Juno Recommends Disco April 2020

Review: Scalpel-wielding re-edit legend Danny Krivit has reworked one of his all-time favourites, Rene and Angela's 1981 boogie classic "I Love You More". He has previously reworked the track, but the edits here are brand new. On the A-side you'll find his fresh vocal extension and rearrangement, which naturally rolls out the killer groove - all liquid synth-bass, cascading lead lines, clipped guitars and ear-catching piano motifs - before unleashing the original's deliciously glassy-eyed and soulful vocal. Over on side B he's revisited his original instrumental re-edit, further emphasizing the cut glass strings, spacey synth solos and infectious groove. It's as loved-up as they come and arguably even better than his vocal take.

Review: Some two years after their last outing on Love Circle, Gerry Rooney and Joel Martin bring their quirky - and, let's face it, on-point - Velvet Season & The Hearts of Gold project back to Resista for more dusty-fingered re-edit adventures. On the A-side they take their scalpels to a groovy slab of string-laden disco-soul rich in twinkling electric piano solos, hazy vocals ("move in all directions, come on follow me"), sharp strings and tactile grooves. Flipside "Love Jelly" is arguably even better, with the experienced twosome having their wicked way with a bustling chunk of trumpet and Hammond organ-laden jazz-funk. The track's drum breaks and yearning chords are particularly alluring, making it a toe-tapping, hip-wiggling treat.

Review: Ashley Beedle and Ray Mang aka The Boogie Twins have reworked and edited one of Paul "Trouble" Anderson's biggest signature tracks. Beedle claimed witnessing Anderson at work at his Electric Ballroom residency back in the day was a major influence, where the late selector would move through boogie, electro, hip-hop and disco, particularly the low slung groove of Trouble On The Land's "A Love That Is Real" that's featured on this 12". The pair get to work, offering a special dubbed-out edit of this rare groove classic which remains a much-loved staple of today's club scene and an example of Anderson's exceptional ear for music. This is a charity record and a tribute to Anderson, with all profits directed to Macmillan Cancer UK.

Review: Edinburgh's Athens Of The North label is endlessly flawless and this time around they pull together the special lovers rock covers they put out at the end of last year onto a superbly strong 12 track compilation. It arrives just in time for the warmer months and has been curated by Sam Don and overseen by label boss Euan Fryer. Standouts include Christine Lewin's lush take on the heavily sampled "Juicy Fruit" while the lo-fi bliss of Al Charles's "Outstanding" is another one to swell the heart and sooth the soul. For more sentimental moments check Family Love's "Do Me Baby." Overall, though, this is a must buy.

Review: Kalita are excited to announce as their second release of 2020, the first ever official re-release of Cameroonian singer Jeannette N'Diaye's 1981 disco masterpiece 'Makom Ma Bobe', backed by an extended edit courtesy of Mendel! Originally appearing as one of three tracks on 'Mut'a Mbamba', her 1981 single released on Cameroonian producer Jojo Ngalle's record label Disques Jojo, 'Makom Ma Bobe' has recently exploded as one of the most sought-after Afro-disco records out there, with prices becoming ever exceedingly eye-watering and copies ever harder to find. Now Kalita come to the rescue, offering a loud and remastered 12" single for all. If that wasn't enough, the single is also backed by an extended edit of 'Makom Ma Bobe', courtesy of Netherlands-based DJ and producer Mendel! It's fast, it's euphoric and it's lasers are to die for. What more could you want?

Review: ** Repress ** Disco Deviance surface for the first time this brandishing a pair of highly prized edits from the man, the myth, the maverick that is Dimitri From Tokyo! Dimitri goes where celebrated Frenchmen Alex Gopher and Etienne de Crecy have been before, re-arranging a seasonal classic from Miss Donna Summer on "French Affair" in suitably slinky style. Flip over and our Dimitri drops a rather dynamic tweak of a Bob James classic - there's no higher ideas at play here both edits are meant for the floor!

Review: Backatcha Records can usually be relied upon to bring the goods, and this double A-side "45" is no exception. Side A boasts a fresh KON re-edit of the title track from Ja'net Dubois' fiendishly hard-to-find 1980 album "Queen of the Highway", a set that was for some reason only ever released in Brazil. It's a wonderfully sunny, horn-toting chunk of orchestrated jazz-funk/boogie fusion with definite Latin influences which Kon has expertly rearranged while steering clear of needless 21st century production trickery. Over on side B you'll find a previously unreleased cut from the Jady Kurrent Band, an obscure, Cleveland-based outfit who released a sole single in 1987. "Standing There" is a sweet slice of deep, mid-80s boogie rich in slap bass, slick lead vocals and '80s soul synths.

Review: Italian label Samosa continues to deliver re-edits with "Funk Purpose". Volume three is every bit as strong as its predecessors, with a quartet of experienced re-editors offering up fresh reworks. Get Down Edits set the tone with "Comin' At Ya", a riotously beefy, tooled-up house revision of an urgent funk-soul gem, before Monsieur Van Pratt gleefully dances into disco-funk territory via the spacey synths, groovy bass guitar, crunchy Clavinet licks and fluttering flute solos of "UFO". Over on side B Souldynamic provides some rubbery disco bounce via "Better", while De Gama goes all samba-house with the cowbell-propelled South American style Hammond funk of "Groove On".

