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Hold OnEXCLUSIVE
Morning TalkboxEXCLUSIVE
Review: A treat for Mitiko fans this week, as the Montenegran nu-disco stalwart serves up an EP for Tonbe's Disco Fruit label that packs a whopping seven cuts with nary a duffer in sight. The title track is a languid jazz-funker that makes extensive use of the titular FX unit/instrument, and sets the tone nicely for an EP that starts out in funk and disco territory (with the wigged-out 60s organs on 'Best Thing' a notable highlight) then veers into housier pastures as it goes on, before dropping the tempo once more for 'Gone Away For Good' and 'Electronic Rhythm', the latter's piano licks and jazz trumpet bringing the EP to a very classy close.
Played by: Tonbe
Played by: Tonbe
Disco Fruit Selection Vol 9EXCLUSIVE
Review: On the whole, it might be better if Milos Djordjevic (Tonbe/Loshmi) and Sasha Mitich (Mitiko) weren't quite so talented - that way, yours truly wouldn't have written so many glowing reviews of their releases that it's getting quite embarrassing now. I should probably just buy a set of Tonbe pillowcases and have done with it! Anyway, here's another joint outing from the two Balkan boogie merchants, which - like previous installments - includes a mix of new and previously released material, spans funk, disco, boogie and soul, and features both original (albeit often sample-based) productions and Loshmi's masterly reworkings of cuts from Barbara Streisand, Mark Morrison and more. Sterling stuff all round - again, just like previous installments.
Generate LoveEXCLUSIVE
Review: Montenegro's Sasha Mitich takes a slightly unusual approach on this latest re-edits EP, in that all four tracks coming under the scalpel appeared originally on the same album, namely Quincy Jones's 1974 long-player 'Body Heat'. 'The Grinder' was originally 'Boogie Joe The Grinder', 'Buffalo Soldier' revisits 'Soul Saga (Song Of The Buffalo Soldier)' and 'One Track' reworks 'One Track Mind', while the Minnie Ripperton- and Leon Ware-vocalled 'If I Ever Lose This Heaven' becomes 'If You're Foolin'. With musical backing from the likes of Herbie Hancock, Richard Tee, Bob James and Larry Dunn, do you really need us to tell you how good this is?
Fancy DancerEXCLUSIVE
Review: This latest album-length excursion by Montenegran nu disco regular Sasha Mitich finds him largely exploring and expressing his love for all things 80s - perhaps never more so than on 'Someone Like You', which could have come straight from the soundtrack of some coming-of-age movie starring at least one of the Brat Pack. Elsewhere, 'Back To Funk' brings the 80s boogie vibes, 'Woman Saying' recalls the likes of Fern Kinney or The Captain & Tenille and 'Your Life' slips in some cheeky Bee Gees bites, but the standout by far is the ultra-funky 'Fancy Dancer', a rework of the Commodores cut of the same name from 1976.
GulfEXCLUSIVE
Review: A new five-tracker from Montenegran nu-disco stalwart Mitiko is always something to take note of, and this latest Disco Fruit offering doesn't disappoint. The EP starts out in chunked-up boogie territory with 'Triton Funk', which sports some killer 80s sax work, and ends with the blissed-out Balearic pop of 'Again'. In-between you'll find the sunny, horn-soaked Latin vibes of 'El Sonido De Catarro' and a serviceable cover of Bugz classic 'Simmer Down'... oh, and what for this writer is by far the standout, 'Jazz Da Primavera', which fuses jazz and garage tropes in a fashion that's reminiscent of vintage Eight Ball material, or possibly early Nice N' Ripe.
Two Bags Of GrassEXCLUSIVE
Review: I've no idea whether Mitiko actually intended the title of this seven-track offering to double as a 'serving suggestion' but it certainly works as one, as the Montenegran disco stalwart gives the dancefloor stompers a swerve and turns his energies to ploughing a much more laidback furrow. The shimmering piano chords and lazy, low-slung b-line that kick off 'Only Yours' set the tone for an album that seldom gets above walking pace but still manages to cram in nods to a wide range of influences - see, for instance, 'Phase One''s genius marriage of a Phuture vocal snip to some superbly smooooooooooth jazz-funk geetar licks, and was that a cheeky James Ingram bassline too? File under mellow horizontal loveliness.
Magic EPEXCLUSIVE
Review: Here comes Montenegro's ever-reliable Sasha Mitich with a three-tracker for Serbian label Disco Fruit. 'Look For The Magic' places an infuriatingly familiar-sounding "life can be so stressful" diva vocal atop lashings of fat, squelchy bass, while 'Simmer Down' reworks Reel People's (now 20-year-old!) broken beat/soulful house classic of the same name. 'You Are The One', meanwhile, rocks another diva vocal snip ("sometimes I say I'm through with you", not the Jocelyn one you're thinking of) which it pairs with crisp, lively percussion and an intricate but still impressively hefty b-line. All told, three cheeky sample-based groovers that'll keep 'em shimmying along nicely.
Disco Fruit Sampler 03EXCLUSIVE
Review: Serbia's Disco Fruit bring us an EP packing one track apiece from some of the biggest names on the contemporary disco scene. 'My Dream Come True' from Mexican fave Hotmood is a hazy, looping affair with a soulful male vocal, while Montenegro's Mitiko reworks Fatback classic 'Do The Bus Stop' as 'Are You Ready'. We stay in re-edit mode as label boss Tonbe, in his Loshmi guise, revists Jimmy Bo Horne's 'Is It In?' on 'Yes It Is', before finally Brian SNR closes out the EP with 'Wanna Kiss You', which sports an almost punk-funk/new wave-style vocal and some glorlously cheesy 80s sax work.
