Review:
By now, we should all know what to expect from each new album in Joey Negro's "Remixed With Love" series, namely fantastic new revisions of classic disco, boogie, soul, electro and jazz-funk classics created using the original multi-track tapes. This third volume naturally contains a few inspired revisions of well-known cuts - a riotous take on The Fatback Band's "Do The Bus Stop", an astonishing, dubbed-out version of the Temptations' "Law of the Land" and a soaring, life-affirming rearrangement of Patrice Rushen's "Never Give You Up" included - but also some suitably smart tweaks of lesser-known gems. These include a sublime revision of the APX's '80s gem "Loose Yourself To The Groove" and an insatiable take on Mass Production's "Shante" full of jammed-out electric piano solos and rubbery electric bass.
Review:
In which the prolific Russian disco dinner ladies known as V's Edits serve up four more helpings of re-edit goodness. KC & The Sunshine's sax-tastic 'Black Water Gold' gets a little added Afro flava on 'Black Waters Hold' (without detracting from the original's superb jazzual musicality), Bob Marley's 'Is This Love' is reinvented as the party-starting 'Love And Treat You Right', Marvin Gaye gets the treatment on 'Funky Space' while 'Little Enough' (credited to Keith, source unknown) is an ultra-laidback jazz-funk groove built for warm-up or summer afternoon play.
Review:
Midnight Riot boss Yam Who has decided to pay tribute to one of the most talked-about styles of 2018, Italo-disco, with an expansive compilation featuring a mixture of original material and sneaky re-edits. Chief among the many highlights is Yam Who and Rebecca Scales' superb new cover version of B.B Band's 1982 classic "All Night Long", which adds a little contemporary polish (and more fluid piano flourishes) to the original's sexually-charged, arpeggio-driven thrust. The hits don't stop there, though. In Flagranti delivers a prize slab of mind-altering muscular chug, Italo Vera reaches for the heavens on the kaleidoscopic throb-job "Bangkok", Hypnotic Lovers explore the synth-funk end of the Italo-disco spectrum on "Sticky" and Dominic Dawson takes our collective breath away via the all-action pump of "Music of the Future".
Review:
Canadian twosome Ed Wizard and Disco Double Dee return to Editorial with some "Party Favors". The headline attraction is arguably another outing for Greg Wilson's forgotten 2011 revision of "Flip Da Beat", a delay-laden mid-tempo roller rich in filtered bass, echoing vocal samples, crispy disco drums and super-sweet disco and hip-hop samples. There's plenty to set the pulse racing elsewhere, too. "Stellar Dub" is a fine rework of a punchy Brazilian disco-funk jam that wisely focuses on the killer groove and ear-catching horn lines, while "Name of Luv" sees them straighten out and beef-up a grandiose disco number full of swirling strings, busy Clavinet lines and sugary soul vocals.
Review:
Just seeing the words 'Phenomenal Handclap Band' and 'Ray Mang' on the same release will be enough to get disco lovers' musical tastebuds tingling, and the results of this heavy-hitting hook-up - which rumour has it trails a new album - don't disappoint. Across four mixes (plus a Radio Edit) he variously pulls out the track's disco, gospel and house-y elements, with his Disco Mix the choice for straight-up disco floors, the Special Mix the pick for the Balearic crew and the Reprise the one for house clubs, with an Instrumental Mix also supplied to cater for anyone who finds the vox a little OTT.
Review:
Bristol's Addison Groove is back and getting well funky on this one! The Groove boss and 50Weapons staple gets some low slung party vibes into full effect on "F1nk" - a wicked tool that's looped to perfection. Next up, he goes deeper into the night on the hypnotic and very exotic polyrhythmicity of "Sudoeste" which features good mate Bim Sanga - it follows up their excellent Where Are The People EP on Bags Inc. last year. This one was our pick of the two and is perfect for those heads-down or 'get weird' moments on the dancefloor. Tip!
