Disco Recommendations November 2010

Review: Amongst the many things we're excited about in the coming months is Stealing Is Believing, the debut album from Popular People's Front. Made up of Sheffield legend Chris Duckenfield, the esteemed Leo Zero and DJ History decision maker Bill Brewster, Popular People's Front represent an enviable collective fountain of musical knowledge. We've been reliably informed the album is done, and they drop this vinyl sampler to give you a sweet taste of what to expect .Wrapped in suitably resplendent cover design from Leo Zero, the four tracks here naturally demonstrate a keen knowledge of disco, boogie, proto electro and Italo influenced Detroit house. In a word, essential.

Review: LTJ aka Irma stalwart Luca Trevisi is at the helm for the 13th Super Value release with three typically strong edits. "Money Is Tight" takes up the A Side, a glittering disco mover that's propelled by tight guitar licks and a neat interchange between the main piano and organs refrains. The final few minutes when the track drops a blast of horn heavy original demonstrates Trevisi's class for the build. On the flip "Amazing Rhythm" is self explanatory - a substantial disco groove with plenty of hip potential forms the backdrop to some heavy moog phasing and hugging basslines. The seductive charm of "You Touch Me" ends matters on a high note thanks a slo mo handclap-led groove that stutters beneath the late night melodies and flirtatious vocal edits

Review: The fourth COS MES twelve inch surfaces ahead of what is a truly intoxicating album in Gomez Land: Chaosexotica on the fine ESP Institute. Whilst the previous 12 inches have been supplemented by some glorious remixes from TBD, Johnny Nash and especially Welcome Stranger, ESP allow the record buying public an extra taste of what to expect with two cuts from the the soonto be released album. Across the A Side the percolating bliss of "Natural Lifespan" (Acid Orchestra mix) gently tugs at your senses with layers of undulating melodies unfurling to a backdrop of acid drips and a soothing mid tempo bump. Much like all COS MES tracks, "Natural Lifespan" begins and ends in two totally different places, with the arrival of a glistening piano refrain the signal for a final swerve into a descent towards throbbing techno hypnosis. On the flip "I-Bizan (Build the Progressive Band)" streams towards the inner echelons of your cerebral cortex via the ever so slightly tainted rhythm, exquisite twilight synth washes and bewitching vocal edits. Pre ordering the aforementioned album is highly recommended.

Review: Hot Creations follow up the all conquering Lee Foss twelve inch with an equally impressive collaborative EP between Robert James and 20:20 Vision's Burnski. "Malibu" is the big track here, with an energetic post disco-house groove propelled by crisp, clean drum programming and a heavily processed sweet female vocal hook, which is soon engulfed by a menacing array of Detroit chords. "Perception" follows a similar path as the A Side but with a deeper 90s house melody and HC boss Jamie Jones drops a winning refix of "Malibu" for good measure.

Review: Not content with a great release on Super Value this week, Luca Trevisi further demonstrates his edit chops with three more cuts as One Man Edits on the Small World imprint. The gloriously lazy groove of "Funk" stretches across the A Side with lolloping intent, Trevisi adding layer upon layer of reverb to the dirt funk production to really emphasise the chugging beat. On the flip "When You Do Me" is a sultry female vox disco groove, with neat rhythmic shifts of the glistening arrangements accompanied by some tight vocal edits. The ultra tight vintage disco boogie of "Stop Wanting It" rounds off another neat release from the Small World lot.

Review: There's little to no information surrounding this one. "Forever Came Today" is an ultra rare Jackson 5 track which has been the epitome of gold dust since its appearance in 1975. At some point Frankie Knuckles dipped it in vat of vintage bumping early 90s NJ garage house - in fact it might have appeared on a less than legit remix album in recent times. On this one sided twelve inch that comes replete with an especially creased and somewhat dusty 'warehouse find' records sleeve, Joe Claussel gets busy on an edit that is touching the cloth of the run out groove. Expanding proceedings to some 14 minutes, this heavy dose of uplifting and seemingly never ending gospel house makes for one of Claussel's finest "Edits & Overdubs" to date.

Review: For the latest release on Z Records offshoot Surround Sounds, Carly Simon's seminal Balearic pop standard "Why" gets covered by Kola Kube. Four differing versions on one twelve that all feature the vocals of legendary UK singer Diane Charlemagne, who has worked with the likes of Goldie, 2020 Soundsystem and London Elektricity. Three come from Crazy P knob twiddler Hot Toddy and there's a bonus block party style production from Negro himself. The Hot Toddy Special Dub just edges it thanks to some excellent synth phasing and a thumping bassline.

