Review: RNT welcomes Brooklyn-based band 79.5 to the family with the first single from their forthcoming eponymous LP. Soulful and psychedelic, the haunting melodies of Club Level float above a steady strutting rhythm section, punctuated by moaning baritone saxophone and drenched in washy reverb.
NYC mainstay Eli Escobar crafts a masterful remix that leans into 80s nostalgia, with a soundscape and arrangement nothing short of perfection.
Review: For their latest journey into re-edit/original production fusion, Brooklyn's Razor 'N' Tape crew has turned to Munich duo COEO, who have previously impressed via fine outings on Toy Tonics and Let's Play House. The four-tracks here, which all blend samples from classic recordings with their own drums and musical flourishes, all sound like guaranteed dancefloor winners. Check, for example, the breezy Afro-beat-goes-disco cheeriness of "Nigerian Affair", the wonderfully rich keys and organic deep house bump of "Pajama Stomp", and the riotous, high-octane disco-house loop-funk of "Long Night Ahead". Best of all, though, is opener "Like It Is", a sweet, dewy-eyed, string-drenched soul revision that achieves the perfect balance between dancefloor grunt, and paying due reverence to the German duo's horn-heavy source material.
Review: Since 2012, Munich duo COEO has served up a swathe of sample heavy, disco influenced house EPs for such labels as Let's Play House, Toy Tonics, Lagaffe Tales and Razor-N-Tape Reserve. Here they pop up on Razor-N-Tape's main edit label with something different: a quartet of traditional scalpel works from their personal stash. First up is the elastic, horn heavy disco-funk of "Express Lane", which is quickly followed by the skewed Arabic boogie-funk brilliance of "Libyan Sun". Over on side B, "Don't Oho" is a breezy revision of a sun-kissed Afro-disco workout that sounds like it would be capable of causing a commotion in the club, while "Move Your Body" makes merry with a warm, rich and intoxicating early '80s boogie-soul jam of unknown origin.
JKriv - "Better Than Her" (feat Saucy Lady & Tortured Soul) (4:39)
Kim Anh - "In The Stars" (5:06)
Cody Currie - "Ghost" (4:48)
Review: Razor-N-Tape's Family Affair series makes a welcome return here with a third great instalment. This series is something of an annual end-of-year tradition by now (OK, it's arriving a touch late) and this one hits as hard as any with five tracks taken from the full and standout compilation. It is two great remixes of classic RNT material that gets things underway with Ezel offering a dub of Cor.ece and Bruce Leroys sublime deep hose mix of Guinu, then JKriv's 'Better Than Her' is a fat bottomed bit of deep cut electro funk and elsewhere Kim Anh gets raw and cosmic, and Cody Currie's 'Ghost' is broken beat perfection.
Review: Devilish edit duo Duane Harriott and Sean Marquand are Devin Dare and now they return with fresh flips to get the Razr N Tape year going. 'Dancemuzak' transforms a classic NYC disco groove into a hypnotic, driving force while 'Itsdiscotime' masterfully loops rare, mind-blowing source material into a jam for the ages. On the flip side, 'Lookin Good' delivers cheeky uptempo soul perfect for a Theo Parrish set, while '1heater4sasha' slows things down with Clavinet-driven funk. Devin Dare are surely among the best editors in the game.
Dimitri From Paris & DJ Rocca - "Days Of A Better Paradise" (5:57)
Saucy Lady - "Passport To My Love" (5:52)
Misiu - "Love Me Do" (5:59)
Clive From Accounts - "It's Not That I Don't Care" (5:16)
Review: JKriv & Co. at Razor N Tape serve up possibly their biggest release yet, if this one is anything to go by. The first edition in the label's brand spanking new Family Affair series features the pairing of legends Dimitri From Paris & DJ Rocca on 'Days Of A Better Paradise' kicking off the A side, before Saucy Lady's late night boogie-down biz on 'Passport To My Love'. Flip over and you're treated to a seriously lo-slung cosmic disco dub on Misiu's 'Love Me Do' and finally Clive From Accounts tells it straight up on the acid jazz joint 'It's Not That I Don't Care'.
