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Review: First released in digital and CD formats via Sacred Rhythm, 'Progessive Roots Evolution: A Song For Healing' hears Joaqin 'Joe' Claussell's indelible style of long-form spiritual house music re-flaunted to especial somatic ends. Intentionally crafted as a piece that bridges the needs of both the music and dance communities to whom Claussell is mutually close, this is a suite divided into multiple sections that feed on one another; they appose elements of samba, jazz and house, with ambient interstices and even ruminative piano meltdowns ('Healer', 'Heloise'). This ultra limited yellow LP edition is the audiophile's preference, its dynamism best flaunted on the floaty but driving 'Cosmic Arts' mix.

Review: Louie Vega remains a towering presence in house music 30+ years after making his early mark. As a solo artist, he deals in soulful, Latin-tinged and musical house sounds that are lavish in arrangement and often made with real instrumentals. The Vega boss now serves up a bumper collection of previously unreleased tunes across no fewer than ten sides of vinyl. There are collaborations, remixes, demos, dubs and reworks along the way and the range in impressive - from deep and triable joints to shuffling samba sounds and back again, this is a vital collection from a real house master.

Review: This fine double-pack features more alternate takes of tracks from Louie Vega's vast Expansions in the NYC album. The headline attraction is the epic extended mix of the Rod Temperton penned jazz-funk/disco classic 'The Star of a Story', which not only boasts fine lead vocals from Lisa Fischer and shuffling samba-house beats, but also strings (arranged by Leroy Burgess) performed Kelley Polar and his colleagues in the Apple Hill quartet. The EP also includes instrumental and chunky 'Vamp Dub' passes of that track, plus alternative versions of two other tracks: the organic deep house roll of 'A Place Where We Can All Be Free' and a superb string-laden dub of 'Love Has No Time Or Place', featuring Vega's Elements of Life band, which showcases the orchestral arrangements of Leroy Burgess and the late Patrick Adams.

Review: Following a series of tweaked reissues featuring previously forgotten (and unreleased) remixes of back catalogue gems, Masters at Work offer up something even more special: a double-pack containing four tracks rediscovered in their archives last year. They begin with the bubbly, mid-tempo NYC house shuffle of 'MAW Apes Groove' - all warming organ chords, bubbly analogue bass and oddball vocal samples - before serving up the hip-swinging, sub-heavy, sax-laden bump of KenLou's 'Lost I'M Ready (Sax Dub)'. Over on the second slab of wax, 'Virus Ruff Mutes' is a locked-in slab of house hedonism marked out by a tight, looped organ stab, while 'KenLou' thump recalls the inspired, jazz-dance-friendly, Latin-tinged brilliance of 'The Nervous Track', one of their most admired cuts.

Review: If you don't have love for Rahsaan then you don't have love for life. The American is a veteran of the edit scene and someone who can flip any joint into a joyous groove. Here, Hot Biscuit have assembled a limited double 12" that brings together some of his best 'Disco Edits, Versions & Dubs." 'Big Bisou' opens up with a jumble of Afro drums and loose limbed rhythms, 'Mamoe Lowe' then has tribal vocal chants and raw percussive energy, and 'Preto Velho' then brings a little more laid back soul to the party. '77' is a funky disco strider and 'Secondo' closes with some hard assed funk.

Review: A dystopian barrage of mechanoid electro soundscapes comes courtesy of Silicon Scally, a new, scathing alias alias of rather legendary UK music producer Carl Finlow, best known as 20:20 Vision. Inspired by the oncoming anxiety of a technological hell (trust us, we all feel it, Carl), it's either join the AI death cult or die, as a straight 60+ minutes of generative electro stabbery and post-neural warpings make the entire project sound like a supernatural server processing vast numeric quantities of infectious bytes.

