Ism At Juno Download

Review: After releasing his debut full-length on Bear Funk earlier this year, Croatian synth-disco specialist Ilija Rudman returns to ISM with two of his most interesting productions to date. "Crazy With You" - available in original, dub and lively Yam Who remix flavours - is arguably Rudman's most polished production yet, coming on like classic NYC boogie stripped back to its bare bones (think slap bass, Fairlight stabs, cowbells and a great vocal). "Let This Dream Be Real" continues on the same path, this time pushing a mid-80s soul vibe. It's similarly well produced and comes backed with a delicious nu-disco meets vaguely Balearic deep house remix from Disco Dirtbox.

Review: Containing the combined talents of members of Faze Action and Yam Who, Killer Whale might just be the super group of the nu disco genre. On their debut EP King Of New York they pay tribute to legendary NYC porducer Arthur Russell with cover versions of two of Russell's most famous Loose Joints tracks. Neither of Killer Whale's versions of "Tell You (Today)" or "Is It All Over My Face" deviate very far from the original tracks and instead are very faithful recreations with the sort of expert musicianship you'd expect from the people involved. Of the three remixers, edit don Leo Zero wins out with his percussion heavy extended club dub "Tell You (Today)" with the piano riff floating atop the submerged sax and vocals.

Review: Previously, vocalist Natasha Watts has largely appeared on a range of soulful house cuts, working with the likes of Aaron Ross and Richard Earnshaw. Here, she flips the script and delivers an EP revivalist boogie jams for Yam Who's ISM imprint. It's a smart move. Opener "Rock With U Tonight" sets the tone, delivering a dubbed-out mix of spacey synths, rubbery bass and Larry Levan levels of delay. "Giving It All To Me" continues on a similar theme, sounding so authentic that it could have been released on Prelude or Vanguard in the Spring of 1983. Best of all, though, is "Touch Me (All Night Long)", a brilliant, strung-out cover of the Fonda Rae club classic of the same name.

Review: Here, original 1970s jazz-funk/disco-soul combo Odyssey have been tempted out of retirement to re-record some of their best-known hits and fan favourites in the company of London producer Yam Who. They're lucky in some regards that they're in the company of a talented and sympathetic producer, because in the wrong hands "Legacy" could have been a dog's dinner. As it is, it works brilliantly, with now familiar favourites like "Use It Up & Wear It Out" and "Inside Out" given tasteful but distinctly different updates that should appeal to die-hard fans and newcomers alike.

Review: For disco heads, this Odyssey remix set should be an exciting prospect. Admittedly, the tracks being remixed are their 2011 re-recordings (originally seen on last summer's Legacy album) rather than the 70s and 80s originals, but don't let that put you off - especially as some of the reworks are superb. There's plenty of delightfully floor-friendly fodder on show, from Ray Mang's guitar-flecked re-invention of "Use It Up & Wear It Out" and Flash Atkins' Shaft-goes-dub-disco take on "Don't Tell Me Tell Her" to the everything-but-the-kitchen sink antics of Faze Action and DJD. While not every mix hits the spot, there's more than enough to warrant further investigation.

Review: Since recording all new versions of their classic hits with producer Yam Who, Odyssey seem to have enjoyed a new lease of life. Here, they cover disco classic "Weekend" with a little help from original New York mix-master John Morales (who, as part of M+M, remixed the Class Action version). Morales provides four versions; a full vocal mix that sounds like a cross between the Phreek and Class Action versions, a delightfully cowbell-heavy Vocal Dub, and two instrumentals. Good as these mixes are, they're put in the shade by Ashley Beedle's version, which opts for a more swinging groove and some brilliant piano solo action. There's also an excellent bonus in the shape of Crispin J Glover's tough but groovy Boogie Dub of "Inside Out".

