For what I believe counts as six years now, Henry Jones's California-based archival record label Smiling C has been diligently sharing the stories & songs of under-appreciated artists. Along the way, they've produced a range of globally-minded vinyl reissues, documentaries and digital releases exploring the sounds of French-Moroccan electro-raï, electronic soul from Washington, D.C, British dub post-punk, lo-fi loner disco, esoteric ambient jazz and more.

Across their latest release, "The Voice of Love", Jones and co-curator Michael Patricola dig into the staggeringly optimistic sounds of 1980s British sophisti-pop and jazz-funk. Over the course of ten unreleased demos, a scattering of scarcely pressed 12”s, they offer up a dreamy window into the smooth sounds of the UK underground at the time.

Opening with the Sade-in-Ibiza slanted beachy jazz-pop of "Nothing In Your Pocket" by Sonja & Ian, "The Voice of Love" unfolds into a vivid fusion of glossy, print fashion magazine aesthetics and a do-it-together punk/post-punk ethos inspired by The Clash, Sex Pistols, and the early Factory Records scene. On "Half The Fun Of The Crime (Extended Version)" by The Goodbye Look, the compilation bubbles towards the tropical side of soul music, with steel drums flittering around call and response vocals in the same mode as city pop stars Hiroshi Satoh & Wendy Matthews' "Awakening" album.

Across Ocean, Inheritance and World Series's respective contributions, "In & Out of Love", "I Still Love You", and "Take My Love", things move more towards the lush jazz-funk and R&B sounds of 52nd Street, evoking affairs of the heart in a multitude of expressive manners. Up next on 'Time Out' by Jakatti, the music shifts towards the raw, machine-beat laced sounds of funky post-punk al la Colourbox, Maximum Joy, and A Certain Ratio, and keeps rolling in that direction with cuts from Berlin-Randazzo Band, Xpertz, and After Eight.

If you're looking for some sunkissed escapism and misty, rain-dusted romance, "The Voice of Love" delivers on all fronts. It was an absolute pleasure to sink into this collection. Vinyl and digital copies are available now via Smiling C Records here.