Brighton-based Hot Digits Music has been delivering the spiciest finger-licking disco, funk and house since 2014. Inspired by the good times, the label was founded by British DJ and producer Fingerman. Hot Digits has seen releases from artists including: Dr Packer, Frank Virgilio, Rayko, Chewy Rubs, Kiu D, Deelicious and more. Wax Digits is Hot Digits’ sister label.
Review: Berlin's Max Newton has chalked up releases on Spa Club, Omena and Moiss Music, and now comes to Fingerman's Hot Digits label with this four-track EP. Authentically old school-sounding funk and disco are the order of the day generally, with 'One Two' bringing the squelchy funk vibes, the languid 'Nightwalker' having a smoother, 'Too Slow To Disco'-esque feel and 'Funky Jam' a bit more frenetic and wigged-out. Newton then throws us a curveball in the form of 'Chickenburger', which has a more experimental, dubby vibe and makes good use of a familiar Johnny Dynell vocal, as made famous by Beats International.
Review: Spa in Disco and Rare Wiri regular Fran Deeper pitches up on Hot Digits with a fine EP of floor-focused nu-disco workouts liberally sprinkled with authentic instrumentation and saucy samples from unknown 1970s and '80s gems. Check first the colourful electrofunk synths, tactile nu-disco grooves and whispered female vocal samples of 'Night Tropic', before moving on to the deeper, warmer and jazzier excellence of 'Groove Garden' and he nu-disco, deep house and dub disco fusion of 'Friday Rhythm'. To round off the EP we're presented with two remixes of 'Night Tropic': a shuffling, nu-disco-tinged deep house re-wire courtesy of Ian Upfolds, and a pulsating, acid-fired peak-time take by JayEdits.
Review: The first set of remixes of this late 2020 vocal smasher dropped a couple of weeks ago, and were described by yours truly as "charting various courses through nu-disco and soulful house waters". Now here come a second crop that take a much more eyes-down and dancefloor-oriented approach, with the vocal applied far more sparingly, and as such may appeal even if the first lot didn't. The Smashed Atoms Dub is a dreamy, drifty affair, Adam Nova's rub brings the fat-bottomed disco stompery but the standout to these ears is a disco-fied deep house refix from I Gemin - just gorgeous.
Review: Three fresh mixes here of a cut that first came out at the tail end of 2020. 'Lifted' is a team-up between Smashed Atoms, AKA North London DJ/producer Steve Gladdis, and renowned UK vocalist Kathy Diamond, whose CV includes collabs with the likes of Aeroplane, Fred Everything, Toby Tobias and Mario Basanov as well as numerous releases in her own right. Lyrically, 'Lifted' is a paean to weekend dancefloor abandon and the new rubs, charting various courses through nu-disco and soulful house waters, come from Smashed Atoms himself, Sauco and Chewy Rubs & Fingerman, whose epic, bottom-heavy Club Dub takes the gold for yours truly.
Review: Summer 2023 welcomes the triumphant return of Waterford's own Stephen Richards to the Hot Digits Music roster with his sensational three-track EP: Trax In-House. As the Disco Daze maestro, Richards seamlessly guides us through a captivating journey into the heart of his house music realm. The EP kicks off with "The Warehouse," a piano-driven anthem reminiscent of Crazy P's finest, elevated by sultry saxophone riffs. Transitioning to the deeper realms of the night, "South Side" immerses listeners in a 3am ambiance. Collaborating with Get Down Edits' Daz on the mesmerising "Heard It," Richards continues his winning streak of collaborations. Drawing inspiration from classic Miguel Migs dubs, this EP is an inviting, warm house burner that ignites the dancefloor. Hot Digits' boss Fingerman brings the finishing touches to this exceptional musical journey.
