Review: Ganbatte's latest affair may be all-star affair, but Fabiolous Barker rightly takes top billing thanks to delivering two takes on his latest track, "The Expert". He opens the EP with a hybrid electro/disco flavoured "Old Skool Re-Master" full of whispered vocals, crunchy guitars, throbbing synth-bass and tight horn blasts, before returning at the end with a "Funka-Masta-House" version that underpins the music with a head-nodding house style beat. In between you'll find the bouncy, Hi-NRG era Latin disco-house insanity of Dim Zach's "La Habernaro", the dreamy harmony vocals and ear-pleasing nu-disco grooves of Carlos Gatto's "Call It Love" and the alien funk masterclass that is Don Dayglow's "Gotta Say Yes", a suitably throbbing revision of an old Yello favourite.
Review: When operating under the V's Edits alias, re-edit maestro Valique can always be relied upon to bring the goods. It's little surprise, then, to find out that his latest collection of fresh cut-jobs - an epic affair featuring no less than 24 tracks - is packed to the rafters with high-grade fare. We don't have enough space to list all of the highlights, but we'd suggest checking out his rolling revision of Lee Dorsey's "Night People", the low-slung disco-funk heaviness of the Brass Construction rework ("Gotta Do It"), the intergalactic disco deepness of the Marvin Gaye revision ("Funky Space"), the lightly tooled-up, slowly unfurling take on Tom Browne's "Funkin For Jamaica" and the sweeping, string-laden disco brilliance of "Miracle (V's Edit)".
Review: Mexico's Deep Sense serve up a six-track EP that shows there's more than one way to go about repurposing a classic. Rather than simply looping up chunks of the original, the edits here get a little more creative - Sauco & Manuel Costela's 'Are We Ready?', for instance, takes the vocal from Fatback's 'Bus Stop' vocal and places it over a fresh (and utterly irresistible) funk backing, while on 'Last Nite' Tony Disco uses a similar trick to reinvent an InDeep classic in altogether sultrier, jazzier form. An equally well-known chanted vocal tops the brass-tastic 'Flamingo' from Hot Mood, and there are three more very playable nuggets where those came from!
Review: Greek producer Chris GS returns to Israel's Thunder Jam with four more slices of reworked vintage funk/disco goodness. He's dug nice and deep for this set, so the original source material remains a mystery in most cases, but in his hands 'Shake It' is a strings-drenched disco number that would've sounded right at home on the 'Saturday Night Fever' soundtrack, while 'Lady' rocks a slightly rawer funk vibe. The same goes for 'The Funk', which reworks Positive Force's 'We Got The Funk' from 1979, while finally 'About It' leans a little closer towards early 80s boogie territory.
Review: Some classy contemporary disco fare here from Irish producer Jones, coming to you courtesy of Israeli label Thunder Jam. 'Fluty Loops' itself opens with an intricate, extended percussive intro, before funk geetar and stabby strings usher in the meandering flute line that gives the track its title - imagine Joey Negro remixing Roy Ayers and you're somewhere in the ballpark. 'Everybody' shows the same attention to detail in the percussion department but has a more Chic-ish vibe, while completing the EP is the more sultry 'Been So Hard', which comes on like Linda Clifford given a Balearic makeover...
Review: More succulent than a bucket of fried chicken and twice as heavy, Vehicle's latest "Boogie Box" - the eighth in total - is full to bursting with floor-friendly, finger-licking fun. Editor-in-chief Valique is the man at the controls, gleefully charging between chunky, bass-heavy Afrobeat goodness (the chant-along heaviness of "Like It Is"), party-hearty deep house/disco-funk fusion (the heavy house beats and toasty electric piano stabs of "Mercy", shirts-off celebratory disco ("Disco Dancer"), swinging, Hammond-rich Philly Soul (Timmy Thomas rework "Got To See You Tonight") and strobe-lit peak-time insanity (the Clavinet-sporting disco rush of "Midnight"). In other words, it's another top-notch selection of club-ready revisions from one of the hardest working editors in the scene.
Review: Five fine slices of contemporary disco make up this latest EP from Russian producer Alexandr Chebankov, better known as Sunner Soul. 'Feeling Of Spirits' is a midtempo shuffler that slowly breaks out into an intricate jazz-funk keys workout, 'Keep Strangers' is a Chic-y stomper, 'Liquid Disco' has distinctly Candido-esque overtones, 'Lay In Low (MF-SB Version' is a mellower, more lounge-y cut with muted space disco stabs and finally 'Simply Around' rocks a funkier, Blaxploitation-like vibe. With all five highly authentic-sounding and avoiding obvious samples, heavy rotation at the likes of Glitterbox and Horse Meat Disco is pretty much guaranteed.
