Review: Put on your gladdest of drags and hit the main thoroughfare; for his debut album Reynolds is taking us to town and he's doing it with serious sonic style. Down To The Strip is a hazy, dusky balmy LA Miami night circa 1985. An album built up around the warmest filters, clever samples and velvet synths cruising at a smooth mid tempo and surprising with plenty of twists in the tale; highlights include the bending chords and slouching breaks of "Hold On", the sublime hypnosis of "Under The Moon", the strange jazzy spring of "Oh!" and the Roule style loopy finesse of "Chuggin Edits". Time to strip things back.
Review: Reversing the usual process, this EP of disco edits begins with a disco-fied take on a house classic, and not the other way around! Adeva's 'In And Out Of My Life' is the classic in question, and Birdee makes a fine fist of the repurposing job he's done. So, too, have Chuggin' Edits with 'Sat Feev', a cheeky Bee Gees refix, though your view on that may vary depending on what you think of the original. Elsewhere on the EP, Soul Avengerz' 'Right For Me' (original source unknown) is a solid disco houser, while Chewy Rubs take us back to the early 80s with their re-edit of The Real Thing's 'Foot Tappin''.
Review: It would be fair to say that Chuggin Edits Volume 1 does exactly what its' title promises. While closer "If There's Love Don't Throw It Away" reaches the dizzy heights of 120 BPM - along the way stretching and dubbing out a swirling, string-drenched chunk of loved-up disco-soul - the EP's other two tracks are slow, smooth, hypnotic and groovy. Choose between the walking bassline, sensual vocals, jazzy solos and head-in-the-clouds vibe of "The Cost Of Love", and "So Glad You're Mine", a toe-tappin', head-noddin', summer soul cool-down full of loose drum breaks, fuzzy horns and razor-sharp strings.
Review: Chuggz is back! Once again flexing between neat digs and familiar finds, he kicks off 2018 the way he climaxed 2017 - with serious funk and flare. "Don't Let It Go 2 Ur Hed" makes you pull up your jeans and pay attention with its lush waving vocals and rolling groove, the string-laden "Keep On Doing Wot Ur Doin" will make you shout 'bo' in the most sensual hip-slinked way imaginable, "Maskerade" is a work of cosmic downbeat dreamy wonder while "Bye!" is a straight up walrus of a dreamboat. Let's hope he's not saying goodbye for too long....
Review: With a whole string of tasty releases on a variety of top labels, Gary 'Chuggin Edits' Poulter has been a busy fellow this past six months. The Essex based DJ held a residency at the last Days of Shoreditch Summer 2017. He finally comes to Hot Digits Music with a hot five tracker full of quality cut and paste joints! From the pumping and hypnotic loops of "Pay The Price" (nailing that early French Touch vibe) via some soul-funk sources, there's also "31 Flavours" which goes for that Salsoul feel. Finally, he saves the best for last on two sultry and slo-mo resplices on the low slung tip, such as "Windy" and "My Drifting Mind" respectively.
Review: The Chuggin Edits crew is renowned for serving up, well, chugging disco reworks. We were a little surprised, then, when we discovered that they've pushed up the tempo a little on this latest Bandolier excursion. This is not a criticism, though, because all three tracks hit the spot. We're particularly enjoying "I Get Satisfied", a bouncy, brilliantly edited and subtly tooled-up version of a jazz guitar and Hammond organ-powered funk workout slightly reminiscent of Mr Scruff's "Get a Move On". Elsewhere, "Boogie Business" is a densely percussive, trumpet-heavy jazz-funk-neets-disco-house slammer, while "Funky Music" is a hazy, flute-heavy chunk of summery, mid-tempo bliss.
Review: It's been a bumper year for fans of Chuggin Edits trademark band of sample-heavy disco revisionism and throbbing, mid-tempo edits. This outing on Slightly Transformed follows on from fine EPs for Alpaca Edits, FKR, Midnight Riot, Hot Digits and Bandolier. "I Know I Know" is, naturally, something of a loopy chugger; a spacey, AOR disco/Italo-disco style throb job that radically transforms a much-loved cosmic disco classic in mesmerizing fashion. Limpdisco is on hand to provide the obligatory remix, providing a revision that's closer in tone and style to the Gaz Nevada classic that inspired the Chuggin revision.