Review: Rising edits label Kat enlists UK legend Ashley Beedle for their latest release and he obliges with two heavyweight reworks. On the A Side Beedle gets busy with "Conscious Of My Conscience", the underappreciated late 80s gem from Womack & Womack. Pressed ultra loud on a nicely chunky slab of vinyl, this one has end of the night set closer written all over it. On the flip, Steve Winwood's "Time Is Running Out" gets stripped of its overt dad rockisms and redressed as a psychedelic funk rock odyssey!

Review: Rising UK producer Duff Disco demonstrates his talent with this breakout release on French imprint Composite after gaining exposure thanks to a series of edits on his own imprint. The title track "I Need Ya" is a sumptuous slice of deep not disco house which is dominated by a spell bindingly psychedelic main synth hook. Eddie C is enlisted to remix the track and it's a sterling soulful effort from the Canadian but it can't match the euphoric delight of the original. Check the flip for "Alive" a deeper number in line with Mark E's finest moments that adds some fine delay effects to main melodies.

Review: The second Joe Claussel edit this week sees the NYC DJ rework one of Ron Hardy's Muzic Box classics. Based around a thumping and super fast disco groove it's not hard to see why Debbie Jacob's "Don't You Want My Love" became a favourite in the den of narcotic inequity that was the Muzic Box. On the flip, Claussel's 1986 Reel 2 Reel Edit is a clear dedication to Hardy, both in titular and sonic form. Much like Hardy in his pomp, Claussel rearranges the song to form a potent pumping disco weapon. We don't expect this one to stay in stock for long.

Review: The Foot & Mouth crew return with another 12" of highly impressive discoid edits. First up D-Sound drops "Our World", a fantastic reshape of Hall & Oates, while "Groove Me Your Dove" by Me & My Fellas rounds off the A Side with some languid disco funk. B Side opener "For That" - another lovely Hall & Oates remake - shimmers beneath tropical percussion, and stands out as Juno's EP's highlight. The old school funk bassline, soulful vocals and carefree piano on "1000 Laser Gun" round off a seriously dope 12".

Review: Wolf + Lamb's black label edits series has caused a bit of an internet stir this year, although no one can deny that they are always incredible dancefloor fun. Here's we see three of .Ron's edits', with A Side "Serious" betraying its title and offering an insouciant refix of Donna Allen's track of the same name. Flip over for "Heads Together" and "Back 4 More", with the former containing analogue squiggles, reverbed drum programming and piano twinkles in all the right places, while the latter is a slow, jazzy late night rendition of Al Johnson & Jean Carne's 1980 "I'm Back For More".

Review: New Barcelona label Apersonal launches with in fine style, enlisting Mark E and Social Disco Club to add that extra attractive sheen to Trujillo's "Baby You're Still The Same". The Venezuelan producer's original is a slow burning mood setter augmented by gentle piano lines and ankle high bass turns. Social Disco Club adds some vocals from Lucy Walker to a slicker pacier disco version that builds with glee, whilst Mark E turns in one of his more epic remixes that sprawls across the majority of the B Side at 33 rpm.

Review: This release from International Feel will only add more fuel to the fiery debate regarding the massively impressive label appearing out of nowhere with remixes from the likes of Baldelli and Thomas Bullock. It's the first of an offshoot series supposedly focusing on productions done at the label's studio in Punta Del Este, Uruguay. Sitting on one sided heavyweight 180g vinyl, "The Coptic Sun" is a gorgeous, sprawling cosmic psychedelic groove reminiscent of Lindstrom and Prins Thomas at their languid finest.

Review: A second round of vinyl sampling disco heat from Paper Recordings to whet collective appetites ahead of next year's bumper Crazy P remix album which features a veritable feast of production talent including Yam Who, PBR Streetgang and Rune Lindbaek. UK legends Faze Action add their distinctive production touch to "Drop Your Weapon", retaining the guitar licks but adding swathes of low slung bass to a relentless modern instrumental disco groove that pulses with delight across the A Side. Stateside icon Brennan Green backs this with a take on "3 Plays It Cool" which excels via the stripped back, bassline dominant groove and generous rhythmic usage of vocal edits. Much deeper than the A Side, there's a gloriously menacing liquid undertone that runs throughout on another classy refix from the New Yorker.

Review: Kenji Takimi aka Crue L Grand Orchestra pays homage to Jane Fonda's finest moment with this multi layered cover version of the Barbarella theme song. The bewitching combination of a pumping space disco groove and glistening ethereal string arrangements make "Barbarella" one of this year's most brilliantly different A Sides. On the flip the Crue L classic "Candy Mountain In The Rainy Wood" gets two subtley different re rubs from Eddie C, who was recently credited with the official prefix "Canada's Finest".