Review: You're only five years old once, so why not celebrate in style? And here Warrington lad Danny Worrall's disco and re-edits label Masterworks Music do just that, with an anniversary collection packing a whopping 50 back catalogue nuggets. You'll excuse us the full track-by-track, then, but suffice to say that this is the label that helped launch the careers of Dr Packer and Natasha Kitty Katt, both of whom feature here, and with names like Ziggy Phunk, Rayko, Alkalino, Chuggin' Edits and Fabiolous Barker also on bill, you should already have a pretty good idea what to expect. Classy stuff all round, and a great VFM package - here's to five more years!
Review: Gather round: Editorial is revealing the contents of the mythical "Disco Scrolls", a sacred document for all those who kneel at the altar of the Church of Nu-Disco. It contains eight audio commandments, all of which should be listened to intently. Salvation comes first via the fluid nu-disco positivity of Bica's "Endless Rhodes" and the disco-house grooves of the soulful and musically expansive "Because I'm Black" by Old Chap. Elsewhere, you'll find righteous testimony from Hotmood (via the deep disco-funk of "Only Your Mom Calls Me Daddy"), The Owl (the boisterous horns and filter tricks of "Shake"), Frank Virgilio (the lolloping party disco-funk of "Out Here"), Labour Of Love (the bassline-driven percussion-fest that is "Good Feelin") and NFC and Key Sokur (the rubbery and down-low disco fun of "City Affair").
Review: The first "Masterworks Legends" compilation saw label boss Danny Worrall giving digital debuts to a whole host of previously vinyl-only cuts. We're not sure whether he's taken the same approach this time round, but the quality of the material remains pleasingly high. Beginning with Dr Packer's hot-to-trot revision of Kiu D's Blaxploitation disco workout "Dynamite", Worrall offers up a swathe of hypnotic, disco-tinged house head-nodders (Ooft's "I Am Love" being a glassy-eyed standout), tasty '80s electrofunk revisions (Woodhead, The Silver Rider, Coutel, his own '80s Child project), thumping disco club cuts (Natasha Kitty Kat, Kiu D, James Rod, Ponchartrain) and sparkling nu-disco box jams (Gradient Logic). If you're looking for more tried-and-tested treats to pep up your sets, you should add this to your cart right now.
Review: Vancouver based producer Woodhead has appeared previously on Editorial, Royal Soul and Homebreakin' in addition to local imprint East Van Audio. Now he serves up his new offering, entitled Deeper Than Love which features some truly tasty edits. The classic vibe of "Be With You" will be familiar to some in all its dazzling '70s style glory: you know the name of this one right? There's Rhodes galore on the deep and hypnotic late night jam "I Love You" which again is spliced to perfection. On the flip, witness those amazing synth riffs beneath that epic filter sweep action on "Love So Fine" which is absolutely looped for pleasure. Finishing up these respectful edits is one more ergonomic disco tool (for DJ use only) on the feelgood and funky "Whenever You're Around".
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: ChopShop Digital barely deviates from its' well-worn formula, which involves serving up multi-artist EPs full of tried-and-tested reworks. Happily, they're at it again here. BnC kicks things off with the break-driven funk shuffle of "Good Times Roll", before Woodhead & Hebegebe raise the temperature with the heavy funk-goes-Italo-disco surge of "Pony Up". West Country scalpel fiends Situation serve up the dusty soul sweetness of "Change For A Coke", while Senior Citizens attempt to outdo them with the similarly luscious and soulful "The Perfect Plan". Finally, label boss George Kelly steals the show with a killer re-cut of Willie Bobo/Ronnie Laws favourite "Always There".
Review: The Editorial label like their tunes slow and groovy, and here we have their 15th comp of such laconic boogie numbers. There are four varieties of disco flavours to try here beginning with Tony Tee's dubbed out disco-house jam, "Can I Get Def", before progressing on to Woodhead's shimmering poolside workout "Cinnamon" the fastest tune on here. From there it's back down to the raunchy slap-bass loops of "West Garda Lake" by Stereo 12 and winding up nicely with the warm Mediterranean breeze of "You're A Dream" by Arequipa Ensemble.
Review: Having previously appeared on Homebreakin' records, it was probably only a matter of time before Vancouver's Darren Woodhead popped up on Montreal's Editorial Records. Next To You is a typically cheery, floor-friendly EP, blending classic funk, soul disco and boogie samples with subtle house and breaks grooves. As a result, there's plenty to excite, from the jazzy guitar solos and sun-kissed disco grooves of "You Blew It", to the dreamy electrofunk shuffle of "So Devine". Those in search of straight-up dancefloor dynamite should head for opener "Party Hearty", a swinging, good-time funk/nu-disco hybrid featuring rubbery bass and razor-sharp horns aplenty.
Review: Vancouver's Darren Woodhead (aka Woodhead) claims to be a "West (Canadian) coast institution". We can't vouch for that, but we do know that he switched from touring in many popular punk bands, and this shift to disco has so far been very successful indeed. His latest offering, The Music EP, features four new tunes to get your chops round: the slo-mo funked-up house of "The Music", the party-fuelled clap-along "On The Floor", the smooth and lush boogie bomb "Electricity" and finally the contemplative, emotional funk of "Crazy Motion".
Review: With sunshine bathing much of Britain, it seems a fitting time for the Editorial label to celebrate the arrival of summer. Heat WAVs, their latest split EP, oozes sun-kissed warmth. Voodoo Whiskey kicks things off with the hazy Balearic deep house bliss of "Desert Stroll", before "Joutro Mundo" drops some compressed disco edit action in the shape of the rather lovely "Roller Shake". Woodhead and Hakatone continue the celebratory feel with a pair of righteous disco-funk bumpers (the superb "Party Down Tonight" and "Sugarbaby" respectively), before Tikki draws an excellent EP to a close with "The Crooner", a curious but effective combination of easy listening vocals and swinging house grooves.
Review: More from the popular and hard-working Editorial camp, as they unfurl another five track exercise in joining the dots between disco and house. Label regulars Ed Wizard and Disco Double Dee kick things off with "In Funk We Trust", a groovesome disco-funk edit with just the right amount of contemporary production wizardry (think tightened up grooves and drawn-out filters). Loz Goddard dips a toe into deep disco-house territory with the woozy "Over Ur Shoulder", while Tonbe gives a classic funk tune the 4/4 treatment on "Boss of Funk". The two standouts, though, are Brutal Disco's baggy, boogie-influenced head-nodder "Get Down", and Woodhead's midtempo delight "You Gotta Go", a low-down chunk of pitched-down soul.
Review: Lyrics paying homage to one of the world's funkiest individuals, delivered with dark, pitched-down undertones. On paper this really shouldn't work. In reality it ruddy rocks. This is largely thanks to Prosper & Azaxx's quirky, off-beat shuffle groove underneath. Think Music For Freaks and you get the picture. Remix-wise Basement Freaks adds more of a breakbeat electro bite to the mix, Adam Polo adds a soaring riff and feel-good p-funk and Niko strips it down to a slinkier groove that flips between classic US and grittier UKG.
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