DJs: Most Charted - Disco - Most Charted August 2012

Review: Judging by the DJ reactions, "Open Your Mind" could be Al Kent's strongest edit to date - and that's saying something. Free of contemporary frills, it deliciously extends a warm, inviting and occasionally sweaty disco-funk groove to ten glorious minutes. Throughout, it gently ebbs and flows, moving from a shuffling instrumental number to an inspirational vocal cut midway through. "Like The Way", meanwhile, offers a deeper, more soulful vibe, playing around with a formidably obscure cut dripping with lazy guitars and hushed, almost casual vocals. While not as impressive as the epic A, it's still pretty darn tasty.

Review: DJ Harvey's Locussolus return to International Feel with a two track twelve dominated by the storming ode to Berghain, coincidentally arriving at a time when the Berlin club's future is very much in the air. Sounding every bit as good as the best parts of last year's Locussolus album for the label from the Punta Del Este, "Berghain (Darkroom Mix)" offers a chugging, K-hole friendly alternative to the all too prevalent pedestrian nu-disco sound that should appeal to the afterhours heads. "Telephone (Mediterranean Mix)", meanwhile, is a prime slice of Balearic disco-pop in his own inimitable style. Oozing fun, it should get an airing at plenty of festivals this summer.

Review: ** ESP REPRESS ** In this enduring age of shallow house and poorly executed "disco edits" you have to applaud labels like ESP Institute who keep veering down their own stylistic trajectory with little regard for trend or fad. Their latest 12" emission comes from a new name to us in Michael Ozone, a Melbourne based producer whose apparent interest in Giallo Horror soundtracks and New Beat is very much evident here. However it's the unique and absurdist way with which Ozone implements these influences across both "Perfect Systems" and "Hetropia" that grab your attention and have you flipping the needle back to the start again and again to try and cram every detail into your cerebral cortex.

Review: Killer South African disco inclusion from the International Feel label backed with a remix from Todd 'will his golden patch ever end ?' Terje! The story behind the label's latest deviation from people's expectations goes that Bepu N'Gali's glorious afro disco posse cut "I Travel To You" was passed on during a vinyl shopping expedition in Buenos Aires by a fellow British digger who'd been handed a tape from N'Gali himself on a previous pitstop in Botswana. As with all International Feel releases the music matches the story that precedes it with N'Gali and some 12 musicians combining to deliver the finest example of South African musicianship since the Shangaan Electro comp. Terje brings his inimitable dubbed out disco magic to proceedings on the flip and there's an accompanying twelve due with further dub versions due in the near future too!

Review: Since first appearing last summer the label has retained its air of self imposed anonymity, while keeping the spotters busy with a supremely rewarding approach to digging up and re-editing "lost classics from the raw, decadent and formative birth of club music" in a manner befitting of modern dancefloors. People who class themselves as knowledgeable on the sounds that pumped out from the mixing desk of Ron Hardy at the height of his popularity probably won't have much trouble placing the source material for the four tracks here, but the genius of the EROS series is the way they've been edited which betrays a mastery and understanding of the music a legion of soundcloud dwelling hopefuls could only dream of. As the series' final release, it's hard not to think of the often stated platitude that all good things must come to an end.

Review: The excellent Lumberjacks In Hell imprint has served up some fine edits in its short lifespan to date, most notably from Chicago's Mutant Beat Dancer Traxx and the label's latest release turns to two other Windy City residents renowned for their collections and skills. Rahaan needs little introduction for the disco loving community with essential drops on Stillove4music, Disco Deviance and more, whilst Mr Sounds runs the excellent Bring The Heat website. This twelve is all about the A Side "Rainin Bleeding Boy" which puts a well loved UK EBM couple through the dub laden beatdown grinder - though DJs will get plenty of mileage out of both tracks on the B Side with "Flip Side" some supremely chopped up disco funk and "War I Declare" a stomping and heavily filtered bomb.

Review: A second standard pressing of Kon's masterful Cerrone edit arrives following the the initial 'blink and you'll have to pay a hefty price on Discogs' gold edition and subsequent repress. Originally released back in 1981, "Hooked On You" featured an early guest spot from one of THE voices of disco in Jocelyn Brown, and Kon's edit of the track under his Sir Own name has been burning a hole in the internet via Soundcloud and YouTube since late 2010. The label calls it "one of the most talked about and sought after reworks in recent times" for a good reason! If you like this check Kon's new LP for BBE too!

Review: The fourth drop on the fledgling Outernational ensures standards are maintained with James Johnston and Ben La Desh providing a track on each side. Glaswegian producer Johnston is in fine form currently, having established the No Matter What label he runs with Alex Agore in the collective hearts of the deep house cognoscenti, and "That Was Now" is a sublime example of embellishing thick set house music with the spirit and soul of classic disco. Hints of glistening strings and a well plucked bass guitar sit deep in the mix as the packed groove builds effortlessly towards a quite lovely drop and build back into a final movement where the subtle disco elements become more prominent. Not to be outdone, Dutch juvenile delinquent Ben La Desh counters with "Drug Carrier", a quite intoxicating burner that's got several distinct rhythmic movements, with the point where some wide filtering introduces a heavy vibing Baltic disco mid section.