Toy Tonics Vinyl & CDs

Review: Those who pay attention to South American DJ culture may have encountered Barbara Boeing, a genuine rising star who has slowly been easing herself into music production. This is her debut EP, which was co-produced by another scene starlet, Toy Tonics regular Sam Ruffillo. 'Brigada', featuring Phil Mill, is the headline attraction - a brilliant blend of nu-disco colour, mid-90s US house motifs, hip-house breakbeats and sun-splashed melodies aplenty. Esa Williams remixes, keeping the joyousness of the original version whilst giving the track a bit of a post-kwaito, late 1980s/early 90s South African house feel. Elsewhere, 'Brasiliana' sounds like early 90s Pet Shop Boys after a fist full of happy pills, while 'Baille Do Silencio' sees Boeing brilliantly join the dots between Art of Noise, electrofunk and rushing nu-disco.

Review: DJ Sneak is in a great run of form right now, which is all the more impressive given that he has been turning out his signature house sounds for more than 30 years now. The self-declared House Gangster recently impressed on Dam Swindle's Heist Recordings label and now makes this way to the always-assured Toy Toncis outlet. He offers up four cuts that veer away from his loop, filter-heavy house into more edgy and late-night minimal and techno but with the robust sound design and compelling sense of underlying groove that you always expect from the man.

Review: The Toy Tonics label has been one of the most consistently good house labels in the past decade plus. Those who see the label design in a record bin immediately recognize and respect the curation of the label by their owners Murk and Kapote. Electric Slide is the latest EP to get the seal of approval for mass release. Producer Kapote brings his high energy Balearic house sound to this record which also mixes in a bit of steady deepness to tracks like 'The Come On' (extended version). The title track blends a late-night disco groove to maximize the mood of the record. Do not sleep on the A-sides though as they blend in some classic Euro sound and New York 90s sounds.

Review: Bologna-based Sam Ruffillo is undoubtedly a rising star. What's most impressive about his work is his seemingly innate ability to blend elements of deep house (both Italian and American) and US garage with nods to jazz-funk, broken beat, soul and boogie. His latest EP for Toy Tonics is another exceptional collection of cuts. There are three Ruffillo originals on show: the slick soul vocals, boogie bass and kaleidoscopic house colour of 'Just Fine' and the electrofunk-meets-Italo-disco excellence of 'Mind & Soul (Italo Version)'. Elsewhere, Ash Lauryn turns unreleased cut 'Don't Think Twice' into a subtly disco-tinged deep house body-warmer, while Art of Tones delivers two passes on 'Mind & Soul' - a glistening, sun-bright vocal version that sounds like a classic Dave Lee production, and an equally as impressive, vocal-free Dub Mix.