Various Artists - Deep Roots Observer Style (17 North Parade/VP Records)

The catalog of Joe Gibbs must have been just about exhausted so 17 North Parade is now focusing on the releases of Winston Holnes aka Niney The Observer (a nickname he got after suffering an accident in a workshop and losing a thumb).

Mighty Sparrow - Sparromania: Wit, Wisdom And Soul From The King Of Calypso 1962 - 1974 (Strut Records)

Mentioning calypso, many will still spontaneously think of Harry Belafonte, who, with hits like 'Matilda' or 'Banana Boat Song' made a commercial version of the genre gain worldwide popularity.

Lee Perry And The Upsetters - High Plains Drifter (Pressure Sounds)

This new Lee Perry compilation focuses on Scratch's love for spaghetti westerns, a genre reigning supreme in the Kingston of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Errol Bellot - Know Jah (Reality Shock Records)

Errol who? If we add his nickname 'Gideon Zinger', there will probably be some hardcore sound adepts among you who know who we are talking about, because for many years Bellot was active with UK sound systems like Jah Tubby's, King Original and Unity Sound.

Lepistö & Lehti - Radio Moskova (Aito Records)

Finnish duo Lepistö and Lehti made their first appearance on these pages back in 2008, whith the release of their debut album 'Helsinki'.

Tommy Tornado - Cool Down (Self-published)

Two years after his debut album 'Sunrise', Dutch saxophonist Tommy Tornado is back with successor 'Cool Down'.

Sly & Robbie - Blackwood Dub (Grooveattack)

It had been quite a few years since Jamaica's best-known riddim tandem treated us to a new dub album.

Rod Anton & The Ligerians - Leaders Of Tomorrow EP (Wall On Stage)

Like for 'Angel', the 2010 EP which introduced us to his work, Rod Anton once again collaborated with The Congos for 'Leaders Of Tomorrow' (an EP meant as a preview for Anton's first full-fledged album 'Reasonin' which should see the light in May of this year).

Ras Daniel Ray & Tu Shung Peng - Ray Of Light (Ku Shung)

The French reggae scene kicks off the year in style with 'Ray Of Light' by Ras Daniel Ray & Tu Shung Peng.

Sizzla - The Chant (Afro Jam Music)

With 'The Chant' Sizzla wants to show us his musical roots as his bond with producer Everton Moore aka Caveman goes back to the time when Miguel Collins was still in school.

Zdob Si Zdub - Basta Mafia! (Asphalt Tango Records)

When the biography of a band immediately makes mention of their success at the Eurovision Song Contest, that sets off alarm bells with yours truly, although in the case of Moldovan band Zdob Si Zdub that is perhaps a little premature.

Che Sudaka - 10 (Cavernicola Records)

Our favorite Colombian mestizo-gang celebrates its tenth anniversary with '10', not a 'Best Of', but a new album to to give this jubilee the luster it deserves.

Les Barbeaux - Soleil (Irfan/Self-published)

Every time yours truly thinks he knows every mestizo band out there, a next one turns up to prove us wrong.

Bellowhead - Hedonism (Navigator Records)

Real folkies we'll never become, but occasionally we like to make an exception.

The Mighty Fishers - High Four EP (Self-published)

This 'High Four' EP is the calling card of The Mighty Fishers, Hungary's first and, for now, only rocksteady band made up of musicians who earned their spurs with bands like Three Teadies, Dubaku Band or Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra.

Various Artists - Musica Contra La Represion: En Defensa Del Movimiento De Derechos Animales (Kasba Music)

One of the most remarkable occurrences this year was the erection of the tent camps by the Occupy-movement or, here in Europe, the Indignados.

I-Trinity-I - Reggaeality (Keyzit/Diasopora Rockers)

I Trinity I is, you guessed it, a trio, composed of Just One Fya and Kulcha I (together already active with K2R Riddim) and ManCris.

Fanfaraï - Raï Cuivré (Tour N Sol)

Fanfaraï is a bit of a maverick in the world of raï music; not only because of the instruments they use - trumpet, sax, tuba and trombone supplemented with percussion (darbuka, congas, tabl, krakebs, tarija) - but also because the band is not afraid to supplement the rhythms from the Maghreb with influences from the Balkans and Latin America.

Black Truth Rhythm Band - Ifetayo (Soundway Records)

Judging from its cover, you might assume 'Ifetayo' is yet another reissue of a vintage African album, but even though the Black Truth Rhythm Band was definitely Afrocentric in nature - a philosophy the band members followed through down to the clothes they wore - it was very much a Caribbean band from Trinidad (something real music connoisseurs will notice immediately due to the use of the steel drum in some songs).

Sic Bo - Sic Bo (Self-published)

The fact there is still a big gap between the Belgian ska and reggae scene, is yet again proven by the fact that yours truly had never heard of Sic Bo, nor of the band that preceded it, The Skavengers.