Review: Norway's own comeback king shows the youngers how it's done with a belter of a four-tracker here! Addvibe were a trio from Tromso who made their name during Norway's late 90s deep house boom. More recently, co-founder Paul Sorli has relaunched the project, now in solo mode but working with a wide array of guest musicians - and with, as this EP shows, exceptional results. 'Feelin' Hot' is a lively, live-sounding jazz-houser, 'Show U' brings the disco vibes, 'Havin' U Around' has a wonky, Madhouse-ish feel, and 'Feel Like (Dancin')' is pure 90s NYC biznss. All four are sheer class, but 'Feelin' Hot' and 'Feel Like (Dancin') just nudge it...
Review: Arriving just in time for the summer season, Hot Digits delivers a compilation that is tailor made to soundtrack lazy, hazy days. Even Funkier's "Feel So Good Inside" is an irresistible, funk-fuelled disco groove, while Ben Jamin's "Handle" inhabits a similar space. Soaked in wailing guitar and soulful vocals, it's a wonderfully infectious track. Both Andy Buchan and P-Sol raise the tempo with string-filled disco workouts, while Fray Bentos' "Danced To Death" offers a more electronic take on this sound. The compilation does veer towards house on occasion - most impressively with the subtle drum builds and chord progressions on Down Under Disco's "On My Mind". In the main though, Year Nine impresses most when it draws on disco and funk influences, such as the raucous party jam that is label owner Fingerman's collaboration with Chewy Rubs, "Block Party Bad Boy".
Review: Bulgarian producer Groovemasta has chalked up releases on the likes of Sundries Digital, Midnight Riot, Spa In Disco and Discoholics Anonymous, and now he drops his first full release for Fingerman's Hot Digits Music. The lively, string-swept 'Be Yourself' opens the EP in classic disco mode, and as such will delight the mirrorball purists. 'Come On, Dance' (the pick for yours truly) then maintains the authentically 70s-sounding feel, complete with soul diva vox, handclaps, brass fanfares and pyow! pyow! pyow! stabs, before finally we come to the more pop-oriented title track, which has something of a Moloko/Crazy P-like vibe.
Review: For their 100th release, Hot Digits bring us a truly outstanding collection that gathers together the best of the label's last 50 outings. Just one look at the talent roster involved should be enough to get any contemporary disco lover's tastebuds tingling, replete as it is with names like Fingerman, Dexter Jones, Fray Bentos, C Da Afro, Dave Mathmos and Jet Boot Jack, and suffice to say the music they provide doesn't disappoint one iota! With 30 full-length cuts plus two hour-long DJ mixes there's no room here to go into every track, but whether you like it deep n' chuggy, funky n' furious or boogie-tastic n' soul-tinged, you'll find plenty of fresh ammo for your disco machine gun here.
Review: British-born, Boston-based Ben Adams, AKA Good Morning Good Night - GMGN for short - comes to Fingerman's Hot Digits label touting four fresh slices of modern disco, with the title cut getting a refix from the label boss himself. 'Flame The Fans' is a looping, cut-up affair with a vaguely Lemon Jelly-esque Balearic feel, before Fingerman's rerub goes for the peaktime nu-disco jugular. Elsewhere, 'Oh Yelo' has a deeper, funkier vibe while 'Match Time' pushes the tempo up into disco-house territory, but it's the gloriously 80s-sounding sax shenanigans on 'A Taste Of Space' that take the gold for yours truly.
Review: Norway's Lux Experience serve up four very playable contemporary disco jams on this EP for Hot Digits Music. 'Disco World' itself is a solid lil' shuffler with sampled, chorused "disco, disco, disco... world" vox, while elsewhere, the almost Barry White-ish 'I Got (Love)' operates in lilting, laidback mode with a (thankfully non-Walrus-esque!) male soul vocal, 'It's Time' is a near-instrumental grooveathon and finally 'Give It To Me' is another rumbustious floor-filler with handclaps galore and a bassline that has vague echoes of 'Disco Inferno'. And all four are original creations (samples notwithstanding), which is something to be celebrated in these re-edit saturated times.
