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Gomma Dancefloor Gems Vol 2
Various
Munk & James Murphy - "Kick Out The Chairs" (Whomadewho remix) - (3:23) 102 BPM
C?cile - "Sweetness 86" - (6:28) 101 BPM
Review: Back in the 00s, Mathias 'Munk' Modica and Jonas 'Telonius' Imbery's Gomma label was at the forefront of the punk-funk and indie-dance scene. Imbery later stepped away and Munk shuttered the label in 2016 to concentrate on his new venture Toy Tonics, but now he's taking time to revisit former glories with this second collection of cuts from the Gomma vaults. The timing's probably right: with clubbing's Nag Nag Nag generation now hitting 40, the retro/nostalgia bandwagon was bound to get around to the 00s eventually, and while certain tracks here may be a bit too redolent of asymmetrical haircuts and scarves worn indoors for some, the set also undoubtedly includes some fine nuggets that deserve exposure to a new generation, notably Mercury's rather lovely 'Sweetness' and Munk's own James Murphy collab 'Kick Out The Chairs'.
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TOYT 142
15 Mar 24
Disco/Nu-Disco
Kick Out The Chairs (Whomadewho Remix)
Kick Out The Chairs (Whomadewho remix) - (3:23) 102 BPM
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TOYT142S 1
26 Feb 24
Disco/Nu-Disco
Baby's Berserk
Accessories - (4:18) 105 BPM
Glassy Towers - (4:38) 107 BPM
Limousine - (3:14) 102 BPM
The Actual Moon Landing Conversation - (3:15) 70 BPM
Review: Toy Tonics may be renowned for delivering delicious deep house and kaleidoscopic nu-disco, but the label is not averse to mixing things up - as their championing of Baby's Beserk, a contemporary four-piece inspired by a mixture of 1980s new wave, 90s indie-dance and post-punk posturing, emphatically proves. The band's self-titled debut album does a great job in setting out their sonic vision, where stylised male and female vocals rise above a mixture of low-slung bass guitar, sharp analogue synth sounds, delay-laden drums, proto-house pianos, woozy drum machine rhythms and dark, clandestine electronic textures. It sounds like it could have been made at some point between 1979 and '83, which of course is entirely the point, but with enough freshness to dispel any thoughts of hollow nostalgia or 21st century revivalism.
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TOYT 147
29 Sep 23
Disco/Nu-Disco
Amore Latino EP
Vita Lenta - (5:34) 105 BPM
Review: Guiseppe Fimiani may be best known for his excellent re-edits as BPlan, but he's also released original material under that alias too. Here, though, he's decided to release music under his given surname for the first time, pitching up on Toy Tonics with an EP that joins the dots between American, Latin and Italian house sounds of the 1990s. This hybrid sound is exemplified by the piano-powered, Spanish vocal-sporting peak-time deep house release of opener 'Believe In Yourself' and the salsa-soaked joy of 'Amore Latino', where fluid piano solos ride a chunky house groove. Elsewhere, 'Melana' is a more percussion-laden excursion with live bass and a breathy, 'Sueno Latino' style spoken word vocal, 'Jungle Trouble' is a fine fusion of booming bass, bustling beats and sparkling piano riffs, and 'Vita Lenta' is a pitched-down, jazz-funk influenced disco jam.
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TOYT 151
21 Jul 23
Deep House
Groove Religion
Kosmo Kint & Zac Tenenbaum - "The Formula" - (2:27) 103 BPM
Review: Following a string of collaborative EPs, Kosmo Kint goes solo to deliver a debut album piled high with effortlessly soulful vocals and colourful, synth-powered musicality. Of course, joint productions still feature - Sam Ruffilo makes his presence felt on two tracks (including the sparkling deep house synth-soul of 'Invincible', which also features Kapote), while Zac Tenebaum stamps his authority on 'Magic' and 'The Formula' - but there are far more solo works amongst our bulging list of album highlights. These include the deep, drowsy and soulful two-step garage brilliance of 'Only Gets Better', the seductive R&B/neo-soul wonder of 'Happy Ever After' and the subtly disco-influenced vocal house of 'Fake Love'.
