DJs: Most Charted - Disco - July 2011

Review: Ace London tropical disco crew Sofrito return with another crucial twelve that introduces both us and you to the lesser spotted Nigerian Acid Boogie! The epitome of hen's teeth rarity, Benis Cletin's "Jungle Magic" was originally out on Afrodisia in 1979, and still sounds absolutely amazing today. A tough bassline combines effortlessly with a thumping groove that sits between Lagos and Detroit, whilst a brilliantly crazy acid synth lead lends the track a truly psychedelic edge. Add to this the vocal elements that channel the spirits of Donna Summer and Lee Perry and you cannot help but dance. The flip is just as good, "Money Makes Man Mad" launching straight into an infectious uptempo groove of percussion, funked out guitar licks and cowbell. The playful rhythmic interchange between the organ flourishes and storms of gut punching percussion lay will have explosive results. Highly recommended!

Review: Ace Finnish edits label Kojak Super Sounds were always in the unenviable position of trying to match the impact of their previous release - the all conquering housed up Alexander O Neal tweak from South Coast duo Maxxi Soundsystem. Thus it was a wise choice to give the reins to a trusted head in fellow Scandinavian Beatfanatic whose rep has been concrete since the rise of GAMM. Typically for the Swedish producer, it's a decidedly funk heavy disco affair as the A Side rolls out a glistening extension of the Low Band's delightful "Willow Man" which should seep into people's consciousness just in time for the summer season on the Croatian coastline. The percussion heavy workout towards the end is the money moment! On the flip, Beatfanatic adds some analogue boogie heat to your man Wonder's "Blackman" which will appease those discotheque attendees who just love to request the singer.

Review: The No More Hits juggernaut rolls on with stalwart Nicholas at the helm for another quartet of revisions that aptly demonstrate the Italian's clear talent in the art of the edit. If you don't know by now the Nicholas signature style includes looping up the catchiest moments of a track whilst adding some muscle to the nether regions of a track - aptly demonstrated on the dubby opener "Can You Understand" with the soulful vocal refrain submerged beneath the thumping groove. Alongside this, the Italian scores a gem via a rerub of Marvin Gaye and Tammy which places their iconic deliveries over the most emotive of deep 90s house bumps - serious business! On the flip, Nicholas digs into his archives and serves up the second edit he ever did - a languid take on one of the Undisputed Truth's most psyched out jams!

Review: Leeds duo PBR Streetgang are behind the controls for the fifth release on the fledgling Electric Avenue Recordings imprint, eschewing their normal uptempo shizniz for something altogether more sprawling. "C.R.A.I.G." straddles the length of the A Side, slowly crafting an all encompassing analogue bassline sprinkled with warehouse dirt. If you've seen Bonar and Tom play recently you'll be familiar with this set opener and the subtle power it can wield over a dancefloor. To complement this EAR have enlisted the Mythical Beast that is Toby Tobias on remix duties, and he has responded in kind with two variants. Both up the tempo for later playtime, though it's the muscular bottom end of the dub mix that will do the most damage.

Review: Having launched in fine if unfamiliar style with the debut sounds of South Coast types Zoo Look, Tenth Circle look to a more familiar name in the shape of Duff Disco for their second release. Whilst some might not warm to the name or the similarly charged Duffstep alias, you can't deny the quality of production that runs through every Duff Disco release, from the cheeky Skee-lo edits to more original works. That quality is evident here as Duffy presents three arrangements primed for the summer months - most notably the shimmering euphoria that characterises the opening gambit "How We Do". Alongside that "I Remember" adopts a lolloping beatdown gait, with heavily dosed rhythms swamped deep in the mix before suddenly launching into a chugging refrain that sits expertly between dubbed out house and disco. On the flip "Sunshine" adopts a similarly weighty approach to layered rhythms but splays it over an infectiously hypnotic warm house groove.

Review: Yam Who?'s ISM label come through with a four track slice of disco centric Futurism, featuring the man Yam himself alongside PBR Streetgang and Ron Basejam. It's the latter who takes the lead with a remix of Alena's "Changes" that sees her sultry vocal teased by a most excellent of analogue synth leads that splurges brilliantly across the crisp mid tempo chug. Yam Who? teams up with vocalist Natasha Watts for the similarly bottom heavy bump of "I'm In Love" which has a certain warehouse appeal to it. On the flip, PBR pay respect to the godfather of soul James Brown with the gritty flex of "J2thaB" with the sadly departed Mr Brown strangely sounding at times like he wants to go to Tesco. We always took him for a Waitrose man, but regardless this is probably the track you'll reach for most! Finally Brothers Young do their thing to a Trammps classic, with little more than the bassline retained. Big tip!

Review: The name JKriv may seem unfamiliar but the producer behind this alias, Jason Kriveloff, has plenty of production chops under his name across a multiplicity of labels. Deep & Disco is Jkriv's own imprint and launches in fine style with "Another Night" a release packed to the brim with reasons for the contemporary disco fan to indulge. Firstly it features a sultry vocal turn from Escort singer Adeline Michele whose soulful refrain is the perfect foil for Jkriv's bouncing modern disco arrangement. Secondly the masterful Greg Wilson turns in a splendid extended version and thirdly Portugal's finest Social Disco Club explores the groove with a brilliantly boompty dub version containing plenty of hands in the air piano vibes.