Review: It's hard to over emphasise the role Timmy Regisford has played in the evolution of the New York house sound. The records he made with the late Boyd Jarvis in the mid 1980s paved the way for what became known as 'garage-house', and in the decades since he's released countless classic cuts and full-length excursions. On Source of House, he offers his take on Afro-house, combining authentic vocals, percussion and instrumentation with electronic rhythms, sun-splashed synth sounds, immersive chords and tech-tinged basslines. It's a brilliantly produced collection all told, with the multiple highlights including the summery deep house bounce of 'Good Morning', the auto-tune-sporting Afro-house-futurism of 'Angeke', the string-laden, Afro-disco-tinged 'Blalmam', and the warm, emotion-rich 'Track 38'.

Review: On this second, more expansive sampler for his forthcoming album Spaces & Places, Kerri Chandler treats us to tracks inspired by - and by the wonders of mobile recording technology, produced inside - clubs including Dublin's District 8, Glasgow institution Sub Club, Lux of Lisbon and NYC's Output. Of course, the standard is uniformly high throughout - it's classic Chandler from start to finish - but our picks of a very fine bunch include the soulful piano house shimmer of 'Change Your Mind', the thrusting, bass-heavy pump of 'Subbie (Rattle The Subbie Mix)', the effortlessly slick and soulful 'Tenacity (Full Vocal Mix)' and the ludicrously sub-heavy snap of 'See The Light (Dub)'. To borrow an old cliche, this is very much, 'all killer, no filler'.

Review: Kerri Chander's sound is so unique it almost deserves its only genre. He brings more musicality to house than almost anyone and for that reason is often called the Stevie Wonder of the genre. His latest album is a real labour of love that saw him write each of the tunes on the very dance floor of the clubs that are mentioned in each title. In some cases, he used found sounds, calculated the delay of kicks off a wall to phase them through a mix and even record himself playing on a green room piano at Printworks to use in the final tune. It might be the best album of his career and a selection of the tunes from it make it onto this third essential sampler.

Review: Polish beatmaker Shed has long been a darling of the European underground. His ability to craft textural loops and work them into potent, catchy, emotive but stripped back bangers is second to none. He has done so under various guises including WAX, but adopts his most famous moniker for this new double 12" on The Final Experiment. 'The 030 Files' offers eight brutalist breakbeat beauties that jerk your body into action, hook in your brain with their neat little motifs and make your hairs stand on end with the fizzing nature of the synths. Pure dancefloor dynamite as ever.

Review: Relative newcomers Infradisco blend a Balearic sound of disco and house for the Italian label Archeo Recordings. Aqua Cheta is a blend of proper electronic examples of Balearic and chill out influences. 'Caduca' (Hear & Now remix) is ideal for the late-night scene with a blend a perfect blend of 80s and 90s but still sounding futuristic. Manu Archeo's remix of 'Dulcis' is a beautiful laid back downtempo jam that shimmers like a hazy day on the beach. We think you will like the organic and mystical 'Fluminea' as well. This EP couldn't finish any better than on the ambient tip with a soul warming float on the marina remix by Ocean Moon. Fans of Balearic, Cafe Del Mar and chill out music will treasure this EP no doubt. This 12" comes with a CD as well.

Review: This double 12" compilation between Brazilian duo Stekke and producer and DJ Max Underson is a perfect marriage between the emotional aesthetic background of Underson's previous works and the precise floor-filling formula that Stekke has devised. The minimal composition is at the crossroads between deep, acid and tech house, with the wet basslines of 'The Messenger' being paired with ritualistic sub-bass lines culminating in house heaven. A real highlight on this release is side 4's 'Guidance', a smooth, grooving track that goes to show that house tracks don't always have to be cramped to the brim. The negative space used in these tracks, and the way it's used, is an art. Not to turn a blind eye to the two unique remixes on the compilation either, which take tracks to new heights thanks to the abstract re-imaginings by XDB and Melchior Productions Ltd. Universal Law is a schooling in the ways of minimal house, take notes.

