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Review: It's hard to keep up with the number of releases that Athens Of The North are putting out this month, but you really must try. This one is a gooey and loved up disco 12" from the dream team pairing of Tom Findlay from Groove Armada and James Alexander Bright. They hook up via mutual appreciation over Twitter and worked up a load of new material in the studio as Bright & Findlay. Their first offering 'Slow Dance' is perfection - lush 80s synths, slow-motion boogie beats and drum machines marbled with little guitar riffs and soulful vocals that ate you to a better place. Two further heart melters come on the flip side and we are already in love with this project.

Review: Ubiquity Records come correct once again, offering up the label debut of French producer Dandy Teru on a rather dashing hand stamped slab of clear blue wax. Hailing from the South of France, Teru has previous with material on the Bastard Jazz label and a contribution to the Food for ya Soul J Dilla tribute compilation Do The Dilla which should give you a slant on where he's coming from with the Fragile Things 12". Slated as the prelude to a forthcoming long player for the Californian label, Teru has soul by the beat load here, laying down bass heavy beats caked in record dust, with killer vox input from UK vocalist Ty and Beatspoke's Sarah Gessler. Also features a great snapping jazz recut from Teru's button pushing partner in crime Quiet Dawn - don't sleep!

Review: Extremely welcome reissue for one of the absolute holy grails of the rare groove scene. Ultra-rare and super-expensive in it's original 1980 release, this incredibly sexy tune from Chicago band Starvue fully deserves its status as a true soul anthem. Produced by The Chi-lites' Clarence Johnson, 'Body Fusion' never lets up the dancefloor pressure from beginning to end - the wonderful fusion of achingly beautiful strings, loping bass, flutes, the coolest fingersnaps and of course the mesmerising vocals of Tony Hicks combine to create an intensely emotional and rolling momentum that builds and builds. A masterpiece of soul history that still sounds as fresh as ever - essential!

Review: San Francisco label Ubiquity comes correct with a special limited edition 12" with two Adrians joining forces, namely Adrian Younge (Venice Dawn/Black Dynamite) and Adrian Quesada (Echocentrics/Ocote Soul Sounds/Brownout/Grupo Fantasma). "The Love I Got" is a furious drum workout with what sounds like UK soul artist Lewis Taylor on vocal duties (it's not though!), with female backing vocals and lashings of southern fried guitar. "Last Word" is quality female funk fodder, with a great performance from Sonia Moore and, for us, it's the stand out track. On the flip, "The Last Time" has both Sonia and Anthony Farrell with impressive performances on a melancholic trip of funky soul/rock. The EP ends with an instrumental version of "The Love I Got", with those hypnotic piano keys more distinctive than ever.

Review: Tru Thoughts really go to town here on the second single between long term collaborators Quantic and Alice Russell and the Combo Barbaro. The 12" edition of Magdalena features extended and acoustic takes on the track and comes backed with remixes from the always excellent Simbad along with Brizzle house types Behling & Simpson of Futureboogie fame. Accompanying this is a ten track CD that features those aforementioned versions along with several more remixes - with Tru Thoughts stalwart Hint coming out on top!

Review: 15 years old and still sounding sweet, each of these reversions stands the test of time very well... The Soul Mix bubbles with synthetic, slinky mechanical flow that wouldn't have gone amiss on Massive Attack's Protection. The Drum & Bass mix is straight out of the early Full Cycle / 4 Hero mindset - all jazzy flourishes and soft, brushed cymbals. Finally we hit the Womack Master Cut where the big string original is polished with 90s panache.

Review: Imogen have stumbled across a rare gem here, presenting some previously unheard liquid funk jams from the lesser known Chicago pioneer James Perri. Some of his jams as Jimi Polo are perennial classics, while his time spent in Soul II Soul and elsewhere are testament to his gifts, but this particular set of recordings from the 90s have lain in wait for their time to shine. You can hear his skills as a session musician and arranger coming through in abundance on this warm, grooving, acid jazz inflected EP. "70s Theme" is a sparse, moody jazz funk cut, while "Brother Beware" is a smooth, sultry slice of message soul. "Express Yourself" is the truly uplifting slice of the pie, and it will chime just fine with any lovers of that classic Soul II Soul sound.

Review: German soul troupe Hi-Fly Orchestra let rip on a serious cover version session with four tightly sewn showdowns: Karl Frierson adds bounds of gutsy, gritty soul power as he takes care of the vocals on the turbo-soul take on Lenny Kravitz's "Let Love Rule" and the deep-swing vision of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On". Flip for two deliciously dreamy takes with Rayla Sunshine as "Purple Rain" gets a super-swoon shine while "Like A Virgin" is given a jazz twist that's so immense you'll pinch yourself it's not the original and Madonna's is the cover.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record has light surface marks/scratches, but otherwise in perfect working order***


UK born, Australia based DJ and producer Dr Packer is back with more of his on point edits. He tackles some serious disco heavyweights here on Salsoul and first off, disco diva Loleatta Holloway and her mega-hit "Runaway" gets a fresh 2020 update with some soul uplifting studio skills. A heavy funk remix of Rafael Cameron's "Let's Get It Off" is next, with the original still taking centre stage, then the shimmering and glistening disco gold of Ripple's "The Beat Goes On" follows before in-house collective The Salsoul Orchestra also get treated to some elegant orchestral work and a sultry vocal hook.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Tears and creasing to corner of outer sleeve, also the record has light surface marks/smudges, but otherwise in excellent working condition***


