Review: Birdee is a rising star of the nu-disco and re-edit scenes, so it makes perfect sense that Bomb Strikes has recruited him to curate and mix the latest volume in their excellent Disco Funkin' compilation series. As you'd expect, it's a thoroughly and joyous affair, rich in colourful synth sounds, funky disco basslines and beats that flit between housed-up heaviness and more organic-sounding, less pumped-up grooves. There are tons of essential cuts amongst the 25 unmixed tracks on show, with highlights including the sun-bright rush of Pete Herbert's remix of Da Chick's 'Chick a Boom', the crunchy Clavinet-sporting disco-funk of Shaka Loves You's 'Let's Move (SLY Disco Rub)', the slick French Touch style warmth of Birdee's own 'Thinking About You' and Ray Mang's celebratory revision of Smoove & Turrell's 'Do It'.
Review: For the latest volume in their popular Disco Funkin' compilation strand, Bomb Strikes has handed over curation duties to rising star and Midnight Riot regular Natasha Kitty Katt. The Edinburgh DJ/producer's selections are undeniably addictive and on-point, moving between heavyweight re-edits (see her collaboration with Twisted Soul Collective, 'Twisted Katt', solo disco-funk tweak 'Edgarr!' and Oliver Boogie's slamming 'Dance Band'), superior nu-disco originals (Phoenix's piano-heavy 'Nature Dance', Fouk's sample-heavy 'Cat Lady' and the slick boogie revivalism of Lovebirds' 'Give Me a Sign') and loopy disco-house treats (the contributions from Shaka Loves You, Birdee, Hotmood and Mark Lower). Those looking for fresh dancefloor ammunition will find much to enjoy, while the Scottish DJ's accompanying mix is as entertaining and excitable as they come.
Review: If tooled-up, house-friendly disco and boogie reworks is your thing, you should already be familiar with Seamus Haji's Re-Loved label. Here the long-serving DJ presents an expansive collection of high-grade edits, revisions and remixes from the label's recent past, plus a couple of bonus all-action DJ mixes. There's naturally not enough room to list all of the highlights, but our current favourites include the celebratory disco-house bump of Birdee's "Start The Weekend", a tasty combo of Class Action vocal snippets and sweeping, string-laden peak-time riches, the percussive Afro-disco/deep house fusion of Frank Virgilio's "Clouds", the sweaty, horn-heavy bump of Hotmood's bustling "We Got It", and the kaleidoscopic electrofunk colour of '80s Child's boogie-soul re-rub "Comin' Back 2 U".
Review: The world's most famous Irish-Iranian DJ/producer serves up a fourth collection of disco and boogie re-edits on his own Re-Loved label. The album features 19 full-length tracks plus two hour-long mixed versions from Haji himself, and the artist roster reads like a Who's Who of the re-edit scene, featuring as it does names like Dr Packer, Chewy Rubs, Birdee and Chuggin' Edits. What's most pleasing, though, is the non-obvious nature of the tracklist: sure, Ian Ossia's opener 'Someone To Count' borrows from Dennis Edwards but that's about as far as we got with trying to identity source material before shrugging our shoulders and just sitting back to enjoy...
Review: If you're after a near faultless selection of peak-time ready house and disco jams, this special Amsterdam Dance Event compilation from Yam Who's Black Riot could just be the ticket. There's a good mixture of fresh floor-fillers - see the sample-heavy, boompty style Chicago house pulse of The Phantom Revenge's "Workout Music", Phonik D's piano-laden disco-house romp "Talking Vintage" and the smooth, life-affirming deep house warmth of Thatmanmonkz's hazy revision of Amp Fiddler's "Your Love Is All I Need" - and recent revisions of classic cuts. In this category you've find a superb Hi-Fi Sean revision of Psychotropic's rave-era anthem "Hypnotic", a sparkling Kiko Navarro re-make of Kenny "Jammin" Jason's "Can U Dance 2015" and a wonderful, filter-sporting disco-house take on CN Williams "Mr Bump Man" by Yam Who and Jaegerossa.
Review: Midnight Riot serve up 18 tracks that encapsulate the house sound of Ibiza in 2019, with elements of tech-house and (nu) disco and a sprinkling of good old-fashioned vocal podium belters. Arther Baker's opening 'Reachin' (as remixed by Hi-Fi Sean and Yam Who?) is one example of the latter, while techier, struttier pleasures can be found on Benjamin Ferreira's ludicrously funky bass workout 'Aerosol'. Manc veterans DJ Paulette and Chris Massey join forces on another funk-fuelled rumbler, 'Sheroes', while deeper, more soulful vibes await on Jack Tyson Charles's 'Glory'. And if you like the sound of those there are 14 more very playable nuggets from the likes of Birdee, Lenny Fontana and Natasha Kitty Kat to choose from!
Review: ISM's tenth anniversary celebrations tend towards the epic, with the Yam Who-helmed label serving up a series of bulging retrospective compilations stacked to the rafters with imprint highlights, dancefloor hits and overlooked gems. This second selection boasts 24 more tried-and-tested ISM classics, from the rubbery disco-funk bounce of Birdee's "Chemistry" and the synth-laden electrofunk revivalism of Qwestlife's D-Train style revision of "Streetlife" by Natasha Watts, to the spiraling Balearic disco throb of Pete Herbert's killer remix of Gemini Brothers' "Jeckermich" and the piano-powered nu-disco-soul of Rocco Raimundo's "Higher Lovin", featuring the smooth vocals of Stee Downes. Other highlights include the boogie-soul revivalism of Sweetooth's "Make Believe" and the hypnotic deep house/electrofunk fusion that is Mark E's fine revision of Heion's "Follow Me".
Review: Notching up a decade in the business is big news for any label, so congratulations must go to Yam Who's ISM label. He's decided to mark the imprint's first decade in some style via a series of compilations that highlight some of the killer nu-disco, boogie, disco, house and Balearic jams nestling in ISM's bulging back catalogue. Highlights are plentiful throughout, from the Imagination-inspired electrofunk flex of Ron Basejam's killer rework of Alena's "Changes" and the synth-heavy rush of Balearic disco maestro Pete Herbert's revision of M Roberto & Nikolay Denev's "Be Yourself", to the breezy, soul-fired dancefloor warmth of Jonathan Ryno's "Don't Know Love" and Mark E's terrifically loved-up deep house tweak of Robot 84's "Lookin' For Love".
Review: Since making his debut at the dawn of the decade, Marcello De Angelis has delivered a string of fine EPs rich in colourful nu-disco, revivalist boogie and house-powered disco workouts. We always thought that he would be capable of making a cracking album, so it's heartening to see that his full-length debut, "Then Came The Sun", has proved us right. Vibrant and colourful throughout with plenty of authentic-sounding late '70s and early '80s production, the album's 11 tracks attractively sashay between sun-kissed Balearic disco, revivalist boogie business, slick '80s soul, deep house influenced breeziness and sumptuous dub disco. Highlights include - but are no way limited to - the bass-heavy bounce of "Love", the freestyle-goes-disco-house bump of "Chemistry", the D-Train style flex of "Tonite" and the peak-time fuzz of "Dinamo".
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