDELL HARRISON give us the rub on the resurrected TRIBE RECORDS project; we get a dose of Ancestral Soul from BODDHI SATTVA; Guilty Simpson, Black Milk, Dilated Peoples, Planet Asia and more salute HEX MURDA; we smoke Cohibas in Cuba with GILLES PETERSON and blaze blunts in LA with GASLAMP KILLER, SAMIYAM, HOUSESHOES & RHETTMATIC. Plus TERENCE BLANCHARD explains all about his difficult choices post-Katrina. Elsewhere, we feature FELA! THE MUSICAL, we surprise NNEKA, find out all about the CANDY MACHINE, travel the world with DREPH, celebrate the release of STILL BILL and raise a toast to 30 years of VAGUE. So shut yourself away this Christmas with a copy of SHOOK and a bottle of brandy, and be a soul adventurer, travelling to places and spaces far and wide in the musical omniverse.

Oh, and we’ve got some very special subscriber offers this time around so make sure you check out our store for details.

Sound System Special – Shaka, Channel One, Coxsone… string up and dance

House Shoes – you can take a brotha out of Detroit…

Cumbiaton Explosion – Toy Selectah and Club Zizek

Manchester before the Hacienda – Greg Wilson and the Electro-Funk Bomb

Salah Ragab – Exploring the Magic System

Paul Beatty – The White Boy Shuffle

Clutchy Hopkins – Who Da F#@k is Clutchy Hopkins?

Raymond Scott – The Name of the Game is Lightworks

Saut D’Eau – A Haitian Vodou Story

Morning Breath – Cover Me

Emory Douglas – The Art of the Black Panthers

Bomba: The Ruff Guide to Puerto Rico

Jazz Cats: The Harlem School of Jazz

plus… Q-Tip, Dâm-Funk, Onra, Crazy Couzins, The Invisible, Kaidi Tatham, London Jazz Festival, 45 Love, plus all ya regulars, reviews and raw vibes.

New for ‘09 you can now subscribe & get each issue delivered direct to your door. Check our store for all the info, including a free gift.

View the online digital edition here.