Review: Mexican maestro Joseph Terruel enjoyed a relatively successful 2020, with his numerous releases on Deep Sense and Paraiso Musique all coming under the 'must check' category. His first outing of 2021 showcases a single track, 'Riding High', but it's another good one. Chunky, thickset and hypnotic, it sees him wrap swirling synths, filtered samples and well-chosen disco snippets around a rubbery bassline and bustling beats. It's basically a loopy disco-house box jam, but its expert construction - it just does what it needs to at exactly the right times - makes 'Riding High' a sure-fire dancefloor winner. To be honest, we'd expect nothing less from Terruel.
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: Mexico's Joseph Terruel returns to his regular home of Paraiso Musique with more of his trademark laidback disco grooves. 'Hot In Here 1' centres around a funk guitar/bass/drums loop that's augmented first by space-y Rhodes, and then a gloriously 70s-sounding, chorus'd female vocal ("let's go out the back door tonight/don't you know your dancing gets me so uptight?"), with the six-string really cutting loose towards the end. The accompanying 'Hot In Here 2' has a very similar MO but perhaps not quite the same instant appeal, thanks largely to the lack of a vocal - though the brass section does its best to plug the gap.
Review: Publicity-shy Mexican producer Joseph Terruel - his online presence could teach those Romanians a thing or two about minimalism! - returns to Paraiso Musique with an instrumental cut that sits right on the cusp of nu-disco, Balearica and funky house. An unhurried, rolling affair with handclaps a-gogo, 'Tranquilo' is pleasant enough listening and certainly won't drive any bodies from the dancefloor, though as it lives up to its name and is really rather unassuming, some more mixes might have helped broaden its appeal. That's assuming, of course, that there isn't a remix package waiting in the wings...
Review: Mexican producer Joseph Terruel returns to his usual home of Paraiso Musique with a single-track release that crams in multiple different influences, and as such could work in a range of sets. 'Marvelette' opens with a near-breakbeat rhythm made up of 80s drum machine sounds, then adds a squelchy electronic funk bassline and birdsong-like twittering sounds before the arrival of the Rhodes chords, guitar chops and vaguely UKG-ish wistful female vocal snips that are the main event, while the breakdown halfway through recalls comedown-friendly sounds of the rave era. A midtempo gem for the summer.
Review: Mexico's slo-mo-house king, Joseph Terruel, likes a certain level of vintage sauciness to his tunes, and this latest single of his doesn't disappoint. Yes, with its warm undulating bass, loose hi-hats and eyebrow-raising blues licks "Thrill" could well be straight out of a 1970s porno flick. If the latter is all the boudoir sounds, then "Unity" is all about steppin' out on the dancefloor - all looped slap bass fun, spacey filters and a solid 4/4 backbeat, simple but effective boogie.
Review: Editorial love slo-mo disco grooves and their latest comp, Funk Ride, is packed full them. Matt Hughes kicks off the Balearic party with elasticated basslines, bongos and poolside sunset vibes on "Biodigital Jazz", Joseph Terruel, ups the tempo a fraction for the dreamy boogie of "Basics" and Woodhead whips out the brass section and tight guitar licks for "Hopeless Situation". Elsewhere Napoleon drops the fuzzy funk loops on the hazy boogie jam "Little Sailor" whilst we drift away on the blue-sky chords of Old Chap's "I've Got The Groovy Touch" and Feza closes with the compressed live funk anthem "Discotizier".
Review: New Mexican disco edits label Deep Sense throws its first release in our direction. A various artist compilation showcasing their new found roster of talent. There's so much to choose from on here but for our money, we'd put a wager on Monsieur Van Pratt's Ghostbusters referencing nu-disco floor filler "Ecto 1", the throwback deep house vibes of Perfect Straight's "Sundaze" which sounds like a lost tape off of Prescription or Alleviated while The Funk District's "Bodyshaker" gos for the tightly looped disco DJ tool vibe like early Nick Holder or Moodymann and thats right up our alley!
Review: It seems that we're not the only ones to have noticed the recent rise of Mexican disco-not-disco, and more specifically the anything-goes fusion antics of the Electrique Musique label. ISM head honcho Yam Who has been paying close attention, and here compiles a showcase featuring tracks the label and related Mexican artists. There's much to admire, from the wide-eyed Balearic disco shuffle of Zombies in Miami and the head-nodding, toe-tapping house shuffle of Mr Jones, to the post-punk electrofunk of Avanti and dayglo Prince grooves of Thomass Jackson. Listing all the highlights is near impossible, so just dive in - you won't be disappointed.
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