Disco / Nu-Disco

Review: For longer than many of us have been alive, Dimitri From Paris has been one of the disco scene's top re-editors. As a result, this box set of essential rubs from the legendary French producer is a genuine treat. Lavishly packaged and presented in a printed tote bag, the set whips through classic rearrangements of storming peak-time disco cuts from Odyssey, Dan Hartman, Phyllis Hyman and Keni Burke, before delivering dedicated 12s featuring multiple revisions of cuts by Ashford & Simpson, Jamiroquai and Chaka Khan. As you'd expect, there are many must-check tweaks to be found on the latter plates, including a slow-burn instrumental take on Ashford & Simpson's 'Stay Free', a wonderfully spacey 'Dubwize' rework of Jamiroquai's 'Cosmic Girl' and a sing-along-friendly version of Chaka Khan's stunning 'Clouds'.

Review: Over the years, First Choice's 1983 disco hit 'Let No Man Asunder' has been remixed and re-edited countless times, yet producers are still able to find new ways to reinterpret it. The latest to pass the test with flying colours is DJ Koco AKA Shimokita, who here serves up two fresh reworks. His A-side edit makes the most of the track's infectious groove, jammed-out electric piano chords and spacey synths, eventually introducing the group's brilliant vocals in order to take it to another level. Arguably even better is the stripped-back flipside dub, which sounds like it was crafted from the master tapes. It naturally plays around with the percussion, bassline and vocals, delivering what could be the heaviest take on the track of all time.

Review: Hifi Sean gets his hands on a dusty old tape that had the golden vocal of the ultimate soul diva Loleatta Holloway singing the Style Council classic 'Shout to the Top' which was recorded and released by Fire Island in 1998. There was no musical parts on this tape only the vocal so Sean went about rewriting the arrangement and brings this beauty into the present with these 3 versions including a soulful string laden soul groover , a real late night pumping gospel house jam and a swooning orchestral reprise closing the E.P which includes the last repeated line we all want to hear and we all want to believe right now . "It's going to be alright"

Review: Italo-Disco, (at times abbreviated as Italo) is a music genre which originated in Italy and was mainly produced from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. The origin strongly tied to marketing efforts of the ZYX record label, which began licensing and marketing the music outside Italy in 1982. The genre faded in the early 1990s.

Italo disco evolved from the then-current dance music (including hi-NRG) and developed into a diverse genre. The genre employs drum machines, synthesizers, occasionally vocoders and usually sung in English.

This compilation contains some of the long lost tracks of the genre restored for the first time on CD. Vivien Vee "Remember" and Capricorn "I Need Love," are early work by Italian pioneer Claudio Simonetti (Goblin). All tracks digitally remastered along with its booklet, the original artwork and the original recording and extended versions.

Review: Bonfido Disques is back with the third release of their exotic concept series, embracing the feel-good vibe of the 80's international disco scene whether it comes from the African continent, the Middle East or America, combined with heavy contemporary drums in order to stand out in modern DJ sets. Four reworks for the dancefloor on a limited edition 12" vinyl.

Review: This production from boogie-era soul specialist Clark Jay has long been a sought-after item amongst collectors, with original copies of the 1981 Peach Tree Records 12" changing hands for significant sums online. Even if you're unfamiliar with it - and outside of record collecting circles, most people are - we'd recommend checking the sound clips of this first ever seven-inch reissue. 'Can't Stop Dancing' is particularly sweet and summery, with Jonnie 'Vibes' Lambert singing about his love of shaking his stuff atop spacey synthesizer lines and a relaxed, laidback disco-boogie groove. That tidy groove can be enjoyed further on the flipside instrumental mix, which makes excellent use of the original's female backing vocals and the aforementioned synthesizer melodies.

Review: In case you've not heard, Lovehrtz is a new collaboration between Hot Creations heavyweight Richy Ahmed and Four Thirty Two regular Jansons. Their first 12" under the alias is a party-rocking affair, with the experienced duo dishing up some serious peak-time gold in the shape of A-side "Classic Case". Built around the manipulation of life-affirming loops from a much-loved Gladys Knight and the Pips disco favourite, it sits somewhere between a tooled-up re-edit and a slamming, Hot Creations style powder house smasher. The even bouncier "Touch My Soul", where slap bass and female vocal loops ride a bustling house rhythm, is every bit as endearing.

