Back catalogue: Disco/Nu-Disco

Review: The album 1982 stands out as one of the finest moments in A Certain Ratio's story. When you're talking about a band that started half a decade before the year 1982, that's saying something. Following on from the landmark ACR Loco, the outfit's 2023 record is packed with multidimensionality - dipping toes into everything from gritty post punk (a sound from whence they first came) to Afrobeat, all realised with exceptional attention to detail and the highest possible standards. 2023 EP, as the title suggests, builds on the impact of that latest long-from release. Opening on the jazzy late night club workout 'Day By Day', a brand new number, the package then jumps into work from the aforementioned LP, redone by contemporary dons. So that's Werkha on a stepping, garage-hued version of 'SAMO', Emperor Machine emphasising the exotic disco grooves of 'Constant Curve', and Jade Parker offering a highly percussive cosmic take on 'Waiting On A Train'.

Review: A Skillz and Krafty Kuts are veteran names by now but at one option they were some of the hottest new DJs and producers in the game. They pioneered a breakbeat, cut-up and paste sounds 20 years ago that was high on energy and with plenty of character. Now they look to the roots of the sounds they used to draw from and serve up a new single on Jam City that is all about disco. 'Lit Up' has loose, jumbled drums and funk basslines with some great vocal flourishes up top from Gizelle Smith. A remix on the flip takes things into deeper new soul territory.

Review: You can always count on the Legofunk crew to bring you disco and funk edits from less mined sources that will absolutely rock it on the floor. On this instalment we have five different joints to get stuck into, from the slow Afro house throw down of Alexny's 'Meneao' to Siggatunez's slinky, soulful groover 'Boogie'. Look out for the low tempo seduction of DJ Laurel's 'Let The Good Time', which will get a warm-up slot thoroughly juiced for the night to come. The Lego Edit 'party dub' of 'Party Freaks' heads more explicitly towards peak-time house, but as ever it's delivered with heart and soul thanks to the vintage source material powering the track.

Review: Hello to new label I Love Your Edits which is to tap into a rich tradition of tweaking disco gems from days gone by in order to bring them up to date and make them that bit more suited to modern dancefloors. Austin Ato takes care of the first outing and starts with the hard-hitting disco house rawness of 'Bertha' which is a grinding and loopy cut that never quits. 'Been So Good' then brings some funky vocal work and neat guitar riffs and 'Love Explosion' is a classic you will likely already know with its soaring strings. 'Cleo' shuts down with a more funky and jazz-tinged sound.

Review: The Moiss Music label seems to like to drop their EPs two at a time. They did it in February and they're doing it again in May. This eighth outing collects four more lively disco cuts, each with their own subtle influences. Berobreo's 'White Rabbit' for instance has funky undertones with loopy guitar riffs and nice breaks. The Magic Track's 'Jamming With Mom' meanwhile is more sensuous and deep, with late-night synth work and seductive vocals. Oldchap's 'I Want To Show You' has an expressive soul vocal with more low-slung grooves and Alexny's 'Not Bad' then gets quick, clipped and loopy for its lip-pouting disco thrills.

Review: The follow up to 'Sun Circles' is here: 'Jour De Fete' (French for "day of celebration") is a sweltering slab of festive inner city disco of the highest order. Flip the record for a mighty, extended dub by cult hero Conrad McDonnell of Idjut Boys fame. 'Nuff said.

Review: Funkyjaws Music launches a new edits series here with four absolute dons of the form on one vital 12". It's Lay Far that kicks off with 'Never Ever Edit' which is all horn-led excitement and upbeat disco claps and kicks before Admin's 'Moon Trippin' takes a more slow and soulful approach. When it comes to edits few are more essential than Chicago's Rahaan who kicks off the B-side with 'Gonna Get Ya', a leggy funk number infused with cosmic synth rays and warm piano chords. Delfonic shuts down with the loose percussive jumbles and jazzy vibes of 'Let's Dance The Spank'. A fine start to the series with volume two already in the works.

Review: .You can never have enough edit labels really, which is lucky because there seem to be an infinite number of them out there and all serving up the goods. Colpo Grosso outta Italy is a new one that is only up to EP number two but a fine one it is too. Paul Older's 'Disco Ennio' has funk in its bones and Italo in its melodies. Antonio Del Mondo's 'Nessun Dolore' (ADM edits) is a funky house number with lavish chords and rugged bass. Wandervogel's 'Io Sono Figo' has a gritty lo-fi feel with Spanish vox and a couple of dusty Lego edits close down.

Review: The summer is almost here which means this is exactly the sort of record we want to be reaching for. It's a lush and tropical work of idealised disco grooves, deepest house, Balearic, smooth jazz and Mediterranean cool that cries out to be played loud while you sip on cocktails and dream of being somewhere utterly blissful and classy. Dreamy textures define each cut with nice fresh rhythms, glistening chords and lush melodies all sprinkled with delightful percussive detail. Big up to A Vision Of Panorama for serving up a beautiful album that is sure to soundtrack the warmest months of the year for many.

Review: Akin Nathan's Ijama is one of those rather mythical artists that related just one album, but an album that has endured through time and remains a classic to this day. It was a band formed from Akin Nathaniel, Big John Oaikhena, Didi Lead, Frankie Ntoh Song, Geoffrey Omadehbo, Johnny Woode and Yakubu Daniel and their 'Sweet Country' came in 1982 in their native Nigeria. It's a lush tapestry of sounds from across the world, all with an Afro twist - funk, soul, world and country all feature next to boogie and Afrobeat with plenty of hooky vocals.

Review: Canadian singer, songwriter and visual artists Allie X - real name Alexandra Ashley Hughes - is a great representative for the resurgent live electro-synth scene. Emerging from the Toronto indie circuit in the mid-2000s, it was a relocation to Los Angeles, a heartland for neon sounds, and early work with producers Circuit and Billboard that first saw an identity begin to form, which is as retro as it is futuristic, picking up scores of fans along the way, including Katie Perry no less. Girl With No Face is her latest long form, and sees the artist again stick her flag confidently in the ground. Tunes bounce, track, soar, step, pump and - at times - fall apart, emotionally speaking, with clear references to the likes of Ladyhawke, Madonna, Kraftwerk, Cocteau Twins and a-Ha, among others. Definitely one to watch, if you're not already.

Review: So many of the compilations that BBE put out are vital history lessons as well as great listening experiences. This one is another case in point as it finds music historian, DJ and daytime party promoter John Armstrong - who has put together more than 200 compilations - digging deep to offer up an alternate take on the famous bubblegum sounds that came out of Black South Africa towards the end of the apartheid years. Yebo! Rare Mzansi Party Beats from Apartheid's Dying Years is a superb showcase of diverse sounds created by the youth of the day as a means of escape. There is already talk of a second volume, which we're very much ready for after hearing this one.

Review: There is a wealth of talent on show on the third EP from the Fusion Sequence label which has put together this six-track deep house sizzler. The Variable Club' 'Biorhythms' is perfectly warm and dynamic for cosy backroom moments and Alpine DJ then brings an old school piano feel to 'Pepe Nony' before A Vision Of Panorama zones you out on lush chords and reverential keys on 'Kissing The Sun.' The flipside offers the more dark and heads-down 'Many Stories' while the blissed-out and feel-good grooves return with Common Mode's 'Bassface.' Body Corp shuts down with the slower, seductive sounds of 'Take It Or Leave It' which rounds out a top-class EP.