Review: Two months after making his Masterworks Music comeback with an EP of tidy re-edits of rare and obscure jams, Chris Grubizna returns to Danny Worrall's popular label with a similarly minded sequel. There are six tracks to choose from, all of which have been given a slightly more metronomic swing and a bit more bottom-end weight to suit contemporary dancefloors. Highlights include rush-inducing opener "All You Need" (a rubbery revision of Barbara Roy and Ecstasy, Passion & Pain's 1981 gem 'If You Want Me"), the clavinet-heavy disco-funk chug of "Gettin' Down", the low-slung Miami Funk/disco fusion of "Miami Vice", and the jazzy disco sunshine that is closing cut "Summer Joy".
Review: Neo Blues 3 announces its arrival via our most trusted Vehicle label that's been a port of call for disco edits for the world over. Turning in another four-tracks here it's spearheaded by the uber-warm kick, woofing bass and melodic percussion sequences of "Sea-Line". Harking back to the days when artists like Eddie C and Tornado Wallace were dominating the slo-mo, chugging disco sound, "Condition" adds yet another beefy boost to a Ken Roger's classic, while funkier soul and blues jams from Kings of Survival make the cut alongside that all time cinematic classic by Rodriguez's ("Sugarman").
Review: We're not sure whether Detroit Swindle has previously released anything quite as driving and energetic as "Coffee In The Morning". Although the lead vocal from sometime Tartelet artist Jitwam is worthy of comment, it's the infectious and breathless music that sits beneath - a combination of a low-slung punk-funk bassline, sweaty house beats, addictive electric piano stabs and wild sax lines - that makes the track such a buzzing, caffeine-charged affair. The Dutch duo's accompanying vocal-free "Dub Mix" is rock solid, but it's Prins Thomas's 10-minute "Discomiks" - an ever-growing, pulsating fusion of dub disco sweatiness and jazz-house heaviness, with additional space disco electronics thrown in for good measure - that really sets the pulse racing. In a word: essential.
Review: Although French veteran Ludovic Llorca has previously provided remixes for Z Records, "Flower Child" marks the first time one of his original productions has appeared on Dave Lee's long-serving label. While there are naturally some subtle nods towards Llorca's classic house sound in the track, it's little less than a flash-fried chunk of disco revivalism that brilliantly wraps period instrumentation - crunchy Clavinets, funk-rock style guitar licks, slap bass and sweeping strings - and a soulful lead vocal around live-sounding beats that are guaranteed to get you up and dancing. It's accompanied by a similarly impressive instrumental version, which wile a little less impactful is nevertheless a genuine aural treat.
Review: To celebrate notching up ten years in the game, London blog and party-turned-record label SlothBoogie has decided to offer-up their most ambitious release to date: an epic collection of previously unheard cuts from a mixture of imprint regulars and like-minded friends. There's naturally plenty to set the pulse racing throughout, with highlights including the sparkling jazz-funk-meets-deep house sunshine of Levan's "U R Beautiful In The Face", the deep, breakbeat-driven dreaminess of Philippa's "That's What I Mean By Free", the piano solo-heavy disco-house bump of Leatherette's "Your Love", and the dub disco-meets-acid house heaviness of "Rewind Run" by Pablot. Throw in similarly impressive contributions from Kassian, Luvless, Casino Times and Soul Wun (the classic jazz-house of "Thank You, St Germain") and you have a must-have collection.
Review: For his latest trick, spoonerism-loving rework maestro V (AKA sometime funk-breaks producer Valique) has decided to offer up a second selection of "Neo Blues" scalpel works. He begins by delivering a chunky, rolling revision of Ann Feebles' rock-tinged gospel-funk classic "Beware", before chugging his way through a pitched-down revision of a weighty T-Rex glam-rock classic ("Jewelry"). This is followed by EP highlight "Holis", an inspired - and suitably epic - "Afro-blues" revision of one of Nina Simone's greatest moments, and the low-slung voodoo-house hypnotism of "Mississippi Lullalby (V's Rendition)". To finish with a. flourish, the Vehicle main man then adds some elastic new drums to Otis Redding's version of "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay".
Review: With Italy hit hardest by the Coronavirus and lockdown right now, Milan crew, collective and glitterazzi Rollover keeps hope alive! Normally a trusted party for Milano's Apollo club (that's brought the likes of Tiga, Maurice Fulton, Ame and Bambounou to town), Rollover is the place and project for DJ duo and label owners Rocco Fusco & Tiberio Carcano to work their magic. In times of crisis Rollover presents a special initiative via their "ANYTHING GOES" edit service, welcoming voluntary contributions that pay homage to the spirit of Balearic music and beyond! Expect tracks from 2manydjs, Adam Port, Soul Clap, Boombass, Moscoman and Bill Brewster, among many others, with proceeds going to the official emergency fund set up by the Italian Civil Protection Department destined for the COVID-19 crisis in Italy.