Review: Emotional Rescue presents the music of Haile Maskel in the first in a reissue series working with Patrick Billard aka DJ Duckcomb, sourcing and licensing from this digger's vaults and out to the wider world.

Heralding from the furtive 60's Trenchtown, Jamaica, young Michael Ashley aka Haile Maskel grew up singing, learning guitar and bass. His first recording session was produced by friend Bob Marley, with Peter Tosh on keys, Robbie Shakespeare on bass and Carlton Barrett on drums.

The list of sessions is long, working with Lee Perry, Light Of Saba, Dennis Brown and Sugar Minott. Touring took him overseas where he settled in Los Angeles in 1983, soon launching his Opulence (Sound) label.

Maskel's band, the 101's featured members of The Twinkle Brothers, including cousins Asher and Debo Brown on drum and bass, and augmented by local players. Mixing conscious messages in love songs, Maskel crafts a boogie discodub on which to exalt an uplifting summer jam.

With the highly prized original the tapes unearthed unreleased dubs - "Take 1" providing a wonderful version. LA native Duckcomb found a trove of tapes of unheard material, still for discovery. For now, his longform Discomix, cutting and editing Maskel's vocal along with the dubs, completes a first archival splendor.

Review: Tom Tom Tom Tom Tom Tom Tom Tom Bolas !!

Cosmic. Disco. Mondo Campione !!

Review: Al Kent strikes again with a soulful, goosebumps inducing beauty that's finding favour with more discerning DJs. From those who like it deep to the disco dons, this one's got them all hooked.

Review: A - A true top-five peak record at The Garage, this Thelma Houston burner from 1977 was "a highlight whenever Larry played it," Danny Krivit recalls... "and he played it a lot!" Danny's edit is a homage to Larry and Frankie Knuckles - in particular, a reel to reel edit that Frankie did back in the day and shared with Krivit. "Reels were problematic, & when I tried to get it again from him, unfortunately he had lost it too." The song (a clear attempt by Motown to capitalize on the previous year's monster hit "Don't Leave Me This Way"). What sets "I'm Here Again" apart though, is the incredible second half, not surprisingly also the main focus of Mr. K's edit, along with a new straight to the point intro. Over a vicious groove reminiscent of the Originals' "Down To Love Town" breakdown (Michael Sutton wrote and produced both "Love Town" and "I'm Here Again") Houston delivers soul-stirring ad libs as the band crackles with electricity behind her, the piano chasing a descending string riff so eagerly it almost trips over itself. Pure dancefloor peak energy!

B - This band was a departure from the usual Motown session guys, and was comprised of a group called the Young Senators from Washington, DC. Who later formed the nucleus of Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers. Motown was finalizing its move from Detroit to Los Angeles, and this 1972 Eddie Kendricks session was among the last to be recorded at the famed "Snake Pit" aka Studio A in Detroit. According to Young Senators percussionist Jimi Dougans, "Girl" was recorded at three o'clock in the morning, which perhaps accounts for some of the heavy vibe and distinctly different sound than the typical Motown pop style the label was known for. In a time before 12-inch singles, this was one of those first "made for a club" proto-disco records that could hold its power and even shine on a big system. In fact, Larry Levan used it to test the sound at the Garage. When he got "Girl" sounding good, Danny says, "he knew the system was really pumping and anything else he played would sound good too." The original album cut "was typical of a lot of records, where producers fade out right when the record is climaxing," Danny says. "On a dance floor where people absolutely love the record... they'll just look at the DJ like, 'Why'd you fade it out?'" Taking matters into his own hands, Mr. K edit again aims at the climactic back half of the song, engineering a nearly 7-minute climatic dance floor filler.

Review: Given that John Devecchis AKA The Owl decided to call his long-promised debut album Concrete Funk, you'd probably expect something heavy, grey and angular. Yet the music contained within - a mixture of loopy, gently beefed-up revisions and straight re-edits of killer funk, soul, disco and boogie jams - is anything but grey and dull. It's every bit as colourful as his previous EPs, with the many highlights including the bumpin' 'Solar Funk', the squelchy brilliance of Steve Monite re-rub 'Only You Baby', the synth-heavy, Italo-style throb-job 'The Truth', and the soaring, string-drenched disco release of 'Knuckles'. With 12 killer cuts strewn across two slabs of wax, it's a value-for-money collection that contains more high-grade edits than you can shake a proverbial stick at.

