Juno Recommends Funky House: July 2023

Review: There is an immediately loveable vibe to the carefree and breezy house music that the Italian label Groove Culture deals in. This is the 15th such offering - a third volume of its Jam series - and again the good times flow from the off. 'Devoted' is a four-way collab between Micky More, Andy Tee, Reverendos Of Soul and Anduze that layers up the soulful drums and disco percussion with buttery smooth soul vocals. Serge Funk's 'Can't Get Enough' is all swirling strings and sunny trumpet motifs over funk house beats and then Micky More & Andy Tee appear to remix 'All I Want' into another future Body & Soul classic. The duo's own 'Philly Sensation" is a disco-tinged, string-heavy house dream to close.

Review: .Guest is a mysterious producer who delivers two stunning edits of rare and obscure tracks on this 7' vinyl. On the A-side cut 'Always Dancin' he transforms a disco gem into a groovy and funky dancefloor anthem with a catchy chorus and a smooth bassline. On the B-side, he takes a spiritual jazz tune and adds some cosmic synths and percussion on 'Krishna' to create a hypnotic and psychedelic trip. This record is a must-have for lovers of eclectic and adventurous disco music.

Review: Almost 22 years ago to the day, Portugese house DJ Rui Da Silva and British singer Cassandra Fox released one of the most iconic progressive house songs of all time 'Touch Me'. Releasing officially on New Years Day 2001, it topped the charts becoming the first Portugese and Progressive House song to do so respectively. Combining elements of Eurodance and turn of the millennia club tropes, this song could singlehandedly be attribute to the Eurodance revival that acts like Cascada would go on to proliferate later in the decade. A sensational club filler that stands the test of time, with an incredible B-side deep house cut with the 'Saffron mix'.

Review: High Fashion brings some big summer house action here with Steve Disco Newsome's two mixes of that stone cold classic 'Everybody Be Somebody' by Ruffneck Feat Yavahn. The opener is solid, mid-tempo house with vast drums and raw hits all topped off by the iconic vocal. It's sweaty and high impact, make no mistake about it. On the flip, the Disco Dub is packed with raw filters, lots of frazzled loops and marching drums to get the floor into a real frenzy. Both tunes bang, frankly.

Review: Veneno is the most beloved transgender TV star in Spain and now she arrives on the equally revered Dark Entries label as part of Madrid Pride on June 30th. Cristina Ortiz was a sex worker when she was discovered by the TV program "Este Noche Cruzamos el Mississippi." She became a regular on it with a great sense of wit and a unique way of relaying stories about her work on the streets. Her career in music started in 1996 and has seen her serve up big Eurobeat tunes like 'Veneno Pa Tu Piel' and house cuts such as 'El Rap De La Veneno'. Two mixes of both of those hit tunes are presented here and are enduring gay anthems that will light up any party.

Review: The Ibiza season is already in full flow, with the world's biggest DJs playing on the world's biggest dance-floras. This collection of tunes from Front Of House attempts to predict what will be the biggest tunes of the summer out there on the most famous party island of them all. And a fine mix it is too with a mix of originals and remixes from scene mainstays such as Claptone, Liam Cox, Idris Elba, Karmina Dei & Fabe and tens more. Wherever you hear these tunes the good times are sure to follow.

Review: Rose Cornelius recorded these tunes in the late 70s, but never released them. They were thought by all those involved to be lost, but fortunately that wasn't the case. Rose was part of a band that saw big success and dropped albums in 1972 and 1973 but before then she was part of the Gospel Jazz Singers in the late 60's. It was her mother who asked her to come back and be part of the band, which whom she stayed until 1976. However, these tunes were recorded during that solo period in Miami and then unearthed by collector Dave Thorley who saw and bought online an old acetate disc credited to Rose Cornelius. This is glorious disco house music packed with soul.

Review: 80s synthpop stars Anti Time laid down 'Dream Baby/Free Recipe' first off in 1982, sadly rendering them one of many acts from the time who'd only ever release once single. But that doesn't mean we'll forget about them, no sir/madam: the 7" now comes reissued via Sound Metaphors, and slaps us around the ears with its jam-packed samples, industrial textures and sex-iconic whispers. Like the original, the weirdos' favourites 'Delkom Free Beats' and 'Target' also feature.

Review: Captain Hollywood Project aka eurodance outfit Tony Dawson-Harrison and Shirin von Gehlen (a.k.a. Shirin Amour) released their debut single back in 1992. The Germans saw it become a top five hit in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland and it has now sold over seven million copies. It is something of an evergreen hit that now gets a welcome reissue in several different forms on lovely red vinyl. There is the fun single version, a more hard hitting extended mix, raw underground version and even a fresh trance mix.