New releases this week: All genres

Review: Like his Windy City compatriots Mark Grusane and Rahan, Cratebug specialises in high-grade, razor-and-tape style re-edits subtly re-framed for 21st century dancefloors. The Chicagoan has released many fine collections of reworks over the last decade and this two-tracker is another high-grade treat. Up first is 'Fiyah', a heavyweight tease-and-release loop jam built around low-slung disco grooves, layered vocal samples and subtle effects trickery. While he appears not to have add any beats, its' Soundstream-esque construction makes it perfectly suited to house dancefloors. Over on the flip, he gives his take on one of the most beloved disco classics of all time: Diana Ross's incredible 'Love Hangover'. He extends the upbeat sections, paying more attention to hear vocalisations, the infectious instrumentation and killer groove.

Review: Take It Easy! We need more taglines like these in such trying and self-recriminatory times, where the stresses of a part-imagined urgency prevent us from decompressing in the way our social lives really should allow for. But is dance music, whose traditional motto is to "jack", compatible with such a mantra? DJLMP shatters these apparent antinomies of relaxation and danceability with three new edited heaters here, designed for triumphant joie de vives of the kind that do not poke, prod or demand too much from us. A later Diana Ross sample is put on heavy opening rotation on 'Diana's Loop', while similarly echoic verboffs are exchanged on 'Spring Touch', where dub delays haze the mix into something a little more convulsive. Space for wonky downtime is reserved on the B's 'Reggatronic', in a rare case of hip, lo-fi breathing room reserved for a dance record.

Review: Hailed by RA as a "true connoisseur of music" - and so far with a spectacular trail of festival appearances behind them, apparent between Ireland, New York and Vienna - Island Times Deejay has kept up a staggering career so far. His new EP now drops as an inevitable testament to his ability not just to select but craft and cut grooves of his own; the lead track works through an untraceable disco source sample of fiendishly obscure proportions, despite its brilliant hookline: "set your mind free, you can't fight it, you'll be delighted, destiny". The A-sider is equally obscure, though it sounds to be quite a loyal and forgiving redo of an equally graded disco-soul crooner, awash in lyrical reminders of the operant genre: "disco!"

Review: The enduring electronic musical gene sequence that was Virginia-born pianist and keys player Lonnie Liston Smith's spiritual funk-jazz opus, 'Expansions' from 1974, now hears another re-disco-scription by keyboardist Gail Johnson and her unstoppable band, Jazz In Pink. Renowned for her keytar uplifts and relentless live schedule, this is a rare 12" for the modern genius LA live musician. Her rendition of Smith's 'Expansions' both mellows and sharpens the mood in equal measure, providing a renewed euphony come euphoria. 'Glow' backs up the B-side with a sheeny original, with dramatic phrase stops and trademark peak-out pianos from Gail.

Review: Another dug-out dispatch from Tokyo's most diligent soul surgeon. This latest 7" distills veteran editor Loftsoul's flair for unearthing overlooked grooves and flipping them into low-slung, floor-ready burners. Side A stretches a sweet, previously under-the-radar soul cut into a strut-ready salivation, while the flip dips into hazier jazz-funk moorings: crisp drum breaks, warm Rhodes, slow-cooked syncopation. With subtle EQ and caressing lowpass warmth, we hear it's not about maximal intervention; it's about knowing where to put the scalpel. The latest in a long-running series, it's certainly an outlier find for record-bin archaeologists.

Review: Micky More & Andy Tee's Groove Culture hits the notable milestone of 30 releases with another healthy dose of funky disco fun. Stepping up for this one is Shabi, a new name emerging from Berlin with a sound that defies the city's usual techno moodiness. 'Get Up' rides on big loopy drums with silky chords adding colour to clipped vocals and noodling baselines. 'Dream Funky' is another bouncy jam peppered with diva cries and horns, 'Ghetto Beatz' lands a little more heavy with with plenty of ass-wiggling groove and 'Keep It Burnin' rolls deep with sustained chords and plenty of big licks to energise any party.

Review: German scalpel specialist Daniel 'SIRS' Klein rides in with a quartet of typically refined edits here, each track fit for discerning floors thanks to some gentle tucks and studio finesse. The bittersweet soul of 'Love Theme' is one for the lovers out there, with its emotive vocal, dramatic strings and heavy groove, while the tropical disco flex of 'Amigo Da Nova York' is built for peak-time floors, with stirring horns, sexed-up vocals and limber percussion. The gloriously camp 'Love Fever' continues the driving tempo, before closing jam 'Tokyo Fantasy' lifts the roof all the way off, with its impassioned singalong chorus and irrepressible groove.

Review: German mainstay Johannes Albert returns after a six-year hiatus with his third club album, Private Dancer, and it's worth the wait. As expected, it is a deep dive into refined house music full of maturing production, warm textures, subtle grooves and emotive undertones. The standout title track features longtime collaborator Iron Curtis, and together they craft a hypnotic blend of classic deep house with modern minimalism. Highlights include the gentle grooves and percussion of 'L'Chaim', the steamy nocturnal soul of 'The Night (Moves On' and 'Follow The Strings', which is a more punchy heater. It's the sound of a seasoned producer delivering understated dancefloor gold.

Review: One very handy 7" single and two monumental disco instrumental edits surely destined to get butts waggling on any given dancefloor. The A-side is swept along by a propulsive funk guitar line, neatly switching from classic 70s lushness to 21st century robotics and vocodered vocals and back again, while the flip goes for a more soul-driven vibe, the tight drums and bass pairing polished off by some delicately applied Rhodes piano, definitely the glitterball cherry on top. DJ weaponry so deadly it should probably be outlawed by some international treaty.