Review: It would be fair to say that "The Adventure Of Kohsuke Kindaichi" is a "cult album". While many will have heard snippets of some of its tracks in hip-hop tracks and via dusty disco re-edits (a number have been given the scalpel treatment in the past), few outside of Japan have been able to get the album since it was released way back in 1977. The premise is odd - composer Kentaro Haneda created the disco and jazz-funk set as a soundtrack to a series of detective novels - but the music is superb: a zany but hugely entertaining mixture of nods to various soundtrack styles underpinned by killer disco grooves and swirling orchestral movements. We'd heartily recommend checking out the clips ASAP.

Review: More dusty-fingered funk and reissue fun from DJ Fryer's prolific Athens of the North imprint. As usual, these tracks are pretty darn obscure; they both dropped on the Split Decision Band's 1978 debut on the obscure Network Records imprint. "Watchin' Out" is a tight-but-loose chunk of hazy disco-era funk with a sturdy backbeat and particularly rousing horns. It will slip into both funk and disco sets with ease. Flipside "Dazed" is altogether slower, with sparser production emphasizing the quality of the parping, razor-sharp horns. It's a superb alternative to the equally admirable A-side. Another winner from Athens of the North.

Review: There's certainly plenty of sleaze you can read into this one. Ilya Santana takes blueprints of electronic music created in the 1980s and ups the ante, delivering four tracks that are destined to do well on deeper and more chug-focused global dancefloors. The kind of stuff that's deceptively heavy while also musically far-reaching, crank the volume up and stomping will come naturally. Very much in the realm of the late, great Andrew Weatherall, and therefore also one for fans of heads such as Manfredas, Optimo and the like, at the most solid, proggy end you've got 'The Deep Disco', destined to make more than a few people sweat, while 'Moon Road' sits on the lighter side comparatively, its tom drums and waves of synth underpinned by a deceptively solid kick.

Review: Kon continues to use his Kontemporary label to release his own licensed remixes of original disco tunes. This time round, he presents two new versions of L.T.D's 1976 cut "Love To The World". His A-side "Lots of Love Remix" is particularly strong, offering a rolling, musically rich reconstruction that adds a little more contemporary low-end pressure while showcasing the original version's superb vocals by spreading it out, giving the punchy disco-funk horns, killer bassline and tasty instrument solos time to work its magic. Over on Side B, he offers up an instrumental version of the same mix in which soaring disco strings provide a focal point and push the track forwards towards a suitable celebratory conclusion.

Review: The Homesick crew have proven themselves to be impeccable arbiters of taste when it comes to edits, and who they commission to do the slicing and dicing. Italian DJ Trent was last spotted alongside Juan Ramos in Greenvision for CockTail d'Amore, and can be found holding it down in Berlin alongside Afro cosmic legend Beppe Loda. That tells you all you need to know about the standard of edits we're dealing with here - heavy drumming, cosmic synth wigging freak-out jams with grit, soul, depth and a beautiful 70s sound that oozes like honey from the speakers. Stunning stuff from start to finish.

Review: During the heady days of the 2000s and early 20-teens, Sheffield scalpel fiend The Popular People's Front offered up a string of essential re-edit EPs. He's been rather quiet of late though, with this collection of fresh dancefloor "Ammo" marking the Steel City producer's first outing for four years. He opens by applying his touch to a lolloping disco classic (you'll know it when you hear it) before offering up an on-point revision of YMO's "Computer Games" that first surfaced - without being released - back in the 2000s. Over on side B the Sheffield veteran adds a vintage (we think) Elektrons acapella to a dubbed-out, low-slung disco workout (track three), and then goes all weird, electronic and forthright on the bonkers-but-brilliant closing edit.

Review: Eight TK classics unwrapped and regifted by some of the best in the disco game... Danny Krivit, Todd Terje, Norman Jay, Kon, Late Nite Tuff Guy and Dimitri From Paris all play killer roles in this stunning compendium of edits. Everything you could ever need for a super-sweet shindig from the instant sing-along spankage of Jimmy Bo Horne to the wah wah wriggles and giggles of T-Connection by way of Gwen McCrae's locomotion soul power, this really is an impressive piece of work.

Review: After an 18-month hiatus, the admirable Orange Tree Edits series returns via a first re-edit outing from former Nail Shop artist Moving Still (real name Jamal Sulaimani). Like many of the label's releases, the four reworks on show are undeniably exotic, with Sulaimani delivering revisions of exotic Arabic and Middle Eastern dancefloor workouts from the '80s and '90s. Check for example the raw, Italo-style analogue electronics, jacking machine beats and drifting Arabic synthesizer lines of "I'll Tell Ya For A Tenner", or the melodious, life-affirming Middle Eastern synth-pop bliss of head-in-the-clouds gem "Ah Stop". Arguably best of all though is opener "Bint Al Sa7ara", a druggy stomper where snake charmer style leads lines and North African vocals ride a seriously druggy, arpeggio-driven groove.

