Review: When Eskimo Recordings approached Bill Brewster with the idea of putting together a compilation exploring his epic record collection, the acclaimed journalist and DJ decided to take a widescreen approach. While the CD and vinyl versions are split into multiple, themed editions ("Post-Punk", "Balearic" and "House"), this vast, 41-track digital edition gathers everything together in one place. Predictably, it's a hugely impressive and eye-opening set, with Brewster serving up largely obscure or long-forgotten cuts that range in scope from trippy, dubbed-out post-punk disco, jaunty jazz-funk, synth-heavy boogie and heavily percussive Afro-disco grooves, to saucer-eyed European synth-pop, the dub techno of Maurizio, Swag's early UK tech-house and the East Midlands deep house bump of Charles Webster's "A Love From San Francisco" project. In other words, it's a cracker from start to finish.
Review: ISM's tenth anniversary celebrations tend towards the epic, with the Yam Who-helmed label serving up a series of bulging retrospective compilations stacked to the rafters with imprint highlights, dancefloor hits and overlooked gems. This second selection boasts 24 more tried-and-tested ISM classics, from the rubbery disco-funk bounce of Birdee's "Chemistry" and the synth-laden electrofunk revivalism of Qwestlife's D-Train style revision of "Streetlife" by Natasha Watts, to the spiraling Balearic disco throb of Pete Herbert's killer remix of Gemini Brothers' "Jeckermich" and the piano-powered nu-disco-soul of Rocco Raimundo's "Higher Lovin", featuring the smooth vocals of Stee Downes. Other highlights include the boogie-soul revivalism of Sweetooth's "Make Believe" and the hypnotic deep house/electrofunk fusion that is Mark E's fine revision of Heion's "Follow Me".
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