Review: Unlike many of its rivals, Fingerman's Hot Digits label doesn't fill its' obligatory annual compilation with back catalogue cuts. Instead, we're offered a vast number of previously unheard re-edits, remixes and original productions. It's a successful blueprint and one religiously adhered to on Hot Digits: Year Seven, the popular imprint's latest must-check collection. There's not enough room to single out every sonic highlight, but our current favourites include the breezy boogie squelch of Ross Fitz's 'I Miss Your Love ('85 Mix)', the driving deep house haziness of Fingerman and Henri Le Blanc's 'Leave Your Cares Tonight', the neo-trance cheeriness of Picklejam's 'Endorphin Situation' and the stab-happy, peak-time house retro-futurism of 'The Feeling' by Downunder Disco.
Review: Two very fine laidback summer grooves here from Mexican nu-disco producer Hotmood, both of which can be filed under funk or disco as you see fit. The all-instrumental 'Let's Ride' is a lolloping slo-mo chugger that packs some serious weight in the bottom end and sports a curiously squelchy aquatic-sounding bassline, the latter augmented by guitar chops, mournful horns and some sprightly piano sprinkles. The accompanying 'My Disco Collection' is a little more upbeat, and features a spoken vocal that sounds like it was recorded at a recent meeting of Cratediggers Anonymous! For maximum impact, just add sunshine.
Review: Those who buy physical releases may already have come across this debut missive from Russuan kabek Deeppa. The compilation style EP - the first of a series under the Perfect Duality title - dropped on wax back in November 2020 and here appears on digital download for the very first time. Scruscru delivers a superb EP opener in the shape of 'Mellow Yellow', a drowsy and gently breezy mid-tempo number rich in fluttering flutes and other organic instrumentation, before Jehan opts for mazy electric piano licks and chunky beats on 'Once Again'. Elsewhere, Hotmood's 'Reach Out & Touch' is a deep disco-house treat, SofaTalk's 'Love in Slo Mo' is a sparkling slab of horizontal jazz-funk and Replika's 'Rings of Saturn' is a spacey, warm and rolling deep house box jam.
Review: Here's one of those releases that really doesn't need a lot of explaining - anyone with even a passing interest in nu-disco should be more than familiar with all four artists involved, as well as the label! Hotmood brings the 70s vibes on the string-drenched, guitar-flecked 'You Are A Star', C Da Afro fast-forwards to the 80s boogie era with the shiny-suited 'So Good For Me', while Loshmi arguably gets the most inventive, mixing up Afro, Latin and spy movie soundtrack vibes on 'Regah'. It's the lazy, laidback funk/jazz-funk of Mitiko's 'Back To Dance', though, that takes the gold.
Review: If you like your deep house served with a hefty dose of funk and a twist of jazz, then these two tracks from Mexican producer Hotmood should be right up your street. The vaguely Sneak-y title track is as joyous an excursion into the heart of jazz piano riffery as you'll hear all week, its virtuoso ivory licks sitting atop smooth-rollin' house beats and augmented by periodic "yes Mr Funkyman!" vocal shouts. The accompanying 'Clean Cuts' is a sparser affair that sports snatches of southern soul-style male vocal - it's plenty playable but perhaps one for the warm-up, whereas 'Mr Funkyman' has "peaktime" written all over it.
Review: Mexican producer Guillermo Gonzalez, better known to disco lovers as Hotmood, serves up two very serviceable jams on his own Discoweey label (launched in 2018 as the successor to Hotmood Records). Whether these are original productions or re-edits isn't entirely clear, but no matter because either way, 'Makin' Love' is a smooth n' sexy affair with funky guitar licks, brass parps, a breathy female "makin' love" vocal and an authentically late 70s/early 80s feel overall, while 'You Got The Magic' is an epic, rolling, string-drenched disco-house groove that's not dissimilar in feel to Groovejet's 'Spiller' before they put the vocal on it.
Review: Mexican funk and disco producer Hot Mood (AKA Guillermo Gonzalez) comes to Canada's Editorial Records on this split EP with label bosses Ed Wizard & Disco Double Dee, with a little remix justice from Thatmanmonkz thrown in. The latter's rub of 'Shades Of Blue', with its Gil Scott-Heron 'H20gate' vocal, would sit just as happily in our deep house section, EW&DDD's 'Cantina' is a fat-assed slab of slo-mo, flute-sprinkled funk (and the pick of the EP for this reviewer), while there's - unsurprisingly - a Latin funk feel to Hotmood's two contributions. Contemporary funk/disco at its least cheesy, and hence most satisfying!
Review: Two years have passed since the last Masterworks Music label compilation, so this fourth volume is long overdue. It's another expansive affair, with boss man Danny "80s Child" Worrall offering up no less than 20 exclusives from a mixture of label regulars and new recruits. As you'd expect, there's much to enjoy, with highlights including the rubbery and celebratory disco goodness of Surgery Edits' 'Get Up and Boogie', the hazy house pleasure of Dirtytwo's 'Desire', the string-laden peak-time rush of Chris Grubinza's 'Feel The Rush', the revivalist 80s boogie brilliance of Slync and Evie Adams' 'Fantasy', and the wonderfully loved-up 80s soul-meets-nu-disco warmth of Paper Street Soul's 'Fwok!'.
