Review: You can always rely on the Midnight Riot label to pick up a party. Seriously they'd get people dancing in a morgue. Here label favourite Ziggy Phunk turns in four sweet and tasty reworks of obscure 80s dance cuts. "Give It To You" is a soft focus helium-voiced disco cut that puts The Bee Gees to shame, "Some Kinda Lover" is nearly seven minutes of tight and sharp 80s electro-soul, "Sneak Preview" is a shiny filtered pop gem that bears more than a passing resemblance to early Madonna, and "Stand Up" is a sped up celebration of guitars and trumpets.
Review: 'Destiny' reminds us of early Prince, just so sassy and sure of itself, with strings, synths and vocal amongst a ton of other layers there's a lot going on in this track but it's all so expertly balanced. 'So Smooth' is one hundred percent our favourite track of the EP, so smooth by name so smooth by nature, with it back bone of power claps, epic 80's synths and unbelievably good vocal. You can almost see at shoulder pad clad lady strutting through the busy streets of New York.
Review: In little over a year, Ziggy Phunk has become one of the re-edit scene's most reliable producers, delivering killer cuts that inhabit the no-man's-land between faithful scalpel rearrangement, re-production, and subtle rework. Here he returns to Rare Wiri with three more essential floor-slayers. Choose between the rubbery slap-bass, swinging drums, swirling strings and crunchy Clavinet lines of "One Evening", the sparkling, synth-laden electrofunk cheeriness of "Hold You Tight", and the decidedly Balearic, Italo-propelled Euro-shuffle of "Baby Doll". All three tracks sound like they were tailor made for al-fresco DJ sets, be they in Welsh woodland, on Ibiza terraces, or aboard Adriatic boat parties.
Review: Copenhagen-based crate digger Ziggy Phunk has built up a big following on SoundCloud for his boogie, electrofunk and '80s soul reworks. Here he pops up on Yam Who's Midnight Riot imprint with a white-hot collection of six of his finest. While seasoned diggers and old heads may spot some of the source material, for the most part he's breathing new life into long-forgotten gems. There's plenty to get excited about, from the breezy piano solos, rubbery bass and bongo-laden grooves of the impeccable "All Night Long", to the clipped guitars, darting synths and Jheri curls of "Every Girl". Arguably best of all, though, is the saucer-eyed, loved-up sweetness of closer "Love You Too Much", a prime slice of yearning '80s soul tweaked to perfection with the addition of some top notch use of delays.
Review: Since his last outing on Midnight Riot in April 2015, Ziggy Phunk has become a man in demand. This return to Yam Who's label follows inspired edit outings on Rare Wiri, Masterworks Music and Editorial. Happily, the three reworks served up here are genuine scorchers, too. He begins with the heavily dubbed-out disco-funk swirl of "C'mon C'mon", where selected vocal passages seemingly tease dancers to lose their inhibitions in time with the Clavinet-driven groove and wavy synth solos. "Disco In The Night" employs some disco-house trickery (think filtered breakdowns and judicious use of echo) on route to smile-inducing peak-time pastures, while "Game of Love" slaps on a Jheri curl wig and reaches for the '80s electrofunk synths with impressive results.
Review: Like so many other re-editors of recent years, Copenhagen-based Ziggy Phunk was given his big break by Yam Who's Midnight Riot imprint. Here, he graduates to fellow Midnight Riot alumnus '80s Child's Masterworks Music label with a five-track burst of '80s soul, boogie and electrofunk reworks. His style is delay-laden and tasteful, as if his aim is to create contemporary dancefloor dubs that pay tribute to the originators of the style. There's plenty of good quality material on show throughout, from the '80s late night radio flex of the guitar-laden, synth-heavy "Fallin For You" and rolling bounce of "The Good Girl" (a rework of a Lilo Thomas charity shop fave), to the rubbery basslines and smooth soul vocals of "In The Name Of Love".
Review: There's a reason that Midnight Riot's eponymous compilations frequently charge to the top of the Juno Download charts. Put simply, they never disappoint. This ninth installment sticks to the now tried-and-tested formula - house-friendly re-edits and originals from across the disco, boogie, soul and funk spectrum - but predictably hits the spot throughout. As usual, there's a bonus mix - this time put together by globe-trotting scalpel jockey Rayko - and tracks come from both label regulars ('80s Child, Ziggy Phunk, Chewy Funk) and an impressive array of new or unheralded talents. It's in the latter category that you'll find some of the most impressive fare - see Phil Jaimes deliciously Balearic "Nowhere To Hide" and Cosmocomics' kaleidoscopic synth-funk jam "Mary Jane" - though the standard remains pleasingly high throughout.
Review: You're only five years old once, so why not celebrate in style? And here Warrington lad Danny Worrall's disco and re-edits label Masterworks Music do just that, with an anniversary collection packing a whopping 50 back catalogue nuggets. You'll excuse us the full track-by-track, then, but suffice to say that this is the label that helped launch the careers of Dr Packer and Natasha Kitty Katt, both of whom feature here, and with names like Ziggy Phunk, Rayko, Alkalino, Chuggin' Edits and Fabiolous Barker also on bill, you should already have a pretty good idea what to expect. Classy stuff all round, and a great VFM package - here's to five more years!