Review: Ron Basejam is the alter ego of keyboardist James Baron of Crazy P and Secret Stealth fame. Here he drops his superb full album for Yam Who's ISM label. Fans of Ron include the likes of Gilles Peterson (who put the charismatic ''Into My Life'' on the recent Brownswood Bubblers 5 compilation), DJ Harvey, Dam Funk, The Revenge and Greg Wilson, and it's easy to see why. The album trips through musical genres effortlessly taking elements of the past and fusing them with modern day production techniques. Ron's influences are all represented here, with touches of deep house, disco and melancholic dreamscapes set against jazzual synth funk-fired treatments and vocal sample snippet production. Definitely one to check.

Review: Following Ron Basejam's excellent Deep & Meaningless album comes this extra special remix package, crammed full of goodies from some of the most respected names in disco. As the production brains behind Crazy P, Jim Baron has crafted some sublime midtempo disco boogie beats in his day, and his new Ron Basejam project has been just as rewarding. For this set of mixes, ISM label boss Yam Who teams up with Ashley Beedle to smooth out "For The People, By The People" into a spacey slow-grooving jam, with drums that bring the old-school boogie flavour right up to date.

The Revenge gets the chance to string out the sublime and languid "No Jose" over nine epic minutes, building on a bedrock of shakers and the faintest taste of bass to give a masterclass in minimal arrangements. Crazy P's own Chris Todd takes on "Spirit" and makes the popping bassline (similar to Harvey Mason's "Groovin' You") the focus of the track - working perfectly with the laidback and sultry vocals. His Dubbed Out mix takes the track even deeper, adding superb congas and arranging the track to give it a strong and driving momentum. Killer Whale's Italo mix of "Is The Word" rounds things up perfectly - yet again another perfect midtempo beat with some crackling sine-synths that sparkle over the top. A great companion release to an already much-loved album, the remixes really do justice to the material.

Review: Whiskey Disco head honcho Sleazy drops out of the edit game for a second to serve up a shimmering nu-disco original. With far-away rushy vocals, slinky bassline and raw positivity dripping off the synths, this has potential to waterproof the summer in its groove juice. The remixes are pretty remarkable, too; Chris Massey gets heavy on the bass in a house-bound UKG way, Anthony Mansfield darkens things up with heady doses of psychedelia and acid in a way that's not dissimilar to a certain Andrew Weatherall. St Petersburg Disco Spin Club end the party with a series of classic house motifs processed with heaps of reverb and slinky breakbeats.

Review: A characterful - if a little motley - collective, Spektrum remain one of the most quirkiest, intriguing bands the UK electro movement gave us nearly ten years ago. With each member on different projects (including Filthy Dukes and Gabriel Prokofiev's many art-based adventures) Spektrum releases are hardly prolific, but when they drop they need serious attention. Like this ESG-meets-Prince-meets-B52s funk-up. Spiked with big eastern strings, a lolloping disco bassline and Lola's purring vocals, it's a sonic tonic that rings with instant warm familiarity. Like it beefier with slinkier bassline? Check Kiwi's remix. Need more disco drama? Check Yam Who's remix. Like a wee dram of dub with your disco? Check Maurice & Crittz remix. Job done.

Review: What was perhaps most thrilling about the early work of Off Key Hat pairing Leon Mayes and Darren Morris was its strange, oddball nature. Since leaving the now defunct Dissident imprint a few years back, they've progressively moved further towards a brand of oddball synth-pop that references Italo, electrofunk and acid just as much as early 80s new wave and alternative pop. Dangerous Machine, their debut album, completes that journey. With regular vocalist Michelle Manetti in fine voice, it features 10 powerful, leftfield synth-pop moments that veer from the wobbly and wonky ("Night Of The Off Key Hat") and sweet and funky ("Super Sound Single", "Emergency Calling") to the downright dirty (the Goldfrapp-ish "Lairy Lil' Junkie").