Review: Back in July 2016, we commented that Chuggin' Edits debut release - a fine E.P of largely slo-mo toe-tappers - did "exactly what its' title promises". The same could easily be said of this first outing on Alpaca Edits. "What Choo Gonna Do" sees the mystery editor make merry with one of disco's most sensual end-of-night head-nodders, Stephanie Mills' peerless "Wha Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin'". He or she expertly extends key instrumental passages whilst retaining Mills' brilliant vocal, the result being an extended period of pleasure. On the virtual flip, the chief chugger takes his or her scalpel to Lowrell's brilliant "Mellow, Mellow Right On", making it rise and fall in all the right places.
Review: When Chuggin' Edits made their debut on FKR a few years back, their reworks tended towards the slow, groovy and head-nodding. As time has gone on, they've slowly ratcheted up the tempo in a bid for peak-time glory. This first outing on Disco Fruit continues that trend, laying down mid-tempo groovers primed to get feet moving out on the floor. Choose between the Hendrix style guitar solos, low-slung disco grooves, swirling strings and punchy horns of "Pick Me Up", the woozy deep house-disco warmth of "Satisfying", the flash-friend, disco-house stomp of "Splank" and EP highlight "Stomp!". With its cosmic synth swirls, glass-cut strings, elastic bass and hard-wired funk guitars, the track offers a perfect balance between intergalactic daydreaming and weighty dancefloor chops.
Review: 2018 was a big year for the fast-rising Chuggin Edits crew. Over 12 hectic months the mysterious rework merchants released eight EPs, flitting between such solid labels as Midnight Riot, Alpaca Edits, Masterworks Music, Hot Digits and Slightly Transformed. In contrast, this three-track outing on Re-Loved is, somewhat surprisingly, their first outing of 2019. Up first is the sparkling, filter-heavy, French Touch style disco-house of "My Life Will Never Be The Same Again", a celebratory outing that makes merry with choice loops from a glassy-eyed 1980s workout. "With You" is a driving revision of a soaring disco workout rich in puncy horns and delay-laden group vocals, while "Tell Me" is a low-down disco-funk throb-job laden with fuzz-tone guitar riffs, squally horns and urgent vocals.
Review: Fresh from showcasing his trademark brand of hypnotic dancefloor reworks on Seamus Haji's Re-Loved imprint, sometime Midnight Riot and Hot Digits artist Chuggin Edits makes his first appearance on Alpaca Edits for almost a year. There's much to admire across the five-track EP, from the Saccharine sweetness of drowsy Balearic rework "We Are Devotion" (the kind of softly spun AOR pop edit that screams "end of night jam"), to the triple-time blue-eyed soul cut-up of "Bit By Bit", via the 1980s Barry White haziness of "The Peach" and sun-kissed, trumpet-sporting warmth of the EP's superb closing cut, "Pleasure". In other words, it's another fine collection of unlikely, Balearic-minded reworks for steamy sunsets and tactile sunrises.
Review: Fast-rising DJ/producer Ruff Diamond is the man at the controls for this sun-kissed sprint though beach-friendly nu-disco jams, warm and groovy re-edits and Balearic boogie workouts. His selections are naturally spot on, from the languid nu-boogie shuffle of Sweetooth's superb "Soul Singing" and the drowsy, synth-laden D-Train-goes-to-the-beach warmth of RobJamWeb's "Frontin' & Maxin", to the Latin-fired disco-house bounce of Frank Virgilio's "Hi Sombrero" and the ultra-deep and sultry nu-disco loveliness of Bobsi's "Beached". Further highlights are provided by Rayko, Chuggin' Edits, Cuz Electric and main man Ruff Diamond, whose "Run To Berrinas" is undoubtedly one of his most alluring productions to date.
Review: Here's something you can feel good about buying: a charity collection of re-edits and original productions that aims to raise fund for testicular cancer research. The Alpaca Edits crew has done a superb job in rounding up contributions from some of this generation's most popular scalpel fiends, including '80s Child, Dr Packer, Fingerman and Fabiolous Barker. Highlights come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, from the head-nodding, horn-heavy funk of Rafael Fernandez's "Uh-Oh", and Stephen Richards' house-friendly Kool & The Gang rework ("Fresh"), to the piano-totin', boogie brilliance of Bad Barbie Vs Evil Smarty's "Loose Juice", and Goldboy's standout nu-disco jam "Under Game".