Review: Spain's Rare Wiri label bring us their second retrospective label comp, which follows on the heels of last year's Vol 1, and just a quick glance at the artists involved - who include Ilya Santana, Rayko, The Beat Broker, Yam Who? and Ziggy Phunk - will give the initiated a pretty good idea of the quality on offer! Gazeebo's 'Soul Dance' is rooted in the deep funk of the early 70s, Phunk's 'Let It Move You' is a brass-spangled disco-house groover, Rayko's 'B-Nano' has an 80s Italo vibe, 'Whishbone' by Parissior channels late 70s Euro-disco, and so it goes on for six more very playable nu-disco bullets.
Review: Having already carved a decent name for himself in the nu-disco universe, 80s Child (aka Danny Worrall), now turns his hand to running labels. Masterworks is his new imprint, and this eponymous compilation is its debut release. It's a total all-you-can-eat buffet of contemporary disco, featuring a whole host of familiar names. There are a whopping 23 tracks on here, some of the best include Tomas Malo's sultry grinder, "After The Rain", Yam Who?'s bouncy sunkissed disco joint "Find Out" and the digi-freestyle breaks of TV's "Love Situation".
Review: Following a fine retrospective of "original productions and reworks" earlier in the month, the Rare Wiri label has prepped another killer compilation to help mark the imprint's 10th birthday. This time round, boss man Rayko has gathered together some of the label's most potent re-edits. The quality threshold remains impressively high throughout, with highlights including James Rod's chugging and cheery disco-boogie shuffler "So Easy", the dreamy deep house throb of In Flagranti's loopy version of "Walking In The Rain", the sparkling saccharine soul/jazz-funk flex of Yam Who's revision of "In Your Eyes" and the pulsating Italo-disco/disco-funk fusion of Ziggy Phunk's take on "One Evening". Throw in a clutch of top-notch Rayko re-edits and the result is an essential collection of floor-focused reworks.
Review: It may be detox January for some, but for Yam Who, it's champagne o'clock as he sees his label series reach its tenth volume. There's a mind boggling 27 tracks featured here, a veritable smorgasbord of deliciously disco tuneage. Highlights include the chaotic hiNRG of Seamus Haji's "ReLoved", the tough, but soulful, jacker "Many Lovers" by Judge Funk and the smooth, synth-boogie of "Takes Me Out" by G Prajekts.
Review: While gospel has always been a strong influence in the worlds of house and disco, the volume of spiritually charged dancefloor tracks has rocketed in recent times. Hence this fine compilation from Midnight Riot and "gospel supremo" the Showfa, which gathers together new, recent and overlooked gospel-fired dancefloor jams. We're particularly enjoying Yam Who and Alan Dixon's brilliant new version of the Soup Dragons' "I'm Free" - think classic, Balearic-era baggy house with more prominence given to the London Gospel Choir's vocals and Dixon's wild organ lines - Le Visiteur's low-slung re-edit of an old gospel-disco gem ("Let The Sunshine") and the rubbery boogie-gospel-goes-filter-house excitement of Benjamin Ferreira's "What U Will". That said, there's barely a duffer to be found amongst the 19 tracks on show, with the emphasis rightly on celebratory positivity throughout.
Review: Midnight Riot's compilations are not only uniformly action-packed, but also offer great value for money. The latest edition in the imprint's ongoing "Disco Made Me Do It" series offers up no less than 25 tried-and-tested cuts to pep up your DJ sets. In keeping with the label's party-starting ethos, there's a good mix of disco-fired house cuts (see Michael Gray's "24/7 People"), revivalist disco-boogie (Qwestlife's remix of Nick Reach Up's "Dreaming"), filter-sporting boogie-house (Ladies On Mars), top-notch disco re-edits (Twism's "What I Know"), Tiger & Woods style loop jams (Motte's "Darkroom Boogie") and party-staring 21st century disco-funk ("Chance" by Rees).
Review: As the year comes to a close, labels are naturally offering up celebratory compilations showcasing their strongest releases of 2019. The latest comes from Midnight Riot, a prolific imprint that rarely fails to serve up the fieriest contemporary disco heat. As you'd expect, the 26-track selection includes a blend of superb original productions (the nu-disco soul warmth of Jack Tyson Charles' "Glory", Alton Edwards sweaty, synth-bass propelled boogie-house gem "I Just Wanna Spend Time With You", the swirling disco headiness of Arthur Baker's "Reachin' Out") and re-edits/reworks (Dr Packer's gospel boogie revision "The Power", C Da Afro's disco-funk slammer "Party Purpose" and the suitably celebratory "Boogie On Time" by Ladies On Mars). As you'd expect, the quality threshold remains impressively high throughout.
Review: Dealing strictly in extended collections, Funk Fusion continues its extensive work into 2015 with a 22-track compendium of killer edits, bootlegs and reversions. With an emphasis on fine-tuned, low-swung party jams; highlights include the subtle acid treatment of En Vogue ("Get It"), silky, synth-slapping disco boogie ("Mistery Island"), badass blue grass ("Bluesy Bounce"), Chic-style Public Enemy subversion ("Funky Enemy Number One") and smoke-stacked skank science ("Method Man"). Fusion by name, funky by nature: no party should be without this collection.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.