Review: There's been plenty of online chatter about the confrontational title of Omar-S's latest full-length outing, and arguably not enough focus on the music itself (or the fact that the guest list contains Rick Wilhite, Norm Talley and OB Ignitt for that matter). This is unfortunate, because as usual Alex 'Omar' Smith has hit the spot. The six untitled tracks are impressively varied, with Smith effortlessly moving between 21st century P-funk (track one), cowbell-powered deep house funk (track 2), sparse and synth-heavy acid house hypnotism (track three), disco-house jack (track four), sub-heavy Detroit-meets-Sheffield minimalism (track five) and sunrise-ready dancefloor dreaminess (track six).

Review: Tucked away on Louie Vega's fantastic - and vast - Expansions in the NYC album were a handful of tributes to disco legends Patrick Adams and Larry Levan. This double-pack brings those tributes to the floor. Vega opens with his Elements of Live band cover of Sine's Patrick Adams-produced 1978 B-side 'Chimi', turning the four-minute cut into a driving-but-bouncy, near 14-minute disco epic rich in restless bass, attractive vibraphone solos and spacey synths. On 'Change Your Mind', which is presented in both full vocal and instrumental forms, Vega recruits the voice of the Peech Boys, Bernard Fowler, and turns down a sparse, heavily electronic workout reminiscent of Larry Levan's early '80s mixes. It's genuinely great, as is the DJ Spinna-sporting, hybrid disco/organic house cover of Adams' classic 'Atmosphere Strut'. In a word: essential!

Review: Electro is a style with an infinite number of sub-genres and for fans of the more raw, industrial and textural stuff then this is an EP for you. It's a split between Umwelt and Zeta Reticula, who goes first with a brilliant brace on the a-side. 'The Fate Of The Ship Unknown' is a storytelling track that journeys through an intergalactic space battle as lasers fly by at all angles. 'Documented Contact' is slightly deeper, with more resonant bass and percolating arps that are packed with intrigue. On the flip, Umwelt's 'Hyperspace' is all visceral lines, snapping kick and hi combos and sleazy synth that fires every synapse in your brain. 'Earth To Unknown' closes out in high speed and coruscated fashion for maximum dancefloor impact.

Review: Mysticism's Dubplate series has got a couple of great drops lined up at the moment and this is one of them - a boule pack from German digidub pioneers TVS aka Trance Vision Steppers. This was a project that never made it out of the studio but still cooked up some brilliant sounds, which in the case of this collection come from their earlier period between 1995 - 1999, all of which land on vinyl for the first time here. Fans of Adrian Sherwood, Dennis Bovell and Mad Professor will be head over heels of these dub delights - they are deep and atmospheric, with lush ambient pads, downtempo vocals and stoner synths next to more twisted rhythms.

Review: Prolific Brooklyn artist and exciting new school talent Your Old Droog aka Dmitry Kutsenko is a vital presence in the modern hip-hop landscape and has been involved with several well-regarded projects. This already critically acclaimed Yodney Dangerfield album on Mongoloid Banks is the latest and it comes with fresh beats by top producers Nicholas Craven, SadhuGold, Lee Scott, and Jonwayne. It is a fine body of work with the physical-only bonus track 'Metal Face Medley' which is a live performance montage that pays homage to the late great rap don MF DOOM.

Review: Here comes a fresh 12" containing four remixes of the song 'Call A Wave' by Malcolm McLaren and The Bootzilla Orchestra. The original was released in 1989 as part of McLaren's album Waltz Darling, which was an early example of the 'collaborative studio album' popular at the time, and fused classical music with elements of then-contemporary dance music styles, such as his brand of downtempo-ish post-punk / industrial - a true McLaren mode. The newer remixes that feature here come from the likes of DFC and Mark Moore and William Orbit (responsible for the Orbital mix rather than the Hartnoll brothers) and are no less sludgey, Balearic and chuggy as the original loom-bird-laden track. Two new stripped-back versions also appear.

Review: The Blessed Madonna has remixed Dua Lipa's 'Levitating' featuring Missy Elliott and Madonna. This is the first track from 'Club Future Nostalgia', an entirely remixed version of Dua Lipa's global #1 album "Future Nostalgia", created in collaboration with The Blessed Madonna.

