Juno Recommends Disco February 2019

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Best Italy turn their impeccable reissue powers towards a surefire burner from 1984 given the stamp of approval by the likes of David Mancuso, Larry Levan and Ron Hardy back in the day. "Come Back Lover" was actually mixed down by another legendary DJ - Tony Humphries - and it shows. Even the original mix plays out with an extended, floor-focused flow that captures the creative energy at work at this epochal time for DJ culture. As ever with Best reissues, there's a plethora of alternative and dub mixes to suit any spinner's specific requirements, with the groove front and centre every time.

Review: Triassic Tusk's "Screamers, Bangers & Cosmic Synths" series of crate digging comps has seen the Scottish crew showcase some seriously hot, little-known music. Mukatsuku have joined forces with the imprint to give a 12" release to two potent Afro-disco smashers that recently featured on volume two of the ongoing compilation series ,now remastered and sounding better than ever. On side A you'll find Liberian artist Tecumsay Roberts' bouncy 1979 Afro-soul/Afro-boogie number "It Makes Me Dance & Sing", where spacey Moog solos rice above a funk-influenced dancefloor groove. On the flip, the fun continues via Commy Bassey's Clav-happy, Nigerian sounding Afro-boogie roller "We Want Togetherness", a positive plea for unity that's as relevant now as it was way back in 1980.Juno copies come in an exclusive branded card sleeve with an additional obi strip not available at other retailers .As played/charted by Red Greg,Joe Claussell,Marcel Vogel, Craig Charles,Faze Action,Kalita,Cedric Woo,JKriv,Prins Thomas,Floating Points and Dom Servini so far.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Italian producer Giovanni Damico (otherwise known as G-Machine or Ron Juan) has been busting out funkified gems for more than 10 years now, and his mighty back catalogue includes plenty of turns on Lumberjacks In Hell. He returns to the label with four crisp and refined slices of boogie business that span a range of tempos to give you plenty of party tackle for any situation. "The Sound Of Revolution" is a natural choice for the A1, dripping with cosmic synth flexes and an irresistible groove, while the snappily titled "Italians In A Line" brings a sweet strain of upfront robo-disco to the table.

Review: Some six years on from his first edit outing on Razor-N-Tape, Frank Booker returns to the storied Brooklyn imprint with another batch of fire revisions. Leading the charge is the thrillingly low-slung A-side "Be Yourself". This is a driving slab of floor friendly disco that incrementally builds from a spacey, groovy start to a celebratory, string-laden conclusion. Just as good is "More", an elastic disco-funk outing that tightens up and extends a vaguely familiar workout and sounds like the kind of rearrangement that will create pandemonium when dropped at the right time. Finally, Booker dips the tempo considerably on the slo-mo space disco chug of "Starship", perfect for a rooftop boogie.

Review: Fabrizio Fattori has been a deep cover hero in Italian dance music since the mid 80s, and while he may have shifted his attention to tribal house music in the 90s, this collection zeroes in on his earlier afro disco funk work, which drips with Balearic groove appeal. Collecting sought after records and other archival gems, this lengthy EP is a joyous, synthy excursion through sunny climes, from the MIDI brass and plastic slap bass of "Leg Pulling" to the intricate percussion and live sax of "Bara-Hum-Ba." This is a quintessential Best reissue - beautifully packaged, and putting super rare music back in the hands of the fans.

Review: During a record digging trip to South Africa a year or two back, Rush Hour co-founder Antal stumbled on an obscure local cover of Klein & MBO's Ron Hardy and Larry Levan favourite, "The MBO Theme". The Warrior version, which was recorded at some point in the early '80s, is a little slower and breezier than Klein and MBO's original, with even finer fretless bass flavours and the track's famous melodies re-played on some particularly spacey synthesizers. Helpfully, the Klein & MBO version is on the A-side, so you can easily compare the two: Warriors' little known cover is definitely our pick of the pair.

Review: For their latest on-point reissue, the Dynamite Cuts crew has raided the bulging back catalogue of soul organist Reuben Wilson. Or, to be more specific, the Cadet-released 1975 set "Got To Get Your Own". Sadly, there's not enough space for the full version of the album's celebrated title track, so Dynamite Cuts has prompted for the no less essential seven-inch edit instead. It remains a stone cold killer that no soul or funk DJ should be without, even in its shortened form. The lesser-known "Tight Money" is no less essential - or heavy, for that matter - with Wilson and pals strutting through a heavyweight Blaxploitation funk cut whose lyrics riff on poverty and Black America's mid-'70s financial crisis.

