Disco Recommendations March 2015

Review: Three releases deep and every move has been matchless; Bristol-affiliated Boogie Cafe are making a very impressive name for themselves right here. Here the label rep their wider family circle with each artist making their debut; Chezz lays down a cowbell homage with lush dreamy chords and a vocal snippet that will instantly raise a steady eyebrow. Newman follows and gets his jazz on in a similar way to Mark Farina when he's deep in his Mushroom Jazz persona; all vibraphones and stretchy elastic bass. Finally Childs & Moore's "Low Key Disco" conjures feelings of Moodymann at his most cosmic. Tasty.

Review: Boom! Here's the sixth chapter of the Secret Squirrels edits and it was about bloody time too! Needless to say, we don't know who's behind these disco-fuelled cluster bombs but even if we did, we wouldn't be allowed to tell ya! In any case, "Track 1" of this naughty little 12" is an effective, loopy, electro-jacked party-starter packing one hell of a bassline, while "Track 2" takes things down a notch and enters funk mode thanks to its swaying, slow beats and takes a "lil ride laaas' night"! For all you DJ Harvey roadies!

Review: Those lamenting the lack of new Tiger & Woods produce over the past 18 months can rest easy as the golf loving scalpel merchants return to business on a new Editainment 12" that celebrates the work of their favourite Italian label, the iconic Full Time Records. Gone are the days when Tiger & Woods acted illicitly, as both the tracks here feature fully licensed samples; spliced and diced into almost new shapes of course! Lead track "Fox In The Box" messes around with Matrix's "Take Me Up" whilst the Kano classic "Don't Try To Stop Me" is transformed wondrously on the superb "Stopper".

Review: Derry natives The Queen & Disco launch their eponymous label with Royalty Of Funk, a 12" boasting contributions from Luca 'LTJ' Trevisi and fellow Irish scalpel addicts Get Down Edits. Q&D alumnus Alan Mooney's Edits shares space with LTJ on the A side, with the breezy beatdown of the former's "KOFI" complemented by the handclap laden disco funk of the Italian's masterful "Don't You Do It". Face down and Get Down Edits veer off into spottieottiedopalicious territory with the horned sleaze of the appropriately named "Dirty" whilst Queen & Disco round out an impressive first 12" release with their own debut production "Ghetto Life".

Review: First released in 2004, nearly twenty years after much of the material was recorded in 1985, Calling Out Of Context reveals yet another facet of the ever-fascinating Russell, the New York polymath who defied generic categorisation even as he married pop melody and avant-garde abstraction in an aural outer space. This is an album that showcases the more melodious side of Russell's work, and for all the stylistic touches that may remind of its '80s origins, Russell's emotional voice and mercurial sleight-of-hand render these otherworldly ditties an experience unto themselves. An essential testimony of a talent never to be matched, yet also less a rarities collection than a dreamlike experience of considerable psychic charge.

Review: Celebrated and Mercury-nominated UK duo Rae & Christian released their first new material for ten years in 2013 on Night Time Stories/Late Night Tales after spending the last decade meditating in a Buddhist monastery in Swindon. This year the label commissioned a series of remixes from Mercury Rising and Mang Dynasty (aka Ray Mang & Bill Brewster) take on Favourite Game featuring rising star of the Swindon Buddhist circuit Jake Emlyn.
Mang Dynasty focus on Gita Langley's backing vocal hooks adding a chorus piano motif and stretch things out into an epic nine minute plus main version aimed squarely at the dancefloor (and Afghanistan). Jake Emlyn's more aurally-pleasing melodic parts are utilised towards the end taking things up another level to a happy finish. Initial reactions have been so strong it seemed rude not to slip out a 12-inch on Mangled, home of the hits!

Review: It's interesting that Mark E's acclaimed E Versions series - in which he returns to his roots by delivering long, loopy, tactile, house-friendly re-edits of Balearic and disco gems - seems to have given the Birmingham born producer a new lease of life. Certainly, the first three volumes contained some of his best material for years. This fourth installment is equally as essential. A-side "Sitting Here Alone" is a perfect example of Evetts' deliciously E'd-up, stretched-out style, turning a sweet and baggy deep disco cut into a wonderfully immersive deep house/disco hybrid. Flip to the B for "Childstar", a pulsating disco bumper that sounds like an anthem in waiting.

