Caramel: Gold Vinyl LP

The true cosmonaut of inner space Connan Mockasin with a fantastic 11 track set. The album explores different regions of his galaxy, not just soul but a liquefied brew of blues, funk, ambient and folk with pronounced Oriental and Gallic timbres, all laced with an uncanny air of bliss. Caramel has hints of Scritti Politti's exquisitely stitched soul, or of Prince - if the Minneapolis legend had spent time in Canterbury, the learned epicentre of South East England's progressive psychedelia during the late '60s and early '70s, where the likes of Syd Barrett and Kevin Ayers began their own musical journeys.