Review: Second VA from Belarusian kind house label "Dobro". That release presents works by guys from Spain, France, Latvia and Russia. All tracks are suitable both for listening and for the dance floor.

Review: Spincat Music hits back with a second record, this time bringing 3 well known on charts artists. Funk District, Hotmood and Monsieur Van Pratt join forces with label owners C. Da Afro & J.B. Boogie for a VA that will make the dancefloors fill up in no time!

Review: Twelfth release on the much sought after Vinyl Only label.

Review: Adeen Records 007 proudly continues to deliver more of the quality music you like. This time, producer Camille (real name Jason Wilkins) teams up with the legendary Chez Damier for a hand picked selection of 70's and 80's hidden Dance ,Funk and Disco gems retouched and edited by Adeen's own Nico Lahs. From one of Chez's selections of Coco Kane, to Camille's Gator Bait, Nico Lahs breathes bouncy party-like vibes into each of the 8 cuts. Whether you know these tracks or not, you'll fall in love with them for the first time, or all over again.

Review: Saint Wax's head honcho Gledd delivers a range of tracks that perfectly represent his musical influences, mixing soul and funk samples with house beats.
'Behind a Cloud' is a tangle of summer end vibes and solid housey grooves, while 'Want Somebody' and 'I Hold You' burn the dancefloor with Gospel vocals and Funky flavour rhythms. 'Sweet Love' complete the EP with some deep loops and a vibrant voice that lead a sexy disco affair!

Review: Fabrizio Esposito was born in Naples / Italy into a family of passionate musicians and vinyl collectors. He spent his early childhood immersed in his grandparnent's extensive vinyl collection which he has since inherited, this collection heavily influenced Fabrizio and made him a fan of Italian Wave, Italo Disco, Neapolitan Funk, Soul and Disco. After all these years working in clubs and with artists Fabrizio decided it was time to realise his other dream and become a DJ and producer himself fusing together his rich musical heritage combined with his clear vision for the future, creating his own unique sound. Fabrizio explains that since he was 14 he had always been behind the scenes of parties, from a PR to a promoter, always watching the djs and producers working to create the party around them. Since this time he has always been an obsessive vinyl collector, its in his blood, so now it's time for Fabrizio to share his own passion for music with the world.

Fast forward to summer 2019, Fabrizio made his Ibiza debut DJ'ing alongside DJ Harvey and Pete Gooding at La Torre and soon after Fabrizio finished his debut track 'This Way' which was premiered by Harvey at his now 'Mercury Rising' party at Pikes.

Review: Soul Central return with ES002 Days Of Disco EP following up Electric Shrine ES001 which firmly set the scene for this underground label, and sold out within a week of release, becoming an instant collectors piece and serious weapon for DJ's in the know. Here we have a collection of raw disco inspired cuts starting with 'Just Friends' which is a serious neo soul stomper crowned with a prominent sing-a-long chorus. Whilst 'Party Together' offers a relentless Boogie bass overload. Third inline comes 'Your Smile' which takes the form of a sensitive Soul ballad vocal, adding in classic ascending strings and some modern House syncopation, turning in a deep journey laced with dancefloor dominating tones. The final track 'The Michigan Slide' is a real disco vibe that revisits a 300 year old Bach melody on Clavinet. The complete EP is dusty, groovy and banging to say the least, maintaining a resounding quality that this standout UK act always deliver... great music that makes you want to dance.

Review: Given his reputation as Japan's "king of digging", you'll be unsurprised to learn that DJ Muro's latest scalpel-style Diguma Edits are of thoroughly obscure, hard-to-find disco cuts. For example, an original copy of Best Friend Around's hard to find modern soul-goes-disco number 'It's So Good to Know' - a warming and glassy-eyed cut full of hazy grooves, super-sweet vocals and spacey synth sounds - would cost you hundreds of pounds; Muro's shortened, light-touch edit seems a bargain at a fraction of the cost. Foaster Jackon Group's similarly rare 'Feel the Spirit', a carnival-ready slab of Brazilian influenced jazz-funk/disco-funk fusion, is given the Muro touch on the flip, with equally as exemplary results.