Review: Happy eighth birthday to Hot Digits, who are celebrating their anniversary with this superb collection of contemporary disco, funk and boogie slammers. With a whopping 30 tracks to choose from there's obviously no room here to go into them all one-by-one, but with cuts ranging from the smooth jazz-funk of 'George's Groove' to the unabashed filter disco euphoria of 'Cuz I'm Naked', and from the fat-ass slap bass of 'We're Gettin' In' to cheeky Loleatta-referencing disco-houser 'Dub Sensation', there's evidence a-plenty here, should any be required, that Hot Digits do this kind of tackle better than most.
Review: Historically, DiCE_NZ releases have mostly been re-edits but the three tracks here appear to be original productions. 'The Situation' itself is a smooth groover with a late 70s soul/jazz-funk vibe and hints of Balearica. Elsewhere, 'Believe Me' is a nicely laidback lil' roller with a jazz-style female vocal from Brittany Kate - we won't insult your intelligence by explaining the Andy Buchan Sax Remix - while 'Don't Ya Know' loops up a snatch of male vocal that may or may not come from the Cate Bros' recording of 'Yield Not To Tempation', and comes with a Fingerman remix that packs some absolutely killer stabs.
Review: Dad Bod comes to Hot Digits Music with an EP packing four cuts that are just varied enough to maintain interest while still making for a coherent whole. 'Music Takes Me' itself is a chunky, funky dancefloor workout that fuses house and disco influences in a manner that's redolent of early Italian house, but with a much heavier bottom-end; 'When We Were Younger' treads a funkier, more overtly disco-inspired path, while 'Interzone' is an eyes-down tribal workout built for small hours floors. But it's Henri Le Blanc's monstrous, throbbing remix of the title track that takes the gold.
Review: Four tracks to choose from here, with the emphasis on uptempo, largely instrumental disco grooves with a percussive, world music-y twist. The exuberant Afro drums, fluttering guitars and vocal whoops of "Cloud Two" set the blueprint, "Higher Place" uses that same blueprint as the framework for something a lil' more lo-slung and Blaxploitation-esque, while "The Winners Of The Future" has a hint of boogie flava. The standout for yours truly, though, is closer "I've Got Enough", which again is quite a percussive affair but opts for a deeper, more late-night approach, with some nice echoing, dubbed-out passages in the midsection.
Review: Disco, funk and pop collide on this four-track, five-mix EP from Italian producer Noil Rago, brought to you by Fingerman's Hot Digits label. 'Dope & Dope' sounds like what you'd get if Deee-Lite ever made a hazy Balearic cut based on a KC & The Sunshine Band funk loop, 'Disco Raydio' bites 'What You Waiting For', a 1979 jam from Raydio (better known, later, as Ray Parker Jr), 'Beat & Beat' leans towards early 80s boogie/electrofunk but with a housey backbeat and 'Jimme & Jack' is a dense, tracky, eyes-down affair, with a deeper, dubbier refix of the opener by the label boss completing the package.
Review: Brighton-based Fingerman teams up with fellow UK disco stalwart Slync for this latest salvo on his own Hot Digits imprint, which is presented in a choice of five mixes. In its Original Vinyl Mix form, 'Saft Junk' (see what they did there?) is a shuffling instrumental affair that sits somewhere between 'disco', 'deep' and 'soulful' house - think early 00s Om - while on the remix front Chewy Rubs gets fat n' funky, Vigi ups the tempo a notch to give the track a lil' more peaktime appeal, Boogietraxx take inspiration from the title and serve up a French Touch-ish pass, while Homegroove plays us out with a slightly more stripped back 'n' percussive rub.
Review: A collaborative four-track EP here from two leading lights of the contemporary funk and disco scene, and the results don't disappoint. The EP opens with 'Beats For Chance', an unsurprisingly percussion-led affair with snatches of boogie-style male vox. Next comes the looping funk workout that is 'Hook Of Love' with its chanted "1 2 3, look at me, I'm hooked up on your love" vocal, which is followed by the suppressed energy of 'Time To Freak'. The EP's then completed by 'Throw It, Shake It', a cheeky little strutter with another boogie-esque vocal that potentially has the most floor appeal of the lot.
