In Flagranti - "In The Silver White Box" - (5:58) 110 BPM
Review: Back in the 00s, Mathias 'Munk' Modica and Jonas 'Telonius' Imbery's Gomma label was at the forefront of the punk-funk and indie-dance scene. Imbery later stepped away and Munk shuttered the label in 2016 to concentrate on his new venture Toy Tonics, but now he's taking time to revisit former glories with this second collection of cuts from the Gomma vaults. The timing's probably right: with clubbing's Nag Nag Nag generation now hitting 40, the retro/nostalgia bandwagon was bound to get around to the 00s eventually, and while certain tracks here may be a bit too redolent of asymmetrical haircuts and scarves worn indoors for some, the set also undoubtedly includes some fine nuggets that deserve exposure to a new generation, notably Mercury's rather lovely 'Sweetness' and Munk's own James Murphy collab 'Kick Out The Chairs'.
Review: Toy Tonics' latest release is a captivating collection of tracks originally introduced to the world via the German Gomma Records label during the years 2001 to 2010. Back then, Gomma stood as a pivotal figure in the Y2K indie dance movement, alongside luminaries such as James Murphy's DFA and Trevor Jackson's OUTPUT Records. Toy Tonics has taken it upon themselves to revive these early 2000s gems, with tracks encapsulating the raw, indie disco and punk-funk vibes that were the lifeblood of the party scene during those vibrant days. Gomma's influence was profoundly felt in off-location clubs like SCALA and RIO in Berlin, London's TRASH and 333 parties, to iconic Parisian clubs like Kill The DJ and Paris Social Club.
Review: There's a time for accessible podium belters, and there's a time for deeper jams that aren't afraid to take a left turn now and again. This five-tracker is one to reach for when you're firmly into the latter zone, as Multi Culti serve up a collection of eyes-down, late-night cuts that mine various global musics for inspiration: Sheila Chandra has been a stalwart of the British Asian music scene for 40 years, Sababa 5's 'Nasnusa' is a take on a classic Mizrahi song, while the title of 'Amakondera' references a style of Rwandan music that uses horn- and gourd-based wind instruments. An EP that will delight those whose tastes lean towards the exotic and the less familiar.
Review: A once legendary duo turned solo project of Antoine Harispuru - supplying hit records for Bang Gang 12 Inches, Gomma and Multi Culti - the Barcelona-based Frenchman refocuses his attention to La Belle (that he co-founded). With the help of a little Kompakt magic, this Tokoyo No Kuni single sees remixes from Michael Mayer, Wolf Muller and Nicola Cruz! The original sees a pumping electro-disco groove meet link up with spaghetti western space rock sound and Tokyo disco 'the year 3000' aesthetic. Wolf Muller adds to the vocal spectrum and percussion section is his remix with Michael Mayer turning in a 3AM post-punk version Tokyo-Disco-3000 original. And for that wild card inclusion is a downtempo, sparse and trippy remake by Cruz.
Review: For this next selection we can see that the Multi Cult team have assembled a top draw line up to showcase some super experimental dub music, allowing the future of the genre to shine. We kick off with the haunted atmospheric layering and wavy melodic structures of Drugface's ' In The Clouds, followed by the incredible persuasive manoeuvres of Dreems' Digi-Dub-Dub-Dub mix of Espiritu, originally by Nicola Cruz. Next we take it Lo-Fi as Zongamin delivers a trippy bullet with 'Cosmic Serpent', a woodwind led exploration into syncopation and subs. Finally, we hear the Muli Cult remix of Golden Bugs 'Tamba', a vibrant bop consisting of glittering melodic blips and crunchy drum structures. Lovely work!
Accroche A Moi (DESTIINO Remix feat Julienne Dessagne) - (5:36) 110 BPM
Room 666 (Red Axes remix) - (6:32) 118 BPM
Amazonia (Moscoman remix) - (6:44) 118 BPM
Krokodil (Get A Room! remix) - (4:38) 115 BPM
Review: A quick glance at the cast-list of remixers contributing to this reworked version of Golden Bug's V.I.C.T.O.R album should tell you it's a set worth checking. Certainly, there are some memorable reworks nestled amongst the 11 tracks on offer. Check, in particular, the fiendishly groovy and low-slung Red Axes version of "Room 666", a fantastic fusion of wild Hammond Funk, low-slung dub disco and wavy post-punk pop, and the wonderfully trippy and psychedelic revision of "Amazonia" by Disco Halal chief and ESP Institute regular Moscoman. The quality threshold remains high elsewhere, though, with Danny Daze's chugging "Euromix" of "Progress" (suitably fuzzy, bass-heavy and analogue-rich) and STA's deep and spaced out dub interpretation of "Dense Macabre" both catching the ear.