Review: Tech house is an unfairly maligned genre. While criticisms of the blandness of the sound might hold weight for much of the stuff released today, the same simply can't be said for the work of Terry Francis, who helped pioneer its sound. All & All is a new series, this one documenting Francis' contributions to the underground, with many of the tracks appearing on it made during the period in which he was a resident DJ at London's Fabric. As you can hear, 'tech house' at the origin point, as propagated by Francis, was much dreamier - closer to its cousin, deep house. And on cuts like 'How Can Something', you can really hear where the received 'dreaminess' of house and the uptempo, industrial pulse of techno, converged.

Review: Owhaaou features four cuts taken from the incredibly hard-to-find and obscure Metamorphose album that was released back in 1984 by this legendary Benin soul star. He blends rare Afrofunk with digital soul as evidenced by the recent reissue of Dans le Tchink System. Now this label celebrates his work once more with this futuristic and expansive new record which was recorded on 24 analogue track channels with skilled backing musicians such as Hilaire Penda on bass, Poly Rythmo de Cotonou's Daniel Bentho and more. The title track is a big disco party starter then there are more sombre moods on 'Magnifiec' and a silky edit of 'Zemidjan' before 'Mi Tchinker' gets that booty shaking.

Review: Guangzhou, China-based artist and DJ Cola Ran tune sin to her inner reflections and global travel experiences when making music. On her debut EP she taps int the human experience to tell the tale of society's development over the years and blends traditional Asian and African instruments with modern electronics, field recordings and vocals to do so. It's a fulsome ambient, Balearic and downtempo brew with a gorgeous sense of melody and spirituality that offers a soothing escape. 'Riot On The Hush' is a lush tapestry of hand drums and xylophone-like sounds that rise and fall like a sea current, 'Outta Space' is the same vibe but with a futuristic cosmic twist. These are two of many highlights.

Review: During the 1990s, there were few techno producers in Spain who were quite as prolific - or successful, for that matter - as Alex Martin. This superb double-pack delivers proof of the Barcelona-based artist's impressive early form by gathering together some of the best cuts he released between '94 and '98 under a variety of aliases, most notably Sideral and The Fat DB. Interestingly, there's plenty of variety to be found within the collected cuts, with sparkling sci-fi ambient ('Elipse') and deep, shuffling IDM (the acid-flecked brilliance of 'Mare Nostrum' and 'Butterly') nestling side by side with deep techno ('I Wanna Look at the Stars'), ragged futurist acid ('Incognita'), intergalactic techno ('Planetarium') and even cuts inspired by the soul, bass-weight and shuffle of the then emerging UK garage sound ('Can Make It').

Review: There is a load of Jay Tripwire newness around at the moment and some of it is from his back catalogue and some of it is all new. Here the longtime minimal mainstay and Canadian scene-pioneer serves up a multi-volume collection of cult tracks of his from the early 2000s. They have a west coast tech house sound and are still future in design. The likes of Villalbos have long been banging these and they sit well with the days current underground sound. Acid, dub, tech, electronic soul and more all colour the grooves.

Review: Limited edition 12" dedicated to the Neve A Maggio song flavoured with four remixes. Three from Mushrooms Project and one with a 90's house style by Deep88. Wrapped in elegant electronics and an international flavour, Sara's voice recounts the unusual in these days characterized by strong anomalies and cold solitude. Like when it snows in May, like when you want to pick a rose and instead find yourself blinded by a white reflection, completely out of place. Yet there is life, under that white; breath, pulsation, a rhythm that presses and makes you dance: a song that drags you away from a daily life troubled by extraordinary events, which become intimate and confidential, but still unique, like every single snowflake.

Archeo Recordings is a reissue record label that regenerates old, lost, obscure and forgotten rare gems of mostly Italian music but also all over the world of the 70s, 80s and 90s.
All releases are licensed audio tracks re-mastered in their original form with sleeves recreated for today but all based on the original images. Archeo would like to make the music available to a wider audience of collectors, DJs, music lovers of a forgotten time.