Review: Brazilian Balearica; Chit Chat have curated a stunning collection of edits that are so strong you'll happily offer a limb to the sun gods for an early summer. From the salubrious organ sprinkles and fretless bass wriggles of Cosmic Kids' Daniel T's "Gravura", to the deep bass and loopy magic of Poolside's "Onda" by way of the hypnotic depth dub plods of Tony Adam's "India" - this collection is so warm your body temperature has gone up five degrees just reading these words.

Review: Two dubwise covers, re-issued since Ximeno's first press in 2012. Originally released in 1983, Derrick Harriott's cover of The Dazz Band's "Let It Whip" fuses the best of dub (he was one of the first artists to make sweet music with King Tubby at the mixing controls) and boogie, creating a unique hybrid that works almost too well. Meanwhile on the flip, Susan Cadogan covers the Mtume classic "Juicy Fruit" (also released in 1983), switching the original's R&B flavour for something more sunkissed and sultry. Both will work wonders when the summer comes.

Review: Em Vee, the Lumberjack of Love comes out of retirement and chops up some favorite pieces. From boogie to high tech soul to proper disco. Three killer cuts that cut the killer.

Review: Midnight Riot let rip with another silky disco session and all is well with the world; BG Baarregaard gets sugar-sweet with a mildly-pumped twist on "Luv's Treating" while Dead Rose Music Company get super-loopy 80s Child's "Cocktails For 2". Dig deeper for a consummate edit of Donna Summer with "Do U Wanna Get Down" and Richard Seabourne closes the show with a jazzy house number that's soft-focus soul and soaking wet in the bass department. Get to know.

Review: Marvin & Guy launch Young Adults' 2015 with a fresh, thrilling three-tracker in the familiarly disco-infected take on house music. The dupo's own M&G edits have now solidified their sound and we can only expect total dancefloor quality from the pair. As expected, Dance Ability certainly doesn't disappoint and their trademark blend of tight loops and acoustic instrument is more prominent than ever! "Dance Ability (The Journey)" is an ultra-deep, psychedelic synth journey accompanied by a relentless 4/4 swagger; "Dancecity" features Athena and goes into a funked-out jazz mode thanks to those cool horns and seductive vocals, while "Dancenergy" picks up the tempo and heads back to the floor...where Marvin & Guy always rule with an iron fist.

Review: After 20 solid singles, Sacha Mambo and Guillaume des Bois's Macadam Mambo imprint comes correct with the label's first proper compilation album. And, as we've come to expect from these expert Lyon-based crate diggers, it's a rich range of sun-kissed disco weirdness of the highest order. From the whistle-while-you-work anthem "Spaghetti Dreams" (a dynamic edit of Young Blood classic "Big Noise from Winetka") to the super croon-optimised, late night Med style "Lolo La Pantera" via the totally nutty fruit-homage "Do You Like Banana?", this consolidates Mambo's footprint on the edit scene. Then supersizes it! Sensazional!

Review: Summer dreams Messalina-style; label boss Lucci Capri returns after what feels like an eternity with five sandy-toed gems. Highlights include his clean-shaven smooth lounge soul edit of the super-rare "Atlantis", a show-stopping salsa twist on Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise", and a spell-binding take on Robson and Lincoln's Brazilian boogie bomb "Swinga".

Review: After an absence of some 3 years, the Frisbee Records label come through a third edition of their killer Heavy Rotation series! With a highly respected crew of diggers and selectors spanning Berlin, London, and Stockholm, its little surprise the label don't put out that many records, but there is never any question their 12"s are anything but premium discotheque material! For this edition, regular Heavy Rotators spAceLex and Albion are joined by El Chad, Bernard Zichlar and the disco man from Pampas, Ric Piccolo!! The A side finds Zichler opening with a cosmic no wave disco bomb featuring a bassline to die for whilst Piccolo's "Marruecos" is reminiscent of In Flagranti at their breezy best. Down south Albion teams up with El Chad for the wonderfully camp "Soubrette" whilst spAceLex gets out his revox for a killer disco dub workout to end matters on a high.

