Toy Tonics Vinyl & CDs

Review: Atlanta's deep house don Kai Alce can do no wrong if you ask us. His own sets, productions and label are as good as it gets when it comes to this sort of sound. Here he steps away to fellow house hero Toy Tonics with a new 12" featuring his signature smooth grooves. 'Slide It In' will seduce any floor with its erotic sax lines and rolling drums. 'Space Skat N Dat' has lovely jazzy chord work over funkier drum patterns and onto the flip 'New Life Livin' is a subtle rework of a former cut of Alce's, 'Rough Sands' is key-laced basement house deepness and 'Strollin Thru Barcelona' explores broken beats and nu-jazz influences.

Review: Athlete Whippet's first outing on Toy Tonics, 2021's Vesta EP, offered a hugely attractive fusion of Berlin deep house nous and colourful jazz-funk/jazz-fusion instrumentation. This follow-up continues in a similarly vibrant vein, with the duo adding all manner of vocal and instrumental samples and a distinctive '80s boogie influence to their already rainbow-coloured trademark sound. Across the four tracks, the pair confidently skip between rubbery, summery house ('Noguiera'), thrilling P-funk/nu-disco fusion (the throbbing electronic bass, jumpy synth sounds, dreamy chords and tidy machine drums of 'Mesmerise'), cut-up boogie-house squelch ('I Think I See') and shuffling, breakbeat-driven deep house/synth-funk fusion ('Slow Down').

Review: Milan-based artist Barbara Boeing, originally from Curitiba, made waves with her debut Brasiliana last year, showcasing her diverse influences that reflect her vibrant DJ sets. In this new EP, Boeing offers four fresh tracks that blend 80s and 90s sounds with inspirations from her tours in Asia. Collaborations with Stump Valley and Sam Ruffillo infuse the project with richness and energy. Each track pulses with the colourful spirit of her home, ranging from Balearic and Italo house to disco and Zouk. As a sought-after DJ, she's built a reputation for crafting exhilarating sets that merge eclectic genres. Her upcoming performances at festivals like Gop Tun and Lost Village, along with her own party series, Barbara Boeing Convida, promise to extend her musical journey. "I just love to bring my music to people," she shares, encapsulating her infectious passion for connection through sound.

Review: Munich twosome COEO have long been a reliable source of hybrid nu-disco and house productions, with their releases on Toy Tonics being particularly good. Music For Friends, their first release of 2021, is another rock-solid collection of ear-catching cuts. The most incendiary, peak-time ready number is undoubtedly 'Voyager (Piano Mix)', a brilliantly rush-inducing slab of piano house revivalism with added nu-disco synths, though EP opener '25 Hundred Friends', a tough-as-teak blend of chunky deep house, fluid piano solos and warming jazz-funk instrumentation, pushes it close. Elsewhere, 'Slipstream' is a borderline Balearic chunk of dreamy and melodious deep house, while 'Midnight Visions' is colourful, emotive and musically intricate.

Review: Unwaveringly reliable house stable Top Tonics keep the good stuff coming this October as COEO steps up with an extra vibes four tracker. This is pure and unreserved house joy, music to party to without a care in the world. It's the bouncing drums and happy trumpets that make it so, with energetic piano stabs and driving bass all working to make you forget your woes. The music is nothing particularly new, but it is pulled off with such a sense of style and class that it's impossible to ignore. Whether all out and sweat inducing or ever so slightly deeper, we cannot get enough of these cuts.

Review: The sixth volume in Toy Tonics occasional "Tonic Edits" series comes courtesy of label regulars COEO, a Munich-based duo who previously proved their edit credentials via a tasty 12" on Razor-N-Tape. This collection is arguably even better than its predecessor and sees them take their rusty scalpels to a quartet of Japanese disco-pop tracks from the 1980s. There's much to admire, from the sleazy electrofunk grooves, bold pianos and sparkling pianos of "Matchbox" (A2) and the slap-bass propelled boogie goodness of the Teena Marie-esque "Uber Man" (B1), to the freestyle influenced synth-pop bounce of cheery closing cut "Tibetan Dance". Arguably best of all, though, is lead cut "Japanese Woman", a bi-lingual disco song rich in rubbery bass, Chic style guitars and sparkling synthesizer flourishes.

