Review: Following his recent excursion into roots reggae, classy scalpel master Dr Packer is back to more familiar territory on the Funkibiotics EP. His formula is to take a slick vintage soul-funker and ever so gently tease it out whilst applying some light defibrillation to the vintage beats beneath. It works a treat on the sleek poolside grinder "Do That Again" and the brave acid-meets-70s-funk of "We Got The Acid Funk - also reworked in fine style by the mighty Fingerman.
Review: It's been an impressive debut year from Australian producer Greg Packer, whose re-edits and remixes under the Dr Packer alias have won him a legion of fans around the world. Here, he makes his Hotbox Boogie debut with a quartet of floor-friendly, house-focused reworks of disco and boogie classics. David Joseph's Paradise Garage classic "You Can't Hide You Love" gets a thickset, 21st century makeover on "Can't Hide", while a familiar talkbox-boasting electroboogie cut gets straightened out and toughened up on "Jam Right". Best of all, though, is "I Love Sunshine", a singalong deep house take on Maze's "Joy & Pain" which utilises elements from both the original and live versions of the track.
Review: Mysterious SoundCloud sensation Dr Packer returns with the follow-up to his popular Surgery Edits EP. His style - taking classic and little known disco, boogie and '80s soul jams and giving them a smooth, dubby deep house makeover - is undeniably attractive, and sympathetic enough to the original material to get the crate-diggers onside. There's plenty to excite among the six tracks showcased here, from the synth-bass laden sweetness of "Gimme Your Loving" and deep, soulful disco-house outing "2 The Bank", to the slap bass-boasting headiness of "Snap Shot" - all delay-laden vocal hits and hazy guitar solos - and wide-eyed disco release of "Running", whose source material should be familiar to all but the most inexperienced disco DJs.
Review: Antipodean disco dabbler, Dr Packer, will see you now. He's now reopened his surgery and this fifth volume is simply bursting with stuff that's good for you. There are eight new jams in total including the cheeky pop ragga of "Sensi", the well-oiled bass machine "Get Down" and electro-funk squelcher "One For Me". A fine remedy for any disco related ailment!
Review: Although known as a nu-disco re-edit label, Midnight Riot regularly prefers the synthy, glitzy soul side of the '80s. No problem there, as much of that stuff crossed over to the disco side of things in that wonderful era of musical cross-pollination. Leading the charge is "Touch Of Magic", which basically takes all the best bits of Rose Royce's 1984 tropical synth-soul gem Magic Touch and makes it ten times better, Elsewhere we get a further five more slices of this shizzle including the deep, almost Balearic "Paradise" and the totally buggin' freak funk of "Taxis In Space".
Review: Surgery Edits Vol 3 sees Aussie editor Dr Packer apply the knife to a selection of stone cold disco and funk classics. Extending and exciting at every opportunity, there's an emphatic headnod to the '80s throughout as we ignite with crisp revisions of both Jocelyn Brown's "Somebody Else's Guy" and Change's "Change Of Heart". As the doctor digs deeper we're treated to savage synth boogie badness by way of the slap-bass and horn heavy "Luv Ya Lady", a dubby dedication to George Benson's "Give Me The Night" and some cool filtered flurries on Lace's "Can't Play Around". Weighing in at near-album size, edit collections don't come much more extensive than this.
Review: Thwack! That's the sound of those rubber gloves being smacked on in preparation for the procedure that's about to commence. Don't worry though, it's not a cavity search, the mysterious Dr Packer is about to apply his precision scalpel skills to some vintage sounds in an operation bound to make these oldies seem younger, fresher, sexier, groovier. There are four incisions here, each as fine as the last. Highlights include the Hall & Oates goes Balearic roller "Want My Soul", the warm Italo goodness of "Smiling" and the swishy Loveboat-isms of "Give It All You Got".
Review: Having built up his reputation via a series of well-regarded re-edit releases, Australian producer Greg Packer has recently impressed with EPs of original music on Hotbox Boogie and Hot Digits. Here he returns to the latter with the expansive Diagnosis: Disco, a collection of tracks that expertly joins the dots between warm disco and slinky deep house. Highlights are plentiful, from the baggy, filter-heavy '80s soul shuffle of "Enuff Love" and the spiralling, near Balearic rush of "Hypnotizing", to the energetic throb of the gloriously synth-laden "Keep Doin' What You're Doin". Label boss Fingerman has a pop at remixing lead cut "Trip To The Galaxy", layering Packer's warm original elements with twinkling pianos, delay-laden vocal snippets and immersive deep house chords.