Review:
In which no fewer than 24 rock and indie classics get reworked for the dancefloor. Admirably, the mysterious V avoids the temptation to simply whack a 4/4 kickdrum under everything - in fact, many of the cuts could better be described as remixes or reworkings rather than simple re-edits. Inevitably, some of the resulting concoctions work better than others - and which you think that applies to may depend on your views on the original source material - but if you're looking for a way to drag non-house/disco lovers onto the floor, this collection should serve you well.
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.
Review:
Having previously showcased his wares on Better Listen, Kolour Ltd and Homage, Chevals makes his bow on Whiskey Disco with a quadruple dose of re-edit gold. The Frenchman first treats us to the deep house-disco bounce of "La Bouteille", where jammed-out electric piano lines and rising horn motifs increase in prominence throughout, before treating us to the shirts-off, hands-aloft disco soul pandemonium of "Under Your Command". Elsewhere, "Fairy Tales" is a pleasingly slick and soulful take on an '80s electrofunk shuffler, while "Croisades" is a giddy, punch-drunk dance through horn-heavy disco-funk pastures.
Review:
62 collections deep and still blazing up any party in a 1000 mile radius; Katakana deliver yet another fun and funk-fuelled package. All laced with a heavy rhythmic theme, attention to groove detail is paid throughout as we're treated to range of classic and deeply dug edits. "Galaxy" sets the tone with a sleazy strutting war cry before we're hurled into a Latin frenzy on both the sultry "Camina" and the bull-fighting "Descarga". Elsewhere "Leroy Loves Ya" brings the soulful touch and "JB World" closes with a little psychedelic mystique.
Review:
The Katakana Edits series reaches #70. DJ Laurel - also known for his work on Greek label Chopshop - is once more in charge of the virtual razorblade and sticky tape for this latest collection, which draws largely on source material from the 70s soul pantheon. 'I Can't Stop Ya' adds an outsourced spoken vocal and some fine sax noodling to a Ty Karim nugget of (nearly) the same name, 'It Only Happens' lends the late, great Aretha some extra lounge-y swing, while 'The More I Want' dares to take on the Teddy Pendergrass classic and actually manages to get away with it.
Review:
Under the Lego Edit alias, Diego Lelli has a penchant for serving up expansive collections of tooled-up reworks that offer excellent value for money. He's at it again here, offering up 18 finger-lickin' "Chicken Edits" that are far more tasty and satisfying than your average 3am fast food takeaway. Naturally, the material on offer is largely peak-time focused, with highlights including the glassy-eyed, filter-heavy disco-house of "Paris By Night", the wiggling, Maceo Parker style funk fun of "Gnomo Gnomo (Lego Re-Funk)", the breezy Brazilian samba-disco bliss of "Latin Maria (Lego dub 5am)", the sweaty loop-house heaviness of "A (BraziLego Edit)" and the percussive, organ-heavy, jazz-wise stomp of "The Crickets (Lego Classic Edit)".
Review:
Mike Woods has previously delivered the goods on a number of popular re-edit imprints, including Masterworks Music, Cherry Cola and Disco Fruit. Here he stars on Alpaca Edits for the first time. Woods begins with the chunky, synth-laden, sun-kissed goodness of "Mind Funk", before dipping into his bag of throbbing, EBM-influenced Italo-disco tricks with "Hey Hey", a stomping rework of a Fairlight CMI-powered Trevor Horn production from 1984. It doesn't take a degree in crate digging to work out the track being rearranged on "Rapping Wordyhood"; for the record, Woods's revision is faithful to the original while giving it his own subtle tweak. Arguably best of all, though, is "Get Down", a loopy, floor-friendly revision of a lesser-known cover of an early hip-hop classic.