Waiting For The Sun To Rise Again - (5:56) 116 BPM
Review: With releases notched up on Subosc and Circular Limited, Cavum now debuts on Rhod. Thrones is an expansive affair, moving from the emotive synths of "Waiting For The Sun To Rise Again" into the wobbling bass and whiplash percussion crackle of "Anno 1123". On "That's My Tribe", Cavum heads down a rolling techno wormhole, while on "Testing LF OSC" and "Metallic Synthesis", he opts for different approach to the dance floor; layering filtered chords and eerie synths over a rolling groove, both tracks pack a powerful punch. Meanwhile, "The Social Mark" sees him change tact once again with its stripped back rhythm and throbbing bass designed for maximum impact.
Review: Thunder Jam's latest release offers us a chance to casually wander around the "Edit Mind" of debutant producer Paul Older. It's an attractive place where loopy, filtered and delay-heavy disco-house revisions of obscure turn-of-the-80s cuts ("I Need Your Love") rub shoulders with Clavinet-sporting slabs of disco-funk/AOR disco fusion in an echo chamber filled with bell-bottom flares, hoary haircuts and flash-fried DJ effects ("Jump"). The corridors of Older's cranium also boast doors to P-funk-fired dancefloor shufflers ("The Magic") and bouncy, house style cut-ups of glassy-eyed Philly Soul numbers (EP highlight "You Are Perfect").
Review: Gather round: Editorial is revealing the contents of the mythical "Disco Scrolls", a sacred document for all those who kneel at the altar of the Church of Nu-Disco. It contains eight audio commandments, all of which should be listened to intently. Salvation comes first via the fluid nu-disco positivity of Bica's "Endless Rhodes" and the disco-house grooves of the soulful and musically expansive "Because I'm Black" by Old Chap. Elsewhere, you'll find righteous testimony from Hotmood (via the deep disco-funk of "Only Your Mom Calls Me Daddy"), The Owl (the boisterous horns and filter tricks of "Shake"), Frank Virgilio (the lolloping party disco-funk of "Out Here"), Labour Of Love (the bassline-driven percussion-fest that is "Good Feelin") and NFC and Key Sokur (the rubbery and down-low disco fun of "City Affair").
Review: Previously best known for offering up a handful of tasty singles on Sleazy Deep, Skeleton Keys pops up on Bandolier with a first solo single in almost 12 months. First up is "Barrio Fever", a wonderfully dubbed-out, bass-heavy and dancefloor-friendly revision of a much-loved disco-era chunk of Latin funk headiness. Skeleton keys has wisely retained many of the key original elements - think glistening guitar riffs, layered percussion and ear-catching horn motifs - while beefing up the bass and adding plenty of delay effects. "Not Whom You Seem" gives a similar sonic treatment to what sounds like an early 80s synth pop/AOR disco workout. It's good, though we still prefer "Barrio Fever".
Economic Boom (feat The Mage - album version) - (4:06) 110 BPM
Reggae On Dope - (5:18) 110 BPM
Blessed - (5:15) 111 BPM
Afrofunk (feat Emma - remaster) - (5:22) 116 BPM
Yuil Disco Breaks (Soundsystem version - remaster) - (5:44) 112 BPM
Review: Album number four here from Angelos Stoumpos and friends. It comes hot on the heels of trailer single Realistic, but the latter's languid doo-wop soul vibes, however excellent, aren't really indicative of the album as a whole, which packs a lot more reggae and dub than it does soul and funk. Standouts include the dubbed-out 'Tweaky' and the skankin' 'Liberty Is Our Destiny', which sports an old school-sounding scratch break in the midsection and a dancehall vocal courtesy of Gobey, while funk and disco lovers are catered for with cuts like 'Discogirls', 'Afrofunk' and fine, jazz-tinged closer 'Not Bad Disco'.
