New releases last two weeks: Disco/Nu-Disco

Review:  London-based DJ and composer/producer Phil Mison revisits his Ambala project with a fresh collection of immersive, sun-drenched soundscapes, weaving together breezy rhythms and luminous synth work. A defining force in Balearic music, Mison has long explored the genre in various guises, including Reverso 68 and Cantoma, the latter earning a place in chillout's informal "most revered albums" section. On this second Ambala release, he refines his approach, balancing crisp electronic foundations with warmer organics. A cast of collaborators from the Music For Dreams label join, including guitarist Santino Surfers (Jonas Krag), whose fluid solos range from sultry noir to Mediterranean reverie, composer Troels Hammer, and ambient producer The Swan And The Lake. The result is a dreamlike blend of melody and plunge-texture, perfect for late night reflection or hazy afternoons by the sea.

Review: Cassiano's Cuban Soul - 18 Kilates was first released in 1976 and is a landmark of Brazilian soul for the way it blends the groove of American r&b with native rhythms in a way few artists have matched. Long coveted by collectors, the album has achieved cult status and now returns remastered from the original tapes on 180g vinyl so it is sure to fly off the shelves. Cassiano's velvety vocals glide over lush, cinematic arrangements throughout and in doing so, evoke the grandeur of contemporaries like Tim Maia. From start to finish, this album is packed with depth, warmth and effortless cool, which makes it an essential listen for anyone who likes soul, samba and vintage Brazilian brilliance.

Review: New Zealand collective Leisure collides many different musical worlds on their genre-blurring sophomore album, genre-blurring. Soul, r&b, rock and pop all get taken in and worked into a lush sound defined by its experimental energy. There are several standout tracks like 'Money' and 'Feeling Free' that showcase their signature sun-soaked vocals and smooth grooves. Elsewhere, Twister brings a bold, modern take on funk, which has won over both fans and critics with 'On My Mind' a prime example of their boundless creativity and knack for warm textures and adventurous spirit. As such, it's a record that cements the group's place as contemporary innovators.

Review: Neapolitan funk maestro Mystic Jungle returns with a new LP less than a year after the dreamy Words of Love with more astrally-charged electro/boogie/disco type wonderment. Dario di Pace's third full-length has been quietly brewing for years, shaped by studio shutdowns and shifts in location i and that patchwork journey adds a certain character to the gorgeously technicolour music on show. It's perhaps his most eclectic and free-flowing release yet: a bright, hazy blend of styles that feels both loose and deeply considered. On the dancefloor end, tracks like 'Secrets' and 'Some Lovin'' burst with disco grooves, searing guitars, call-and-response vocals and sultry sax lines. Elsewhere, 'Innervision' and 'Twilight' lean into lovers rock and wavy neon-dub pop, full of yearning, shimmer and otherworldly flourishes. Then there's the stoner sway of 'The Road' and 'Get Me Higher' i sun-soaked, psychedelic jams with zoned-out soul at their core. A richly immersive Amalfi joyride from start to finish, the Periodica fire just keeps on burning.

Review: Inspired by his neon-lit walks around London's docklands, crate digger Ilan Pdahtzur's 2019 compilation Night City Life marked him out as a dusty-fingered crate digger and record collector with a distinctive, synth-heavy musical vision. It made him the toast of the selector/collector community, but more than that it was a genuinely superb selection of obscure, hard-to-find cuts. This belated sequel is every bit as essential and filled, unsurprisingly, with rare and lesser-known gems. Highlights are too plentiful to mention, but our current favourites include Sharon & Tracey's 'The Sheik' (a belly-dancing inspired slab of TB-303 bass-driven house hedonism), Jennifer's 1992 Euro-house gem 'Come Into My Life', Scicilian musician Claudio D'Ignoti's boogie-era treat 'Ache Per Noir', and the fashion scene inspired leftfield synth-pop of Lena's 'Embrasse-Moi (Strumentale)'.

Review: Alex Puddu dropped his last album, Deliria, only back in September, but has been busy in the studio since then cooking up more of his international disco grooves. Professione Reporter is a stylish funk, soul and disco-pop workout all sung in Italian and recorded at Piero Umiliani's legendary Sound Work Shop in Rome. The album follows the cinematic story of a photojournalist who becomes a gigolo entangled in a glamorous underworld of money, romance and danger. Around that vocal narrative, Puddu delivers sleek, seductive grooves and plenty of authentic vintage flair with a sharp ear for melody and melodrama. Professione Reporter feels like a lost soundtrack to an Italian crime film that is moody, playful, sexy and irresistibly cool from start to finish.

Review: Two years on from the release of his Ubiquity label debut, the hard-to-pigeonhole Balearic/global musical fusion set that was Da Cuckoo YaYa, self-taught producer and multi-instrumentalist Reuben Vaun Smith returns with a fresh full-length. Once again, the warming, colourful and effortlessly atmospheric set is both gorgeous and hard to pigeonhole, with the Yorkshire based artist variously doffing a cap to dream pop, yacht rock, blue-eyed soul, shuffling downtempo soundscapes, soft-focus AOR synth-pop and sun-bright Balearic beats. It's the kind of set that not only impresses on first listen but also grows on you with each successive listen. Few artists can achieve both of these things on one album, so congratulations are most certainly in order.

Review: Through standout tracks from artists like Magnolia, Maryag and Third Attempt, as well as remixes from Bosq and Dr Packer, this new one from The Disco Express embodies the irresistible fusion of house, nu-disco, and classic disco, prefiguring the beatdown summer to come. Over seven sizzling tracks, spread across an eye-catching orange vinyl, La Felix's 'Hot', Rayowa's 'Can You Feel The Love' and Bustin' Loose's funk-flecked and wriggling bass-led 'Pharaoh's Lean Time' are but a few several cooldown quenchers to be found here, all of which are sure to add a natural flavour to the sure-to-be parching heatwaves of Summer 2025.

Review: Ben Westbeech returns with his first solo full-length since 2011's There's More To Life Than This, marking a new chapter in a varied career as a singer-songwriter, DJ, hit producer and curator. The Glitterbox release hears Westbeech step back from the mic to focus fully on production and arrangement, bringing together a cast of musicians to channel a message of self-empowerment and inner peace, through pristine delays, diachronic desert grooves and a freed disco-bedience. Joined by fellows RAHH, Dames Browbn and Obi Franky, Westbeech's latest is a full-length ode to changing times and inner openness.

Review: French label PBT is absolutely on fire right now with a series of massive reissues of long-time boogie, funk and soul grails that will have collectors in a spin. Next up is this hidden gem from Florida's boogie funk archives, Pixie Dust by Wreckin' Crew, which was originally released in 1983 and was once a US-only rarity. It's a bass-heavy, synth-laced prized find for collectors and DJs featuring Robert Rans (who was the co-writer of Freeze's classic 'AEIOU') and veteran producer Kent Washburn. It's brimming with tight grooves and crisp drum programming while smooth vocal harmonies flow throughout. Every track radiates pure 80s boogie energy, all crafted with precision and ready to dominate dancefloors.