Review: French leftfield dance hero Golden Bug made his first appearance on Ivan Smagghe and Leon Oakey's Les Disqes De La Mort this time last year, dropping the devilishly good Wild Boys EP. Ironically, the four new productions showcased on this follow-up are arguably even wilder and weirder, in the best possible way. "Progress", for example, melds the arpeggio-heavy throb of druggy Italo-disco with trippy guitars, bizarre effects, and fiendishly fuzzy vocals, while "Physical Disco" is the kind of bizarre electro weird-out that deliciously difficult to pigeonhole. The best of the bunch is arguably "Keep It In The Backwood", a pleasingly off-kilter take on 1980s electrofunk. Also included in the package is a pair of chugging remixes of "Progress" by sometime Hot Creations man Danny Daze.
Review: Somewhat surprisingly, it's been eight years since the debut album from French electro-disco misfits Golden Bug. All these years on, the project is now the sole preserve of Barcelona-based Frenchman Antoine Harispuru. He uses V.I.C.T.O.R as an opportunity to showcase the various sides of his musical personality, variously touching on new wave-tinged deep house ("Black Soul"), warped post-punk-meets-dub disco heaviness (the Mascara-clad strut of "Wild Boys"), bubbly acid-disco ("Krokodil"), stylish, alternative '80s electrofunk (the squidgy "The Face Of Another"), trippy electronica (the superb "Dos Pallilos"), and 1980s horror movie soundtracks (album closer "Danse Machine"). Yet despite the disparate - if complimentary - influences, V.I.C.T.O.R hangs together brilliantly.
Review: Antoine Harispuru, otherwise known as Golden Bug, has been delivering consistently excellent levels of disco-tinged house and electro over the last eight or so years, and it was only a matter of time before he's pop up on Ivan Smagghe and Leon Oakey's eclectic Les Disques De La Mort. The original mix of "Wild Boys" features Yan Wagner drooling over the beats in his familiarly lamenting, 80's reminiscent style, and there's a Lord Tusk mix on the back of it; the Londoner adds a subtle EBM flavour to the song, making harder and more penetrating on the dancefloor. "Ik Voel Je" is the weirdo in the crew, a magnificent piece of lo-fi psychedelia that stutters its guitar riffs amid heavy distortions and delays, while "L'Horloge" enters Kraftwerk territories thanks to its broken chops of mechanical voices and robotic beats. A little tip, indeed!
Review: This time last year, Parisian imprint La Belle - run, at least in part, by Golden Bug and Herr Styler - slipped out their first release. 12 months on, they present an impressive resume of their output to date. Focusing on a stylish, knowing, basement-friendly take on nu-disco, with nods to house, acid, punk-funk and electro - La Belle Season One is a riotous collection of floor-friendly jams. From the acid-infused 4/4 funk of Freeform Five's remix of Golden Bug's "One Way" and the inspired Italo of Moon Runner's "Tlatohua", to the Balearic disco-goes-rave stylings of Pete Herbert's rework of Lou Teti's "Talk About It", there's much to admire. In fact, you'll struggle to find a stronger collection of contemporary disco-inspired business.
Review: Parisian in Barcelona, Golden Bug has made quite a name for himself with his sleazy disco-electro releases on Gomma. Here's he's back, accompanied by Mau, with a newie on the La Belle label. "One Way" is what you expect: heavy punk-funky bassline, looped female singers, whistles, bells and a sleazy boy/girl drawl. In other words, hot stuff! Of the five(!) remixes supplied, the highlights are Freeform Five's acid-funk workout and Kapser Bjorke's hauntingly sublime, doom-disco re-rub.
Review: Ahead of the release of his 100 Gomma mix CD, Parisian-in-London Jerry Bouthier presents a selection of the 26 exclusive edits he's done for the compilation. There are four edits to choose from, most confusingly of remixes rather than the original tracks! So, we get a catchy, singalong-edit of The Twelves' piano-centric rub of Munk's "Violent Love" and an action-packed cut-up of In Flagranti's hipster-disco version of "Look Look Look" by Golden Bug. There's also a delightfully short and sweet, radio style edit of Alan1's breezy synth work-out "Concentrate", and a percussion-laden extended version of the THC remix of Diskokaine's "Hall of Shame".
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