You'll struggle to find many cosmic boogie/jazz-funk records rarer than Azwon's 1980 debut single, a private press gem from Florida that has long been in demand amongst collectors. Here the finest track from that double A-side seven-inch, "Paradise Island", is given the reissue treatment. It's worth picking up, not only for the swirling, spaced-out brilliance of the original version of "Paradise Island", but also the slightly bolder, Latin-tinged "Revisited" version the band re-recorded last year for this very release. The production is very similar, sound wise, meaning it's every bit as spaced out as the cut they made 40 years ago. Bonus cut "Fair Weather Friend", a dancefloor-focused jazz-funk workout recorded but not released in 1980, is also rather good.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


Expansion's latest must-have release brings together two killer cuts from Sylvia Striplin's brilliant 1981 album "Give Me You Love", which originally appeared on Roy Ayers' Uno Melodic label. Ayers produced and arranged both cuts alongside regular collaborator James Bedford. "Give Me Your Love" is, of course, something of an anthem in underground disco circles, with Striplin's breathy and emotionally rich vocal rounding off a superb cut that's rich in crunchy Clavinet lines, walking bass, snappy drums, sensual synth doodles and rising horns. Flipside "You Can't Turn Me Away", meanwhile, is closer in sound and vibe to Roy Ayers' jazz-funk cuts from the period, which is no bad thing.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record ever so slightly warped but otherwise in perfect working condition***


Long time crate diggers will know that an original of this one will often go for upwards of sixty quid. The 1981 disco tune is one of only three that American vocalist Lauriece Hudson ever appeared on, but boy is it a goodie. There's a hint of Tam Tam clubs's rickety drums to the way it builds, with hip swinging claps and lush strings all adding depth and detail. Of course, it's the airy vocal that is the rightful centre piece as it soars to the cosmic skies and takes you with it. Whether dropping this one as a big Friday night warm up, end of the night go-home-happy tune or anything between, it is sure to never fail you.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record ever so slightly warped but otherwise in excellent condition***


A - A true top-five peak record at The Garage, this Thelma Houston burner from 1977 was "a highlight whenever Larry played it," Danny Krivit recalls... "and he played it a lot!" Danny's edit is a homage to Larry and Frankie Knuckles - in particular, a reel to reel edit that Frankie did back in the day and shared with Krivit. "Reels were problematic, & when I tried to get it again from him, unfortunately he had lost it too." The song (a clear attempt by Motown to capitalize on the previous year's monster hit "Don't Leave Me This Way"). What sets "I'm Here Again" apart though, is the incredible second half, not surprisingly also the main focus of Mr. K's edit, along with a new straight to the point intro. Over a vicious groove reminiscent of the Originals' "Down To Love Town" breakdown (Michael Sutton wrote and produced both "Love Town" and "I'm Here Again") Houston delivers soul-stirring ad libs as the band crackles with electricity behind her, the piano chasing a descending string riff so eagerly it almost trips over itself. Pure dancefloor peak energy!

B - This band was a departure from the usual Motown session guys, and was comprised of a group called the Young Senators from Washington, DC. Who later formed the nucleus of Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers. Motown was finalizing its move from Detroit to Los Angeles, and this 1972 Eddie Kendricks session was among the last to be recorded at the famed "Snake Pit" aka Studio A in Detroit. According to Young Senators percussionist Jimi Dougans, "Girl" was recorded at three o'clock in the morning, which perhaps accounts for some of the heavy vibe and distinctly different sound than the typical Motown pop style the label was known for. In a time before 12-inch singles, this was one of those first "made for a club" proto-disco records that could hold its power and even shine on a big system. In fact, Larry Levan used it to test the sound at the Garage. When he got "Girl" sounding good, Danny says, "he knew the system was really pumping and anything else he played would sound good too." The original album cut "was typical of a lot of records, where producers fade out right when the record is climaxing," Danny says. "On a dance floor where people absolutely love the record... they'll just look at the DJ like, 'Why'd you fade it out?'" Taking matters into his own hands, Mr. K edit again aims at the climactic back half of the song, engineering a nearly 7-minute climatic dance floor filler.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record has very light surface marks/smudges with split/tear to spine of outer sleeve, but otherwise in perfect working order***


Acclaimed crate-digger turned disco re-editor KON has decided to launch his own reissue imprint, Kontemporary. The idea is simple: to accompany re-mastered original tracks with fresh rubs from the man himself. 12" number one offers another opportunity to enjoy George Duke's soulful, sun-kissed, disco-era jazz-funk bomb "I Want You For Myself". On the A-side you'll find Duke's own impeccable 12" version, with KON's re-edit gracing the B. Having access to the original multi-track tapes has allowed the New York-based producer to not only include an atmospheric, extended intro (a tactic regularly used by fellow rework merchants The Revenge and Joey Negro), but also give more prominence to Duke's superb piano solos.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record ever so slightly warped, but otherwise in perfect working order***


There are few more celebrated edit kings than Late Nite Tuff. Now he is back once again with the goodness, this time tackling killer racks by First Choice and Double Exposure. All of the source material here is considered to be stone cold classic, so he's brave if nothing else. But of course, he also has the skills to make these edits worth your while - he extends the breaks, lets the grooves roll on and ensures the vocals remain in place to really get hearts sweeping and hands in the air. The unabashed funk, soul and disco joy of his take on Double Exposure's "Everyman" might be the standout here.