The Brazilian religious and musical tradition of candomblé is a rhythmic barrage. Originating in the 19th century among enslaved west Africans, candomblé manifested in music as a ritual practice of drumming circles, where polyrhythms were hammered out to induce possession by spirits. Athens-based archival label Flee presents a treasure trove of this ceremonial music from a community in Salvador in the late 1980s, alongside a series of ingenious remixes made by contemporary artists.

Side one of the album hosts the field recordings. Hazy, unbalanced and full of tape hiss, the 10 ritual compositions pull listeners into the frenetic environment in which they were recorded. It is as if we are sitting next to the tape recorder witnessing the overlapping, joyous voices glimpsed in the distance on Ossaim or the singular male voice that wails movingly before disappearing on Xangô. The experience can feel frustratingly fragmented, but if melody is fleeting, the drumming is not. Clattering, clave-style hits produce infectious movement on Ogum, while bells and a mid-tempo swing create the feel of undulating waves on Entrada dos Orixás.

This rhythmic material is manna for the producers who reshape it for the modern dancefloor on side two. Brazilian producer DJ Anderson do Paraiso flips the percussion into a sparse take on baile funk on Festa Iansã, while French percussionist Vincent Taeger overlays drum kit breakbeats to create a chugging funk odyssey on O Santo da o Nome, Portuguese producer Xexa slows pace into a dub-fuelled ambience on Pluralidades, and Swiss artist Jonas Albrecht produces album highlight All My Love, stacking drum loops into a blistering seven minutes of techno. Expertly curated and near-miraculously sourced, Flee cements its place as one of the industry’s most imaginative archival labels, giving artists the freedom to turn these sacramental rhythms into fresh dancefloor rituals.

Also out this month

Mexican producer Debit continues her blending of Latin American folk music with club-ready bass pressure on her visceral latest album Potpourri (Naafi). Made to be blasted through a soundsystem, Debit’s masterfully balanced productions overlay trance synths, apocalyptic bass drones and strafing percussion with guaracha rhythm, reaching an apex on the ecstatic torrent of Tuve Suerte. Wistful finger-picked bossa nova guitar and delicate vocals combine on Brazilian singer-songwriter Lau Ro’s latest album Lau (Mexican Summer). Drenched in psychedelic reverb and sweeping bursts of string arrangements, Lau is a sun-dappled delight. French producer Akusmi brings together a stellar jazz lineup on his second album Terra Incognita (Tonal Union), featuring percussionist Sarathy Korwar and harpist Marysia Osu, who create a synth-inflected update of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders’ spiritual jazz sound.