Review: Is It Balearic bring the heat with a stunning release from Sorcerer. The First track is Zulu Honda. Skipping thick drums and a bouncing bass overlaid with nu med guitars and beautiful synth lines. This track is made for pool parties and lofts. The second track is Afro Vibes a more atmospheric percussive groove. Maribas throbbing bassline and slightly melancholic guitars eventually make way for a subtle acid accent before returning to the groove.. Salins Jockey club remix zulu Honda adding some lovely elements while holding the original feel. Top draw from the dependable IIB crew

Review: Serial collaborator Rune Lindbaek has been working with studio partner Oyvind Blikstad since 2012, but this is the first time the duo has released a single together. "North" is arguably typically of Lindbaek's output over the last few years, sitting somewhere between rubbery, punk-funk influenced dub disco and gentle Balearica (think twinkling pianos, heavenly chords and shuffling acoustic guitars). Man of the moment Eddie C provides the flipside remix, emphasizing the beautiful and deep elements of the original while giving the track a little more bespoke disco swing. In some ways, it's typical of the Canadian's style, but more beguiling - and less percussive - than many of his outings.

Review: The mysterious Outerzona13 edits imprint's debut 12", simply titled Black, became one of the most-played disco records of 2014. This follow-up may well go the same way. Its' A-side boasts a mostly instrumental extension of Double Exposure's disco classic "Everyman", with cuts, loops and house style builds reminiscent of Theo Parrish's Ugly Edits series. There's something a little more obscure but no less essential on the flip, where jazz piano solos ride a loose and unwieldy disco groove replete with sharp horns, liquid bass and riotous drumming. While less headline-grabbing than the more familiar A-side, it's probably the stronger of the two tracks; certainly, it's the one the heads will opt for.

Review: For the 8th instalment of To Rack & Ruin we see the long awaited return of Neil Diablo this time dropping the 'Evil K'Neil' moniker from used for the first 2 volumes of the edits series.

First up on Foreva Neil skilfully chops up a little known raw 122bpm proto-house disco jam which has sumptuous boogie bassline, choppy stabs and a wonderful soulful female vocal extended and edited for dance floor delight.

On the flip is Love Ma Gin. A glittery disco affair with a heavy bassline and glamorous strings which builds and builds.

Early DJ support come from Crazy P, Pete Herbert and Emperor Machine.

Review: There can be few arguments that "Dirty Talk" from Trans Atlantic production pair Klein & M.B.O. belongs in the canon of all time influential dance records - it's likely that 99% of people that have frequented nightclubs in the past three decades will have heard it at least the once. Taking elements of Italo Disco and US proto house, "Dirty Talk" has gone on to rack up a hefty 25 cross format pressings over the years with the most recent from Belgian label Flexx featuring a fine remix from the track's most vocal champion Greg Wilson. Tirk get in on the Dirty love here with a 12" that features the definitive Usa European Connection Mix from Klein & M.B.O. producers Mario Boncaldo and Tony Carrasco along with more contemporary efforts by Ruf Dug, Daniele Baldelli & DJ Rocca, and Toby Tobias. Of these it's Ruf Dug's that really hits the spot by taking the track somewhere else completely.

Review: San Francisco-based DJ/producer Nick Monaco has long been part of the Soul Clap family, releasing his first 12" on the label back in 2012. Mating Call, a double 12" set running at album length, is easily his most expansive release yet. It's typically eccentric, delivering a range of songs - featuring his own distinctive vocals - that blend numerous styles whilst retaining a loose, funky and altogether rather kaleidoscopic feel. It's rooted in Balearic pop, but also touches on dub, deep house, boogie, dub disco and a strangely deep and contemporary take on the triple-beat rhythms of glam rock. It's hard to accurately describe, but is really rather good; certainly, it's one of Soul Clap's strongest releases of recent times.

Review: Heavy release from newcomer therarelowry on the Soft Rocks 'Kinfolk'imprint. 'Nightshift' is a meandering acid tinged trance-dancer with a nord-esque bassline under pinning it.'The Morning After' goes on a heavier route but the mournful strings keep it on the light side of the dark with great intensity. On the flip side Soft Rocks take the 'Nightshift' into their specially designed 'acid fuzz' room to deliver a pounding percussion filled remix....all trax are receiving support from the Alfos duo of Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnston.

Review: "Strictly limited, hand stamped, individually numbered, no digital."

Review: Illusive editor Sukebe gets busy on two Japanese boogie classics. 1979's "Feel So Fine" is already a superb piece of cosmic disco. Now in Sukebe's hands it's a contemporary bomb with all the hallmarks of a last-tune strut-out. For something a little deeper and emotional flip for 1976's "Uragiri", sung by famous Japanese actress Mari Natsuki. Comparisons to Serge Gainsbourg are hard to avoid.