Review: Over the past 18 months, antipodean editor Dr Packer has quietly been building an impressive discography. Following releases on Midnight Riot, Z Records, DiscoDat, Hotbox Boogie and Hot Digits, the Perth-based scalpel fiend returns with a second EP for '80s Child's Masterworks Music imprint. This time round, he's chopping, looping and re-inventing disco and boogie classics. Highlights include a French Touch style disco-house re-touch of Loleatta Holloway's Salsoul classic "Love Sensation" ("Sensational Love"), a nu-disco re-make of "Last Night A Dj Saved My Life" ("Last Night"), an impeccable, straightened-out extension of the Nick Straker Band ("Stratosphere"), and a bumpin', ever-rising tweak of Skipworth & Turner's "Thinking About Your Love" ("Can't Figure Out").
Review: For a seventh time, Perth-based scalpel fiddler Dr Packer opens his surgery doors and invites us inside. As usual, his cheery, floor-friendly reworks strike the right balance between contemporary dancefloor chops (beefed-up bottom end, well-placed filters, and so on), and treating the source material with due reverence. Happily, there's not a duffer in sight, and even his reworks of stone cold classics (see Oliver Cheetham tweak "Friday's Enemy", First Choice revision "Love Doctor" and housed-up Evelyn 'Champagne' King stomper "Shame (VIP)") are different enough to be worthwhile additions to your collection. Highlights are plentiful, but check - in particular - the string-laden disco chug of "Ecstasy" and "Nightlife", a thickset '80s boogie rub full of sparkling synthesizers and heavy bass.
Review: Australian re-edit king, Dr Packer, loves his '80s electro-soul and funk, and here he kicks off 2015 with a slammin' rejig of Al Jarreau's slinky digi-soul classic "Boogie Down". There's a further four jams to check out here too, including a cool, Balearic rework of Sheila E's "Love Bizarre", a totally dubbed out version of "Walking On Sunshine" and the synthy, meandering disco house joint, "Take My Love".
Review: This Aussie disco doctor always packs a punch and here he administers it straight into the veins via a big old hypodermic jam called "Shane's Got The Power". It's a fierce electro-boogie monster featuring early '80s Minneapolis bass and snares, all married to tight clean guitar licks, vocodered vocals and some spacey swishes just for the hell of it. We're not sure if this is an original production or not, but either way it's the bomb.
Review: Every one's favourite Deborah Harry rap gets a cosmic workshop makeover in Dr Packer's edit of Blondie's seminal "Rapture", the track that opens this sixth Surgery Edits release. Each track of this edition, as is the way with disco edits, hints to the listener where the track originally stem. And for some fun, we suggest you do some digging/guessing to find the origins of productions like "Oh What Wow", the crooning funk of "Just A Little More", and the legendary "One More Time". Light up your next party with the Best Surgery edits release yet.
Review: The latest volume in the Surgery Edits series is something of an epic affair, with scalpel-wielding hero Dr Packer offering up no less than eight intricate procedures. It's naturally a mixed bag, with the Australian offering gently beefed-up and quantized versions of both well-known cuts (a well-loved Marvin Gaye classic gets the treatment on "Give It Up", while "Disco Squares" is a punchy revision of a Rick James produced Teena Marie favourite) and lesser-known floor-fillers (the bubbly '80s soul flex of "Your Love Baby", the heavyweight P-funk strut of "Move That Bottom"). There's not a duffer in sight, with jazz-funk style closer "Smoov Groove" and righteous disco-funk bumper "Party Time" arguably the pick of an impressive bunch.
Review: Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger's recent Vinyl TV show depicted the birth of New York black party culture with the mighty Kool Herc at the helm. Here Dr Packer riffs off that same imagery too, even if his edits are more in the disco vein than that of Herc's hard funk breaks. There are a whopping six edits to wrap your ears around here, highlights include sensuous 70s boogie, complete with electro bassline, of "Disco Lovin", the protracted hiNRG New Order loops of "Monday Blues" and the shimmering, dry ice soul of "Chocolate Boogie". Fun music for fun times!
Review: Aussie edit maestro Dr Packer enjoyed a productive 2015, delivering top-selling releases for such labels as DiscoDat, Masterworks Music and Hot Digits. Here, he kick-starts 2016 with All Nite, another white-hot collection of tried-and-tested reworks. As usual, there's much to admire, from the piano-heavy, hands-in-the-air goodness of Inner Life re-rub "All Nite Boogie", to the rolling, anthem-like sweetness of "Everlasting", a well-crafted snip of the Whispers' "And The Beat Goes On". In between, you'll find similarly solid versions of Diana Ross ("Call The Doctor") and Cherelle and Alexander O'Neal ("No Love Like Saturday"). The source material may be a little on the well-known side, but the edits are pretty tasty.