Review: So wir exist wit the bruderz aus der midi-East.

You (& You) ze Cosmic jumpers.

Dub de Dolphin groove.

Francois iz de secret energie.

Ze klassisch Eastrumental mit kick.

Hier mit love !!

Review: Chubby Irish groove hounds Fatty Fatty return with another sublime funk-stacked V/A three tracker. Local lad Crown Prince Of Waterford (not to be confused with the legendary blues singer) lays down a furiously funky jam about having fun at the fairground while fellow Emerald Isle strutter Island Times returns Fatty Fatty with a loose-limbed falsetto-loaded twanger. Finally, we fly off into the Italian sunset with a stunning slow jam from Umberto Lumber. A twinkling slo-mo chugger with serious cosmic tendencies, what a way to finish an EP.

Review: It's testament to the enduring quality of Plush's 1982 boogie jam "Free and Easy" that this is the second time it's been reissued in less than four years. This time round, there's another chance to hear Better Days resident DJ Tee Scott's sparkling club mix of the Rene & Angela-produced anthem. You'll find this cheery, synth-heavy sing-along on the A-side, with two cuts from the band's eponymous debut album on the flip. There's "We've Got The Love", a smooth but sprightly affair with female lead vocals, and the saccharine-sweet "Livin' For Your Love". These are solid, but it is - of course - all about the superb A-side.

Review: Perhaps best known for scoring the Street Fighter II and Final Fantasy XII soundtracks, virtuoso fusioneer Yuji Toriyama goes way back, as proved by this edition of Time Capsule's Choice Works series that digs deep into his earliest instrumentals and TV work made between 82 - 85. Written, produced and played by himself, using some seriously futuristic kit for the time, Yuji's cosmic, heavily narrative compositions are given the spotlight they've needed for almost 40 years; highlights include the slap bass pops and star gazing synth strikes of "Donna", the aerobic boogie of "Night Together" and the tropical midnight glider "Maze". Choice indeed.

Review: "Liquido" began life as a jam between Hugo Capablanca and Oklo Gabon with sax player James Ausfahrt and percussionist Satch Hoyt in the mix. It was recorded in a sauna room above erstwhile Berlin club Stattbad, only to be rejected by a label for not being catchy enough. After 10 years languishing on a hard drive, the tune finally receives a proper airing with a remix to boot, and it's a good thing too. Marc Pinol did his remix back when he heard the original tune, and he brings the skronky live feel of the session to the foreground while running a bubbling rhythmic undercurrent underneath to lock in the dancers. The original is a more forthright affair with a punchy monosynth bassline and a distinctly New York no wave bent that should have the more open minded parties of today freaking out aplenty.

Review: The Kalita crew step up with another finely chosen reissue gem from the history of African dance music, this time welcoming Ghanaian disco maestro Okyerema Asante to the fold with two utterly infectious party starters laced with ample feel good vibes. "Sabi (Get Down)" is a slinky groover with a killer bassline and sweet guitar licks for the heads down crew to bust out some serious moves. "That's My Girl" is a more sizzling affair with a brighter outlook, riding high on soaring brass and woodwind and packing a heartfelt message of love that everyone can vibe with.

Review: Back in November 2018, Oli Stewart AKA Casbah 73 delivered his most wholehearted tribute to the disco era yet, the brilliant "Love Saves The Day". On "To Be Free", he continues in a similar vein, doffing a cap to the pioneers of the Philly Soul sound via cut-glass strings, crunchy Clavinet lines, tasty electric piano solos, walking bass and a lead vocal from Angela (Angie) Gooden that stirs memories of disco divas of old. Stewart and his cohort of musicians go a little wild on the mostly instrumental disco-funk flipside, an exercise in dueling solos, lusty Latin horns, flanged guitars and heavy percussion that will get you hot under the collar for nine, all-action minutes. Brilliant stuff from start to finish from the experienced producer: don't sleep on this one.

Review: E Versions is a brand new edit-focused offshoot of Merc, seemingly allowing label boss Mark E an outlet for some of his unreleased reworks. Given the title, the spotters out there might easily guess what the source material for "Kahn" is, and it immediately calls to mind all those great reworks the Midlands-based producer did for Jiscomusic, Running Back and Golf Channel in the pre-disco edit flood era. It's complemented by the B-Side track "Mingo" which is much more indicative of the brand of hypnotic machine music Mark E is currently specialising in, and will appeal to fans of drums!!!

