Review: Collections of contemporary disco, funk and boogie grooves seem to be one of the very few consumer items NOT currently experiencing "supply chain issues" in this post-pandemic world of ours - there's no shortage of them around, is there? This Bomb Strikes comp, though, stands out from the herd for its sheer stylistic breadth. The album kicks off at the hip-hop-, funk- and soul-infused end of the spectrum, with cuts from the likes of Ivo Fitzroy and The Allergies, and slowly works its way up, via some more straight-up disco stompers in the mid-section, into uptempo disco-house territory. Possibly the only place you'll find Natasha Kitty Kat rubbing shoulders with The Hot 8 Brass Band, it's a pleasingly varied set that, as such, should find favour with a wide range of buyers.
Review: Slightly Transformed bring us the latest installment in their occasional compilation series, which follows on from 'Summer Numbers 2019' and 'Summer Numbers 2020'. Regular visitors to this page should need no introduction to the respected London-based label, and with the album packing a whopping 26 tracks, there's certainly no space to give you a full blow-by-blow rundown: suffice to say that whether you're a fan of sparkling boogie nouveau, sumptuous string-drenched disco, deep 'n' groovy house, headnoddin' Balearica or any combination thereof, this is a comp you're gonna want to check for. Standouts for yours truly include Kiosko 33's Chuck Roberts-biting 'Theory Of House' and Kristoff MX's 'Funk With Me', but you'll find your own I'm sure...
Review: The ever-reliable Mathmos returns with five typically high-calibre disco cuts. First up is 'Addio Ragazzo Ciao', which is laidback, lounge-y and summery, with an Italian vocal and an overall late 70s vibe. That's followed by 'Ragazza Dub', which tones down the lounge/pop elements and brings the bass to the fore, while elsewhere 'Feel It' reworks The Jones Girls' 'Nights Over Egypt', 'You And Me' is redolent of mid-70s barrio funk outta Spanish Harlem, while 'Where Is The Party' is another more funk-oriented workout with a little added Madhouse-style wonk. Whether these are best regarded as re-edits or simply as sample-heavy productions may be in doubt - their sheer danceability is not.
Review: A new release from Dave Mathmos is always something that pricks up this reviewer's ears and this latest four-track offering is no exception. 'You Are The Best' kicks things off, opening in dusty, looping territory before blossoming into a richly produced, sunshine-friendly disco-houser. 'Jazz Graveyard' looks largely to 70s jazz-funk for inspiration, while 'Disco Is My Religion' takes us down a more soulful route - think The Sunburst Band, Opolopo, etc. The EP's then completed by 'Make The Story Shorter', which comes on like stomping late 60s soul as viewed through a disco-house prism. Classy stuff all round.
Review: With 23 tracks to choose from, there's no faulting the value for money offered by this summer compilation from London's Slightly Transformed label. Such an extensive tracklist also offers plenty of scope for stylistic variety, with tracks ranging from laidback, groovesome boogie/soul jams like opener 'What Are We Gonna Do' to the mellow Balearic haze of 'Summer In The City', via the strident 80s attitude of 'Edgy', the looping filter disco of 'Something About Love', the authentic-sounding Blaxploitation funk of 'Mac And Carly Go Uptown', the Zapp/Cameo-isms of 'Firebabe' and even a bossa nova cover of Bill Withers. Serve poolside, accompanied by several mojitos, for maximum impact!
Review: Having recently notched up a sixth year in business, Fingerman's Hot Digits imprint is in a celebratory mood - hence this all-action round-up of recent delights and unheard treats from the disco-loving label. Encompassing no less than 30 tunes, the collection giddily skips between warming beatdown disco (P-Sol's "Walter"), Mark E style slo-mo loop jams (Vigi's "I'll Be There") and glassy-eyed Balearic nu-disco (Picklejam's "Untitled Love"), before raising its hands skywards as the peak-time party-starters begin to appear thick and fast. Highights in this category include the vibrant jazz-house flex of Dexter Jones' "Swing Thing", the bustling boogie re-edit business of Monsieur Von Pratt's "Let's Dance" and the hearty disco-funk heaviness of Chewy Rubs' "Funky Bee Bop".
Review: Australia's Dave Mathmos brings us a five-track re-edit EP that digs impressively deep for inspiration. 'Slick Talk' revisits Asha Puthli's 1976 Indo-disco nugget 'Space Talk' (a favourite at The Loft) and is every bit as hypnotic and sensual as the original. 'Just... A Lonely Soul' reworks Labi Siffre's 'I Got The' from 1975 (the source for Eminem's 'My Name Is') and comes in hazy, druggy Part 1 and more immediately floor-friendly Part 2 forms, while finally 'Sell The House' and the fairly self-explanatory 'Sell The Dub' are based on a 1976 Ashford & Simpson album cut of the same name.
Review: Earlier in the year, Italian-Australian producer Dave Mathmos sent many hearts fluttering via a killer EP of mid-tempo reworks on DJ Supermarket's Too Slow To Disco edits series. This time round he's in a more up-tempo mood, with opener "Why Don't You" offering a peak-time ready, house-friendly rework of disco classic "Spread Love" that allows the original vocals, horns and orchestration plenty of room to breathe. "Colinandro" is similarly weighty and upbeat, with Mathmos sprinkling a little contemporary dancefloor magic over a downlow disco-funk workout. Elsewhere, "The Dude" is an excellent pitched-down revision of another heady slab of disco-funk, while "Sexy Tortellino" is a mid-tempo bubbler that layers dubbed-out snippets from a familiar disco-funk favourite over a chunky, locked-in groove.
Review: More midtempo yet still eminently danceable grooves here from DJ Supermarket's Too Slow To Disco camp, this time coming courtesy of Italian-Australian producer Dave Mathmos. He turns his hand to re-editing two dancefloor classics from the 70s, with the lazy, laidback and Balearic 'Your Love (Contemporary Soul Mix)' biting the vocal from Ben E King's 1975 disco hit 'Supernatural Thing', while Rose Royce's 'Love Don't Live Here Any More' forms the basis of 'You Abandoned Me (Dave Mathmos Interpretation)', with a single line of the vocal looped up over house-y pianos and a slo-mo electro bassline.
