Juno Recommends Disco March 2021

Review: Lavish gospel disco action from AOTN: longstanding gospel writer Calvin Bridges gets the 45 salute he deserves with two powerful 1978 flashbacks. Reminded by Floating Points just how relevant and timeless "The Power Of Your Love" sounds, AOTN bossman Fryer has licenced its vibrant, floor-shaking sermon with complete blessing from Bridges himself. "He's Alright", already a staple for Fryer for years, enjoys the coveted b-side status; with its big piano roll intro and gutsy gospel vocal, if there's a bad vibe in sight after dropping this then you're in the wrong job. Mighty.

Review: Getting to know this brand new label is sweet indeed because the first missive is a warm hearted bit of disco-boogie-house. It's an edit, apparently, but one that has done lots of heavy lifting and features lush sax sounds, squelchy synth bass and a lush falsetto vocal that brims with soul. It's a super limited 300 press from this apparently well known crew from the East, and has another killer on the flip. 'Chocolate' is a more slow, noodle jam with meandering leads and laidback chords that sink you in deep.

Review: Roy Ayers made a number of killer disco cuts in the late 1970s, though few are quite as essential as 'Running Away', which has now been reissued by South Street Disco. Built around an instantly recognisable (and much-sampled groove), the extended 12" version is rich in rubbery, rising and falling bass, clipped guitars, spacey Rhodes motifs, superb lead vocals from Ayers and even better backing vocals courtesy of the female quintet who would later become Eighties Ladies (who's superb 'Tell Him' was reissued in 2020). Turn to the flip for another chance to savour Fever album-opener 'Love Will Bring Us Back Together', a deeper and more low-down disco groover that boasts some seriously good Clavinet riffs and another inspired Ayers' vocal.

Review: Over the years, First Choice's 1983 disco hit 'Let No Man Asunder' has been remixed and re-edited countless times, yet producers are still able to find new ways to reinterpret it. The latest to pass the test with flying colours is DJ Koco AKA Shimokita, who here serves up two fresh reworks. His A-side edit makes the most of the track's infectious groove, jammed-out electric piano chords and spacey synths, eventually introducing the group's brilliant vocals in order to take it to another level. Arguably even better is the stripped-back flipside dub, which sounds like it was crafted from the master tapes. It naturally plays around with the percussion, bassline and vocals, delivering what could be the heaviest take on the track of all time.

Review: The Riot label has a perfectly spiriting lifting EP for you here. The second volume of their Disco Made Me Do It Series is jam packed with feel good disco bliss. Wonderland's Art of Tones remix of Danny Kane opens up with some nice glossy vocals, nu-disco synth flourishes and hip swinging claps. Moodena then septs up to being some fat bass and rump wiggling kicks to his remix of 'Dancing Stuff' and Michael Gray's stylish sounds and putting production all make 'Thank You For The Ride' into a superbly shiny and shimmering nu-disco gem. Mark Brickman then closes out with the loose perc and cosmic rays of 'Again & Again'.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: After their Pimp Life EP kicked off proceedings last year, Soul Central are back on their very own Electric Shine label with more of that feel good house tackle they do so well. The duo have earned their stripes plenty over the years working with labels like Defected, and they're on searing form here as they whip up a sizzling disco fever with the oh-so-sweet 'Just Friends' and get deep into the groove with the synth-licked 'Party Together'. 'Your Smile' leans in on a truly sentimental vocal hook which will spread infectious positivity out amongst a crowd of party people, and 'Michigan Slide' nudges the heat up with some serious bass flex and bugging Rhodes chords.

Review: Joseph Caserta's latest sneaky seven-inch is a sequel of sorts to his 2015 single 'Ricky', a deliciously hazy and groovy deep house jam that showcased breathy spoken word snippets from disco-soul lothario Rick James. This time round, the Boston-based producer and KON collaborator has decided to rework James' classic 'Give It To Me Baby' in honour of the track's 40th birthday. He presents a fabulous multi-track edit on side A, rightfully showcasing James' brilliant vocals, Latin-inspired horn lines and colourful synth sounds. He totally re-invents the track on the flip, placing snippets of James' vocals at the heart of a dark, dense, organ-rich early morning house workout.

Review: Honeycomb Music serves up a tune as sweet as the label's name here. The original 'Girl You Need A Change Of Mind' is actually a 1972 hit from soul crooner Eddie Kendricks. Last year, though, the super-talented Josh Milan took it and reworked it into a soothing and smooth deep house jam with golden production skills. The equally skilled Lamone resung the vocal with his own unique style and the track is a heart melting groove with horns, pianos and loose perc all getting you into the groove. A vocal and instrumental is included, with the flip being a more late night and loungey affair.

Review: Legendary acid jazz group Incognito have a playful, soulful sound like no other, many years after they first dreamt it up with Gilles Peterson's Talking Loud label in the 90s. Whenever it gets dropped don the floor, people go wild, and DJs continue to edit and remix it for modern audiences. Here their timeless 'Feel The Real' gets a double treatment from Micky More & Andy Tee. On the a-side they layer up the jazzy keys with nice noodling bass, and on the flip is a dub of the remix that pairs things back and allows those funky beats and chords to really shine.

