Review: The annual summer edition of Reel People Music's 'Soulful, Deep & Dope' series, which offers up tracks they're pushing over the Ibiza party season, is always packed to the rafters with joyous, sun-splashed treat. 2023's offering is one of the strongest yet. Amongst the 20 tracks on show you'll finda blinding, Prince and P-funk-inspired Opolopo revision of Mother's Favourite Child and Saeeda Wright's 'Purple Funk', a lusciously deep, soulful and groovy Dennis Ferrer rub of Reel People and Angela Johnson's 'Can't Stop', a sensationally summery Jimpster re-wire of Thakzin and Ray T's 'Don't Let Me See' that sounds like vintage Atjazz, a frankly brilliant Crackazat remix of broken beat stalwart Modaji's 'Things U Do For Me', and a suitably starry collaboration between DJ Spinna and Phonte ('Tonight We Ride').
Review: Dave Lee's annual round-up of 'essential' cuts from the catalogue of his Z Records imprint is always worth picking up, and this year's edition is no different. Packed with high-grade disco, deep house and what would once have been called 'US garage' (that's soulful house, kids), it's a near faultless selection that will keep you in peak-time anthems for months to come. Our picks of an extremely strong bunch include the electric piano-heavy, downlow disco-funk bounce of 'In Your Blood' (a rare collaboration between Lee, Darcus and Roland Wrightangle), Sean McCabe's lusciously warm and groovy take on Matty, Monique and Monique Bingham's 'Now What', Andres' loopy, boogie-tinged deep house version of Joey Negro and Sacha Williamson's 'I Recognise', and Backroom Productions' recently reissued rework of their own 'The Rhythm' (as The Power).
Review: When it comes to blending classic disco and bumpin' peak-time house, few can match Joey Negro - a man who has been offering up disco-fied house jams since the early '90s. There are naturally plenty of his own tracks and remixes on "Put Some Disco In The House", an expansive collection of quality disco-house moments, with highlights including the rolling disco-boogie heat of "Put The Music On It (Original Disco Mix)", the chunky, walking bass-propelled "Dancing Into The Stars" (with Horse Meat Disco and Angela Johnson) and a slamming rework of Sessomato's jazz-funk flavoured "Moody". There's plenty of heat to be found elsewhere, too, with standouts including JKriv and Adeline's "Vertigo", Opolopo's boogie-tinged revision of Sylvester classic "I Need You" and the spiraling disco pump of Yam Who and Jaegerossa's "Grateful".
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: 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: It may have taken eight years, but Joey Negro has finally got round to putting together a follow-up to his superb Backstreet Brit Funk compilation. Like its predecessor, this sequel shines a light on Britain's under-appreciated musical response to the U.S soul, jazz-funk, disco and electro scenes of the late 70s and early 80s. On the whole, the showcased tracks are altogether deeper selections than those found on volume one, meaning obscure highlights come thick and fast. These include - but definitely aren't limited to - the low-slung disco-funk of Rick Clarke's "Potion", the glassy-eyed breeziness of Paradise's "Stop and Think", the footworker-friendly jazz-funk riot of Touchdown's "Ease Your Mind" and the samba-soaked carnival flavours of "Brazeila" by Brazeila. Oh, and a killer dub of Janet Kay's overlooked Brit-boogie classic "Eternally Grateful" that has never before been released.
Review: Valique celebrates six years of consistent edit gold on his 12-year old Vehicle imprint. Digging deep across the collection he whisks us through the feels with a supreme range of instant party-pieces. From the blonde ambition of the slinky "Appelle Moi" to the freaky upbeat ground control of "Oddity" via the insane stretch and slap of "What The Hell?" and his versions of "Human Nation" and "Give Me Shelter", this is an immense set that brings us all up to speed and gets us excited for the next six years of edits. V stands for Very good music.
Review: Half the fun of each new Ibiza season is the accompanying DJ mix albums that ensue. Here it's the turn of Z Records' legend, Joey Negro, who compiles and selects Z Records Presents Ibiza 2017. With Joey Negro you know you will always get an expert blend of house and disco, new and old. Here we see exclusives rub shoulders with first time digital virgins. Highlights include Dr Packer's thumping edit of "Change Position (88)" by Brooklyn Express, the hazy bass twangs of "Phantom" by A Band Called Flash and the warm electro of "It's More Fun To Compute" by Negro himself.
Review: 48 tracks, six exclusives, two mixes: Viper have already developed a strong-armed reputation for compilations over the years but this is taking things to a whole new ridiculous level. Investigating bass music's widest corners, the heady concoction of tracks ranges from premier league bangers (Wilko's remix of The Prodigy, Noisia & The Upbeats "Dead Limit", Andy C's "New Era VIP") to fresh-baked underground rollers (Dossa, Locuzzed and NC-17's drone-jump buzz-cut "Ninja", Dub Elements' deep space neuro-edged shredder "Metaverse") to lower tempo tear-ups from the likes of Pex L, Au5, Flux Pavilion and Doctor P and Specimen A. With heaps more in between, this accurately reflects just how exciting and closely linked all bass-laced genres are right now. Venomously immense.
Review: Hands down the biggest compilation of trance music to hit 2021 so far is this epic rundown by Armada. Literally 100-tracks large, the compilation delivers extended versions of tracks by much loved trance royalty in Armin Van Buuren and Above & Beyond to intriguing collaborations between Paul van Dyke & Sue McLaren, Ferry Corsten & Trance Wax (tip!) or Tinlicker & Robert Miles (classic!). Dig deeper still and you'll find diamonds from Chicane, Elysian, Maarten De Jong and the undeniable Ilan Bluestone. Buy one, by them all!
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