Review:
The clue's in the name here, as Masterworks Music serve up another set of 21st Century makeovers of dancefoor delights from days gone by. Diana Ross's 'My Old Piano' gets reinvented as a rather classy disco-houser on opener 'Tinkling The Ivories', while getting similar treatment elsewhere are Maze's 'Running Away', Invisible Man's Band's 'All Night Thing', Donna Summer's 'Spring Affair' and more. Long throughout on sweeping strings, handclaps, fat funk basslines and soulful vocals, the whole EP is a must for contemporary disco floors, especially as the source/track selection isn't over-obvious.
Review:
Though not as celebrated as some of its contemporaries, Patrice Rushen's 1980 single "Never Gonna Give You Up" is undoubtedly a breezy, sweet-as-sugar disco treat. It arguably didn't need remixing, though if there's one man guaranteed to give it a great makeover it's housemaster turned disco don Joey Negro. He delivers killer vocal and instrumental versions, both of which give more prominence to the original beats, killer bassline, spacey synths and horns, waiting to introduce the sweeping orchestration - a dominant feature of Rushen's 1980 version - until the later stages of the track. They're the kind of mixes Tom Moulton may have produced back in the day, and there's no higher praise for a disco remixer than that.
Review:
Parisian producer Simon Says has been doing his thing for nigh on two decades now, most recently via Dialect Recordings. Few of his previous releases, though, are quite as saucy and arresting as "Feel Me" - a killer dub-disco re-imagining of a lesser-known 1982 Blancmange album track rich in bubbling synthesizers, fuzzy bass guitar, whispered vocals and spacey synthesizer melodies. For those looking for a dose of extended pleasure, Bill Brewster's chugging re-edit - an eight-minute scalpel rearrangement of Simon Says' original - should scratch that itch. Elsewhere, fellow French producer Yuksek pushes up the tempo and gives the track a little more pulsating nu-disco flavour on two tasty revisions, while Eskimo regulars NTEIBINT cannily emphasizes Simon Says' flash-fried funk-rock guitars.
Review:
After years spent flitting between such high profile labels as Visionquest, BPitch Control, Turbo and Supplement Facts, Chaim made his debut on Moscoman's Disco Halal label this time last year. While the resultant EP, "The Perfect Circle", was rather good, this belated follow-up is even better. Check, for example, druggy title track "Your Mulana", where military drum fills, exotic Middle Eastern vocals and lilting electronic melodies ride a faintly foreboding, low-slung groove. Or, for that matter, the mind-altering psychedelic disco thrust of "Ventilator" - all psych guitar solos, Italo-disco style arpeggio lines and creepy electronic - and wavy drums-and-synths style of closing cut "Toriaz". Also impressive is the atmospheric tech-house-meets-cosmic-disco shuffle of the Trikk Numero Fim Dub of "Your Mulana".
Review:
There's a fine line between the re-edit and the sample track, and it's a line that gets notably blurred on this latest Chewy Rubs EP from Re-Loved, though the latter tag probably fits slightly better. 'Everybody' is a stuttery nu-disco/disco-house jam topped with familiar diva vocal snippets, the rolling, bass-y Seamus Haji Remix of 'It's Not Over' impressively breathes new life into the well-worn First Choice vocal, 'Too Much, You Know' operates at the jazzier end of the contemporary funk spectrum and will likely prove the connoisseurs' choice, while 'Doing It' is straight-up Euro dancefloor exuberance, late 70s-style.
Review:
Like fictional super-spy James Bond, Chewy Rubs prefers his re-edits "Shaken Not Stirred". "Took My Love Away (Chewy Rubs Deep Disco Vox"), the opening cut from the Star Wars-loving producer's latest EP, is every bit as potent and tipsy as a pint of Vodka Martini, with deliciously glassy-eyed female vocal snippets rising above a loopy disco-house groove. Similarly impressive is chugging, mind-altering throb-job "Love A Groove (Chewy Rubs Extend-it)", where spacey synthesizer arpeggio lines and quirky vocal samples rise above a pulsating, mid-'80s dancefloor groove. Elsewhere, "Garage Disco III" is a electric piano-heavy revision of a mid-80s NYC house jam rearranged in cahoots with pal Moke, while "Rake The Moon (Chewy Rubs Space Dust Rub)" is a creepy, ever-growing, house-friendly tweak of a weirdo space disco workout.