Review: Following the release of their well-received Dangerous Machine LP, The Off Key Hat get the remix treatment from Linton Brown and Seed. For those who've been following the synth-obsessed trio's career, Linton Brown's remixes in particular will come as something of a shock. He does his best to turn "Burnt Out Beach" into a radio-friendly, student-rave banger - all big piano and synth riffs and dubstep-pop beats. Seed's version of "Lairy Lil Junky" offers a more atmospheric dubstep take that wobbles impressively. Best of all, though, is the bonus cover version of Arctic Monkeys' hit "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" - a proper weirdo synth-pop take that's worth the admission price alone.

Review: ISM Records' two Futurism EPs have proved so popular that label boss Yam Who has decided to use them as the inspiration for an expansive compilation of previously unreleased gems. Unlike the label's other popular strand, Midnight Riot, there's always been a bit more of an open-minded, eclectic feel about the Futurism releases. This is no different. Whilst rooted in nu-disco and deep house, Futurism: Shades of Space also touches on 21st century jazz-funk (Manmademusic), bongo-laden spiritual house (Nu Ak's "Fly Away"), fluid garage (Nega Tiv's excellent "Liquid Call"), woozy Balearica (Ben La Desh and Plan DAqua), block party boogie (Questlife feat Wildstyle, Freekwency) and nu-jazz (Hamish Balfour). More importantly, the quality threshold remains high throughout.

Review: This sampler for the second volume of ISM's Futurism series is packed with synth-laden boogie-house treats. PBR Streetgang man Bonar Bradberry impresses with opener "Stop & Look", a classic chunk of synth-laden house goodness that has "festival banger" written all over it. There's also a rather tasty DRMC rework of "This Way Up", which offers a surprisingly deep and sparse vibe. Even better is Damir K Ragina's "Funk Divine", a driving chunk of electrofunk revivalism that seemingly storms through its six-minute duration. As if that wasn't enough to get the juices flowing, there's also a tasty Free School rework of "Set It Free" that's worth the admission price alone.

Review: It seems that we're not the only ones to have noticed the recent rise of Mexican disco-not-disco, and more specifically the anything-goes fusion antics of the Electrique Musique label. ISM head honcho Yam Who has been paying close attention, and here compiles a showcase featuring tracks the label and related Mexican artists. There's much to admire, from the wide-eyed Balearic disco shuffle of Zombies in Miami and the head-nodding, toe-tapping house shuffle of Mr Jones, to the post-punk electrofunk of Avanti and dayglo Prince grooves of Thomass Jackson. Listing all the highlights is near impossible, so just dive in - you won't be disappointed.

Review: There's been plenty of online chatter about this collection of slo-mo groovers, pitched-down disco edits and soft-focus midtempo deep house from Yam Who's ISM label. It's not hard to see why. It pretty much features all of the artists making their name on the slo-mo scene - Matthew Kyle, Rayko, 78 Edits, Sleazy McQueen, Heion etc - alongside familiar names pitching it down a notch or two (Yam Who, Trujillo, Ajello etc). There are some great slow house contributions, from the touchy-feely goodness of Martin Ruez' "Golden Sugar" and the low-slung stoner funk of Mr Chicago's "Bad Dub", to the snugly 80s soul/AOR flex of Magnetic Soul's "Head Over".

Review: Yam Who?'s ISM label come through with a four track slice of disco centric Futurism, featuring the man Yam himself alongside PBR Streetgang and Ron Basejam. It's the latter who takes the lead with a remix of Alena's "Changes" that sees her sultry vocal teased by a most excellent of analogue synth leads that splurges brilliantly across the crisp mid tempo chug. Yam Who? teams up with vocalist Natasha Watts for the similarly bottom heavy bump of "I'm In Love" which has a certain warehouse appeal to it. Up next, PBR pay respect to the godfather of soul James Brown with the gritty flex of "J2thaB" with the sadly departed Mr Brown strangely sounding at times like he wants to go to Tesco. We always took him for a Waitrose man, but regardless this is probably the track you'll reach for most! Finally Brothers Young do their thing to a Trammps classic, with little more than the bassline retained. Big tip!