Review: Draw a line from boogie to Balearica, via Italo disco and deep house, and somewhere along that arc you'll find this latest V/A collection from Manchester's long-running Paper Recordings. Crazy P have been in the Paper camp since the early days so are a fitting choice to open proceedings with the gloriously hazy 'Last Knockers', after which other standouts for yours truly include the slow-building, prog-leaning acid of Anisto Tropics' 'Topaz', Natasha Kitty Katt's typically infectious remix of Diskobeistet's 'Gammal Morro' and the sunny, summery disco-house of Benny Pitcher's 'Transatlantic Motion', until finally MADe's 'You're The One' plays us out on a mellower, more downtempo note.
Review: Nearly 30 years in the game and the Paper crew don't show any signs of slowing down in their old age just yet, as they bring us this 22-track collection that, just in case the title wasn't clear, showcases the best of their disco/nu-disco output from the past 10 years or so. Featuring cuts from the heavy-hitting likes of Yam Who?, Bill Brewster, Late Night Tuff Guy, Fingerman, Richard Norris, Andy Buchan, Flash Atkins, Girls Of The Internet and James Rod, you shouldn't need us to tell you how good this compilation is. But just to be clear, it's really very, very good indeed...
Review: Label co-owner Flash Atkins is at the controls for this second celebration of Paper Music's first 25 years. While there's a smattering of material from the label's first 15 years, the majority of Atkins' selections come from releases put out over the last decade. Like its' predecessor, it's an action-packed affair full of high quality cuts. Standouts include the swirling nu-disco bliss of Rave-Enka's "Honningen", the hazy lounge-jazz-meets-house sleaziness of Diskobeistet's "Birklunden", the piano-powered chunkiness of Leon Sweet's "Beat Slave Auto", the analogue deep house bubbliness of Doc L Junior's "Twilight" and the early morning deep house hypnotism of Ryan Kick's remix of Space Coast's "Just Past Midnight". Best of all, though, is the TB-303-powered hypno-house insanity of Ralph Myerz and The Kosmik Diamondz 14-minute "Acid 4 Eddie".
Review: In case you haven't noticed, Paper Recordings has been on fire in the 18 months that have passed since Paper Cuts volume three landed. Further proof is provided by volume four of the label's "best of" series, which adds a couple of unheard exclusives - the sparkling, ever-building nu-disco headiness of Bachgenaur's "Steady Drummer" and Vinny Villbass's Metro Area-ish instrumental re-make of Diskobeistet's "Birkelunden" - to a tight list of 2016 and 2017 highlights. These include (but aren't limited to) Chris Massey's rubbery, funk-fuelled tweak of 2 Billion Beats' "Sold My Soul", the glassy-eyed, sunset-friendly warmth of Crazy P's "Last Knockers", the organic haziness of Steve Cobby's "Boule De Suif" and the soulful house/nu-disco fusion of DJ Spinna's ace rework of Soundersons' "Can't Get Enough".
Review: Following an extended hiatus, Daco returns to Paper Recordings with an EP stuffed full of high-grade dancefloor moments. Opener "The Uprise" is particularly potent, featuring as it does a killer combination of "I Feel Love" style arpeggio bass, Kraftwerkian computer vocals, driving beats, spacey chords and some superbly manipulated spoken word samples ("the money, the drugs, the oil, the guns, the war, the uprising!"). It's followed by a proto-house and Italo-disco influenced alternative version that is arguably even closer in tone to vintage Giorgio Moroder, while bonus cut "Faith" is a deep, woozy and dreamy chunk of Balearic house laden with melancholic strings and a superb vocal by Mikey Raphael.
Review: Paper Disco's Trash The Wax compilation series certainly offers a lot of bang for your buck. This fourth installment continues the trend, serving up 22 tried-and-tested dancefloor jams for disco-loving DJs. As usual, the selected tracks are a mixture of killer edits (Ed Wizard & Disco Double Dee, Solid State, Electric Pendergrass, DJ Rocca & Chris Massey), sparkling remixes (a tasty '80s electrofunk rework of Reggie Got Beats' "It's On Tonight" by Norwegian eccentric Ralph Myerz), and stellar original productions (see 2 Billion Beats' "Bob", Daco's Gladys Knight-sampling throb-job "I Heard It", Picotropico's decidedly Balearic "Time Will Tell"). There's possibly a little more Italo-disco on this edition, but that's no bad thing - especially as the arpeggio-heavy cuts showcased here are universally excellent.
Review: Paper Recordings' reputation precedes them in house circles. Now however, they've bitten the bullet and dived into the deep end of the disco pool with this compilation (on sub label Paper Disco) of current nu-disco producers and edit heroes. It's a brave comp that tackles every interpretation of disco, including 2 Billion Beats' deep '80s synth groover "See Us Through", Richard Seabourne's bizarre funk-goes-doomy 303 workout "This Is Acid" and Mezman's bass heavy, dream-pad odyssey. We're looking forward to plenty more disco thrills from this new stable!
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