Played by: Tonbe
Best Of 2021EXCLUSIVE
Review: Last month saw two East European disco favourites, Serbia's Tonbe AKA Loshmi and Montenegro's Mitiko, joining forces for a split EP on the former's Disco Fruit label. Now the same imprint brings us this joint collection that gathers together the best of the two producers' 2021 output, in all three of their guises. The tracks involved are a mixture of re-edits, covers and original material; more importantly, both producers are ludicrously prolific, which means they had a huge catalogue to draw from. And that in turn means there's nary a track that puts a foot wrong here - making this an essential purchase for anyone who hasn't picked these cuts up on various EPs along the way.
Played by: Juno Recommends Disco
All I Care ForEXCLUSIVE
Review: Ludicrously prolific Montenegran producer Sascha Mitich needs no introduction to disco buyers, and now here comes his latest offering, which packs seven 70s-tastic re-edits. Among those sources we can identify this time around are Donna Summer's 'Rumour Has It', The Gibson Brothers' 'What A Life' and 'You' (presented here as 'All I Care About Is You' ) and an unidentified, male-sung take on 'I Can See Clearly Now', while of the tracks whose origin remains unknown, the standout for this reviewer is 'But It's Funky Music', whose gloriously cheesy squealin' Moogs give it something of a US sitcom theme vibe.
Musica LatinaEXCLUSIVE
Review: What we have here is arguably the first ever two-man disco threeway, as Serbian disco don Tonbe (Milo? Đorđević) teams up with his Montenegran oppo Mitiko (Sasha Mitich) and himself in his Loshmi guise. As for the album that's emerged from their joint efforts, well, the clue's in the title, as the two nu-disco stalwarts dive into a big cupboard full of flamenco guitars, marimbas and mariachi trumpets, and come out clutching 10 Latin-infused dancefloor shakers built for effortless grooving in the summer sunshine. Highlights, you ask? Check the low-slung funk of 'Con Sabrosura' or the jazzy shuffle of 'Portoriko'.
Turbo FlopEXCLUSIVE
Review: Three varied cuts make up this latest EP from Montenegran nu-disco stalwart Mitiko, coming on Tonbe's Disco Fruit. The EP opens with 'Turbo Flop', a moody, atmospheric affair with an undulating main synth riff that's similar in cadence to a Native American chant, and that's augmented from around the 1:30 mark by plangent electric guitar. 'Kaskazi Muziki' is a more uptempo cut with a plinky-plonk synth hook, fat funk bass and a male vocal in an unidentified language, and will work on house and disco floors alike, while the slow-grindin', Hammond-flecked 'Running Into You' drops the tempo once more and takes us a little closer to traditional funk/soul pastures.
Played by: Tonbe
Played by: Tonbe
Played by: Tonbe
EssenceEXCLUSIVE
Review: The titles here might suggest a re-edits EP but rest assured the five tracks ARE actually original, albeit sample-based, productions. 'Step Off The Train', for instance, does indeed bite EBTG's 'Missing' as you'd expect, but simply takes a two-line vocal snip and loops it up over a slo-mo grinder that sits right on the deep house/nu-disco cusp, while 'Oops Upside' is another house/disco fusion that draws not on The Gap Band but on a female-sung cover thereof. So let's not worry about sources and inspirations and just say these are five classy midtempo groovers that'll suit more discerning nu-disco floors down to the ground.
Played by: Kongisto
Played by: Tonbe
Disco Fruit Sampler 02EXCLUSIVE
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.
Played by: Juno Recommends Disco
StompEXCLUSIVE
Review: This is at least the tenth album-length release that Montenegro's Sascha Mitich has produced for Serbian label Disco Fruit, a work rate rivalled only by label boss Tonbe (AKA Loshmi). As ever, the seven tracks featured here blur the lines between re-edits and sample-based productions, with the energetic, good time Afro-tropical vibes of 'Desperately' (think Barrabas, Osibisa) the standout for this reviewer, and the Hammond-sporting (and fairly self-explanatory) 'Foot Stompin' Music' a close second. A lounge-y cover of Stevie Wonder classic 'Ma Cherie Amour' may prove a little more Marmite ("you either love it or hate it"), but isn't without its charms.
Sexy LadyEXCLUSIVE
Review: Prolific Montenegrin producer Mitiko (real name Sasha Mitich) will need no introduction to nu-disco lovers by now, and here he brings us seven more very playable nuggets on a release you can call an EP or LP as you see fit! 'Are You Ready' revisits Fatback Band's classic 'Do The Bus Stop' - serviceably if perhaps a little unnecessarily - while Marley/Clapton classic 'I Shot The Sheriff' gets covered (not re-edited) inna disco style; the other five cuts are similarly 70s-themed, with the slow-moving, sleazy funk of 'On Ya' leading the charge for this reviewer on the strength of that squelch bassline alone.
Played by: Kongisto
Lay DownEXCLUSIVE
Review: The 70s force is strong in this one... listen to this latest full-length collection from Montenegran producer Sasha Mitich, AKA Mitiko, and you may have to remind yourself, as this writer did, that you're actually listening to a brand new album and not a set of re-edits! There are no spangly Nang-esque synths here, no wonked-out Italo-cosmic excursions, just seven slabs of fat-assed funk ('Real Nasty'), lavish disco-soul ('Thank You For Tonight') and, perhaps most interestingly, a couple of tracks ('Lay Down On Me', 'Universal Love') that lean towards a mellower, more 'crossover' style ? la Bill Withers or The Bellamy Brothers.