Review: The first installment of the Masterworks' Bag Of Tricks series went down a treat upon its summer release. Now it's the autumn and they've rustled up some more edits, 15 in fact, again featuring some big names on the nu-disco scene. This new comp will one and all swinging from the rafters from fireworks parties to Christmas knees-ups. Highlights include the Cathy Dennis-sound-alike cowbell jam "You Know How" by RobJamWeb, the swaggering guitar strut of "The Walk" by Silver Rider and Rabo & Snob's quirky, perky hiNRG pumper "Harry Rama".
Review: Nu-disco hero 80s Child has come a long way since Masterworks Vol 1, the inaugural release on his Masterworks label a year and a half ago. Now we have the follow-up and it reveals how the label's sound has grown. There are 26 sizzling bangers on board this time, boasting a million delirious dance floor moments. Highlights of which include the fizzy thump-funk of 80s Child's "Computerized", Peza's doomy analogue electro mash up "Filmed Message" and the smooth, synthetic boogie of "Much Too Much" by Deelicious.
Review: Not to be confused with the techno-minded Dutch label of the same name, this Deep Sense is based out of Mexico, they have a penchant for the funkier side of the dance and the cheekier side of edit culture. They proved it on their inaugural voyage in November 2014, and they're proving it once again right here... Kicking off with the sax-massaging jack-jam "The Road To Kalakuta" the whole album is an instant party full of sassy sonic surprises. Highlights include the dusty vinyl crackles and heaving harmonics of Rafael Fernandez's "Nothing's Changed", the epic synth-slapping cosmicity of Funk My Jesus "24K", the classic funk guitar squeezes of Chuggin Edits "We Got The Funk". And that's just a handful of party peals to be harvested from this 16-track heavy album. Bon voyage indeed!
Review: We should probably think of this tasty compilation as an early Christmas present from Danny Worrall's Masterworks Music imprint. Removing the gift wrap reveals a veritable selection box of disco, boogie and nu-disco treats. Worrall kicks things off with the wiggly synth lines and looped grooves of "What Would You Do" (a re-edit of a well-known, singalong synth-disco anthem) before handing over the reins to a succession of well-regarded re-editors and producers. Highlights come thick and fast, from the sax-laden disco-house bounce of Hotmood's "This is How I Do" and the Clavinet-sporting disco-funk throb of the Funk District's "Holiday Bounce", to the soaring peak-time disco of Downunder Disco's "Party Down" and Chewy Rubs' cheeky, Moodymann-meets-Todd Terje loop jam "Future Love".
Review: To kick-start a fourth year of disco-fuelled madness, Hot Digits chief Fingerman has put together this sizeable compilation of previously unheard exclusives. As you'd expect, there's far more killers than fillers to be found amongst the 28-track deep selection or re-edits and original productions. Highlights include the clarinet-laden electrofunk-meets-disco bounce of Frank Virgilio's "It's Your Boogie Baby", the disco-goes-hip-hop flex of Tony Disco's delicious "Rolling Paper", the sparkling nu-disco goodness of "When It Comes To Funk" by Stephen Richards, the driving disco-house bump of Ash Reynolds' "Cold Girl" and the fuzzy electrofunk wobble of Don Dayglow's "Many Things". Throw in fine contributions from Chewy Rubs, Le Visiteur, norse man Jarle Brathen and, of course, Fingerman, and you have a must-buy collection of cuts.
Review: The third edition in Midnight Riot's White Isle-friendly compilation series arrives right on time for the summer and brings back a huge package full of sublime cosmic & spiritual soundtrack from around the globe. No surprises from the label, it's packed with hypnotic delights with touches of blue eyed soul, slo mo disco and tropical low slung groovers. Upping the standard it contains unreleased tracks & Balearic revisions from many of the Midnight Riot crew featuring Shalvoy & Hifi Sean, FSQ, Jack Priest, Northern Souls, Chewy Rubs, Dim Zach, Chuggin' Edits & Steve Cobby (Fila Brazillia) plus loads more all curated by label boss Yam Who?
Review: If you dig Masterworks Music's celebratory, feel-good approach to disco re-edits and reworks, we'd advise picking up this bulging, 26-track collection of killer cuts from the label's recent past. It begins with a superb disco-funk cut-up by The Funk District and ends with a smooth, rolling and glassy eyed boogie-era disco revision by Saskin S that's almost worth the admission price on its own. In between, you'll find a swathe of superb revisions from some of the edit scene's finest - South Beach Recycling, Hotmood, Chewy Edits and Dr Packer included - with the selected tracks variously touching on electrofunk, boogie, P-funk, Latino disco and super-sweet '80s soul.
