It isn't so very long ago that Britain's music and fashions ruled the waves. As recently as the 1980s, London acted as a hothouse of international Zeitgeist, and its DJs and style gurus like arbiters of taste. The clubs of Japan, Europe and America took their cue from London subculture, and the temperature of the dance scene from white label street prices.

Then came things like the EC single market, the demise of the Berlin Wall, and a new culture of international mobility and cooperation. EC money is even sponsoring dance music, its golden halo gracing the recent High On Dance compilation. And as with all things European, Britain relegates herself to the slow lane, more readily ceding power across the Atlantic than the North Sea or English Channel.

The aptly-named Brownswood Workshop demonstrate what can happen when Japanese research and development expertise are applied to dance music: A product emerges which initially apes its Western role model, but is swiftly refined and assimilated to yield an original style. A second wave of Japanese jazz fusionists are arriving in the form of The Silent Poets and United Future Organisation, while London's Acid Jazz label turns its attentions to Italy and Sweden for recent volumes of Totally Wired.

Meanwhile, Amsterdam is in the grip of a P-Funk revival. One of those cosmopolitan European capitals which has long offered shelter to persecuted musical minorities, Amsterdam is breeding a new generation of devotees of the post-psychedelic space cadets. For many clubbers it's a dream ticket, combining the seismic basslines of Bootsy Collins with the Spandex bellbottoms of Bjorn and Benny. Up to a point Parliament and Funkadelic act as totems, their surreal showmanship securing a place in our affections more than their sprawling, improvisational orbits around the planet funk. But clustered around their banner (at least for promotional purposes) were a host of brassy funk acts who set 70s dancefloors alight.

It's a brave DJ who weaves and segues his way through 13 minutes of 'Free Your Mind...", but next month's Trunk-O-Funk spectacular promises to encompass jazz-bop and acid jazz as much as the earthier rhythms of rare groove. A live all-niter at the Paradiso Club, it's emerged from monthly jazz-bop sessions which have now been around long enough for local bands to start growing their own. On the bill for the 12th of November are Hipbone Connection, Traffic Jam and The Mendoza Dance Parti amongst others.

Until such time as the Mendoza Dance Parti become big in Spain, saxophonist Ben Mendes' political credentials are beyond reproach. After all, it's hardly his fault if a Spanish musician once lampooned his autocratic style with the sobriquet of a Spanish dictator. But these things stick, and as if to preempt any confusion (or befuddle us further), it was decided to spell 'Parti' with an 'i', in the manner of French exit-doors.

You haven't heard the Mendozas until you've heard them live, which is when their horn section is apt to circumnavigate an exit door or two. A devotee of the fruity horn sounds of Fred Wesley & Maceo Parker, Ben understands the entertainment value of high-octane horns. It's an energy and spontaneity which owes its appeal to rough spots and serendipity. In these circumstances, it's no surprise that the clinical art of sequencing holds no fascination for Ben. Nor do the Mendozas waste much time on overdubs, in a recording process he poetically describes as 'Chicago style'. At least playing it live two or three times to multitrack leaves more time (and money) for rehearsal and performance.

The Mendoza's Strazz Jazz CD brings together a series of 12" singles released on their Phunky Pheasant label. It's yet to be licensed or distributed in this country, but the band are keen to conquer the home of Acid Jazz, and forge links with sympathetic producers. Their attachment to traditional instruments and techniques doesn't preclude contemporary grooves, with rapper Sherlock contributing a uniquely Dutch style of rap, and an upcoming 12" with female singer Moniek Bakker. Just as acid jazz is polarising into trancey dub and novelty retrospection, the time may just be ripe for a band who achieve such a happy marriage of originality and technique.

Contact: Ben Mendes, (Contact Details)