Review: Given their association with the label over the last few years, it seems fitting that the first artist album on Glitterbox should come from Qwestlife, a disco, boogie and jazz-funk loving duo made up on Andy "Yam Who?" Williams and pal Tom Laroye. "Prophecy" was made with a gaggle of guest musicians and vocalists (think Andre Espeut, Jacqui George, Lady Z and Bobby Saint) and features a slick, retro-futurist blend of original tracks and covers of well-loved but largely overlooked disco classics. The result is a brilliant played and produced set that joyously flits between revivalist disco-soul, synth-heavy boogie, slick nu-disco and jazz-funk. Perhaps the most extraordinary cut is "Fever", a superb chunk of disco-rap featuring none other than Sugarhill Gang and Furious Five members Melle Mel and Scorpio.

Review: This is a first official repress of "Il Veliero" after the original 1982 12" release. It is an all-time Italo classic that is presented in full glory with the original sleeve and 12 minute extended mix that will carry you away on a slightly cheesy but easy to love disco groove full of warm sunny breeze and carefree melodic bliss. Two lesser known cuts take up the b-side - the playful percussive disco funk of "Welcome To The Party" and uptempo licks and sliding hi hats of "Dancin' On Town Square." Summer, where you at?

Review: Life Classics - the Berlin based edit label run by Sanctuary - is back with four more disco heaters. "Yes Baby" is first out of the blocks with some fat and funky bass riffs, golden chord smears and a vocal that hits a real sweet spot. "Wet" is a little deeper but one that will still get you in a spin with its buttery lead vocal and neat riff work. "So Much TM" is a real soul train classic with big strings and racing 4x4 disco grooves while closer "Feel Inside" is a full loved up jam with heart swelling strings and smooth vocals accompanied by lush sax lines. These are gold standard edits.

Review: Cosmic disco legend Daniele Baldelli is enjoying recognition these days like never before, and now he's back alongside Marco Fratty with his first album in five years. As you would expect from something with Baldelli's magic touch, there's a warm '70s flavour to the music on offer here, but it's also rendered in pristine modern production quality. Particular highlights across this two disc set include the sweet flute-riffing of "Jasmine Flavour" and the freaky vocoder trip outs of "Slinky Funk", but truthfully the bar remains high throughout this impeccably executed slice of spaced-out disco business.

Review: DJ Fryer's Athens of the North imprint has provided soul and disco DJs with some killer 7" reissues since launching earlier this year. Here, he uncovers another obscure but oh-so-good gem. There's little information available about Bileo, aside from the fact that they released just two singles between 1979 and '83. "You Can Win" was there debut. It's a deliciously loose and celebratory chunk of disco-soul featuring spellbinding horns and a cheery, wholeheartedly positive vocal. It's the sort of disco-soul gem that makes us want to hug complete strangers before running into the sea fully clothed. The more low-slung disco-funk flipside, "Let's Go", is almost as good. Recommended.

Review: It's been a while since we last heard from Kinfolk, but the broad-sweeping label with cosmic chuggery in its bones is back with this powerful dose from Ess O Ess and Saulrichards. "Totem" is an epic track that rolls around in the muck somewhere between shoegaze extravagance, post-rock heaviness and psyched-out electronics. The "Swamp Crawl" version of the track keeps the guitars bedded deep within the mix, but there's space for more expressive synth work. Hardway Brothers take the track on a similarly rockist journey, but take their time building up to a climax. Otologic wrap things up with a deadly dub that will have low tempo trippers rubbing their hands with delight.

Review: Tireless diggers Soul Clap serve up more creamy grooves in the form of this sizzler from Michael The Lion and Amy Douglas. It comes soon after their big hitting "Get It On" and is another timeless fusion of US funk and soul, with big strings, authentic diva vocals and plenty of disco dazzle. Two different mixes form the legendary John Morales ensure "Find A Way" is utterly essential, while "Drink You Up" is a cheeky disco cut about sexual freedom. Closer "James Is The Message" is one that cuts loose in proper old school style with pumping drums, colourful synth explosions and vocals that you cannot help but sing along to.

Review: The first two volumes in Tone B Nimble's superb, gospel-focused "Soul Is My Salvation" series sold like hot cakes (or, perhaps more accurately in these times, bottles of hand sanitiser), so we're expecting this third volume to fly off the shelves too. On side A you'll find "He Can Do It" by The Gospel Truth, a suitably hard-to-find chunk of gospel-boogie warmth originally released in 1981. The Keith Williams-helmed group add their harmony vocals to a super-sweet backing track rich in cascading saxophone solos, jangly pianos and warm bass. Things heat up on side B, where McKinkey Sandifer takes over with the rare instrumental version of funk-fuelled 1982 gospel-disco-meets-jazz-funk jam "I Am The Vine".