Review: Some 40-odd years since the legendary New York nightclub's late 1970s heyday, Studio 54 has decided to launch a label. Its first project is "Night Magic", a multiple-part release that features a crack team of contemporary NYC disco musicians delivering 21st century cover versions of tracks that once made the infamously hedonistic dancefloor move. EP one begins with long-time collaborators J Kriv and Adeline offering up a typically authentic (if slightly beefed up) re-imagining of Don Ray's "Lovin' Is Really My Game". The virtual B-side sees RickExpress add his effortlessly soulful vocals to another killer J Kriv production built around his famously expressive and rubbery disco bass: a delay-laden, bongo-heavy "Dub" of "Souvenirs", a track first made famous by Voyage. Both cuts are celebratory, addictive and very, very good.
Review: If this sounds like the work of NYC disco band Escort, there's a very good reason - both the producer "JKriv" and guest vocalist, Adeline, are both members of the band. The good news is that "Vertigo" is every bit as good as Escort's finest moments (think "Starlight", "Love in Indigo", "A Bright New Life" etc.), with Adeline providing a stellar vocal atop JKriv's killer bassline, pianos, strings and Nile Rodgers style guitars. The accompanying "Dub" rework is naturally a little heavier and more arpeggio-driven, with JKriv making great use of carefully placed dub delays and cosmic noises.
Review: Sometime Escort members JKriv and Adeline have already notched up one of the disco records of 2019 - the fantastic "Vertigo" on Z Records - and we'd not bet against "Yo Love" being similarly as successful. In its original and extended "Club Mix" forms, "Yo Love" sounds like a heartfelt tribute to Chic, with Adeline's headline-grabbing vocal rising above an insatiable backing track rich in unfussy disco drums, Bernard Edwards style bass, Nile Rodgers-esque guitars, subtle electric piano stabs and, on the longer version, Roy Ayers style vibraphone solos. In other words, it's a revivalist NYC disco treat. The accompanying instrumental Dub naturally is far more groove based and delay-laden, with extra percussion hits and plenty of selected vocal snippets echoing across the sound space.
Review: Second time around for JKriv and Adeline's "Vertigo", a revivalist disco treat that first appeared last autumn. The still-hot "Original Club Mix" (track three) sounds like a long lost cut from Brooklyn disco modernists Escort, a band that both JKriv and Adeline were members of. It's absolutely brilliant all told - think strong choruses, Nile Rodgers guitars, jangly pianos and walking bass - as is the dusty disco-house revision from Yuksek. Best of all though is the storming interpretation from Z Records chief Joey Negro, who wraps Adeline's vocal and JKriv's bassline in colourful new boogie synths and some classic disco-funk horns. There's no doubt about it, this will (rightly) be one of the biggest disco records of 2019.
Review: After previous outings on Get Physical and Resonance, Swedish producer Adeline comes to Damian Lazarus's Crosstown Rebels with a three-track, four-mix EP that showcases her unique musical style (sort of techno, sort of house, but not really tech-house) nicely. 'You*re Sick' is a midtempo (bordering on slo-mo) affair sporting an alt-R&B style vocal from Adeline herself, 'Dust To Bone' is a slightly pacier, more eyes-down deep tech cut and the warm-up friendly 'Rite De Passage' has a lighter touch, but arguably the standout here is a predictably classy Dub of the title track from French house legend D'Julz.
Review: Escort frontwoman Adeline is in fine form on "When I'm Alone", a revivalist leftfield disco cut that she co-produced with Morgan Willey from Brooklyn band Midnight Magic. With its walking bass, crunchy clavinets, woozy synths and fine lead vocal, it reminded us a little of Midnight Magic classic "Beam Me Up". Jacques Renault delivers a slightly heavier, house-influenced remix with subtle Italo-disco style arpeggio lines, as well as a percussion-heavy "Dubstramental" that's arguably even better. Dirty Channels offers "Remix" and "Dub" revisions that wrap the original's killer bassline in sweaty disco-house beats, while Adeline's sometime band mate JKriv joins forces with Underground System Afrobeat Peter Matson on a remix that sounds like vintage Escort with added dub delays.
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