Review: A new release from Dave Mathmos is always something that pricks up this reviewer's ears and this latest four-track offering is no exception. 'You Are The Best' kicks things off, opening in dusty, looping territory before blossoming into a richly produced, sunshine-friendly disco-houser. 'Jazz Graveyard' looks largely to 70s jazz-funk for inspiration, while 'Disco Is My Religion' takes us down a more soulful route - think The Sunburst Band, Opolopo, etc. The EP's then completed by 'Make The Story Shorter', which comes on like stomping late 60s soul as viewed through a disco-house prism. Classy stuff all round.
Review: Reading, UK-based duo Twin Sun are relative newcomers to the scene, but have already chalked up releases on leading contemporary disco labels including Midnight Riot, Too Slow To Disco and Discoholics Anonymous. Here they return to Hot Digits with a three-track EP that kicks off with the very 70s-flavoured 'When We're Dancing'. The other two cuts, though, fast-forward a half-decade or so to the early-mid 80s, with the pure boogie vibes of 'Way For Me' conjuring visions of high-top fades and shiny suits with huge shoulderpads, while 'Gotta Have It' rocks a slightly dirtier, west coast funk kinda vibe.
Review: Early 80s electrofunk is the primary source of inspiration for Greek veteran George Pantelidis's latest outing on Hot Digits Music. Opener 'Da Funk Connection' even sports a Zapp-style voicebox vocal, just so we know where we stand from the outset - said vocal coming married to an ascending walking bassline, Rodgers-esque guitar chops and Theremin-link squeals. 'Hey Brother' ups the tempo a little, the JaysEdits Full On Mix of the same takes us into disco-house territory and 'Retro Boogaloo' continues the early 80s theme, while finally Fingerman AKA Gregg Holmes brings us his stripped-back, electro-fied take on the opener.
Review: A pleasingly varied EP here from The Magic Track, AKA the Hungarian duo of Peter Makkai and Andras Szerepi. There's a Phenomenal Handclap-esque rocky edge to 'Be Free', with the vocal nodding to (but not sampled from) The Who's 'I'm Free', while 'Keep On Flowing' takes us into early 80s boogie territory. We're then treated to a slab of early 70s-style psychedelic funk in the form of 'Resist The Temptation' while finally 'Trust Yourself', with its brass flourishes and gutsy female soul vocal, has more of a 60s deep funk flava. Something for everyone, then!
Review: Ireland's Dexter Jones serves up a four-tracker on Fingerman's Hot Digits Music. Whether these are re-edits or just heavily sample-based productions isn't entirely clear, but opener 'Feel' is a female-vocalled funk/boogie jam that could pass for Janet Jackson in a dim light, while on the title track Jones drops down into out-and-out funk mode, foregrounding a sinuous bassline and melancholic horns. 'Jan Jam' then sits somewhere between early 80s boogie and shimmering Nang-esque nu-disco, before the EP winds up in full-on boogie territory with 'I Want You Back', which bites the vocal The Jones Girls' 'On Target' from 1983.
Review: Unlike many of its rivals, Fingerman's Hot Digits label doesn't fill its' obligatory annual compilation with back catalogue cuts. Instead, we're offered a vast number of previously unheard re-edits, remixes and original productions. It's a successful blueprint and one religiously adhered to on Hot Digits: Year Seven, the popular imprint's latest must-check collection. There's not enough room to single out every sonic highlight, but our current favourites include the breezy boogie squelch of Ross Fitz's 'I Miss Your Love ('85 Mix)', the driving deep house haziness of Fingerman and Henri Le Blanc's 'Leave Your Cares Tonight', the neo-trance cheeriness of Picklejam's 'Endorphin Situation' and the stab-happy, peak-time house retro-futurism of 'The Feeling' by Downunder Disco.
Review: See that corner of the dancefloor over there, where Disco is grooving away and keeps fluttering her eyelashes at Jazz-Funk? That's where you'll find San Fran veteran Henry Navarro tonight: his output over the past 30 years has spanned many shades of house, disco and techno, but on this four-tracker for Hot Digits he's all about the jazz piano licks, rolling disco basslines and west coast guitar squalls. From aptly-titled opener 'Groove Thing' to the mellower, more contemplative 'Led By Angels' and the furiously stomping 'They Know What It Makes', this EP is an understated triumph - don't sleep!