Review: A double dose of goodness here, as Whiskey Disco regulars Pontchartrain and thatmanmonkz serve up two tasty new re-edits apiece. It's the former who handles side A. He begins with the breezy, tropical-sounding disco stomp of "La Magie" - all punchy horns, classic disco bass, fizzing synth lines and glassy-eyed female vocals - before brilliantly reworking a suitably obscure disco/jazz-funk instrumental (the suitably spacey "Hey Mariposa"). Arguably even better is "Luh Me On Mi Celly", the low-slung, stretched-out dub disco revision that counts as thatmanmonkz's first contribution to the EP. His second, "Radiation Steppa", is a fizzing, synth-heavy disco-boogie number blessed with passionate male group vocals.

Review: Los Charly's Orchestra sorts Juan Laya and Jorge Montiel first worked with veteran British soul singer Omar on their 2017 double A-side single "It's So/History". All involved clearly had a good time, because they've decided to repeat the exercise. "Fire" is arguably a step up, with Omar's honeyed vocals soaring above a rubbery groove, heady female backing vocals, cut-glass strings and punchy horns on the standout "Classic Disco Mix". Elsewhere, the noticeably heavier "Neo-Soulful Disco Mix" sounds like the kind of sumptuous, all-organic soulful disco-house fare we'd expect to hear from the likes of Joey Negro and Yam Who. Wisely, the duo has also included instrumental revisions of both versions. We prefer the superb vocal takes, but it's nice to have the choice.

Review: Z Records' compilation style "Attack The Dancefloor" EPs rarely fail to deliver, with big cheese Dave Lee (AKA Joey Negro) collecting together floor-friendly treats with the label's vast catalogue. There's plenty to set the pulse racing on this 12th volume, starting with Negro's organ-heavy revision of Bobby D'Ambrosio and Michelle Weeks' classic '90s house cover of Inner Life disco classic "Moment of My Life". Purist disco thrills are provided by Lee's tidy Doug Willis re-edit of Carlos Romanos' boogie-era disco-funk bumper "121", as well as his vintage cover of MFSB classic "K-Jee". Arguably best of all, though, is Lee's sparkling, synth-heavy "Future Boogie" mix of The APX's revivalist electrofunk jam, "Lose Yourself To The Groove".

Review: Just weeks after making his Masterworks Music bow with a fine 12" of beefed-up, house style re-edits, Chevals makes his bow on Editorial. The Frenchman hits the ground running with "Left Behind", a glassy-eyed loop jam that layers slightly sped-up soul/R&B vocals atop a mid-tempo '80s soul groove, before offering up a house style revision of a summery jazz-funk number on "I Of Love". Arguably even better is "The Line", a loose and groovy take on a slap-bass propelled deep disco shuffler, while EP closer "Time" is sumptuous, bass-heavy, loved-up and heady in the best possible way.

Review: It's been a while since we had a sesh with DJ Monchan, since late 2017 to be precise, but he's making up for lost time with this super smooth four track floor burner. Deeply dug, cleverly layered and rearranged and tailored for the dance, each cut tickles a different corner of the soul; "Heart Breaks" brings serious dollops of slimy, sleazy bass under sultry lyrics, "Feel The Groove" is all about those heavenly cascading scat vocals, "Party Down" whirls and stuns with a fiery freestyle jazz funk swoon while "Can't Lose The Feeling" brings us back home on the most chic of touches. Time to glide away on those strings.

Review: Afrobeat revivalists Yaaba Funk are getting a welcome new lease of life here, as the Sterns Edits crew turns in a trio of fresh reworks from their largely overlooked 2010 album "Afrobeast". Contemporary broken beat hero Danvers handles side A, turning in a swinging, hot-stepping revision of sun-kissed juju number "Oman Foa" that adds just the right amount of modern dancefloor clout to an otherwise perfect Afro-soul workout. Over on side B, Ben Gomori offers up two versions of "Hwe Hwe Mu Na Yi Wompena": a spacey Afrobeat/Afro-disco style peak-time "Message of Love Edit" and the arguably superior - and certainly impressively bass-heavy - "Message of Love Live Dub".

Review: Back to 1981 with this absolutely divine piece of 80s funk boogie from Trinidad soul merchant Jimmy Ross. Whether "First True Love Affair" is about matters of the heart or our relationship with our record collections we don't know, but what we do know is that this remains a solid treat for the dancefloor. We also know that Larry Levan's mix still totally slaps in every possible way from the big synth overlays and Q&As and dynamic arrangement that keeps breaking down to the juiciest basslines Levan ever touched. Feel the love.