Review: After his first album on Blessyou, Turquoise, Mogwaa aka. Seungyoung Lee, from Seoul, is back with another stellar contribution, this time re-visiting his earlier days of musical appreciation in reggae music. This album is another entirely instrumental work with eight tracks, effortlessly displaying his confidence in the studio when it comes to dreamy dubbed out ambient sounds intertwined with heavy digi, steppers, and even dancehall influences. A refreshing treat to the ear when it comes to contemporary productions as Mogwaa approaches the Jamaican genre with a refined aesthetic of his own. From Korea, with much craft and dedication for the music, it's a pleasure to have him back.

Review: After he made such an impact with his debut EP in 2018, Compton-based hip-house hero Channel Tres made good on his burgeoning reputation with his second release the year after. Black Moses might nod to Isaac Hayes, but there's nothing throwback about the sound as Tres rides all kinds of sparkling fresh electronic beats with a focus on deep house. He was also able to confirm his burgeoning reputation in the scene with a notable guest spot from JPEGMAFIA on the low slung title track. There's just so much swag to this record, it's going to make you and everyone in a square mile get loose, wherever you drop it.

Review: The Master at Work that is Louie Vega has been a music-making machine all his life but in recent years has continued to reach new heights with various different projects. Here he is back on regular label Nervous with various different versions of his tunes 'Joy Universal' and 'Igobolo.' 'Joy Universal' (feat Two Soul Fusion) is classic Vega - soulful house music awash with Latin influences, loose-limbed percussion and funky basslines. And that template is tweaked over the ensuing tunes, with glorious pianos, jazzy grooves and tropical rhythms all making for a fine EP.

Review: Guidance continues to celebrate the often-overlooked musical life and legacy of the late, great Dana Kelley AKA DKMA with a third compilation of cuts rescued from rediscovered DATs of unreleased recordings. There's naturally plenty to enjoy 'Boston Boy Volume 3', from the starry, shuffling, loose-limbed warmth of opener 'Savages' and the dense, tribal-influenced deep house hedonism of 'Deconstruct', to the raw, sub-heavy techno of 'Wolfen', the jazzy and boompty-influenced bounce of 'Twilight' and the deeply hazy, dubbed-out wonder that is 'Luv 'n' Pain', where echoing chords and deep sub-bass provide a platform for all manner of percussive insanity.

Review: Kalita Records are proud and honoured to announce the first ever official reissue of the four choice tracks from Randolph Baker's privately pressed sought-after 1982 disco album 'Reaching For The Stars', plus an unreleased instrumental take of 'Party Life' sourced from the original 24-track analogue master tapes.

Originally recorded at Jim Morris and Rick Miller's Tampa-based Morrisound Studios, 'Getting Next To You' features both a mixture of both local Florida talent plus jazz superstar Nat Adderley and bassist John Lamb at their finest. Originally pressed in a limited run of just one-thousand copies, with no distribution and most copies being sold in the local city and on Randolph's own merchandise table at the back of live gigs, original copies have long been sought-after by both collectors and DJs alike, acknowledged as a true grail and masterpiece in the disco scene and deservedly demanding extortionate figures to those lucky enough to find their own.

Here, in collaboration with Randolph, Kalita Records have chosen to re-release the four choice tracks from the album: 'Getting Next To You', 'Jazzman', 'Callin' Me' and 'Party Life'. The former is an in-demand horn and chant-filled disco masterpiece, which, as Randolph explains, concerns unity and "everyone on the same level in other words, everyone just loving life". It is arguably the song that Randolph is most well-known for in the disco and funk scene and perfect for the modern discerning dance floor. 'Jazzman' is an instrumental track with prominent trumpet and saxophone solos working with funky basslines to produce a truly great jazz-funk groove. It was "a tribute to Nat Adderley and Duke Ellington's bass player, John Lamb, for being so generous and saying yes to the project". 'Callin' Me' is a soulful disco number featuring the lead vocals of Laurie Erickson and is "about being on the road and ensuring loved ones that you will always come back home no matter what. It was like a promise to ensure loved ones they didn't have to worry". Lastly, 'Party Life' is a joyous disco track with a strong funk bassline and horns. As Randolph recalls, it "was the joy like after an actor finishes a movie. There was nothing but joy. It's finished; let's celebrate big time. Where everyone in the studio yelled at the top of their lungs - The End!" Here, with access to the 24-track master tapes we have been able to include the original version plus an unreleased instrumental take, allowing us to focus on the infectious bassline and make it even more ready for the modern dance floor.