Review: Four tracks in a total of five mixes make up this latest offering from Spanish disco don James Rod, which is brought to you by Brighton-based Hot Digits Music. 'Matusalem Robot' is a bass-heavy, guitar-flecked chugger topped with squeeling, squalling synths, before getting a housed-up remix from Chewy Rubs and label boss Fingeman. Elsewhere, 'Showdown' is an early 80s-style funker with a rhythmic vocal loop and much use of sci-fi FX, 'We Celebrate' ploughs a more soul-inspired mid-70s groove but via a dubby, Levan-esque filter, while 'Latin Ton Funk' shouldn't really need a lot of explaining...
Review: If this writer's Juno inbox is anything to go by then, as of early 2021 there's a lot of very 80s-inspired disco around right now: boogie, Italo, cosmic and EBM/New Beat-inspired tracks are ten-a-penny, while authentically 70s-sounding homages/pastiches are a tad thinner on the ground. If your tastes do lean a little more towards the 'traditional', though, then check out this three-tracker from Mexico's Disco Feelings: 'Disco Dreams' recalls late 70s Roxy Music while the lightly Afro-tinged 'Leke Disco' comes on like a lost Loft classic, leaving only 'Leke Love' to nod to the boogie era.
Review: Five very solid contemporary funk/disco jams make up this EP from Andy Buchan a native of Leeds. The vaguely Afro-tinged 'Awayo' itself marries fluttering funk guitars to synth strings, female wails and some hefty bottom-end squelch, while 'Disco Down' ain't nothin' but 6m40s of rolling groove. The lively, jazzy 'Swing That Thing' takes us into housier, more uptempo territory; then we drop back down into 'Dream Walking' (think the Bee Gees with added funk sleaze) before 'Disco Down' gets reworked for house floors, with a vocal chant added, on the Get Down Edits Remix.
Review: Four phat slices of nu-disco/funk here from Sauco, who's based in Gran Canaria, Spain. Instrumental workout 'Whatcha Like' has synthesized brass stabs by way of a lead line, with a fat n' squelchy electronic bassline below; 'Jealous' is a deeper, more stripped-back affair with a dreamy "don't be jealous" vocal snip (but not the Black Magic sample), while 'Calling You' has a rawer funk sound with the brass firmly front and centre. All three are eminently playable, but the standout here is 'Delicious' itself, an aptly-titled sultry, slo-mo chugger that could've come straight off a 'Too Slow To Disco' compilation - outstanding stuff.
Review: Tinned pie enthusiast and sometime producer Fray Bentos (real name Adam Billingham) has previously served up slices of meaty, deep-filled disco goodness on Katakana Edits and Alpaca Edits. Here he brings his brand of pastry-topped dancefloor deliciousness to Hot Digits for the very first time. There's plenty to get you salivating across the EP, from the Atlantic Jaxx-era Basement Jaxx house fizz of opener 'Atom Refunk', and the colourful nu-disco-meets-house warmth of 'Life Goes On', to the screaming, tooled-up disco re-edit rush of 'Where Were You?', and the more loved up but similarly grandiose closing cut 'X-Press Yo Self'. Perfect fodder for your solo lockdown discos; much dancing round the living room will ensue.
Review: Athens-based funk n' disco producer Christos Antoniou returns to Hot Digits Music with three original tracks here, while fellow label regular Frank Virgilio supplies the obligatory remix. The instrumental 'Dancefloor Stories' itself has something of an 80s, Miami Vice-ish kinda feel, thanks largely to the nagging synth riff that forms its backbone. Elsewhere, 'Papercllp Jam' is a squelchy funker with Zapp/Cameo leanings, 'Solaris' marries fluttering Chic-y guitars to authentically 70s-sounding brass, while finally Naples native Virgilio takes the title track down a darker path, toning down the original's spangly 80s sheen and adding layers of tribal percussion.