Review: "Street Groove" sees Disco Fruit's most prolific producers - Serbian boss man Tonbe and Montenegro-based hero Mitiki - join forces on a seven-track collection of brand new tunes that cannily combine elements of deep house, nu-disco and '90s style U.S house. Our highlights include the aptly named house retro-futurism of "Something Jazzy", the bounding, bass-heavy haziness of title track "Street Groove", the colourful nu-disco/deep house fusion of "Feels So Good" and the slap-bass propelled wonder that is "I Think You Like", where bongo-heavy hand percussion and bumpin' house drums combine to create an energy packed peak-time mood.
Review: Here's a record that doesn't sound like it should have been made in Serbia but definitely was, as Milos Djordjevic, better known as Tonbe (or sometimes Loshmi), returns to his own Disco Fruit label with album number four. 'I Don't Belong To You' kicks things off in fine brass-parpin' style and 'Use Your Imagination' brings the album to a close with sprightly bass, whistling synths and a spoken female vocal, while in-between you'll find eight more tracks ranging from non-cheesy disco-house ('I Want To Hear This') to west coast-ish funk ('Shake Their Bodies'), with Zapp-esque squelchy synth basslines and vocodered vox much in evidence throughout.
Review: With "Rhythm & Waves", Russian producer Sunner Soul seems to be daydreaming of sunnier and warmer times. There's certainly something suitably sun-kissed about the title track, which gently beefs up and re-arranges a bouncy, Clavinet-heavy chunk of groovy disco-funk that comes smothered in atmospheric party sounds. The tighter, slap bass-sporting "Universal Disco" explores similar sonic territory, while "Red Hot Disco" sees him layer up the percussion and filter sweeps on a joyful, mid-set workout. Elsewhere, "Let's Somebody Love" is a soaring slice up tooled-up disco-soul and "Get ready With Me" is a fine slab of string-laden boogie brilliance that sounds like it was beamed down from a distant disco planet.
Review: There's something of a nostalgic, late 90s feel to 'Crystal': with its dreamy female vocal, fluttering guitar and heavy use of the filters, it sits somewhere between Balearic prog and filter disco ? la Spiller, and evokes memories of Ibiza in the days before they roofed over the terraces. The fairly self-explanatory Monsieur Van Pratt Sax Remix has a slightly more uplifting, soulful vibe, while the EP's completed by bonus cut 'Keep On', which centres around a squelchy, early 80s-sounding bass riff and has an echo-y, presumably sampled boogie-style vocal to match, the overall effect recalling a long-lost Larry Levan remix.
Review: Like his good friend and sometime studio buddy C Da Afro, J.B Boogie is firmly focused on good-times grooves and unfussy re-edits that put the demands of the dancefloor above all other considerations. They'll be plenty of smiling faces in the club if you drop the title track of his latest EP, a chunky, filter-sporting revision of an AOR disco/Balearic classic rich in blue-eyed soul vocals, Latin-tinged grooves, headline-grabbing bass and Flamenco guitar flourishes. He quickly switches focus on "I'll Be Good", a deliciously driving and low-slung rework of a heavy swamp funk workout blessed with hazy, ear-catching vocal samples and cut-glass disco strings, before whipping off his top and slinging his arms aloft via soaring disco re-edit "Feel It".
Review: Although he's contributed numerous tracks to recent compilations, this three-tracker from Frank Virgilio is actually the enthusiastic label-hopper's first single since the spring. He begins by applying his magic touch to a prime slice of horn-heavy purple funk, wrapping the original's flash-fried guitars, tasty trumpets and scat style vocals around a chunky disco-house style groove. He dips the tempo - but not the floor-friendly intensity - on "Cat In Rio", a low-slung dub disco affair that boasts a suitably heavy bassline and plenty of sun-kissed, samba-soaked synths, while closing cut "Matt's Ring" is a loopy, disco-house style cut-up of Matsubara's "SOS", a jazz-funk/disco fusion classic that used to get regular rotation at David Mancuso's legendary Loft parties.
Review: It's time to jump into yet another top quality compilation project, curated by the combined sounds of both Jonnypluse and JPSTOL, two sounds that are really carving out a niche for themselves in a crowded breakbeat marketplace. This full tracklisting offers up seven original smashers from Jonny, along with a Cut & Paste version of 'Funky Time', with JPSTOL supplying two original creations for good measure. There are a few clear standouts with MC Coppa's vocal assistance on 'Never Get Old' being one of them, along with the high energy, shuffling breaks and bubbling bass tones of 'Drop This In The Middle'.