Review: Remarkably, three decades have now passed since Dave Lee AKA Joey Nergo inaugurated his label, Z Records. To mark the occasion, Lee has compiled this suitably epic, 44-track retrospective. There are plenty of big tunes and underground anthems present- see Jakatta's "American Dream", Raven Maize's "The Real Life", The Sunburst Band's "Everyday" and Doug Willis's "Spread Love" - as well as some of the veteran DJ/producer's favourite catalogue cuts and some slept-on gems. Throw in a string of memorable remixes - think Ame's remix of Akabu's "Phuture Bound", Grant Nelson's vintage rub of Z Factor's "Gotta Keep Pushin" and Joey Negro's revision of Patrice Rushen disco classic "Haven't You Heard" - and you've got a brilliant retrospective of one of house and disco's most consistent labels. Don't sleep!
Review: Over the course of his 18-year career, Partyfine founder Yuksek has been moving steadily towards a musically rich, mature and detailed sound that draws much from his vintage influences (think disco, boogie, jazz-funk and so on). "Nosso Ritmo", his new album, is arguably the logical conclusion of his journey so far. Rich in warm live instrumentation (bass, keys, synths etc), crunchy disco/electrofunk beats and a wealth of stylish lead vocals (provided by a string of guest singers), the set sees the French producer deliver an attractive, ear-pleasing collection of cuts that strike a near perfect balance between radio-friendly disco-pop hooks, peak-time dancefloor weight and celebratory afternoon cheeriness. The result is a hugely impressive album that could well propel Yuksek to genuine crossover success.
Review: Still relatively new to the label game, Rollover outta Milan, Italy, follow up their Friends Against Coronavirus fundraiser compilation from earlier this year by debuting Ferrari's Nene EP. Packed with a shiney The Juan Maclean remix, Ferrari channels reinforced disco beats alongside melodic synth action, cowbell percussion and western motifs in its title-track. Funky, subdued basslines take over from the bleepy progression and space pongs of "Dopium", with "Talk" the heaviest bassline of them all, given a slightly thinned out mix by New York disco legend The Juan Maclean. Rollover Red Rover.
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: Shockingly, 11 years has passed since Dave Lee released his sole album under the disco-powered Doug Willis alias, "Doug's Disco Brain". The two CD set featured versions of cuts he'd released under the pseudonym over the previous 15 years. Here it comes to digital download in newly expanded form, with the original set - a mixture of tidy instrumental re-edits, sample-fired disco-house cuts and typically boisterous peak-time groovers - being accompanied by various new, rare and forgotten remixes. With 32 high quality tracks to wade through, picking highlights is tough, though our favourites include the percussion and horn-heavy "You Should Be Dubbing", the soaring disco-house brilliance of "Doug's Place", the silly-but-sensational "Disco Owl" and the Clavinet-happy brilliance of the Re-Tide & Moon Rocket Remix of "Crystal Lover".
Review: Party-starting disco/funk bizniss here courtesy of Alien Disco Sugar, AKA Greek producer Leonidas Deejay. 'Sunshine In', as you may have guessed, is based heavily on The Fifth Dimension's classic 'Let The Sun Shine In' (from the musical 'Hair') and is served in Original and Extended Mix flavas, with the latter the clear pick for club play because it's here that the string stabs and AWB-ish horns really shine through. The NSFW vocal on 'Crank This MF Up!', on the other hand, is of unknown origin, but once paired with the track's lolloping funk groove is guaranteed to get booties shaking out on the floor.
Groove It (Yam Who? Studio 54 Tribute vocal mix) - (6:52) 122 BPM
Groove It - (5:34) 122 BPM
Groove It (Rocoe remix) - (6:05) 122 BPM
Groove It (Yam Who? Studio 54 Tribute instrumental mix) - (6:52) 122 BPM
Review: Midnight Riot serve up some contemporary disco/disco-house grooves that are sure to find favour at the likes of Glitterbox and Horse Meat Disco. In its Original form, 'Groove It' has a summery, mid-00s Hed Kandi kinda feel. Yam Who? then steps up with a Studio 54 Tribute Vocal Mix which, true to form, is somehow altogether more sumptuous and luxuriant without actually being that radically different, and which comes accompanied by a matching instrumental. Finally, Rocoe funks things up considerably on a remix that's driven by a phat bassline, wukka-wukking geetar and rare groove-style, siren-like horns.
Review: Following up the 'T1'experiment back in 2015, Toolroom reboots the concept to celebrate their artists' talents and challenge them creatively. With many in isolation across the world, 'T2' will act to raise money for Covid-19 relief funds, with a percentage of profits going to charity. Much like the last edition - which was an album of new and exciting collabs from their label roster - label boss Mark Knight picked the collaborations totally at random during a Facebook Live broadcast, resulting in some 'out-of-the-box experiments and sure-fire bangers.' Highlights include: KC Lights who teams up with Kitball's Juliet Sikora on the soulful sax-driven shuffle of "Tonight", the man himself Mark Knight teaming up with Tuff London and Cagney & Lacey to bring back funky house with a vengeance on "Don't Give Up", while Romanian label staples Sllash & Doppe likewise turn in some late '90s styled filtered disco funk on "Burnin'" and the ascendant Maxinne teams up with Mizbee, Amine Edge & DANCE on the tough rolling main room stomper "What U Say".
