Review: ISM chief Yam Who has long been a fan of Mexican disco, so it's little surprise to see him releasing this excellent single from local producer Tony Disco and horn player Ramisax. In its original form, "Papaya Surf" is something of a breezy delight; a warm, humid, languid saunter through deep house-tinged Balearic disco pastures full of live instrumentation. The remix package is rather excellent, too. Nelue goes further towards atmospheric nu-disco on his shuffling effort, while Colour Vision delivers a sun-kissed, samba-tinged take that turns the original into an eyes-closed anthem. Best of all, though, is Mazel Top's version, which laces those horns and a bold piano line over a bubbling backing track that sits somewhere between nu-disco and tech-house.
Review: Mexico's Deep Sense serve up a six-track EP that shows there's more than one way to go about repurposing a classic. Rather than simply looping up chunks of the original, the edits here get a little more creative - Sauco & Manuel Costela's 'Are We Ready?', for instance, takes the vocal from Fatback's 'Bus Stop' vocal and places it over a fresh (and utterly irresistible) funk backing, while on 'Last Nite' Tony Disco uses a similar trick to reinvent an InDeep classic in altogether sultrier, jazzier form. An equally well-known chanted vocal tops the brass-tastic 'Flamingo' from Hot Mood, and there are three more very playable nuggets where those came from!
Review: It's here! Stockholm's Richard Rossa aka Tom Tom Disco presents eight tracks of deadly, hot, cosmic grooves that are equal parts deep and psychedelic but above all: spiritual! Some of his beloved label's top signings strut their stuff on This Is Tom Tom Disco Vol 05. Some deep and cosmic nu-disco courtesy of Sano on "El Sano", some Middle Eastern exotica on the esoteric "Hazhid Asara" by Acid Hamam and some proper Italo vibes by Tony Disco on "Disco Solar" - one of the compilation's standout moments. Rest assured that label head honcho Richard Rossa represents here too (and is on point as always) with the dusty, boogie down antics of "Discow Ztrummer" which will surely have you gettin' down!
Review: To kick-start a fourth year of disco-fuelled madness, Hot Digits chief Fingerman has put together this sizeable compilation of previously unheard exclusives. As you'd expect, there's far more killers than fillers to be found amongst the 28-track deep selection or re-edits and original productions. Highlights include the clarinet-laden electrofunk-meets-disco bounce of Frank Virgilio's "It's Your Boogie Baby", the disco-goes-hip-hop flex of Tony Disco's delicious "Rolling Paper", the sparkling nu-disco goodness of "When It Comes To Funk" by Stephen Richards, the driving disco-house bump of Ash Reynolds' "Cold Girl" and the fuzzy electrofunk wobble of Don Dayglow's "Many Things". Throw in fine contributions from Chewy Rubs, Le Visiteur, norse man Jarle Brathen and, of course, Fingerman, and you have a must-buy collection of cuts.
Review: In the words of Paper Disco, episode six of their floor-friendly "Trash The Wax" series delivers "plenty of party pumping offerings". Predictably, proof of the set's club-ready status arrives via Hi-FI Sean's compilation opening remix of IPG v Hot Toddy's "Slow Motion Cowboy", which delivers a funk-fuelled riot of delay-laden guitars, funk rock attitude and sizzling dub disco grooves. Naturally, the rest of the collection is similarly strong. Highlights include a rare production outing from Bill Brewster (the throbbing, off-kilter Italo-disco him of "4 U Blue"), the Balearic Italo-disco bliss of Richard Norris's "Glow", the dreamy, arpeggio-driven nu-disco warmth of Kooky and Damoon's "Walk Back Into My Life" and Sheffield stalwart Solid State's deep, epic revision of "Remnants" by Speed For Lovers.