Review: Russian disco edit fiend Valique serves up another hot Boogie Box and we're up to number three already! Highlight's on here not limited to Princess' smooth ergonomics displayed on the re-splice of the Prince classic "Sexy Dancer", Feel The Vibe's great cover of "Get Down Tonight" looped for your pleasure by Kc/Sub and they save the best for last with Mr Faded/Blackhead's (aka McFadden & Whitehead's) 1979 classic "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". They are all 're-re-edited' by the way: by none other than Valique himself. Trust the DJ!
Review: In which no fewer than 24 rock and indie classics get reworked for the dancefloor. Admirably, the mysterious V avoids the temptation to simply whack a 4/4 kickdrum under everything - in fact, many of the cuts could better be described as remixes or reworkings rather than simple re-edits. Inevitably, some of the resulting concoctions work better than others - and which you think that applies to may depend on your views on the original source material - but if you're looking for a way to drag non-house/disco lovers onto the floor, this collection should serve you well.
Review: Having conducted his own glassy-eyed sunrise s?ance, Vintage Music main man Sunner Soul has successfully summoned the "Spirits of the Boogie" for a hazy early morning dance. Perhaps the most alluring of these "spirits" is opener "Constanera Montana", a vibraphone sporting shuffle through drowsy Rhodes chords and metronomic beats, though the heavy and low-slung "The Bright Day" and all-action electrofunk workout "Voice of Saturn" run it close. Elsewhere, "Sprit of the Boogie" is a bass-heavy disco-funk party jam smothered in high-grade horn lines and brilliant bass guitar, while "Jazzy Patterns (Raw Edit)" is an accurately titled blend of dusty machine drums, jazz samples and crazy special effects.
Review: 62 collections deep and still blazing up any party in a 1000 mile radius; Katakana deliver yet another fun and funk-fuelled package. All laced with a heavy rhythmic theme, attention to groove detail is paid throughout as we're treated to range of classic and deeply dug edits. "Galaxy" sets the tone with a sleazy strutting war cry before we're hurled into a Latin frenzy on both the sultry "Camina" and the bull-fighting "Descarga". Elsewhere "Leroy Loves Ya" brings the soulful touch and "JB World" closes with a little psychedelic mystique.
Review: Known for his work on Midnight Riot, Sound Exhibitions and Disco Fruit, among other labels, here London-based Argentinian producer Fabiolous Barker comes to the Katakana stable with three very fine re-edits. 'Only Fools Fall In Love' is a midtempo groover with female vocal harmonies, subtle guitar chops and an overall early 80s boogie vibe, 'Sending My Love' centres around a full-phat funk bassline and the Cameo-esque male "sending my love from me to you" vocal, while finally 'Weakness' has a male scatted vocal and tinkling keys. The source material has our disco detectives beat this time out, but all three are eminently spinnable.
Review: The late Tony Joe White's 70s/80s adventures in fusing blues-y swamp rock with disco and funk never met much success, and he's better known as a songwriter - he penned 'Rainy Night In Georgia', for instance. Here, though, 1983's 'Swamp Rap' becomes 'Country Rap', and the result is a slightly novelty-esque but truly distinctive-sounding funk slab. Fred Wesley's 'House Party' and The Chi-Lites' 'Bottoms Up' get similarly funked up as 'Gonna Have A Party' and 'Turn The House Down', respectively, while 'Other Sight' draws from sources unknown but has a go-go feel. 'Country Rap' is the one that'll really prick up ears on the dancefloor, though.
Review: Like Ronseal's quick-drying wood varnish, "Brazilian Edits" does "exactly what it says on the tin". It sees Muleke and Leo Mafra work their magic on two typically sunny and life-affirming Brazilian cuts of old. First up is the carnival-ready brilliance of "Sarava", a genuine rush of turn-of-the-'70s positivity blessed with righteous horn arrangements, funk-rock guitars, cheery male vocals and locked-in samba-disco drums. Arguably even better is "E Muita Raca", a tasty revision of a little-known P-funk era number rich in Parliament/Funkadelic style synths, Prince-ish guitar riffs, punchy horns and chant-along vocals. Two cuts guaranteed to get the party started: what's not to like?
