Review: Dave Allison's Kinjo Music has been in business for 10 years now and what a fitting time to release a compilation of his greatest hits (and near misses) in the form of the Coastal Grooves LP. It's 14 cuts of disco and deep house goodness to soundtrack anyone's perfect summer; who'd have thought this bloke's from Montreal, eh! We knew he could knock out a brilliant edit, but he's pretty decent on the remixes too. Highlights include his smooth and funky rendition of Jorge Montiel & Juan Laya's "Got To Be Music", his ultra-deep take on Los Charly's Orchestra's "Everlasting Love" and his downright groovy and uplifting vision of Faze Action's "Freak For Your Love".
Review: If you're after a little tropical sunshine to warm you up on a cold December day, you could do worse than check out this breezy chunk of lazy Latin funk from Los Charly's orchestra. "Grazing The Grass (Una Miradita)" hits all the right notes, overlaying a swinging funk break with delicious organs, lazy horns, flecked guitar and a cheery Latin vocal. There's also a fine instrumental version, which gives more space and time to enjoy LCO's neat production touches, from the twittering background birds and lush background vocals, to the hazy trombone and trumpet solos.
Review: London's LCO have been championing real disco for almost a decade now, and they've yet to let us down, consistently delivering not re-edits, but actually properly performed tunes and damn good ones at that. Earth, Wind & Fire are clearly a big influence and here on "Sunshine" we get some classic silky 70s boogie featuring a stunning vocal from Andre Espeut that gives a nod to both Philip Bailey and the late great Maurice White. Also included is "Deep Disco Rework" which, like it says on the tin, steers the song away from pop and caters instead for those who want a deeper, funkier late night groove.
All Around The World (vocal radio edit) - (4:40) 124 BPM
All Around The World (instrumental radio edit) - (4:46) 124 BPM
All Around The World (extended vocal version) - (7:15) 124 BPM
All Around The World (extended instrumental version) - (7:18) 124 BPM
Review: Soulful disco house action on offer here courtesy of Los Charly Orchestra, a London based collective led by Venezuelans Juan Laya and Jorge Montiel. Want some music wedged between classic Salsoul Orchestra and Joey Negro's Sunburst Band? Los Charly Orchestra are for you! Vocalist Xantone Blacq adds another dimension to "All Around The World" channelling a vibe similar to falsetto legends such as Kenny Bobien. This digital release features two convenient edits of "All Around The World" and for those wanting more; two extended mixes.
Review: Despite being better known for their dedication to modern soul, hip-hop soul and revivalist boogie, French label Soulab does a neat sideline in deep, woozy, soulful, off-kilter house. They've previously showcased this side of their output on two volumes of the House Elixirs series; here they present a third instalment. Predictably, it's packed with notable, leftfield house fare, from the dreamy broken beat of Isaac Aesili ("Can I B") and afrobeat/nu-disco/deep house fusion of Uraz Kurt, to the Balearic bliss of Pete Herbert's remix of Los Charly's Orchestra, and delicious jazz-house-garage of Giuseppe Storniolo's excellent "Javelin". Best of all, though, is Uraz Kurt's vibraphone-laden rework of Uptown Funk Empire's cover of Pharaoh Sanders' classic "You've Got To Have Freedom".
Review: Midnight Riot's compilations are not only uniformly action-packed, but also offer great value for money. The latest edition in the imprint's ongoing "Disco Made Me Do It" series offers up no less than 25 tried-and-tested cuts to pep up your DJ sets. In keeping with the label's party-starting ethos, there's a good mix of disco-fired house cuts (see Michael Gray's "24/7 People"), revivalist disco-boogie (Qwestlife's remix of Nick Reach Up's "Dreaming"), filter-sporting boogie-house (Ladies On Mars), top-notch disco re-edits (Twism's "What I Know"), Tiger & Woods style loop jams (Motte's "Darkroom Boogie") and party-staring 21st century disco-funk ("Chance" by Rees).
Review: If you haven't been keeping up with UK disco/funk/boogie merchant Andy Williams AKA Yam Who?'s recent work then here's a chance to get up to speed, as Midnight Riot present the first volume in a two-part collection of his 2019 output. Despite the title, there's only one original production in this set, Jaegerossa collab 'This Man's In Love With You': the rest of the album comprises remixes for the likes of Michael Gray, Jaki Graham, Los Charly's Orchestra and Moussa Clarke, and suffice to say any cuts haven't yet been on heavy rotation at the likes of Horse Meat Disco and Glitterbox soon will be! Contemporary mirrorball vibes at their best.
Review: For the last decade, Greg Boraman's Freestyle Records has championed the best in contemporary revivalist funk and soul, releasing a string of thrilling records with an authentically fuzzy feel. Here Boraman celebrates the best of contemporary underground soul, pairing familiar fare from the likes of Speedometer, the Haggis Horns and the Killer Meters with a skipload of slept-on fare. There's a great mix of instrumental blasters and breezy vocal cuts (see Nick Van Gelder's slick "Something's Got To Give" and Jo Stance's wonderful "Hey Girl"), with a few deliriously uptempo workouts (Renegaes of Jazz, The Mighty Showstoppers) thrown in for good measure.
Review: France's Soulab label is largely known for it's jazzy, soulful sounds. Here though, it's all about the lazy, hazy sounds of the 70s & 80s. Over 13 tracks we get taken on an analogue party heavily indebted to the likes of Roger Troutman & Shalamar. The mellow g-funk of Uptown Funk Empire's "Take You Out" starts things lying down, before the electro-soul of Fatback 4Way's "Sweet Summer Daze" livens things up. From then on we get classic boogie (Cool Million "Lift Me Up") , retro pop (Confection "Lift Me Up") and even flute-core (Uptown Funk Empire "Boogie").
Review: No one does contemporary disco like Dimitri From Paris. And no one has the compilation licensing clout like Defected. Naturally this is a match made in glitterball heaven as DFP spans 40 years of grooves with a spotless collection of his own edits and upfront jams. Ranging from his own twists on standard disco gems such as "Le Freak" and "Lost In Music" to the likes of Disclosure's "F For You" and Todd Terje's "Delorean Dynamite" this is, without question, one of Defected's most extensive, expansive and exciting collections to date - which really is saying something. A natural fit for all house, disco and funk fans young and old.
Review: Get your skates on: there's a roller-disco at Midnight Riot HQ and everyone's invited! Naturally, there's heaps of highlights to be found on the imprint's third tribute to the early '80s roller-boogie sound. Amongst the 19 party-starting gems on show you'll fid a brilliant BB Boogie collaboration with original electrofunk sensation Leroy Burgess (the wonderfully soulful "Tonight We're Gonna"), a storming disco-house rub of Tom Vine's "Disco Scene" by Classic chief Luke Solomon, a fantastically rubbery P-funk excursion by C Da Afro and a typically expansive and musically rich Al Kent revision of Soundersons' "He Doesn't Love Me". Throw in killer cuts from Rayko, Sweetoth and Kellini, and you have another stellar collection of skate-ready jams.