Review: For the latest instalment in his ongoing Diguma Edits series, Japanese "King of Diggin'" DJ Muro has taken his scalpel to Karisma's 'Got You Dancing', a turn-of-the '80s gem featuring lead vocals from Jocelyn Brown that was first released by Peter Brown's cult disco label Sounds of the Universe. The real bomb on this edition is the full vocal version, where Brown's typically strong and soulful singing rises above slick boogie bass, colourful synth sounds, funk guitar licks and unfussy drums. That said, the dub style instrumental edit is really rather good too, with Muro wisely making more room for echoing vocal snippets, instrumental breakdowns and extended percussion passages.

Review: Thirteenth release on the much sought after Vinyl Only label.

Review: The latest set of Diguma Edits sees dusty-fingered Japanese digger-turned-re-editor DJ Muro take his scalpel to 'Got to Get Your Love' by Clyde Alexander & Sanction, a suspenseful and action-packed 1980 number from producers Peter Brown and Gary Davis. Muro first cuts down and compresses the ten-minute vocal version, making merry with the track's unusual combination of classic disco grooves, showtunes-style orchestration and eccentric vocals. Over on the flip he does a similar job on the slightly different instrumental take, in turns showcasing the track's crunchy guitars, warming electric pianos, spacey synths and grandiose orchestration.

Review: Mukatsuku goes all balearic with this limited hand-numbered 180 gram 12 inch with a collaboration with Leng.First up is the sultry, melodic & life affirming jazzy keys glory which is ''Susta'' taken from the 10 Years compilation from 2020 now given a whole side of vinyl for itself. On the flipside Payfone is in fine form on "Last Night in Sant Celoni" is where Phil Passera offers up a warm and humid chunk of soft-touch dancefloor bliss underpinned by a combination of vintage analogue drum machine, 1980s style slap bass, rich electric piano motifs, and casually brilliant jazz guitar flourishes provided by regular Payfone guitarist Royce Wood Junior.

Review: Fantastic masterpiece, considered one of the best Italo-Disco songs ever. A mega-classic produced by Stefano Zito and Carlo Favilli (the latter passed away too soon) characterized by a heartbreaking melody and lush strings that exemplify the mood and rhythm of the Italo-Disco style with the use of some sounds of pre-bleepy keyboard and siren that technically make it one of the very first rave songs ever, inspiring the style of many artists that came later, like Daft Punk. However, many of them don't even come close with their imaginative computers to that bassline and string sounds that melted the souls of many of us back in that distant April 1983, even if it seems that part of the melodic line has been copied not very subtly by Casco from that of El Deux's Computer-Madchen released in 1982 in Switzerland, where Salvatore Cusato was working as a club-DJ. On the flip another excellent remix version by Danilo Braca of the song revisited a few years later. The confirmation of the wisdom and foresight of its producers, aware that the BPM would soon be lowered by a lot. In the more than 8 minutes of "Cyberlover" the constant melancholy background together with the drum/bass/synth lines are preserved intact, giving us a complete reissued product.

Review: The good people from Mango Sounds are ready to harvest their first fresh crop of vinyl. With love and cultivation, the Mango Sound crew has produced a fine double sider with four supremely crafted cuts all in all.
On A1 Etur Usheo goes tribal on his 'Wo Ye Wa (Na Na)' slice. With subtle keys below a boogieing bass African instrumentations soon appears as called upon by a village in ecstasy. Chanting ensues luring you into the trance too.
A2 finds Whatever Charles going even deeper into the groove with his 'African Dialect'. Afro jazz at its finest drizzles its boogie onto the second round on the prestigious grooves of Mango Sounds first vinyl.
Ready to flip? Perfect! Danish Disco Dazzler Ziggy Phunk is ready to pick up the needle and lead it groove's way. 'Blues Grinder', a jazzy low key fusion piece with boogie built right in.
The last layer of the cocktail is roamed by German fusion discoists So.undso with their 'Ultrashake', an incredibly funky concoction of vibrant Disco, soulful Funk and a smidgen of electricity. Truly infectious!
Mango Sounds mean business, and this vinyl debut is bound to resonate!

Review: Manchester based Coral City Records hit the ground running at 100mph here on their debut release providing four, cool, killer tracks, that are guaranteed to get your feet moving and your booty shaking.