Review: This EP from Toby O'Connor, coming on Fingerman's Belfast-based Hot Digits Music, is sitting in our disco section but would be equally at home flying under the jazz-funk flag. Dexterously finger-picked jazz geetar and parping horns form the backbone of most of the six tracks - the only real exception being 'Back In 95', which delegates the hefty lifting to Hammonds and flutes instead, and which comes accompanied by a more immediately club-friendly Fingerman's Nude Disco Remix. If you dig the likes Roy Ayers, Dexter Wansell or Deodato, you'll find plenty to enjoy here.
Review: Fresh from an energetic, funk-fuelled outing on Spincat Music, JB Boogie returns to Hot Digits for the first time in 12 months. Plenty will be impressed by flash-fried opener "Black Gold", a wall-of-sound carnival disco number smothered in gnarly funk-rock guitar solos, spacey synths and bold piano riffs, while the filter-sporting "Lovin Feelin" is an excellent interpretation of what sounds like a treacle-rich, early '80s disco-boogie gem. Elsewhere, "Funky Light" is a slightly more hard-wired, soul-fired peak-time synth-boogie number guaranteed to set pulses racing, while "The Groove" is a horn-toting disco-funk stomper that sounds capable of setting peak-time dancefloors alight.
Review: Two years ago, Irish pals Get Down Edits and Stephen Richards released a joint EP in which they remixed each other. Here they've gone one step further and offered up a set of genuinely collaborative productions. There's much to admire, from the cheery nu-disco/acid house fusion of vocal-sporting opener "Acid Thing", and the electric piano-laden revivalist disco-boogie bounce of "People Get Up", to the revivalist piano house sunniness of "Beautiful Sisters (Be Strong)". The EP also boasts a couple of tidy remixes: a chunkier, turn-of-the-90s US house take on "People Get Up", and a bustling, all-action nu-disco revision of "Beautiful Sisters" by label boss Fingerman.
Review: Having previously featured on some pretty hot labels over the last few years, most notably Midnight Riot, sometime Get Down Edits "family member" Jay Ru pops up on Hot Digits with his most expansive release to date. It begins a quartet of varied, sample-heavy productions, with highlights including the head-nodding, Beatdown style dancefloor soul bliss of opener "Such A Long Time", the bubbly, horn-heavy tropical nu-disco bounce of "Flippin' The Bird", and the multi-coloured, club-ready goodness of Fingerman hook-up "Sweet Hum". The equally as impressive remixes that follow include a superb bumping house meats nu-disco revision of "Movin' On" by Paul B, and a rolling, peak-time tweak of "Flippin' The Bird" by Fingerman and Chewy Rubs.
Review: It's been another action-packed year for Tonbe, who appears to have spent much of the pandemic lockdown period preparing more hot-to-trot re-edits, reworks and original productions. Here he makes the switch from his Disco Fruit and Cherry Cola labels to make a first appearance on Hot Digits - an imprint he first graced in 2014 - in some time. There's much to admire throughout, from the throbbing, synth-laden Italo-disco chug of pulsating opener "Bow Wow" and the kaleidoscopic, P-funk-goes-house bustle of "Circle", to the low-slung, Talkbox-sporting "Time Is Running Out", and the squelchy, all-action nu-disco-meets-deep house colour of title track "Neon Nights". Label head honcho FIngerman remixes the latter track, smartly turning it into a breakbeat-powered chunk of breakbeat house/Balearic acid fusion.
Review: Having recently notched up a sixth year in business, Fingerman's Hot Digits imprint is in a celebratory mood - hence this all-action round-up of recent delights and unheard treats from the disco-loving label. Encompassing no less than 30 tunes, the collection giddily skips between warming beatdown disco (P-Sol's "Walter"), Mark E style slo-mo loop jams (Vigi's "I'll Be There") and glassy-eyed Balearic nu-disco (Picklejam's "Untitled Love"), before raising its hands skywards as the peak-time party-starters begin to appear thick and fast. Highights in this category include the vibrant jazz-house flex of Dexter Jones' "Swing Thing", the bustling boogie re-edit business of Monsieur Von Pratt's "Let's Dance" and the hearty disco-funk heaviness of Chewy Rubs' "Funky Bee Bop".