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TOYT 140
26 May 23
Deep House
Kapote Pres Mushroom House Vol 2
Kiwi - "We Are Here" - (4:57) 106 BPM
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TOYT116X
30 Apr 21
Deep House
Kapote Presents: Mushroom House Vol 1
Kapote / Various
Auntie Flo - "Kampala Boda Boda Ride" (feat Samuel Nalangirla) - (4:51) 100 BPM
Drrtyhaze - "Hey Mama" - (5:57) 105 BPM
Review: Last year, Kapote joined forces with regular home Toy Tonics to release Teutonik Disaster, a compilation of his own re-edits of late '70s and early '80s, "German new wave funk". 12 months on he returns to the same label with a new collection, Mushroom House, which boasts a mixture of Balearic, Afro and cosmic-influenced cuts from the imprint's vaults. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, from the rubbery, dubbed-out Afro-house bounce of Ponty Mython's 'Slippin' Into Darkness' and the dusty Afro-disco haziness of Munk's 'Nigerian Jam', to the intergalactic electro trip of the Asphodells' killer remix of 'The Circular Path' by the Deadstock 33s, and the deep space Italo-disco chug of Baldelli's sparkling 'Phobos (2020 Version)'.
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TOYT 115
20 Nov 20
Deep House
PHB Remix EP
Let Out On The Loose (Danny Krivit edit) - (7:50) 101 BPM
Let Out On The Loose (Danny Krivit instrumental edit) - (7:49) 101 BPM
Review: Four tracks by the mighty Phenomenal Handclap Band get remixed by the great and the good of the disco scene. Danny Krivit's Edit and Instrumental Edit of 'Let Out On The Loose' have a synth-y, epic feel, while Ray Mang's take on 'Judge Not' is the rumpshaking order-to-dance it was always gonna be. Cooper Saver's breakbeat house remix of 'Riot' is perhaps the most dramatic of the reworks on offer, while David Bay's Remix and Extended Remix of 'Do What You Like' are the most faithful to the original - but as that track was one of the strongest songs on the band's recent album, that's not a problem.
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TOYT 111
04 Sep 20
Disco/Nu-Disco
Top Tracks Vol 8
Various
Phenomenal Handclap Band - "Do What You Like" - (4:05) 104 BPM
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TOYT109X 2
21 Aug 20
Deep House
PHB
Do What You Like - (4:05) 104 BPM Hot
Judge Not - (4:20) 108 BPM
Let Out On The Loose - (5:53) 101 BPM
Review: They've been teasing it for a while, but finally New York disco fusionists Phenomenal Handclap Band have finally released the new album we've been promised for some time. Somewhat remarkably, "PHB" is their first full-length excursion for nine years. Bringing together recent club hits ("Remain Silent", "Judge Not" and "Jail") with a string of similarly ear-pleasing songs, the set's 11 tracks mix a loose-limbed NYC disco sensibility with nods towards arpeggio-driven nu-disco, chunky funk-rock, summery electrofunk (see the rather delicious "Do What You Like"), dreamy pitched-down pop ("Travellers Prayer"), gospel and Daft Punk-ish cheeriness (the radio-friendly goodness of "Riot"). As you'd expect, the arrangements, performances and production are all top notch, with even the more sanguine songs coming laden with DJ-friendly percussion breaks and heavyweight sections guaranteed to rock dancefloors.
