“Even after so many listens I still find myself deeply lost and taken. First comes the traditional eastern melodies, which I can never tire of, but very quickly take you down another path and then another. The easiest way for me to describe a record like this would be fusion, a sound that has been interesting to me for a while now. One which has certainly proved challenging on dance floors from time to time but I just can’t get enough! Like many fusion records, Oriental Groove combines classic scales with funk bass lines, dramatic arrangements and breaks, driving rhythms and energy in some places then more mysterious and melancholic in others. They take me from place to place with so much technical skill even at its most surprising parts. The music in this album gets my body and brain spinning in a whirlwind. I find myself both racing and floating along to it, sometimes even within the same track.

I couldn’t have been happier to hear this was getting a reissue. Not only am I excited for it’s new life and hopeful new fans, but also the quality of the remaster.

Thanks Gülistan and thanks Hot Mule!”

Donna Leake (2019)

Oriental groove (limited edition lp)