Review: Considered "the absolute Don of Italo piano house", Don Carlos is up next on esteemed NYC label Razor N Tape with an EP of rare vintage house from the archives - 30 years old in fact. For the uninitiated, Don (Carlo Troya) and S-Tone (Stefano Tirone) released two records on Italian imprint Calypso in the early '90s under the alias Montego Bay. Features the emotive, late-night garage of 'Music All Night' (Deep In Milano mix) followed by the low-slung dancefloor heater 'Keep Dancing The Boogie' on the A-side. The flip offers the life-affirming vocal cuts 'Waited So Long' and 'Gotta Keep Dancing' respectively which perfectly capture the zeitgeist of house music's golden era in the early '90s.
Review: Amy Douglas is the latest addition to the Razor-N-Tape talent ranks and serves up a mighty fine rough 'n' tumble New York disco double A-side 7" to open her account. The opener is 'Freak At Night' with stiff synth stabs and strident drums that get the party pumping while the belting vocal brings the soulful hook. Absolute dynamite. Things are a little more loose on the flip with 'Bit-O-Honey' having more jangling drums and guitar riffs underpinned by a funky bass riff. The vocal is more florid and expressive making this a different but equally impactful sound.
Review: Antal has already been dropping the worldly beats on this EP which is a fine stamp of approval for Israeli DJ and collector Elado. This marks his debut on the label having won plenty of fans for his offering on Eddie C's cult Red Motorbike. The music take its cues from all over the planet - Africa, India and the Middle East - and brims with disco joy, funk richness and plenty of earthly soul. 'Big Baba' is a classy party starter with good time feels, 'Gulab Jamun' is a foreign language acid laced love song and 'Blame' is synth heavy disco funk.
Remedy (feat Steve Monite - JKriv Disco dub) (6:02)
Review: Razor-N-Tape is a bastion of deep house brilliance as once again perfectly exemplified by this vibrant new package from Flamingo Pier. New Zealand collective Flamingo Pier have dropped several well received 12"s on the Soundway Records label and then came good with 2021's self titled full length. They are still all about bringing happy, sunny vibes to a tropical disco template here with the likes of the synth lead 'How 2 Feel' then funky vocal pumper 'Remedy'. There are cosmic rays lighting up the big chords and aloof vocals of 'Beneath The Neon' then a couple of remixes on the flip bring more dubby disco-house sounds.
Review: Gold standard house label Razor-N-Tape looks back to Guinu's modern LP of Brazilian jazz-funk, Palago^, and has some key cuts from it remixed by a selection of assured studio hands here. First up, Jose Marquez reworks the title track into a heavy and hypnotic jam with big percussion. The Faze Action remix of 'Haha Fe' brings some fresh disco sounds and RNT stalwart Diogo Strausz brings big room synth energy and cosmic vocal filters. Last of all, Brazilian Carrot Green brings the 80s boogie brilliance to 'Porao de Ferro.'
Please Take Me There (Makez vocal House remix) (6:30)
Please Take Me There (Sizmo A Capella dub mix) (6:39)
Review: House of Spirits made a fine debut on this label back in summer and now quickly follows it up with more sumptuous house sounds. It is an alias of Tom Noble, a mind full of soulful and blissed out musical ideas that he translates fantastically. 'Please Take Me There' is irresistibly cool and catchy with its funky bass riffs and many great guitar motifs all causing over a smooth groove. The Makez vocal House remix is deeper and has a hint of shuffling US garage to it, then the Sizmo A Capella dub mix ups the blissed out feels with new age melodies and supple, dubby drums.
Review: JKriv returns to Razor-N-Tape after two years away and in that time it is clear to say he has further fine tuned his sound. This latest offering kicks off with 'Blueprint' which is a nice loose sound with elastic acid lines and bright chord stabs. 'Intuition' (feat Megatronic) slows down to sun-kissed and lazy swagger with soulful spoken words and cuddly pads and soft shakers all soothing you to your core. 'Zone 1' then kicks on with a nice bright blend of nu-disco colours and soft acid undulations and 'Paula's Dance' (feat Pauha) closes with some steamy and timeless house that is perfect for sunset sessions.
Tu Tak Tu Tak Tutiyan (Elado's Gulab Jamun rework) (4:10)
Tu Tak Tu Tak Tutiyan (Elado's 4 AM mix) (4:48)
Review: Elado Gulab Jamun did a fantastic job with his edit of this Bollywood gem to the extent that it has become a real dancefloor gem that's been much loved all around the world for the last two years. Now it makes its way to a 7" vinyl pressing and is backed with his 4am mix of the same tune. This one is a sublime and dubbed out, acid tinged electronic trip that comes with original CD artwork that pays great tribute to original artist Nadim Khan. Another tasteful outing from Razor-N-Tape for this fresh edit.