Sleeping giants N&W return after a long hiatus with their vintage, classic sound. You'll catch them taking a nod to the retro Italo Disco sound and hear clear influences from some of the favourite Classic French House superstars of years gone by. Expect cosmic chord progressions, cool guitar licks and beautiful bass.

Review: The final release of music from Noel Williams' solo recordings reaches an apex, with Music Street. Electro as he would do it, with hooks and touches of an ear for pop, with added bass and swing, giving it that boogie.

Written with his wife, the late Betty Wright, appearing in 1983 on his Tashamba label - a spin off from Konduko - and some three years before her own, "pop" version was released.

Music Street pulses, a story of Downtown in song, with snap hats and programmed bass highlighting the shift from the Ex-tras "band" to a studio focus. Vocal and instrumental are a DX soundclash, as vocoder hits the Boogaloo beat.

The final Discomix moves close to the source, welcoming Philadelphia's Universal Cave collective of Brian Cassidy, Shawn Ryan and Ryan Todd to step up State side. The collective, party and label have been releasing cassettes, CDRs and 7" edits since 2012, featuring the in-house's crew, as well as the likes of The Beat Broker, Jaz and DJ Duckcomb.

Their remix extends, loops, flips and dubs with respect and eyes on the floor. Teasing the intro, before vocal is loops and whirled, reverb and echo to fall through. That's where I want to be.

Review: Robot84 and Juno Records present Promo Vol. 3 featuring 'Make Me Feel Good'.
This 4 track EP follows the success of Promo Vol. 2, which received praise from DJs around the world, and reached number 1 in the Juno Records' House & Balearic/Downbeat Best Seller charts.
The aforementioned track 'Make Me Feel Good' has already achieved airtime on BBC Radio 1 from the mighty Annie Mac, Gerd Janson, Danny Howard and Arielle Free, Nemone Metaxas (BBC Radio 6) featured 'Futuro Disko' on her show, The Black Madonna played 'Futuro Disko'on her We still Believe Radio Show. . With further plays and support by some of the most credible disco/house DJs around like DJ Harvey, Artwork, HiFi Sean, Horse Meat Disco, Roger Sanchez, Tom Findlay (Groove Armada), Alex Virgo, Mighty Mouse, Kelvin Andrews(Wonk) , Gene Hunt(Chicago), Mousse T, Boris Dlugosch, Heidi Lawden, DJ Alfredo, DJ Harri (Sub Club) plus many more, Vol. 3 looks set to make its mark!
The latest in Robot84's vinyl series, which demonstrates the producer's range of musical tastes and influences. From the lead track, a big room, disco house anthem and its cool instrumental version, to the more Italo Disco inspired 'Futuro Disko'. Both tracks have a familiar feeling that supporters of Robot84 Promo Vol. 1 & 2 will adore. Closing out the package is the dubbed-out-to-the max 'Ago (Dub Mix)'

Review: Natasha Kitty Katt makes her debut on Re-Loved with the 'Salt & Sass' EP

Natasha has been lighting up dance floors across the globe with her energetic and eclectic brand of underground disco and releasing her music on the likes of Tropical Disco Records, Midnight Riot, No Fuss Records, Masterworks Music, Paper Recordings and Tribe.

This hot 2 track EP features 'Ninja Dance' a rousing disco stomper demanding your dancefloor attention with it's 'Dance, dance, dance' refrain. This is followed by 'Cissy' with it's strong diva vocal, pounding beat and funky as hell bassline.

Review: After the success of his latest release on Tropical Disco Records, Javi Frias is back to his own label Night Shift Records with a new EP of disco reworks featuring four obscure tracks that have now obtained a new life after passing through the hands of the Madrid producer. A side starts with 'Universal Sound' a super soulful disco tune with a house feel, perfect to dance with the hands in the air, and 'On Fire' has that boogie groove that makes you move. On the B side you can find 'Guitar Jam', a little funky number full of nice breaks and superb (obviously) guitar licks and the EP ends with 'Really Need To Talk', an amazing modern soul song that you will not be able to get out of your head in the coming months. Another sure shot release by the owl label!

Review: Second 'Disco Fruit Sampler' release is here. All-star Disco Fruit artists once again : Hotmood, C. Da Afro, Mitiko and Loshmi. Disco Fruit offers up a suitably juicy re-edits, tasty revisions and sun-ripened reworks. As you'd expect, there's plenty to get your teeth into from start to finish.