Review:
Norwegian nu-disco producer Cavego, AKA Even Hymer Gillebo, has previously appeared on labels like Youth Control and Get Dancy, and here makes his debut on Belgium's mighty Eskimo imprint with an EP named after the valley where his family have a summer cabin. After the 1:44 intro that is 'Velkomst', he serves up five cuts inspired as much by Italo disco as by the Scandi sounds for which his fellow countrymen have made Norway famous, ranging from the sumptuous synth-pop of 'Hajfell' and the very 80s-sounding 'Farvel' to the irrepressibly sunny 'Var I Ayer' and the tripped-out, chuggy 'Kjeiken'
Review:
Disco Fruit's latest two-track missive sees label regular Loshmi join forces with Glitterbox regular and disco remixer to the stars Dr Packer. First up is "A Case of Emergency", which sounds like a tidied up, extra-fresh revision of a sparkling '80s soul/electrofunk ham full of addictive synth bass, sing-along chorus vocals, chiming melodies and twinkling pianos. Equally as impressive is accompanying cut-job "House In Downtown", another '80s soul style revision blessed with funk-fuelled boogie bass guitar, spacey synthesizer flourishes, life-affirming brass blasts and a vaguely familiar lead vocal that will have dancers singing along in unison. Proper party music for those who like their dancefloor grooves to come accompanied by shoulder pads, Jheri curls and a side order of cherry wine.
Review:
Given that each of their previous releases has been on-point, it's little surprise to find that Fouk's latest EP is packed full of warm, sample-heavy, disco-flecked deep house treats. We'd argue that the headline attraction is bouncy opener "Organ Freeman", a tasty workout that layers fresh organ solos over a house groove built around rubbery bass and obscure disco-funk samples, though the wilder and more driving "Wrong Way" pushes it close. Elsewhere, "Butterfunk" is a lolloping trip into mid-tempo deep house/disco/jazz-funk fusion, while closer "Winter" is a loved-up chunk of deep space instrumental hip-hop with added boogie synths.
Review:
Here, a quartet of producers step up to offer their interpretations of "Neutron Dance", the throbbing, Italo-disco-fired lead cut from Krystal Klear's "Division EP". Paul Woolford pays tribute to early Eddie Richards project Jolly Roger on his jaunty, early UK house style rework - all squidgy TB-303 bass, drum machine cowbells and fluid house pianos - before Fango re-imagines the track as a sprightly chunk of New York freestyle/breakbeat house fusion. Fellow Irishman Mano Le Tough takes to the mic on his hybrid Italo-disco/throbbing house take, before Running Back chief Gerd Jansen straps on his "Birkies" and re-imagines the Dublin producer's original as a breezy blast of dub-wise, retro-futurist house.
Review:
The Munich Machine is back! Following up an impressive run of his Reworks series on wax, the Audaz head honcho gets back to digital with some proper disco inferno that you've come to know and love from the man. Kicking off his new rip-roaring African Flow EP is the sexed-up title track, which edits some wicked Afro vibes complete with some Candido style conga drumming. The African vibes continue in the vein of the legendary Fela Kuti on the awesome "Odio Sem Valor" which reaches near spiritual moments, Zimbabwean Chimurenga music gets a resplice too on "Lion Of Zimbabwe" and prepare to hear the drummer get wicked on the sweltering "Kingston Town".
Review:
Absolutely massive package of disco gold from the man like Dimitri here as he's entrusted with the master tapes of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards' most iconic and influential songs and told to do his unmistakable thang. From the original Chic materials to Sister Sledge via Norma Jean Wright, Dimitri takes the blueprint that founded every dance beat that's followed in the last 40 years and gives them a just polish, slight extension and just that little bit of extra dancefloor spice for today's floors. Perfect for everything from home listening to massive arena gigs.
