ZYX Germany Vinyl & CDs

Review: Hugely successful in Europe but more of a niche outfit in the UK and United States, Italian quintet 49ers (yes, they were named in honour of the San Francisco-based American Football team) delivered a string of Eurodance and Italodance style albums and singles between 1988 and 1994. Beginning with arguably their best-known club hit, 'Touch Me' (you'll know it, even if you think you don't), this two-disc 'best of' features pop style radio edits and album tracks on CD1 and the pick of their extended club versions on CD2. There's some gold on that disc, with the sleazy Italo-house 'Sexual version' of 'Touch Me', the mid-tempo, loved-up excellence of 1988 debut 'Die Walkure (12 Version)' and the dark Italo-house-goes-Danny Tenaglia flex of the RAF mix of 'Keep Your Love' standing out.

Review: Turin DJ/producer Gigi D'Agostino started his career in the mid-80s, spinning Italo-disco, before scoring a host of Eurodance and dancefloor-focused synth-pop hits. Back in 2006, he dropped a vast double-disc compilation entitled Some Experiments, which has now been given the remix treatment. Heavy on his own productions and remixes, much of the material combines sounds familiar from Italo-disco, synth-pop, trance and Eurodance releases with beats that vary in tempo and Italian vocals. There are plenty of genuine 'experiments' though, including his own synthesiser-based (but still classical-sounding) cover of Andrea Bocelli favourite 'Con To Partio', a chunky 21st century Eurodance take on Europe's 'The Final Countdown' by Il Folklorista and the weighty, slow-trance chug of 'Rugiada' by Lento Violento Man.

Review: Established way-back in 1981, before the idea of Italo-disco as a standalone style became popular, Erik van Vilet and Michael van der Kuy's Laserdance project was responsible for a string of synth-heavy electronic disco and prototype Eurodance anthems. Unusually, the project is still a going concern, with the duo recording a new album in 2024. Fire On Earth dates from 1994 and here reappears on CD for the first time since. Largely cheery, sci-fi-fired and undeniably optimistic, the music on show combines elements associated with Italo-disco and 1980s synthpop - thickset, arpeggio style basslines, colourful chords, Fairlight-derived orchestral stabs and bubbly electronic lead lines - with conscious nods to Eurodance, Italodance and the then emerging sound of trance.

Review: For their latest deep dive into Italo-disco history, ZYX Records have enlisted the help of Guiseppe "Joey" Mauro - an Italian producer, songwriter and keyboardist whose career stretches right back to 1984. His "Italo-disco legends" selection is heavy on his own work - no bad thing given his credentials - and contains a wealth of material that has never appeared on CD before. Highlights are plentiful, with our picks including Mauro and Ventura's sparkling and uplifting 'You & I', Italowarriors' throbbing and colourful crew cut, 'The Warrior (120 Italo Version)', the bubbly cheeriness of 'Crazy (Classic Mix Version)' by Malcolm & The Bad Girls, and the effortless Italo funkiness of Raf Coney's 'Horsepower'.

Review: For fans of euphoric and melodic trance, get locked into this latest edition of ZXY's techno club compilation. Volume 72 is another banger and it features a guest mix by Irish DJ and producer Ciaran McAuley alongside series regular Talla 2XLC. This double CD is packed with the freshest tracks and remixes from top international trance artists while also showcasing both Talla and Ciaran's signature sounds. As a special bonus, the album includes a unique air freshener featuring the faces of Talla 2XLC and Ciaran McAuley-a unique treat next to the electric sounds.

Review: 26 years on from the release of the very first Techno Club mix CD, the popular series has reached its 70th instalment. There's a celebratory feel about it, too, with series founder (and Teutonic trance behemoth) Talla 2LXC being joined by rising star Jes (who handles disc two) and the CDs coming packaged with stickers and a light-up wristband (ideal for creating that 'rave at home' vibe). Musically, it's tons of fun, with Talla 2LXC using his mix to surge between uplifting, hands-aloft cuts by John O'Callaghan, Cold Blue, John Askew and Ronski Speed & Sigma, as well as loads of his productions and collaborations. Jes takes a similar approach on her mix (CD2), flitting between her own tracks, remixes and collaborations and fine cuts by the likes of BT, Matt Fax, Sunbeam and Solarstone.

Review: ZYX's Disco Tanz compilation strand proudly boasts a tagline that reads: "many ways for deejays". The idea, as we understand it, is that the music on offer may be rooted in 'Italodance' (the 1990s successor to Italo-disco and a country specific variant of Eurodance) and 'lento violento' (a slower, sub-130 BPM take on hardstyle), but frequently also touches on sounds more often found in earlier styles and other global sub-genres of electronic dance music. There's certainly plenty of variety on show, from the downtempo synth-pop of Gigi D'Agostino, the chugging 'classical-goes-synth' cheeriness of Officia Emotiva and thw warped bass and creepy melodies of Woofer, to the lento violento throb of Uono Suomo, the bouncy badness of Orchestra Maldestra and the analogue-rich, warehouse-ready, triple-time sleaze of DJ Pandolfi.

Review: One of the most sensual and passionate dances. In South America, tango is, as it were, part of the daily menu, to be imbibed with potent beverages. Tango Bar presents this concoction of fiery music in sophisticated bar surroundings. As always in the Bar series: nice digipak at a great price!

Review: Those who enjoy the more intense, mind-mangling end of techno (particularly the trance-tinged, big room-ready European variants) should check out this three-disc mix-up on ZYX. Felix Reichwelt handles disc one, surging through tracks from the likes of Uncertain (the warehouse-ready excellence of 'Whack'), Thomas Schumacher (the acid-fired Jam & Spoon revivalism of 'Come Closer') and Spartaque (the fiendishly brutal 'Exhausted'), before SLT and Schwarze Puppen take over on disc two with a mix tailor made for massive venues with enormous soundsystems, minimal lighting, and thousands of wild ravers reaching for the strobes. NK4!D handles the third and final disc, offering a fine balance between riffs, melodies, intense acid lines and thunderous techno beats.

Review: The ZYX label always deals in timeless disco sounds from across the ages whether commercial or underground. It has done for years and now it assembles some of what it calls its finest Italo Disco Dub Versions across an unmixed double CD compilation. All of these are instrumentals and things kick off with the glistening 80s chords of Paul Paul's 'Good Version' then take in delights such as Felli's hot-stepping 'Diamond In The Night', Raggio Di Luna's chugging and steamy slow motion work out 'Comanchero' and Duke Lake's soul-drenched 'Dance Tonight' (Do It Yourself Verison). A great collection.