Review: It may have an uninspired - if technically accurate - title, but this first solo outing from Jet Boot Jack is anything but mundane. For proof, check the rushing and rousing stomp of opener "Start It Off", which sticks a massive house-friendly boot up the backside of a camp and joyous peak-time disco stomper. Further evidence is provided via the filter-sporting, string-laden disco-house celebration that is "Jetstream" - all killer loops, breathy female vocal snippets, body-battering beats and heady orchestral sweeps - and the sweeter, beatdown-tempo shuffle of "The Disco Floor", which sounds like a rework of an unlikely disco record by a country music star (it may not be, but that's our take).
Review: Last year Lasso D'Amore popped up on Hot Digits' fifth anniversary compilation, so it's little surprise to see the Dublin-based producer returning to the label with a full EP. The standout cut is undoubtedly "Backyard Jungle", a toe-tapping shuffle through tropical disco pastures rich in delay-laden guitar licks, undulating bass and Azymth style electric piano riffs. Fingerman's "Tribal Funk" remix is a sweaty, grunting and energy-packed affair, while the Ian Upfold revision is a blissful and glassy-eyed chunk of synth-laden nu-disco goodness. Elsewhere, 'Falling Into You" is a rush-inducing slab of Balearic nu-disco cheeriness and "The Way We Used To Do It" is tactile, wavy and dreamy in the best possible way.
Review: This is a suitably solid start to the year from re-editor, remixer and producer Monsieur Von Pratt, an artist that rose to prominence within the disco scene in 2019. There's something particularly pleasing about opener "Be Real", which sees him successfully rework an obscure disco-boogie number rich in wavy group vocals, colourful synthesizer lines, cut-glass strings and toasty bass. There's plenty to enjoy elsewhere on the EP though, from the hot-to-trot early '80s disco bustle of "Distant Lover", to the percussion-laden instrumental disco headiness of "Let Your Body Shake" and the celebratory rush of fine closing cut "Loving You".
Review: According to our records, "Back2ThaBeatdown" marks Hot Digits boss Fingerman's first solo single for almost three years. As the title suggests, the music on the EP was inspired in part by Detroit Beatdown, a mid-tempo style more associated with deep house than the disco cuts the British producer has used as his source material. Our pick of a strong quartet of cuts is "High Priorities", a rolling disco instrumental re-imagined as a toe-tapping slice of mid set dancefloor dreaminess. That said, other listeners will rightly gravitate towards the excitable, string-laden disco-funk of "Brass Monkeys", the even heavier and hazier "Don't Leave Me, Yeah?" and the rubbery disco-house grooves of "The Feel Good Factor".
Review: After first impressing on Hot Digits with 2018's "Gettin' Loose EP", Steve Cooper once more dons the Down Under Disco alias with a rock solid sequel. He begins in confident fashion via "Turn Away", a warm and groovy cut that sits somewhere between deep house and loopy disco-house, before offering up the bold and bass-heavy "Sonny Jim", where woozy organ chords and glistening disco guitar licks rise above a pleasingly saucer-eyed groove. "Get Down" is an energetic, trippy and low-slung chunk of peak-time disco-house headiness, "Everybody Lose Control" cleverly combines stargazing synth lines with UK funky style bass and bouncy house beats, and PickleJam's "Party Line" remix of "Turn Away" is a sparkling fusion of bouncy electro beats and slick nu-disco musicality.
Review: We'd rather not quibble with Parissior about the definition of "house", but to us the majority of the tracks on his "Not Quite House Cutz" EP sound like house. Disco, boogie and nu-disco influenced house, but still house. Regardless, there's much to enjoy throughout, from the swirling deep house chords, gentle acid lines and chunky grooves of "Don't Worry About It" and the acid-fired, disco-tech bustle of "Acid Shape", to the bass-heavy disco-house loop jam "Bad Thinking". Complimenting these three layered and ear-pleasing original cuts is a remix of "Don't Worry About It" by Fingerman. The Hot Digits supremo drags the track further towards filter-sporting disco-house territory by emphasizing some sharp horn samples and turning the bass up to eleven.
