Nowhere Like Here (Love Songs From the Caribbean and Diaspora)

The Emotional Rescue label’s name gives away their true function. They may operate in the broadly Balearic world of competitive crate-digging, finding genre-defying obscurities mainly from the 1980s and lovingly remastering / editing them for DJs — but they are above all about real pleasure as a vital part of life, about music that provides true sustenance. Thus with this compilation put together with London vinyl dealer / connoisseur Bruno. It’s a selection of reggae and reggae adjacent love songs, but they are all ones that slip between styles: obviously British lovers rock and early Jamaican digital production, but also contemporary soul and even new wave are all in the mix. And though they’re rarities, and in some cases naive or quirky in their production, there’s never a sense that that’s their sole purpose: rather they’re picked because of the underlying emotional connection in them. These love songs were made and selected with — yes — a lot of love.