Cosmic Disco Machine Italy Vinyl & CDs

Review: This year has been a good one for cosmic disco lovers, almost exclusively thanks to this superb Cosmic Disco Machine series. It has been conceived By Vittorio Lombardoni, Claudio Diva and Simone Gritti and has served up three volumes in the last 12 months. This latest one is another essential collection of stargazing disco groovers. Opening up are the dubwise sounds of Klaus Schulze with 'Tango-Samy' then the likes of Sky get more retro with a fat bottomed pumper, Conrad Schnitzler's 'Auf Dem Schwarzen Kanal' is a darker, heavier stomper with menacing vocals and Blue Vision's 'Visions' brings some lush synth work to light up any dance floor.

Review: Austin Powers eat your heart out. Cosmic Disco Machine delivers what may or may not be the only compilation of swinging 1960s lounge-jazz you'll ever need to buy, piecing together 26 tracks of hip-grindingly rhythmic, flute and organ-infused tunes just crying out to be transported back to a party in a modernist mansion surrounded by photographers from the emerging fashion media scene, rock 'n' roll stars, drug lords, pornographers, business tycoons and... well, you get the point.

Certainly kitsch, nevertheless the unarguably complex music on Sextopolis is genuinely impressive even if you're not into pastiche or retro. Instrumentally outstanding, artists such as Janko Nilovic, The Flying Dutchmen, Tonio Rubio, Guy Pedersen, Pierre-Alain Dahan and Pierre Hollassian line up to showcase exactly why psychedelics were so popular when these tones were front and centre.

Review: Cosmic Disco Machine Records is an Italian independent record company specialising In reissue compilations, with the fourth volume of their eponymous series here, in a limited run of copies as always, There's a wonderful selection of tracks, with all have been only gently mastered to keep the original and characteristic mood of each one. Whether its Richard Wahnfried's entrancing "Time Actor", the off-kilter slo-mo polyrhythms of Mecanica Popular's "La Edad Del Bronce", or the more experimental realms of Italo explored by Schaltkreis Wassermann and Logic System - there's some proper oddball music of a fine vintage on this one.

Review: Jazzy Juice: A Fine Selection Of Rare Jazz Tunes is a title that is fun enough to get us locked in. The cover art, too, matches up with that fruity feeling and the music doesn't let the project down. With jazz as a starting point, there are forays into all manner of side styles and world influences from some of the scene's most notable performers. Johnny "Hammond" Smith works his organ magic to kick off with, Sonny Philips shows off his rare keyboard skills, Idris Muhammad appears with his steamy and cool as you like 'Super Bad' and The Round Robin Monopoly gets you grooving and moving with their happy 'Life Is Funky' amongst many other top tunes.

Review: The main selling pint of this 16-track set - aside from the quality of the music on offer - is the way that it showcases both original African funk, Afrobeat and Makossa, and American funk and soul records that drew inspiration from those sounds. So while we're treated to genuinely killer cuts from the catalogues of Manu Dibango, Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade & His African Beat and Tony Allen and the Afro Messengers, there's also space for the pioneering jazz-funk of Oneness of Juju and the Headhunters, a killer cover of 'Soul Makossa' by the Lafayette Afro-Rock Band, the Meters-ish brilliance of Nite-Liners 'Afro Strut', and the Clavinet-happy heaviness of Ice's impeccable 'Time Will Tell'. To borrow an old cliche, this compilation is, quite literally, all killer, no filler.

Review: These superb and ongoing Cosmic Disco Machine compilations have provided us with endless amounts of starry-eyed dance floor goodness. The seventh volume is another one packed with goodies from across the 70s and 80s. Logic System's 'Clash (Chinjyu Of Sun)' starts in lush fashion with plenty of shiny arps and mid-tempo drum funk. Barbara Norris's 'It's Heavy!' is indeed, with frazzled bass and thudding kick making for a fine ride while Clive Stevens & Brainchild twist melons with the warped lines and celestial vocal charms of 'Mystery Man' (remix). The bonus cut from Claudio Diva is a standout too, doused as it is in endless echo and mystic energy.