Barcelona-based Arnau Obiols has chalked up releases on such respected labels as Local Talk, Ibadan and Compost, and now returns to the latter in the company of Zurich's KAYYAK. Together they serve up two tracks that draw heavily on 70s Afro-funk for inspiration, with 'Faith' coming with a slightly mellower remix courtesy of Medlar & Dele Sosimi while 'San Diago' gets two rerubs, with Rahaan giving the track a slightly jazzier, more leftfield makeover while Prins Thomas's Diskomix transforms it into a slab of percussive, slo-mo disco. Any/all should go down well on floors where Afro-oriented beats are in demand.
"Shut The Lights Out" is a funky throwback brimming with infectious energy, courtesy of Berlin production duo Lovebirds and vocalist NILE. Lovebirds channel their well-regarded love for 70s and 80s sounds into a groovy production. The foundation is an arresting funk beat, bolstered by classic disco instrumentation and dreamy synths. NILE's vocals are the perfect compliment, with a motivational spoken-word style that adds another layer of interest. The package is completed by a remix from disco aficionado Birdee, who takes the original's sparkling energy and adds their own signature touch. Birdee's remix is an upbeat and spacey take, perfect for extending the dancefloor journey.
Umbo (Croatia's Mario Lovakovic) has chalked up releases on Timewarp and Kraak and now comes to Germany's Resense with two re-edits of tracks from Chess, Sun Records and Stax veteran Little Milton's 1969 'Grits And Groceries' album. That album's title track, here reworked as 'Grits', was written by Titus Turner in 1955 as 'Mona Lisa Was A Man' and has been recorded by many blues, soul and R&B artists under a variety of titles over the years; '23h' is much less confusing, being simply the new name for 'Twenty-Three Hours'. Anyway, suffice to say the sheer power of the late R&B legend's voice makes either a cert on funk and soul floors!
Germany's Philly Vanilli has been around since forever, it seems, but to these ears - and they're ears that have reviewed plenty of his previous releases for this very website - this new set of reworks for Deep Disco Edits is the best work he's turned out so far. He's working with some very well-known source tracks here, so there's no point insulting your intelligence by enumerating them: suffice to say that somehow he's managed to tease the funk out of these much-loved classics in a way that, in some cases, even the original artists didn't manage. Ohio Players' 'Love Rollercoaster' was, admittedly, always a personal fave of yours truly but in PV's hands it becomes a truly exceptional 10 minutes of sheer funk joy, while his reworkings of Marvin, Kool & The Gang and The Temptations are equally impressive. Essential!
Next month sees the release of Chicago veteran Donnell Pitman's debut long-player 'Brand New Funk' - an album that's long overdue, considering that he made his recording debut way back in 1969! The album's been trailed by a couple of single/EP releases already and now making its debut is 'Tonight', a team-up with (as ever) Chi-town young bloods Wings Of Sunshine as well as the mysterious E.Live and Anda. Once again, smooth and soulful 80s-style boogie is the order of the day, with the package rounded out by four previously released jams: 'Summertime Girls', 'Do You Wanna', 'Get Next To You' and the rawer, funkier 'Joog With Me'.
Throughout their decade-long career, Alma Negra has combined their love of disco and deep house with percussion, instrumentation and ideas excavated from African, Caribbean and tropical musical cultures. On this EP, they largely ditch the latter inspirations, instead delivering full-throttle revivalist disco sounds where the Basel-based band's organic instrumentation and vocals combine with colourful synth sounds and heady horns. The headline attraction is undoubtedly 'Madrugada', a warming and thickset, subtly deep house-influenced take on the turn-of-the-80s NYC downtown disco-not-disco sound. It comes backed with two revisions - an extra-percussive, dubbed-out Yuksek tweak and the band's own dub disco-goes-deep house 'Dub Mix' - and the riotous, party-starting brilliance of 'Funky Fever'.
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