Review: Razor-N-Tape is back again this week, this time with Kokoro Disco-San, an experienced trio of musicians and producers from Barcelona who have clearly stayed on the pulse of the nu-disco scene in recent years. 'Sunshine' in its original form is an edit of a familiar vocal-led disco groove which is perfect for poolside chilling, but it's the reworks by label chief Jkriv which really bang the party. The bright like neon Beach Burn mix is sure to get the hands in the air, as will the low slung SPF76 mix which is perfect to drop just before sunset.
Review: Razor-N-Tape throw it over to Lex Wolf here for some homemade and high impact edits from the disco world. The artist is already well known for some red hot recent releases on the Make-A-Dance crew's MAD Edits series and now brings more big samples and bigger beats to some main stage bangers. The opener layers up raw drum machines, r&b vocal hooks and withering melodies. 'Russle Love' then plays with filtered and screw about with some synths to make for a prickly bit of body music with what sounds like an Arthur Russel vocal lost in the middle. 'Warmer' is another energetic and twisted fusion of disparate sounds and 'Sendsome' then shuts down with a little extra soul.
Review: Mattie Safer, bassist for The Rapture, presents his solo project on Razor-N-Tape. The Lovetempo EP features chilled-out vocal tracks moving between laidback disco, modern bossa nova, and Sade-esque grown-n-sexy jazz grooves. Hitting notes of both melancholy and positivity, Mattie's plaintiff vocals wind through all four of the original songs, delivering catchy and singable hooks. Yuksek's remix of the most uplifting tune takes it to joyous hands-in-the-air territory. A delightful EP that showcases Mattie's versatility and talent, perfectly crafted for those who enjoy a smooth and soulful vibe.
Review: It's another family affair over at New York City's Razor N Tape label. For this edition, they have tapped the ever reliable Israeli indie-dance heroes Red Axes for a euphoric rendition of Nenor's 'Do You Remember' (feat Jenny Penkin) making for proper Balearic vibes, while the one-and-only Boo Williams delivers another ultra-deep house journey in the form of 'Besty Smith'. Over on the flip, we see the return of New Zealand-based producer Frank Booker who hands in the late night mood music of 'Time Won't Tell' followed by Peter Matson with a slinky and neon-lit rework of label chief JKriv's 'Something Else'.
Review: Tom Noble is renowned for his vinyl digging prowess as well as being the head of the Superior Elevation Records. Now he unveils his House Of Spirits alias with the debut single from an upcoming album on Razor-N-Tape. 'Times Are Changing' previews an album spanning nearly 15 years of work and one that blends modern-retro soul with nods to the Mizell Brothers and Patrick Adams. Recorded with live instrumentation and tailored for the dance floor, the limited 12" features an extended original and instrumental on side A, and a dynamic remix by Australian synth maestro Harvey Sutherland on side B. Infectious vocals and rich instrumentation, what's not to love?
Review: The Patchouli Brothers are Jedi-level Canadian diggers who now make their debut on the always excellent Razor-N-Tape label. They offer up four edits from the world of disco starting with the driving and striding 'Disco 4 A Non-Nuclear Future' with its expansive vocal and big string energy. 'Emotional Dancing' is a clean and serene disco groove with florid female vocals and a super funky bassline which leads into the classic sounds of 'Dance, Disco Dance', a feel good and heart swelling sound then things slow down into big hand claps and vibing trumpet motifs on 'Zane & Len.'
Review: Razor-N-Tape is like catnip to disco and funk lovers - the label seems to serve up endless amounts of dance floor gems and now it is a couple of sick remixes of Phenomenal Handclap Band which have got us all ready for the weekend. First up is a sublime and deep Prince Thomas Diskomiks of 'Burning Bridges' which has gloopy bass and leggy nu-disco drums all overlaid with some funky guitar work and ethereal vocals. The more slow and lumpy original is included while on the flip is 'It Was The Summer' (Each Other remix) which is laced up with restless acid tweaks and slapping hits that mark for a much darker vibe than the hazy and laidback original.
Review: New York City label Razor N Tape are back with more of their surefire disco jams. This one comes from Sentimental Animals feat Nicki B who serve up 'Love Vibration.' It is a playful and booty shaking jam with lovely plump bass and a gorgeous vocal that encourages you to move. Filled with synth warmth and a little disco dazzle, it's a colourful and accessible tune that cannot fail. ON the flip of this super 7" is a remix from Art of Tones that pairs things back a little, makes more of the funky bass and brings some great jazzy key work.