Review:
Given his credentials and track record, it's unsurprising that original disco and boogie artists are willing to let Joey Negro play around with their biggest hits. His first stab at this kind of multi-track remix, 2014's Remixed With Love, was such a success that he's decided to unleash another swathe of revisions over two vinyl double-packs. This edition features some killer reworks, including a sublime, on-point rearrangement of Gwen McRae's "Keep The Fire Burning" and a rolling, dubbed-out version of Grace Jones' "Pull Up To The Bumper" that rivals Larry Levan's classic remix. The veteran producer also successfully turns Pockets' "Come Go With Me" into a classic soulful house rub, and pushes Thelma Houston's "I'm Here Again" further towards disco anthem territory.
Review:
German DJ Marcel Vogel began resplicing soul and disco at the turn of the millenium, convinced that he had to something unique to contribute to the scene. After moving to Amsterdam in 2010, he founded Lumberjacks In Hell: initially as a conduit for his own edits and productions. Soon after, he found himself releasing original tracks from his musical heroes and bringing the 'Lumberjacks' sound to clubs and festivals all over the globe. British institution BBE helps Vogel celebrate eight years in the business here, with a bunch of fresh cuts that will truly shine under that disco ball. Highlights include the lo-slung funk groove of Beam Me Up's "Rabbit's Foot", some well dusted deepness for listening to in the dark courtesy of Funk Butcher (feat. Trim) on "Check The Flow", the inimitable Seven Davis Jr with the sleazy mood lighting of "Get To Know Me" and Amsterdam's finest Nachtbraker - who helps us enjoy life in the slo-lane on the smooth exclusive "Jared Fogle".
Review:
Dutch foursome Rocknrolla Soundsystem has already built a solid reputation for its re-edit work, thanks in no small part to admired releases on Alpaca Edits, Springbokz and Katakana Edits. This outing on Vehicle will only enhance their growing reputation. They begin in confident mood via a smoky, jazz-flecked and dreamy late night revision of an old Marvin Gaye favourite ("Trouble Man") that achieves a near perfect balance between shuffling dancefloor goodness and touchy-feely late night bliss. "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" sees the quartet cleverly combine elements from a Clavinet-driven conscious soul masterpiece with chunkier mid-tempo beats and woozy deep house chords. They repeat the trick on the piano solo-heavy head-nod of closing cut "Nobody's Fault But Mine", which may well be the best of the lot.
Review:
Timewrap's last few releases on Katakana Edits have been epic affairs that gather together a sizeable collection of party-starting reworks. This one - the Rhode Island imprint's 72nd release in total - takes a different approach, offering up two acid-fired revisions of spiraling, tongue-in-cheek disco workout "Kabashaka". The Katakana regulars begin with an "Acid Vox" version that wraps psychedelic, mind-altering TB-303 disco lines around big house beats, swirling disco instrumentation and suitably camp, over-the-top vocals. Arguably even better is the "Acid Dub", which allows the distinctive acid motifs a little room to breathe while tooled-up drum hits and vocal snippets ricochet around the sound space. Both versions sound like serious dancefloor heat.
Review:
13 months after first slipping out on vibrant purple vinyl, Whiskey Disco's compilation style "Sounds of the Inner City" EP finally makes it to digital. And not a moment too soon, either, because Alex Zuiev's throbbing, acid-flecked disco-house revision of "Bus Stop" is an absolute stormer (and, for the record, pre-dates the Chaka Khan's similarly minded, "Bus Stop"-sampling "Like Sugar"). There's plenty to set the pulse racing elsewhere on the EP too, from the slap-bass propelled brilliance of Murge's swirling orchestral disco rework "Sounds of the Inner City", to the low-slung, bass-heavy boogie badness of Frank Angles' "Please U".