Accompanied by extensive interview-based liner notes and never-before-seen photos.

Review: Star Creatures' latest release titled The Chicago Boogie Volume 2: This Love Will Last picks up where Attack of the Chicago Boogie Volume 1 left off, with Tim Zawada and Kool Hersh curating more selections of rare Chicago boogie tracks in collaboration with the Munster Boogie crew. Originally released last year, this reissue includes music written, produced, recorded and pressed proudly in The Windy City itself, with this vinyl edition featuring art from Ben Marcus based on versions of compliment cards and flyers from the scene in the 80s.

Review: The fourth and (we think) final sampler for Kerri Chandler's epic new album, Spaces & Places, not only features a swathe of cuts from the set, but also a clutch of must-check alternate takes. Of the album tracks, we're particularly fond of the Ministry of Sound inspired piano house workout 'Hurry Up (featuring Dreamer G)' and the locked-in early morning hypnotism of 'Sunrise', which the New Jersey native recorded at Berlin club 'Watergate'. Other highlights across the double-pack include the breezy 'Joyful Life' (and its accompanying 'Vibeapella') and the bonus 'No Guitar Mix' of the mid-90s St German style wonder of 'Dirty', a cut recorded at, and in tribute to, legendary Paris venue Rex Club.

Review: Back in 1996, Losoul's first outing on the now legendary Playhouse label caused such a stir across Europe and the U.S that it ended up being licensed and reissued - with additional reworks - by labels in Detroit and the Netherlands. This double-pack from Running Back brings together Losoul's original mix - a loopy, is-it-house-or-is-it-techno loop jam that cannily builds in intensity over the course of 11 and a half minutes - and two of the smartest revisions: Theo Parrish's mesmerising, deep and hypnotic revision (one of his best, we'd argue) and Dutch producer Gerd's jazzy, warm and sub-heavy shuffler. Also included is original B-side '00000000', a fine slab of minimal house hypnotism, and the previously unreleased 'D1', a more laidback and stripped-back disco-house loop jam.

Review: Enduring Detroit maverick Omar-S celebrates 20 years since he released one of his most iconic 12"s by pressing it up as a new double pack with two new versions of two originals and one bonus unnamed track. The standouts of this EP were always 'U' and 'Set It Out'. The former is a raw as-you-like drum track with bounce in the kicks and pure machine soul in the vamping chords, and the latter shows Smith's other more tender side with smart 80s samples and new school r&b vibe on a dusty house beat. He has mashed them together perfectly on the new cut 'U Set It Out' and added extra weight to 'U 2023.' Add in the other two originals and heavy beatdown 'Track 3' and you have an essential new double pack.

Review: The Soul in the Horn label is "a movement" with roots in New York City. It is a collaborative project from music curator DProsper and resident DJ Natasha Diggs that is now back with another party-ready 12", this time from Knevrmind. It kicks off with a rugged house cut that chops up some big Kendrick samples to make for something of an anthemic opener. 'Major Hot' then flips the script with more sun-kissed and dusty house loops that are nice and loose and 'Matters Of Time' slows it down again to late-night and loved-up dub house. An instrumental strips it back so the cosmic synths shine brighter.

Review: Veteran Newcastle-based producer Johnathan Watson aka Smoove is back with the third instalment in the Multitrack Reworks, a new series that will be putting out limited edition, hand-stamped white label 12's that are made from reworked tunes constructed from the original multitracks. This one features the deep down and dirty P-funk of A-side cut 'Deep', while over on the flip Watson lends his Midas touch to a solid reconstruction of a certain deep funk classic by Slave, as well as a spruced up soul classic for all the heads out there on 'Superman'.