Review: Earlier in the year, Italian-Australian producer Dave Mathmos sent many hearts fluttering via a killer EP of mid-tempo reworks on DJ Supermarket's Too Slow To Disco edits series. This time round he's in a more up-tempo mood, with opener "Why Don't You" offering a peak-time ready, house-friendly rework of disco classic "Spread Love" that allows the original vocals, horns and orchestration plenty of room to breathe. "Colinandro" is similarly weighty and upbeat, with Mathmos sprinkling a little contemporary dancefloor magic over a downlow disco-funk workout. Elsewhere, "The Dude" is an excellent pitched-down revision of another heady slab of disco-funk, while "Sexy Tortellino" is a mid-tempo bubbler that layers dubbed-out snippets from a familiar disco-funk favourite over a chunky, locked-in groove.
Review: Strap yourself in and prepare for take-off: "Boogie Airlines" is ready to take flight with captain JB Boogie at the controls. There's a party going on aboard, with the label-hopping producer-turned-pilot delivering a scintillating soundtrack of disco-fired dancefloor treats. The cabin crew is dancing in the aisles to the rolling disco-funk heaviness of "Sometimes", while the slap-bass propelled hustle of "Show My Love" - a pitched up peak-time take on a Goldie Alexander classic - is tastier than the in-flight food and twice as salty. The jazzy disco sweetness of "Feeling" and the horn-fired synth boogie business of "Alright" follow, before co-pilot Fingerman takes the controls to deliver a pumped-up "Boogie Beatdown" take on the latter jam
Review: On his latest EP for Fingerman's Hot Digits label, Athens hero C Da Afro is in full-on synth-boogie mode. Raiding his collection of '80s soul records for inspiration, the prolific producer offers up a trio of reworks rich in bold synth-bass, dewy-eyed vocals and colourful melodies. Choose between the aptly titled "Slick", the elastic, P-funk-tinged bounce of "Can't Get Enough" and the fliter-and-saxophone-sporting haziness of "Gonna Get You", another '80s soul revision that's been subtly tooled up for contemporary dancefloors. Remix wise, the killer contribution comes from Chewy Rubs, whose Dub mix of "Slide" is an on-point study in hard synth bass, ricocheting guitars, chunky guitars, echoing vocal samples and delay-laden synthesizer flashes.
Review: Following a string of rock solid EPs for the likes of Thunder Jam, Masterworks Music and Spa In Disco, Stephen Richards returns to Hot Digits for the first time since January 2018. He hits the ground running with a slap bass, electric piano and P-funk fuelled chunk of nu-disco/deep house fusion (the addictive "Coastal Groove"), before opting for tighter beats, fuzzier bass guitar and skewed, turn-of-the-90s house stabs on the similarly impressive "Groundwork". He offers up some spacey, synth-laden disco positivity, too, in the shape of "Rare Pleasure". That gets a smooth and groovy disco-house makeover at the hands of pals Get Down Edits, while Fingerman delivers a loopy "Boogie Beatdown" flip of "Groundwork" and Kiu D re-imagines "Coastal Groove" as a dreamy chunk of fizzing disco-boogie.
Review: Producer Rich Hall and singer/instrumentalist Megan Jones, AKA Cuz Electric, have previously released on labels such as Midnight Riot, Paper Recordings and Katakana Edits, so it's little surprise that housed-up nu-disco and discofied deep house are the order of the day on this five-tracker for Fingerman's Belfast-based Hot Digits Music. 'It Came Fast' features sprightly pianos and a very 80s-sounding bassline, 'Where Is It?' veers into electro/boogie pastures, 'Gravitate' is a Nang-esque nu-disco gem before being remixed into an Italo-tinged throbber by JB Dizzy while the label boss's Acid Beatdown remix of 'Where Is It?' brings the Ha?ienda '87 vibes.
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