Review: This is your 2020 edition of Toolroom House Party! Included in this red hot package are 20 brand new and exclusive cuts from the likes of: KC Lights who serves up the funked-up tribal groove of "You & Me", boss man Mark Knight once again heralding the return of good ol' fashioned funky house on "If It's Love" featuring Laura Davie & The Melody Men, legend Sharam Jey with Andruss & Bob Musella on the tough rolling tech funk of "Rise On My Soul" and man of the moment Shiba San getting deep down and dirty on "Runnin' Roll". Elsewhere, Saved head honcho Nic Fanciulli teams up with Black Circle on the spiritual afro house epic "Leap Of Faith", rising Berliners Mat.Joe give us the neon-lit energy of "Off Ma Mind" and you can bet that the ever reliable D. Ramirez makes a contribution (alongside label chief Knight) on the euphoric "Colombian Soul" which is remixed by label staples Sllash & Doppe. Plus, three super-hot DJ mixes from Dombresky, the aforementioned KC Lights & Ben Remember.
Review: If your fame is built on delivering rock solid dancefloor cuts, should your subsequent albums stick to the same approach or mix it up a little? It's a conundrum that many artists have struggled with over the years. Smartly, Detroit Swindle has decided to hedge their bets with High Life following 2014's Boxed Out. As full length albums go, it's a bit of a peach, and sees the acclaimed Dutch duo flit between sensuous, home-listening fare, jaunty, instrumental-laden workouts (see the cheery, smoky pop-soul of Tom Misch hook-up "Yes, No, Maybe" and Afro-fired bounce of "Call of the Wild" featuring fellow Dutch combo Jungle By Night) and tried-and-tasty club tracks (Seven Davis Jr collaboration "Flavourism", the driving disco-house of "Freeqy Polly" and "Cut U Loose").
Review: Within the release reviews we often discuss consistency and if there was ever a label that it applied to the most it is Strictly House And Garage. Since their inception as an imprint last year, they have barely put a foot wrong, with this latest six tracker from the ever-ready Daze Prism being a perfect example of that. We begin our journey into this one with a look at the smooth, warming chords within 'Burning' atop a colourful array of drums, before sliding into the futuristic percussive reverbs and winding sub structures of 'Header'. Next up we take in 'Just Get You' which combines nostalgic string notation with moderinzed crispy drum exploits, before 'Lazer' arrives with more catchy vocal chops to match. From here, 'Selekta' arrives with a lively set of drum moves and a catchy reese tone before we take in 'Shady', a slower groove that works perfectly to
round off the project with a bang.
Review: In 2019 Marina Trench impressed with a two-part debut single on Deeply Rooted. Wolf Music debut the "Waterside EP" marks her first single since and is every bit as alluring as its predecessor. The French producer aims for peak-time perfection on opener "Waterside", wrapping heady female vocal samples and fizzing electronics around a killer techno-funk groove, before slipping into classic deep house mode on the warm, groovy and piano-laden "Get In". You'll find even more bright and breezy piano motifs on tactile, retro-futurist house jam "Train Call", while closing cut "Straight" offers an even warmer, dreamier and more fluid take on turn-of-the-millennium American deep house.
Review: More disco house slammers from London's Tom Jay, who has previously appeared on Axe On Wax, Sour Edits, Sterns Music, Esuoh and Inhale:Exhale. This new one is for Alex Virgo's Pomme Frite imprint. Features the late '90s funky house vibe of "Thief'' complete with roaring diva vocals that calls to mind classic Defected and Soul:furic sounds of old, while Tilman gets on the remix to make it rougher, deeper and dustier. Second original offering comes in the form of "Let Go '' - a proper disco inferno that's made for getting down, complete with sleazy guitar licks, conga polyrhythms and a sick horns section. All you need right here!
Review: If you dig Masterworks Music's celebratory, feel-good approach to disco re-edits and reworks, we'd advise picking up this bulging, 26-track collection of killer cuts from the label's recent past. It begins with a superb disco-funk cut-up by The Funk District and ends with a smooth, rolling and glassy eyed boogie-era disco revision by Saskin S that's almost worth the admission price on its own. In between, you'll find a swathe of superb revisions from some of the edit scene's finest - South Beach Recycling, Hotmood, Chewy Edits and Dr Packer included - with the selected tracks variously touching on electrofunk, boogie, P-funk, Latino disco and super-sweet '80s soul.
Review: DJ/producer Danny Wheeler first donned the WheelUP alias last summer, delivering a debut EP of heavy bruk-up business for Cooperation Records. Here he continues on a similar theme via a superbly played, programmed and produced EP for Tru Thoughts. Check first the title track, where jammed-out, Kaidi Tatham style keys ride a dense, percussion-heavy rhythm that sits somewhere between Afro-house and classic broken beat, before admiring the Dexter Wansel-influenced, intergalactic jazz-funk-meets-broken beat flex of "Life On Mars". Elsewhere, "People" is a joyously jumpy, Bugz In The Attic style bruk roller, while "Girl" cannily wraps sweaty, loose-limbed beats around a foreboding synth bassline.
