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Review: Here comes Emotional Rescue and Konduko's last in their series of Noel Williams/King Sporty reissues, this time looking at later electro productions and the hip-hop/boogie influenced 'Sun Country'. Vocals and co-production come from Williams' long-time partner Betty Wright and as well as a vocal and instrumental mix there's a longform remix by Bay Area disco dub stalwarts, 40 Thieves.
By this point in his career, the godfather of Miami Bass had travelled a long way from his Jamaican roots in reggae and soul, paying homage to the warm climbs of the Sunshine State and laying down a much copied template using the TR-808 drum machine create the electronic emulations of the breakbeat, claps accenting the backbeat and trademark low frequencies shaking the floorboards. The instrumental stretches the arrangement, emphasising the interplay between electronics, bass, vocal samples, scratching and fx, the voice transformed into a percussive element in its own right. The flip sees 40 Thieves flexing their understated understanding of electro funk, making for a rounded, generation-jumping package.

Review: February is the month of love and so it is fitting that a new 7" drops from our much loved Washington DC label Peoples Potential Unlimited US. Every bit of lo-fi funk and disco this label deals in comes with a healthy dose of romance and this one from Marshall Titus is another case in point. 'Take A Chance' is full of steamy promise and retro-future 80s synth work over crunchy drums. The vocal is alluring and sensuous and the bassline further pulls you in. On the flip is a more raw and affected alternate version.

Review: Having delivered a string of loosely themed collections of extended mixes and 12" versions from the 1980s, the long-running NOW compilation strand has launched a new series focusing on music released in specific years across the decade. 1980, the inaugural collection, is relatively light on pop, 'alternative' and new wave extended mixes (though OMD, Spandau Ballet, Sparks and UB40 all appear), but big on soaring disco hits, crossover club classics and chart-bothering dance numbers from the dawn of the decade of Thatcher and Reagan. That means outings for the likes of Tom Browne's 'Funkin' For Jamaica', Teena Marie's exceptional 'Behind The Groove', Grace Jones' low-slung cover of Roxy Music's 'Love is the Drug', Tom Moulton's peerless version of Loleatta Holloway's 'Love Sensation', an Odyssey's addictive 'Use It Up & Wear It Out'.

Review: This is one of those disco holy grails that doesn't even need to convince you of its worth, and its no surprise original copies have been so coveted for so long. Chicago's Magic Touch label was a low key affair, but jams like this ensure its impact remains strong to this day as LaJohn and Sheela lay down the feeling in no uncertain terms. 'Too Far Gone' is a smouldering, bittersweet track which deserves to reach as many soulful heads as possible, so this tasty remaster courtesy of Numero couldn't come soon enough.

Review: Tommy Largo is a big deal in the world of jacking house and here he lands on Greenhouse Recordings with plenty of evidence to support that. His sound comes steeped with Southern influences on opener 'BBQ Ribs' with its noodling jazz chords and spoken word mutterings making for a lively atmosphere over funky beats. The Jam Funk Remix has a Chicago bump to it with the jazzy keys left in place over well-swung drums. 'On No Not Again' hints at new jack swing with its steamy sax lines and effortlessly catchy groove before 'BBQ Ribs' (Oddphonic remix) closes out with the deepest sound of the lot, perfect for when the sun has gone down and the party heads indoors.

Review: The world is full of heart-rendering electronic pop. So much so, you sometimes have to ask yourself if we can handle - or indeed actually need - any more. Rendered almost-immune to the emotionally barrage that seems to haunt our airwaves, playlists, and Made In Chelsea episodes, anyone who still has feelings in 2023 is doing well by all accounts.
Then along come Synthia, billed by the Big Crown label as a 'supergroup', comprising production don Leon 'El Michels Affair' Michels, and vocalist Claire Cottrill, AKA Clairo. Debate over what constitutes a 'group' aside, So Low, a startling double-A is enough to make you forget everything we just talked about, throw away the idea of overkill, and dive right in. As if born to score something cool, reflective, thought-proving and devastatingly romantic, fans of Electric Youth, Cocteau Twins and Almagris should be here already.

Review: The Duca Bianco label swerves its usual various artists' format to allow CW - who has appeared on those before - to step up with his own solo EP. He is a mysterious artist but is well known for his immersive record collection and legendary sets on the London scene. He is one-third of the Beauty & The Beat party and brings his unique twists of Afro and soul to this quartet of tunes. 'Karambolage' opens up with lots of big horns and noodling string sounds over a ramshackle beat then things take a cosmic turn on the rather more psychedelic 'Six Times Seven' with its Nippon-koku polyriddims, while 'Ou Ka Jis Fe Kole' is a party starter with a Zouk dub edge and 'Nzimbab' is built on a low slung and swaggering rhythm.