Review: Limited edition, hand-stamped white label 12"s from Smoove, reworking as though each of its remixed originals were axiomatic expressions of sonic perfection. 'Dance', for example, has a well known 80s classic reworked to stomping, heavyweight perfection - stretching its vocals to breathy ecstasy. Meanwhile EWF's 'Can't Hide Love' and 'Playing Your Game, Baby' by a certain Mr White, unite over a similar subject matter; there's no point in hiding your love. All aboard the underground love train.

Review: La Jungla is a fresh project charting many fusions of Latin music and electronica. Blending cumbia, zouk salsa and reggae with more digitally-oriented styles from dembow to dub, this is a remarkably curious EP on the fronts of both experimentation and locale. Endlessly groovy but equally odd, the likes of 'Salto Palante' hear rap-sung vocals about spirituality and jubilance, exclaimed against the backdrop of acid bass plods and controlled instrumental cacophony.

Review: Summer is Dam-Funk season. The synth funk pioneer's sounds never seem more fitting than when cruising about on an early summer evening, top down (at least in your mind) with the sky turning burnt orange. He soundtracks that moment four more times here with 'Rise' being a more downbeat and pensive vibe, then 'Make It' getting a little more playful on the bump-n-grid beats and squelchy boogie bass. 'From A G Perspective' has low-riding Cali-funk in its bones and 'Free' closes with more lush analogue textures and shimmering chords on this vital, limited 12".

Review: After breaking a decade-long hiatus by releasing the Sad Cities album last year, Swedish disco mavericks Sally Shapiro have been on a roll through their association with Italians Do It Better. Jonny Jewel's label is the perfect home for their Italo-informed, pop-baiting sound, and now they're back with a new single called 'Rent'. It's another seductive excursion into the future-past of electronic disco, with the extended mix on the A-side complemented by the instrumental on the B-side and a team-up between NICOLAAS and Steve Moore for a remix. Meanwhile, Italoconnection step up for a version of Sad Cities track 'Believe In Me', rounding out another strong EP from Shapiro and Italians Do It Better alike.

Review: Anyone who has followed Emotional Rescue knows it has always does a fine job of documenting pock punk and dubs early years, not least by showcasing the previously unheralded work of Skinbat Scramble. Now they back that up once more with a new compilation that puts together a selection of the band's previously unreleased recordings. It is a superb trip through a number of decades and finds core members Mark Eason and Fergus Crockford distilling slow tempos, experimental sounds, dub, and much more into leftfield rhythms for body and mind.

Review: This official reissue of Bela Lugosi's Dead: The Bela Session comes on black and red splattered vinyl this time around and includes previously unreleased tracks that have been mastered from the original demo tapes of their first ever recording session together. The post-punk outfit's debut single was released initially in 1979. Bela Lugosi's Dead is not only their first single, but also often gets mentioned as the first goth record. It has since been covered by Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack and Nouvelle Vague. The rest of the tunes from the demo session remain hugely innovative, reflecting their post-punk and dark-glam style with dub reggae influences that would further evolve in their output that followed and explain why the band went on to such cult status.

Review: Archeo know how to hunt down a rare jam and give it the kind of reissue it deserves, so who better to handle this job? Tonica & Dominante was a studio project conceived by Antonio Iglio and Antonio Moxedano, which yielded a couple of singles and an album at the end of the 70s. It's a warm, organic sound before Italo disco swerved hard towards synthesisers and drum machines, and you can see why anyone digging for the rarest grooves would go crazy for the two tracks on this previously rare-as-hell 7". This new Archeo version ports the original tracks onto 12" and folds in two tasteful, clubbed-up dub mixes from Leo Mas & Fabrice.

Review: London's All Day I Dream label is instantly recognisable for its use of clouds as its EP covers, a trend it has kept up since since its first release in 2011. This latest wispy six-track EP from Tim Green is a beautiful floater, very much unafraid of plunging its head into the deepest and most rapturous of clouds. Opener 'Water Steers' very much sounds like we're floating up to the pearly gates, with its stretched-out choir samples and voxy one-shots opening to a tricky single-key house track. From there, it's all blissful yet rave-worthy, with tech-trancers like 'Tears' and 'We've Been Here Before' not letting up from the crossrhythmic formula, but still laying down a slowly-revealed emotion.

