Soundway’s Miles Cleret and deep digger and DJ Jeremy Spellacey have combined their knowledge to deliver Body Beat: Soca-Dub and Electronic Calypso 1979-98. It “features 17 obscure soca B-side versions, dubs, instrumentals and edits as well as vocal tracks influenced by disco, boogie, house-music, soul and the more conscious lyrics of roots reggae,” according to the compilers “Owing as much to New York, Toronto and London as to the Caribbean cities of Port of Spain, Bridgetown and Kingstown – this compilation traces the genre from its explosion in the late 1970s to the period just before contemporary soca became established around the end of the 1990s.”

The selection explores the fringes of this often misunderstood and bypassed genre.

Filled with up-tempo tracks from start to finish, the lead single I Want Your Love by Peter Britto is a soca-house number and can be heard below, giving a flavour of what’s to come. It originally came out on NYC-based label Hometown Music in 1998 and features the recognisable soca synth beat, along with Caribbean steel drums and horns. There is also the obvious influence of New York’s booming house scene, making it an ultimate crossover track for club dancefloors and carnivals alike – and also makes evident the global spread of soca, from Canada to South America, with the Caribbean diaspora.

Watch this space for more on this terrific prospect.