Review: Multi-track maestro Pete Le Freq is back with a third selection of hot-to-trot reworks created using original vocals and instrumentation from a range of disco and boogie-era cuts. He successfully teases and filters out the Jackson Sisters on "Refreq'ed Miracle", before putting his stamp on Phreek's Patrick Adams-produced Paradise Garage anthem, "Weekend". He then delivers two storming cuts based on Dan Hartman's "Relight My Fire": an extended instrumental ("Pete's Got Vertigo") and a sing-along version with added Loleatta Holloway ("Relight Dan's Fire"). Elsewhere, he successfully tampers with a Salsoul classic ("Twenty Percent") and sticks a bouncy house beat beneath a string-laden disco classic ("Luv Town").
Review: This fourth audio missive from the Wonderful Times stable has been picking up plays from some of the digital re-edit scene's most revered names. Given that all four tracks are tried-and-tested disco-house treats, it's easy to see why the EP has proved popular thus far. Highlights include the sexy sax cut-ups, colossal builds, swirling effects and bumping beats of Rafael Fernandez's "Ode To A.J", the fuzzy electronics, densely layered percussion and whistling melody lines of Sould Out's "Doctor Kongas", and the celebratory disco-funk rush of The Funk District's "Time Will Tell". Hotmood's loopy but essential opener, "In A Disco", is also well worth regular rotations.
Review: Every now and then, in between artist EPs, Tru Funk knock out a mini compilation of bootlegs where the original artists get spliced together like Frankenstein's monsters of funk. Highlights of this five tracker include Tom Showtime's fusing of Khia's famously filthy My Neck, My Back with some of Snoops' Gangsta Luv on "Gangsta Lick", Phibe's totally eccentric party smasher "Dig My Bounce" (which mixes Missy Elliot with No Diggity) and Spox's electro funk monster "Roses" which beefs up Haywood's '80s classic of the same name.
Review: When delivering a V's Edits release, Valique tends to pack the EP with tried-and-tested, club-ready reworks, and plenty of them. That's certainly the case on this latest outing, which boasts six razor sharp cuts. There's much to admire throughout, from the wavy positivity of AOR disco-soul opener "This Lady" and the sparkling cheeriness of "All Mine", where one of disco-boogie's most memorable moments gets smothered in filters and compression, to the new wave era electro-rock moodiness of "Hey, La!" Also worth a listen is the heady, intoxicating shuffle of "Funkin' For Kingston", where a break digging boogie classic is subtly extended and rearranged.
Review: Po-faced disco and boogie purists should probably steer clear of this five-tracker from the Tru Funk crew. For the rest of us, there's plenty to enjoy. The action is typically floor-friendly, offering party hearty thrills with just enough purist flavour to impress. Agent 86 drops a deliciously synth-heavy stepper in the form of "Sticky Funk", while Jamie Ruz closes his eyes and lets the jazzual guitar solos flow on the soft focus boogie-soul jam "Lovers Delight". Yomakomba's "Hold You" should inspire a few "moments" on the dancefloor with its sinewy combination of '80s soul and Balearic house chug, while Trotter's "40 Degrees" is a slamming chunk of slap bass-heavy disco house.
Review: More scrumptious sonics from the Polish party crew, the fourth volume of Tru Funk's "Tasty Beats" series sees old friends and new lay down five sizzling jams that will guarantee unified butt-shaking. New faces Bruno Borlone and Boogie Mike lay down a Spanish rap funk jam "I Like The Party", DJ Axe pays homage to Nice & Smooth and Curtis Blow, ElectroGorilla reach for the lazers with the euphoric breakbeat flexor "Funky Beast" and Rory Hoy and Saxon Scoundrels get busy on a classic rock and swashbuckling drum vibe with "Bouncin & Rockin". Finally The Beat Selecta boldly fixes up the classic Batman theme tune on a D&B with - quite cleverly - Hijack's "Badman Is Robbin" rap originally sampled by DJ Supreme. Holy bootlegs!
Review: Victoria's finest come together to launch the Melbourne Deepcast imprint, proving that there's much more to the city than great coffee. Up first is Lewie Day - perhaps better known to the record buying public as Tornado Wallace - who drops the immensely pleasing soulful mid tempo bump of "Some Kind Of Man", a sample-heavy house jam that has been receiving a lot of love on the Juno office turntable. This is followed by "Devoted", an effort from MD head honcho Andy Hart that shimmers with Motor City soul - watch out for those keys! Up next there's some eagerly anticipated new tackle from Fantastic Man, with the deep groove/low slung riffage of "From Start To Finish" sounding like a snug fit for the 6th Borough Project back cat, while Weekend Express's "Deeper" bristles with vintage Chicago vibes. An auspicious debut.