Review:
Crazy P main man James Baron returns under his Ron Basejam alias, with more liquid nu-disco jams. Started as a casual side project 12 years ago, Baron wanted to 'capture the more diverse and quirky sides of his musical tastes', creating underground music that he incorporates with character, personality and humour. The After The Rain EP sees him return to Bristol institution Futureboogie, for the first time since 2016's "The Carrington Spirituals". Featuring the very soulful and near spiritual title track, the lo-slung funk attack of "The French Exit " and the late night acid express of "Raise" (featuring some vocals reminiscent of the legendary Daryl Pandy) among others - each one is a a sure shot and will light up the dancefloor.
Review:
GAMM has been responsible for some killer re-edits over the years, though we're struggling to think of any that are quite as good as Prescription Pricing Authority's killer tweak of Carlos Ramanos's "1-2-1". Noticeably heavier and crisper than the original, the rearrangement utilizes a touch of delay at crucial moments and wisely makes more of the fantastic bassline and percussion breaks. Speaking of ace basslines, you'll find a heavy dose of slap bass on the flip, where PPA turns his or her hand to Kathryn Moses's flute-sporting jazz-funk wig-out, "Lucky Duck". It is, of course, killer, though lacks the sheer celebratory rush of the on-point first track.
Review:
Its not just noted Twitter collage artist Coldwar Steve who has a thing for tinned pies. Fray Bentos, a Midlands-raised re-editor and rework merchant, is such a fan of the 1970s favourite that he named himself after it. There's something fittingly meaty about "Groove To Get Down", the opening cut from the producer's latest Katakana Edits outing. It offers up chunks of jazz-funk piano, finely diced synth flourishes and a hearty vocal in a thick disco funk gravy. You'll find more horn-heavy heartiness in the shape of rolling disco-funk workout "Night and Day", while "Love For The Sake of Love" sees him extend, beef-up and slightly pitch-up one of disco's better-known dancefloor slow jams.
Review:
Fresh from delivering a tidy two-track missive on Rare Wiri, Tonbe returns to his spiritual home, Disco Fruit, with a suitably epic collection of fresh re-edits and reworks. It's a typically rock solid selection of tried-and-tested revisions, with the Serbian producer offering up a mixture of head-nodding, toe-tapping slo-mo grooves (see the slowly strutting disco-funk of "It's My Time" and "That Sample", not to mention the low-slung dub disco of "The Sun Goes Down" and Moog-laden shuffle of closing cut "Take Off Everything") and sweatier peak-time workouts. The latter are naturally in the majority, with highlights including the early Daft Punk style madness of "Brooka Bass", the rich electrofunk-goes-disco house flex of "Life Goes On" and the hot-stepping, jazz-powered goodness of "Something Brewing".
Review:
According to our meticulous records, "My Hood" is the first collaborative single from sometime Relief Records and Monologue Music producer LEON, and recent Hot Creations signing Dennis Cruz. It sees them drag hip-house into the 21st century, layering a swaggering half rapped, half sung vocal atop a rubbery, driving backing track rich in fuzzy bass, rolling percussion and deliciously odd electronic noises. While good, we'd argue that Ewan Pearson's accompanying reworks are even better. Both the "Remix" and "Dub" versions operate at a slower, more chugging tempo, with the experienced producer wrapping mind-altering, psychedelic electronics and delay-laden dub-disco guitars atop a chunky, Italo-disco influenced groove. The "Dub" is naturally the more intoxicating of the two, though it's a close run thing.
Review:
If this sounds like the work of NYC disco band Escort, there's a very good reason - both the producer "JKriv" and guest vocalist, Adeline, are both members of the band. The good news is that "Vertigo" is every bit as good as Escort's finest moments (think "Starlight", "Love in Indigo", "A Bright New Life" etc.), with Adeline providing a stellar vocal atop JKriv's killer bassline, pianos, strings and Nile Rodgers style guitars. The accompanying "Dub" rework is naturally a little heavier and more arpeggio-driven, with JKriv making great use of carefully placed dub delays and cosmic noises.