Review: Having graced the likes of Razor N Tape, Classic and Shall Not Fade, in recent years Cody Currie has bedded himself in deep on Toy Tonics - just check the London-based producer's Lucas LP from last year if you need further proof. The label have taken a peep back at that album to serve up this feel-good remix package with some serious talent on re-fix duties. First up Dan Shake serves up a tough-bumpin' version of Cash before Sam Ruffillo and Kapote have fun amping up the funky elements of the track. On the flip, the mighty Kaidi Thatham lays down a typically soul-charged version of 'Money' before Jamie 3:26 takes the track deeper, riding on a sweet Moog bassline that will pull in the stiffest of crowds until everyone's feeling good and loose.

Review: Toy Tonic always deliver interesting, functional, emotional house music and here comes another such serving from the so-far so-excellent Cody Currie. The opener is as deep and jazzy as they come, with rich chords and twinkling pads all floating way above a nice warm bassline. 'LS Anthem' plays with broken beats and warped chords that are woozy and rich as a spoken word sample brings a sense of cool. 'When The Time Is Right' then keeps up the magical Rhodes work and a soulful, shuffling groove before 'M9' picks up the pace a little without loosing any of the heart and version of 'Moves' closes in steamy fashion.

Review: Fimiani's 'Disco Music', a standout track from the Toy Tonics catalogue, receives a series of dancefloor-ready remixes. This infectious tune, already championed by DJs like Palms Trax and Louie Vega, is reimagined by four talented producers, each adding their unique flavour to the mix. Young Pulse, the Parisian house maestro, delivers a vibrant and energetic rework, while Tel Aviv's edit king, Elado, injects a dose of playful energy. Berlin's Delfonic transforms the track into a soulful dancefloor anthem, showcasing his knack for crafting infectious grooves. Paul Older, fresh off his acclaimed debut EP on Toy Tonics, closes out the release with a remix that blends classic house elements with a contemporary edge. With its diverse range of interpretations and undeniable dancefloor appeal, this release is a must-have for any disco enthusiast.

Review: The Toy Tonics label, which emerged out of the ashes of indie-dance label Gamma, is one of our favourite for fresh house. It is always packed with emotion and invention and does the simple things damn well. This is another great example from Gee Lane. 'Monkeys' is lively and lithe, with a killer bassline and soulful vocals. 'Neon Beach' ups the energy with taught synth stabs and prickly beats and 'The Fourth' then taps into old school jack, cowbells and Chicago rawness. A Musclecars remix of 'Monkeys' gets more blissed out and the Demi Riquisimo remix is pure old-school, finger-snapping fun.

Review: Since making his name late last decade with a string of re-edit releases, Italian DJ/producer Paul Older (real name Paolo Vecchiato) has been edging towards original production. This EP on the mighty Toy Tonics imprint is his most ambitious and - we think - impressive set of 'originals' to date. For proof, check excitable opener 'Guapita', where relentless synth-horn refrains dance atop a loopy disco-house beat, the horn-heavy, Blaxpolitation funk-sampling sweatiness of 'Keep On', and the house-meets-sleazy disco sensuality of 'I Like It, I Want It (Extended Mix)'. Arguably best of all, though, is the hybrid nu-disco/proto-house/disco-house headiness of closing cut 'Loop Story'.

Review: Toy Tonics is a label that has always done house music well - it doesn't follow trends, it doesn't look to reinvent the wheel, it doesn't repeat the same old tricks. What it does is serve up superb good grooves with plenty of character that are always going to get any crowd going no matter the time or place. The label now goes big with this double 12" of Gomma Dancefloor Gems Vol 1. It is, they say, a collection of "Y2K indie dance tracks" that were all originally released on the German Gomma Records label between 2001 and 2010 and were right up there with music on labels like James Murphy's DFA and Trevor Jackson's Output Records as the hottest of the day.

Review: Gomma played a vital role in the popularisation of the indie-dance explosion that happened some 20 years ago now. Best known for being spearheaded by US indie outfit LDC Sound system, it combined dance, disco, wave, post-punk and more into a party-ready sound that found favour with both ravers and guitar heads. This second collection from the German label highlights the best of music they put out back then with names like In Flagranti, label co-founder Munk, Nancy Whang & Bonar Bradberry and many more all present and correct.