Review: Under the Tigerbalm alias, Rose Robinson has done a stellar job in crafting a trademark style that blends elements of boogie, nu-disco and proto-house with a variety of global musical influences - most notably African, Latin and South-East Asian sounds. On this welcome return to Razor N Tape, the London-based producer leans into the Latin inspirations, first via the colourful nu-disco breeze of 'Profunda Alma' (featuring regular vocalist Joy Tyson), and then on the 21st century synth-samba of 'Vem Ca' (featuring Jao Selva's honeyed vocals). Yuksek turns the latter into a club-ready Latin nu-disco gem, before rising stars Make a Dance deliver two rubs of 'Profunda Alma': a superb, warehouse-ready and TB-303-laden 'Acid Remix', and a percussive, spaced-out and decidedly delicious 'Tribal Dub'.
Review: The Looking In EP marks the return of Brooklyn-based quintet Underground System to local imprint Razor-N-Tape, with a stunning five track release of originals and remixes. It offers a fresh and unique blend of Balearic grooves, left-field funk and up-tempo backbeats that respectfully showcase the US sound. The tracks are complete with the band's signature use of flute and synth soundscapes, driving percussion and catchy vocal hooks that are sure to get you moving. On the B-side of the record, RNT mainstays Nenor and Clive From Accounts deliver two club-ready remixes that take the tracks into even more dancefloor-friendly territory.
Review: Razor-N-Tape's white label series serves up its first-ever various artists collection here, and it opens with Windy City master Glenn Underground. His 'Happy House' is a joyous disco stomper with florid strings and lung-busting vocals. Rahaan adds his own edit to 'Be Cool', which is a jazzy dancer with magnificent guitar work and brassy horns. 'Hot Damn' (JKriv edit) keeps the love flowing with funky disco house energy and an air of hands in the air celebration and The Patchouli Brothers flip 'Love Explosion' into a strident, front foot wafered and pumping disco funker with gorgeous vocals. There I so much sunshine and joy in these tunes that they melt even the stoniest of hearts.
Our Hearts Didn't Go That Way (feat Durand Jones) (3:57)
Long Term Parking (3:05)
So Real (2:54)
Magazine (0:35)
Fight Or Fall (4:21)
Review: Brooklyn-based band 79.5 make music right now, rather than being some long-lost acts from the 80s as you might expect from the cover. The group consists of singer, songwriter and composer Kate Mattison, singer and rapper Lola Adanna, drummer Caito Sanchez, bassist Andrew Raposo and sax player and flautist Izaak Mills. Their self-titled album comes on Razor-N-Tape and captures the sound of New York City perfectly with soul and psychedelic melodies that are hard to match. From 70s underground disco to acid jazz to and sweet pop sounds, they draw on it all for this fine concoction of dancefloor gems, which also serves as a protest at the often all too male dominated world of dance music.
Review: London's Clive From Accounts is back with his most expansive release to date in the form of this bumper full-length, amusingly entitled 'The Best of'. The album features the energetic lead single 'Save Me' which is packed with organ stabs, soulful vocals, steel pans and a touch of acid to get things going off. The second single, 'Heavier' delivers a dark, weighty club track with Riko Dann's toasting and other highlights include the melancholic 'Konsumu Suru' featuring Japanese vocals by Maya Kuroki and violin by Jessica Roch, the Middle Eastern-inspired 'It Began' and the classic drum & bass vibes of 'Spectrum.' Versatile stuff from Clive.
Review: Al most ten years in the making, Tom Noble's debut album is that most rare of beasts: a decidedly dusty and loose-limbed revivalist disco album that genuinely sounds like a long-lost 'private press' set from the turn of the 1980s. Noble is a renowned crate-digger, DJ and disco-boogie specialist, so it's no surprised to find that the songs and instrumentals on show, which also offer nods to jazz-funk and dancefloor soul, is exceptionally well observed and painstakingly crafted via the contributions of many guest musicians and vocalists. For proof of the set's majesty, get your ears around the celebratory and synth-speckled 'Times Are Changin', deep disco treat 'Holding On', head-nodding soul slow jam 'Diamond Eyes' and warm, heady closing cut 'Moving Away'.
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