Review: Tom Tom Disco boss Richard Rossa serves up another slab of hefty electronic disco on his own label. Powered along by a dark, moody beast of a throbbing bassline and topped with an assortment of spoken, treated vocal snippets, the Original mix of 'Monoman' is an eyes-down groover augmented by occasional synth flourishes, while the Acid Hamam Remix strips things down even further while getting more wonked-out in the synth department and adding hints of Middle Eastern flava, making it the obvious choice for small-hours play. If Italo, new beat and EBM are your bag, this should probably be in it.
Review: Six tracks from as many different artists make up this V/A offering from Richard Rossa's Stockholm-based Tom Tom Disco label. If you're looking for cowbells, handclaps and Philly strings, look elsewhere: the tracks here generally plough a far more electronic and leftfield-leaning furrow, blending influences from Italo, EBM, coldwave and early house. Frank Agrario's percussive, Afro-inspired 'Drum Circles' is the exception to that rule, but the standout for this writer is Guxi's 'Dribbling Disco', a mix of Italo and Chi-town tropes that periodically bursts out in unanticipated "proper disco" flourishes. Rabih Rizk's Middle Eastern-tinged 'Acid Drop' is good, too.
Review: Bologna, Italy's Francesco Brini, AKA, Frank Agrario, wears many hats: DJ, producer, mastering engineer, Swayzak drummer and owner of the Mozzarella Recordings and Spare Change Disco labels. Here, he comes to Sweden's Tom Tom Disco with three original tracks that blur the lines between nu-disco, funk and Balearica, with 'White Rabbit' also having a hint of Afro flava. Tom Tom boss Richard Rossa then adds a remix of 'Voodo' that's got something of an 80s new beat/EBM-ish feel, while 'White Rabbit' gets handed over to Tropikal Camel, who does his trademark Arab fusion thing.
Review: Barely a month after making his debut on AZZUR's multi-artist Bouquets Des Fleurs EP, Olaf Orbit pops up on Tom Tom Disco with his debut solo single. Title track 'Space Operator' shows that he has a firm grasp of nu-disco dynamics, with the up-and-coming producer adding spacey electronics, weirdo noises and trippy synth melodies to an arpeggio-style bassline reminiscent of New Order's 'Blue Monday'. Tony disco adds a little extra rubbery nu-disco bounce and some wonderfully deep-sounding breakdowns on his tidy remix, while bonus cut 'Olaf' is a bolder and even more synth-heavy tribute to the halcyon days of Italo-disco. As debut singles go, this is quietly impressive.
Review: African influences have played a huge role in shaping the 'now' sound of house music in the last few years, just as Latin styles did in the mid-00s. But right now there are just as many interesting fusions going on at that point where house and techno collide with the musics of the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent - and this excellent four-tracker from Nour, a female producer from Palestine who's now based in Mexico, is a case in point. Head for the originals if you're a lover of Eastern sounds generally, or the remixes from Rayko and Sinchi if you want something that's more easily programmable.
Black Harmala Disco Club (Cornelius Doctor & Tushen Rai remix) - (6:33) 60 BPM
Kadikoy (Leonor remix) - (5:04) 112 BPM
Review: Sufi bangers and Turkish psychedelic delights from the Stockholm-based new power duo Acid Hamam & Nasiri on TOM TOM DISCO - earth bound label for spaced-out people. Features the moody dancefloor drama of "Blac Harmala Disco Club" drawing you deep into the exotic with its middle eastern aesthetic, not to mention Cornelius Doctor & Tushen Rai's fierce EBM styled rework. There's also the lo-slung punk-folk of "Kadikoy" which gets remixed by Leonor which is in true cosmo-psychedelic fashion. Frequencies from the heart. 100% party proof.
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