Review: Unknwn kick off a multi-part double pack series here that serves a deserving light on the work of New York artist Victor Simonelli, who is famous for working with Afrika Bambaataa to help mix the epic 'Planet Rock'. As both a DJ and a producer he made a huge mark on the genre back in the 90s and it is that period which is in focus here. This is a real collectors' piece from the Behind The Groove crew that's packed with vital cuts from the rare mixes of Rain Page and EZ-AL to Cloud 9's 'Do You Want Me' via Solution's 'Feel So Right', all of which provide undoubted proof that he was a man on fire back in those golden early days.

Review: Miss You's latest missive takes us back to 1979 and the sole single from Italian singer Angela - a previously 7" only affair that made limited impact outside of Italy on its initial release. Lead cut 'Teneremante' is a typically colourful and camp Italian translation of disco, whose over-the-top excellence and bold lead vocal from Angela have an endearing 'easy listening era singer does disco' vibe. Musically, it soars, with the addition of lo-fi but spacey synth sounds (alongside classic disco orchestration) making it sound a bit more eccentric than it actually is. Original flip side 'Angela E Cosi' is a more suspenseful, low-slung affair built around a slower and headier groove, AOR disco instrumentation and another soaring vocal from Angela.

Review: London-based producer Otik releases his first album Cosmosis on Martyn's label 3024. The 11-track LP signifies the fourth album on the imprint across its ten-year tenure, showcasing a more introspective side to Otik's musical output. The album leans into delicate melodies, hazy atmospheres and lush analogue sounds, often evoking blissed-out feels and ripples of brilliant colour. Produced three years ago during lockdown, Cosmosis comes after a period of spiritual struggles, where Otik questioned his faith, religious beliefs, and the concepts of right and wrong. While the pandemic allowed ample time for reflection, Otik translated these thoughts into music from his Peckham-based studio, later finding a home on 3024's evolving discography. Keen to release a body of work that explores the journey of enlightenment and the struggles to get there, Otik drew inspiration from the luminary filmmaker Terrence Malick and how Malick portrayed ideas and philosophies in films like The Tree of Life and Voyage of Time. As a result, the record conveys a compelling narrative of rebirth, told through exquisite sound design and a push-pull pace that oscillates across the album.

Review: Long based sax supremo Nubya Garcia's debut album was a real thing of beauty so it only makes sense it now gets revisited by a team of super remixers for this special Record Store Day release. Presented on limited edition turquoise marbled vinyl it opens with Makaya McCraven's airy and floaty light remix of 'Source' before DJ Tahira layers up 'Stand With Each Other' with ethno-grooves that are loose and off kilter. That tumbledown vibe continues on the scruffy deep house version of 'Together Is A Beautiful Place To Be' by Shy One before big jazz house feels from Mark De Clive-Lowe close things down.

Review: It seems that Record Store Day 2022 isn't done yet as we get this limited 12" just for the occasion from Sun's Signature. It is an EP of five tracks by vocalist Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins and percussionist Damon Reece who has worked with Spiritualized, Massive Attack and Lupine Howl. The music is an experimental fusion of folk, synth and downtempo and is a fine offering for a debut release. After so long in the works it's a delight to finally have a finished product from this forward looking pair.

Review: Despite the title sounding like an archive collection, 1994 is actually the debut album from OKRAA. It has an emphasis on live performance and makes for a gorgeously immersive and even evolving listen from the aways excellent A Strangely Isolated Place label. All four pieces are over with minutes but they are worthy of their playing time for the way so much unfolds in such engaging fashion. Synths are cold and innocent on 'Ola De Luz' while 'Heartless' is more textural, dark, heavy in its mood. The title track is another heavy and introspective one while 'Plasma' has a more optimistic feel that lifts the spirts.