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TOYT 110
15 May 20
Disco/Nu-Disco
Works
I Love New York - (5:16) 108 BPM
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TOYT 094US
26 Apr 19
Disco/Nu-Disco
Mushroom House Vol 2
Various
Kiwi - "We Are Here" - (4:57) 106 BPM
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TOYT085X
17 Aug 18
Deep House
Mushroom House EP5
Harry Wolfman - "Upstream" - (7:22) 60 BPM Hot
Review: Berlin's Toy Tonics present Mushroom House - a series for 'Indie Afro Disco House' now in its fifth edition. Stockholm's Art Alfie made a lot of great records with partner in crime Mr.Tophat and is part of the Studio Barnhus crew. His deep and minimalist slow burner "Dance To The Conga" will hypnotise you into submission. Harry Wolfman has released on Lost My Dog, Under the Shade and Dirt Crew - and is a specialist in that they call 'underwater house'. He presents a dusty, urban flavoured jam here called "Downstream" which wouldn't have sounded out of place on a label like Money $ex. There is also great track by The Barking Dogs - two guys from Milan who run Serendeepity Records. "Mamarracho" is a raw, old-school house jam featuring Marcelo Burton's sleazy deadpan vocals. Lastly, a 'psychoboogie' jam by Jacky Mingo and Kapote in the form of "Make It Hot" was made in three hours in Berlin last summer, while 42 degrees in the studio!
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TOYT 076
23 Feb 18
Balearic/Downtempo
Mushroom House EP3
Kiwi - "We Are Here" - (4:57) 106 BPM Hot
Review: Toy Tonics' Mushroom House series has so far sparkled, delivering a series of "weirdo house" inspired EPs full of tracks that look to "ethno, Afro and psychedelic" music for inspiration. Each of the producers involved in this third installment predictably hit the mark, with Ponty Mython's trippy opener - think rolling tropical deep house with hallucinatory flourishes - expertly setting the tone. Fast-rising producer Kiwi steals the show with a low-slung fusion of dub disco and smacked out Afro-house, while the Barking Dogs join forces with Tom Trago for a seductive trip into cosmic deep house territory. Red Axes also do a terrific job turning Munk's "The Bolero Brunel" into a hazy chunk of nu-disco psychedelia.
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TOYT 063
10 Mar 17
Deep House
Mushroom House
Various
Auntie Flo - "Kampala Boda Boda Ride" (feat Samuel Nalangirla) - (4:51) 100 BPM
Drrtyhaze - "Hey Mama" - (5:57) 105 BPM
Played by: Roe Deers
Review: According to those behind the label, Toy Tonics' Mushroom House compilation was inspired by "the new wave of weirdo house" that's inspired by "ethno, Afro and psychedelic music". The collection's 15 tracks include a swathe of new or previously unheard cuts from the likes of Auntie Flo, Daniel Avery & Justin Robertson, Daniel Haaksman, Hyenah and Drrrtyhaze. With such a strong line-up, it's no surprise that the music is uniformly excellent. Highlights include, but are not limited to, DJ Koze's superb Hudson River Dub of WhoMadeWho's eccentric "Keep Me In My Plane", the epic build-ups and trippy, dubbed-out riffs of Munk and Rebolledo's "Surf Smurf", and the psychedelic acid attack of Massimiliano Pagliara's remix of Barotti's "She Once Knew".
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TOYT 050
02 Sep 16
Deep House
Mushroom House EP2
Auntie Flo - "Kampala Boda Boda Ride" (feat Samuel Nalangirla) - (4:51) 100 BPM
Review: The second volume in Toy Tonics' ongoing Mushroom House series gathers together more Afro-influenced dancefloor jams from an impressive selection of producers. Zut and Kapote kick things off with the bouncy house rhythms, chanted African vocals and heavy dub disco bass of "Afro Rico", before Gomma regular Munk pays tribute to Afrobeat on the excellent "Nigerian Jam". Elsewhere, Freerange and Objektivity regular Hyenah throws down a typically tactile chunk of atmospheric, Afro-tinged tech-house ("Fire"), and Glaswegian genre-bender Auntie Flo layers up indigenous instrumentation and hand-held percussion on the standout "Kampala Boda Boda Ride".
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TOYT 054
29 Aug 16
Deep House
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