Review: The scalpel wielding edit doctor from down under, Dr Packer, returns to practice some more reworking of summer-ready jams on the Smooth Operator EP. There are five new surgeries this time; the synth heavy "Shared Nights", a slow 'n' low Balearic rework "Heaven In The Ghetto", and the elastic band funk of "Ya Don't Stop". Fingerman pops up too to remix with a precision remake op "Block Party Disco Dub".
Review: October 2015 has been a big month for fans of Dr Packer, Western Australia's premier provider of smooth, house-friendly disco re-edits. Not only did he drop a cracking EP of re-worked disco and electrofunk anthems on Masterworks Music, but he's also delivered this chunk of party-starting goodness on Alpaca Edits, a label that strangely favours single-track salvos. We're not sure of the original source material for "Dreamin", but it's a breezy, soul-flecked disco delight full of clipped guitars, positive vocal snippets and liquid synthesizer lines - topped off, of course, but the good doctor's usual shuffling house drums and expansive filter work.
Review: Whoever said that disco was dead was not aware of Dr Packer and his life-restoring scalpel skills. The cover of this eighth installment of edits reveals the good doc and colleagues hard at work resurrecting a giant disco ball and the sonic results can be heard on this mini-album. Highlights include the slinky clap-along, "Somebody Else", the noodle-bass moog boogie of "Xpand Your Mind" and the breaks-laden cocktail grind of "Tropical Jump". Good to hear disco has checked outta hospital and back on the dancefloor in full health.
Review: It has been quite the musical transformation of Australian west coast legend Greg Packer. A veteran of Perth's electronic music scene, who long time championed the sounds of drum & bass/jungle for a couple of decades, he created the the Dr. Packer alias as an outlet for his new found love of disco and has since enjoyed some of the biggest success in his career thus far. Ahead of a full-length album coming on Glitterbox Recordings, the reigning king of disco re-edits presents four of his versions of soulful dancefloor favourites old and new, giving a flavour of what's to come from the LP. From the uplifting soul power of LaTrece's "I Want To Thank You" (Dr Packer Re Edit), a downright electrifying slo-mo take on a funky house classic to "Bad Habit" by ATFC featuring Lisa Millett, and Soul Rebels powerful 'I'll Be Good" featuring Lisa Miller.
Review: Squeeze into your wetsuit and grab a surfboard: Doctor Packer has created "Waves of Funk" and we can ride them all the way to the beach. The title track is particularly potent, with the Australian producer wrapping fizzing synthesizer melodies and thrusting vocal samples around typical mid-80s drum machine percussion and the month's most addictive electronic bassline. He flips to hustling disco-funk/P-funk fusion on the synth-laden strut of "Funk To The Future" before reaching for crunchy disco-funk guitar riffs, twinkling electric piano motifs and talkbox flavours on P-funk jam "Skin The Funk". If that's not enough to tickle your fancy, closing cut "Cozmic Funk" does exactly what it says on the tin and should excite all those with a passion for spacey synths, goodtime grooves and swirling disco orchestration.
Review: Not much is known about Dr Packer but what we do know is that his sound is both inimitable and funky as hell. He's a straight-up edit man, full stop, and this time it's five roots reggae tunes which have been reshaped into more danceable forms. The opener "Someone Has My Number" is particularly groovy and fit for the summer months, but even the steppers, Shaka-style beat on "Chasing Devils" is pretty suited to your sunshine raving.
Review: New York City's Wall Of Fame was established in August of 2014 by P-SOL. They really live up to their name on their new various artists release, which features an all star cast if we've ever seen it! Starting off with Aussie legend Dr. Packer who serves up some instant funk (see what we did right there?) on his truly burning "Instant Groove" while Guildford's Evil Smarty serves up a new rendition of a certain Ms. Vega classic on "4 Love". Elsewhere, Brighton's Fingerman gets down with a deep disco joint for lovers in the form of "Boogie Change Up" and finally the label boss himself - the always reliable Patrick Sullivan aka P SOL gets down with some hazy '70s rock swagger on "Let It Go". This follows up some great releases by UK's Andy Buchan and Napoleon, Munich's Alkalino and Javi Frias. For those of you that are chasing some 'respectful edits' look no further!
