Back in stock: Disco/Nu-Disco

Review: Produced and sleeked out at Opal Studios in NYC, back in 1975, Buari's self-titled LP has been a cornerstone of international highlife music since it was first released. The original is now an arduous item to find at a decent price, so we thanks the Be With label for having repackaged an essential Afro LP that is a must have for anyone into anything outside a constant beat drum. "Karam Bani" opens with a forceful helping of funk, percussive to to the max, and this same hypnotic groove formula is present across the entirety of the A-side, making this a sampler's dream come true. On the flip, "Iro Le Pa" is the stand-out tune for us, a rhythm that makes Theo Parrish's Ugly Edits seems kinda tame! Recommended.

Review: Laurin Rinder and W. Michael Lewis were amongst the most prolific producers of the disco era - a pair of jazz-trained eccentrics who not only embraced the disco sound, but did more than most to help develop it (they were particularly big fans of synthesisers, showcasing in their work as much as Giorgio Moroder and Patrick Cowley did). They also loved a concept - hence recording and releasing The Seven Deadly Sins, an album-length celebration of disco's sinful side, in 1977. As this Be With Records reissue proves, the album remains a rare beast: a largely instrumental disco album that sparkles from start to finish. For proof, check the seductive, electric piano-and-synth smothered grooves of 'Lust', the heavily electronic proto-techno of 'Gluttony', the solo-laden disco-funk heaviness of 'Pride' and the undeniably epic heaviness of 'Anger'.