Caserta

Review: Last year Caserta and friends had their wicked way with a classic Luther Vandross acapella, brilliant re-framing the soul maestro in a late 1980s NYC club style. A year on they're at it again on 'Luther 2', which naturally repurposes another superb performance from the legendary vocalist. On the A-side, Vandross's vocal rides a smooth revivalist disco groove created by an all-star cast including Serge Gamesbourg (bass) and Natasha Diggs (piano, Fender Rhodes). It's a genuinely impressive revision that sounds like it could have been recorded sometime in the early 1980s (despite being made during lockdown). Diggs plays an even bigger role on the flip, a hazy and groovy deep house version in which she adds her own sassy spoken word vocals in reaction to the Vandross acapella.

Review: Bridge Boots main man Caserta has previously proved to be one of the most talented re-editors around, up there with higher profile artists such as the Reflex and Joey Negro. His latest offering, a red seven-inch single featuring new rearrangements of Diana Ross hit "I'm Coming Out", is another beauty. On the A-side he offers up a "Long Way Mix" that gives more prominence to Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards' killer backing track (partly via stripping it back to the groove at key points) while retaining most of Ross' vocals. On the flip you'll find a "Sing-A-Long Dub" that strips it back further during key instrumental passages to allow the Motown legend's vocals to shine.

Review: Having previously worked his magic on classic cuts from Diana Ross, Luther Vandross and Teddy Pendergrass - among others - Bridge Boots boss Caserta has now moved on to Marvin Gaye. He's grabbed the acapella from a classic song - in this case one of Gaye's duets with Diana Ross, "My Mistake (Was To Love You)"- and incorporated it into a brand new track. The A-side "Casey Mistake Mix" sits somewhere between early '80s boogie and the mid-80s proto-house sound created by Boyd Jarvis, Timmy Regisford and Paul Simpson. Interestingly, Gaye and Ross's vocals fit it like a glove. The flipside "Dub That Got Away" is an altogether more bumpin' garage-house workout rich in cut-up vocals snippets and wobbly analogue bass.

Review: Hot on the heels of a re-work of Bobby Caldwell, edit stylist Caserta is back with another golden nugget. This time he turns his attention to the one and only Luther Vandross and serves up two equally essential but very different tunes that pay homage to his unique voice. The King Street Mix is all hip swinging claps and nodding bass riffs that are organic and heartfelt, whereas the Henry Street Mix nods to the '90s heyday of New York. With warm neon organ stabs that will get any floor pumping, both interpretations have Luther's soulful voice front and centre.

Review: Studio surgeons Caserta & Lucky Ry have been busy revisiting a dance floor classic that they now serve up as two different remakes. Once again it is a blue-eyed gem that forms the source material for the pair to impress with their own versions. The "70's Mix" is a laid back soul gem with big horns and smooth, smoochy vocals that will get any bar grooving. Over on the flip, the "80's Mix", has bigger drums and more tiny percussive textures bumping things up while the vocal is passed through a vocoder for that perfect future-retro feel.