Review: Disco Fruit's latest two-track missive sees label regular Loshmi join forces with Glitterbox regular and disco remixer to the stars Dr Packer. First up is "A Case of Emergency", which sounds like a tidied up, extra-fresh revision of a sparkling '80s soul/electrofunk jam full of addictive synth bass, sing-along chorus vocals, chiming melodies and twinkling pianos. Equally as impressive is accompanying cut-job "House In Downtown", another '80s soul style revision blessed with funk-fuelled boogie bass guitar, spacey synthesizer flourishes, life-affirming brass blasts and a vaguely familiar lead vocal that will have dancers singing along in unison. Proper party music for those who like their dancefloor grooves to come accompanied by shoulder pads, Jheri curls and a side order of cherry wine.
Review: Here we have a meeting of minds - a one-off collaboration between nu-disco dons, Dr Packer and Mr Rhodes. "Coming Off" is nearly seven minutes of meandering Balearic shuffles, jazzy keys and rolling funk bassline. In other words, a real journey, and one that's highly recommended you undertake.
Review: The nu-disco world loves a good split EP and here's another, this time from the Hot Digits crew. First up is re-edit champion Fingerman, whose "Norman's Disco" is nine minutes of swirling bass twisting retro funk fun. Elsewhere we get more elongated funk joints on Dr Packer's "Feel Like Dancing" and Pontchartrain's "Funk Down", whilst Peza decides to slip Harlequin Four's electro classic "Set It Off" some nasty acid for some bonkers party action.
Review: Fingerman's Hot Digits imprint has always reflected his production style, delivering releases that gleefully blur the boundaries between re-edits, remixes and original material, and blend elements of disco, funk, soul, boogie and deep house. This groovy, warm and floor-friendly formula is much in evidence on this first anniversary compilation. Featuring a blend of previously released gear, exclusives and a bonus DJ mix from Fingerman, Hot Digits: Year One is an effortlessly entertaining collection. There's naturally much to admire, from the subtle house beats and P-funk synths of Fingerman's own "Shine Yo Litez" (a rework of an old Grangers tune), and the disco-funk chunkiness of Groove Motion's "Party Now", to the compressed, dubbed-out disco house madness of Chewy Rubs' "Let It Go".
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: Having already carved a decent name for himself in the nu-disco universe, 80s Child (aka Danny Worrall), now turns his hand to running labels. Masterworks is his new imprint, and this eponymous compilation is its debut release. It's a total all-you-can-eat buffet of contemporary disco, featuring a whole host of familiar names. There are a whopping 23 tracks on here, some of the best include Tomas Malo's sultry grinder, "After The Rain", Yam Who?'s bouncy sunkissed disco joint "Find Out" and the digi-freestyle breaks of TV's "Love Situation".
Review: For a label that only launched this spring, four volumes of creatively executed party jams is beyond impressive. We reckon this could be Funk Fusion's best yet, too. From Rhythm Scholar's respectfully tripped out twist on "Lucy In The Sky" to Fabioulous Barker's slap-bass blazed take on Skeelow via the funkiest ever version of 2Pac's "California Love", it's an impressive collection that leans towards the more subtle art of editing rather than crass bootleg cut-and-shuts and will have a lot more timeless appeal as a result.
Review: Editorial is one of the leading re-edit labels currently doing the business, so it's only fitting that they should enlist some leading re-editors for Love Dubs. Australia's Dr Packer leads the charge with a sublime spaced out version of Teena Maries' slap bass classic Behind The Groove. Further highlights include the slo-mo, hands in the air vibes of "Bionic Love" by Robjamweb and the orchestrated '70s glamour beat of "Smile" by Black Rebel.
Review: Masterworks music know how to make an entrance, and here they introduce a new series, "Bag Of Tricks", with a star-studded cast. There are ten high-end sizzlers served up from a who's who of the nu-disco scene. Highlights include the sublime slicked-out Chic-style electro-disco of Raygo ("Looks Like Love"), the shiny 80s synth-soul seducer "Too Much For Me To Take" by Dr Packer and the shoulder-padded power-stomp of 80s Child's "Bangkok Knights".
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: Fingerman's Hot Digits imprint has packed in a lot of releases over the past 12 months, as this expansive roundup of the label's second year in business proves. Featuring 27 tracks and a bonus mix by the South Coast dwelling label boss, there's naturally plenty to admire. Highlights include, but are not limited to, the rolling, head-nodding grooves of Eyeco M's "Keeping It To Myself", the killer proto-house throb of "Tonight" by Bad Barbie vs Evil Smarty, the sexy, string-drenched disco loveliness of P-Sol's "Can't You See", LTJ's trumpet-boasting funk bumper "Fat Thing", and the hard-wired, bass-heavy rework of Julia & Company's "Breakin' Down (Sugar Samba)" by Melon Bomb. It is, though, all pretty darn hot.
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.