Review: Fingerman's Hot Digits label has now notched up 50 releases. To celebrate this landmark occasion, the man himself has selected 25 of his favourite cuts from the label's rapidly expanding back catalogue. As a showcase for everything that's good about the imprint, it does a bang up job, gleefully jogging between exotic mid-tempo disco and disco-funk (Frank Virgilio, Dr Packer, The funk District), slo-mo disco-acid (Fingerman's tremendous rework of B-Jam's "Sundog"), kaleidoscopic, reworked '80s boogie business (Casual Connection, Melon Bomb, the hard-tweaked filters and heady loop business of Chewy Rubs), tried-and-tested party-starters (Smashed Atoms, Get Down Edits remixing Stephen Richards) and giddy peak-time workouts (Shit Hot Soundsystem, Dave Gerrard, Thomas Maslo, Kiu D). As the old saying goes, this is all killer, no filler.
Review: York might not be the disco capital of the world, but the way the gang at Alpaca Edits carry on it might just as well be! They've been trotting out world class soul, disco and funk edits for a good while now, and here they deliver the second instalment of their compilation in aid of testicular cancer support. There are 15 quality scalpel jobs this time around, with highlights including the rumbling, evening poolside boogie of "I Need A Drink" by Hotmood, the punchy electro-disco of "Head Lights' by Stephen Richards and the white-hot 70s disco rock of "I'm A Man" Pontchartrain.
Review: Thunder Jam's latest release is something of a sprawling epic; a 23-track "Invasion" featuring some of the hottest names in the re-edit and nu-disco scenes, alongside contributions from lesser-known talents. There's much to admire throughout, from the low-slung boogie bass and cut glass disco strings of Phil Da Burn's "Wallflower" and the spacey synth-funk of Funk Bank's wiggly "Jamming With The Thunder", to the bouncy disco/New Jersey garage fusion of BOI's "The Gift" and the straightened-out sunshine soul of Dee Bunk's "Little Brown Eye Girl". Throw in solid contributions from Don Dayglo, Belabouche, C Da Afro and Andy Buchan, and you've got a pleasingly varied set of floor-friendly excursions.
Review: With the sun finally making its presence felt in the UK, it seems a fitting time for Slightly Transformed to unleash this epic compilation of "Summer Numbers" - cheery, disco-fired chunks of positivity tailor made for al-fresco sets and celebratory shindigs. Featuring a mixture of tried-and-tested re-edits and sample-heavy original compositions, the 19-track set boasts a pleasingly high number of highlights. These include - but are no way limited to - the talkbox-sporting '80s disco/jazz-funk fusion of Shit Hot Soundsystem's "Be With You", the warm and woozy, synth-laden bliss of Chuggin Edits' "Floating", the slow and steady head-nod of Old Chaps wonderfully soulful "Flight With Love" and the fizzing disco rush of Limpdisco's "Gimme Mo". Get To Know's "Music" - a chunky revision of a jazz-funk era dancefloor destroyer by Dayton - is also excellent.
Review: Going by the volume of tracks on show, it would be fair to say that Masterworks Music's "Bag of Tricks" is not a little handbag, but more like a Mary Poppins style bottomless carpetbag. The label's latest rummage through its seemingly endless contents has been a successful one, with the 20 showcased cuts including a wealth of fine fusions of disco, house, boogie, electro and 80s soul. It's uniformly dancefloor-focused, with highlights including the Afro-house/disco-tech fusion of JB Dizzy, the driving, spaced-out disco-house grooves of Mike Woods, the loose-limbed, off-the-wall edits of Chewy Rubs, the sweet disco-soul bounce of RocknRolla Soundsystem, the delay-laden synth sing-along styles of Rayko and the hot-to-trot brilliance of Downunder Disco.
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: You're only five years old once, so why not celebrate in style? And here Warrington lad Danny Worrall's disco and re-edits label Masterworks Music do just that, with an anniversary collection packing a whopping 50 back catalogue nuggets. You'll excuse us the full track-by-track, then, but suffice to say that this is the label that helped launch the careers of Dr Packer and Natasha Kitty Katt, both of whom feature here, and with names like Ziggy Phunk, Rayko, Alkalino, Chuggin' Edits and Fabiolous Barker also on bill, you should already have a pretty good idea what to expect. Classy stuff all round, and a great VFM package - here's to five more years!