Review: Super Spicy Records continues its run with great releases, with this second instalment of the Super Spicy Recipe proving a great compilation with big names of the disco scene rubbing shoulders with some super talented newcomers. On A1, we have Boogietraxx and Monsieur Van Pratt teaming up for the fantastic 'Sigueme', that brings a Latin flavour to the table, followed on A2 by Mexican disco master Hotmood and Italian star Gledd combining their superpowers to bring the maximum jazz spice to the recipe via 'I've Got Jazz'. On the flip, Greek edit master C. Da Afro salts this dish with some 'Ultrafunk', while last but not least, we have French duo Djeko & K'You applying some extra spice with 'Money Don't Spend Me'.

Review: GAMM's latest release is more mysterious than some. There's little info online about the producer behind it, Matalo, though we do know that he contributed a couple of killer reworks to one of Daje Funk Records' 2020 releases. This time round, he begins with a dash of percussion-heavy, Moog-sporting Latin jazz-funk/disco fusion ('Curacao'), before taking his rusty scalpel to a warming, Hammond-heavy groover that also sports some rousing horn motifs later on ('Wrong Time'). Those who dig dense Latin percussion and salsa-fired peak-time action should definitely check B-side opener 'Beundia', while closing cut 'La Jungla Te Mira' does a fine job in joining the dots between eccentric Latin funk and stomping house music.

Review: Having recently focused a bit more on soul, funk and boogie of late, Athens of the North boss Euan Fryer has promised to reissue a load of rare disco and modern soul this year. To kick off this campaign, he's decided to deliver a new edition of 'Keep Me Dancing' by Clarence Mann's disco-era band, True Image. It's a fine slab of smooth, soulful disco from 1981, with some suitably wavy and spacey synth sounds combining well with Mann's lead vocals and a typically rubbery groove. The B-side boasts the instrumental take from the original 12". This is naturally very similar to the main mix, though if we're not mistaken there are a few extra synth sounds - all of them wonderfully comfortable - here and there. Either way, it's a great record that disco fans should grab while they can.

Review: Fantasy Love score big here with an official reissue of Van Jones & Mary Diggs's 1983 disco boogie gem 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy'. It's a bit of a grail amongst those who know and fetches plenty of cash whenever it appears for sale. Originally written by Rod Stewart, the version of 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy' offered here is upbeat and funky, with claps, great drums and falsetto vocals all run through with great synth sounds that still sound future. 'Hypnotized' is a much more slow, smoochy and sentimental number for gentle Sunday sessions.

Review: Eary Sounds boss Pellegrino S. Sinchelotto founded the Zodyaco project two years as an umbrella for his ongoing studio collaborations with an ever-changing cast of musicians, vocalists and producers. Morphe, the project's second full-length excursion, continues in a similar vein to its predecessor, offering a similarly attractive mix of tracks that effortlessly blur the boundaries between mid-80s Balearic synth-pop, jazz-funk, zouk, Afro-cosmic, AOR disco and intergalactic boogie. With quality musicianship, colourful melodic motifs and accurately depicted period details to the fore, it's the sort of set that would now be considered a Balearic classic had it been released in 1885 rather than 2020. In other words, Morphe is an album you need in your life right now.

Review: Since 2012, Munich duo COEO has served up a swathe of sample heavy, disco influenced house EPs for such labels as Let's Play House, Toy Tonics, Lagaffe Tales and Razor-N-Tape Reserve. Here they pop up on Razor-N-Tape's main edit label with something different: a quartet of traditional scalpel works from their personal stash. First up is the elastic, horn heavy disco-funk of "Express Lane", which is quickly followed by the skewed Arabic boogie-funk brilliance of "Libyan Sun". Over on side B, "Don't Oho" is a breezy revision of a sun-kissed Afro-disco workout that sounds like it would be capable of causing a commotion in the club, while "Move Your Body" makes merry with a warm, rich and intoxicating early '80s boogie-soul jam of unknown origin.

Review: Legendary New York club Studio 54 has launched a new series that will deal in all the sorts of dazzling disco sounds that would have been heard in the fashionable hotspot back in its heyday. First up is this Night Magic collection with 2020 mixes of all the classics. It shares a name with the five-month Brooklyn Museum exhibition that premiered on March 13, then shut because of Corona, and is due to re-open sometime soon. Until then, get up and then get down to the soul, funk and disco fusions presented here - they ooze authenticity but all boast crisp modern production.

Review: Take Away seems to have been on a hiatus since its last release but its return to the fray is a fine one. It comes from Born Free boss Samo DJ and legendary crate digger, Dj and Lighthouse resident Farsta Kalle who come together for some highlife and international tinged disco sounds aimed squarely at your backside. The high energy beats overflow with character, whether thats from the big horns, the party starting vocals or the rugged instrumentals. Plenty of magical and cosmic chords also light up each beat and will have you pining for the dance floor.

Review: The Disco Segreta label is here with another super desirable Italian holy grail disco gem originally released in 1979 as a 45 single on the tiny private label Papaya. 'La Mosca' is actually the very first version of the 'Andromeda' track that this label reissued in 2015. This time out, it comes with completely different lyrics that are sung by a different voice - namely Italian folk pop chanteuse Louiselle. It's a brilliant take that pops with funky bass, sweeps on golden strings and teases with the libidinous vocal. A remaster of the original and an unreleased Tape version is also included.

Review: There's naturally much to enjoy on the latest volume in Africa Seven's A7 Edits series, which pairs original - and usually obscure - old Afro-disco and Afro-boogie gems with fresh 21st century edits. This time round, the A-side is all about Kemayo & K System's piano and horn-heavy disco-funk jam 'Biram', a two-minute blast of dancefloor exuberance that Phillip Lauer cleverly re-imagines as loopy, locked-in chunk of Afro-disco/disco house fusion. Over on the flip there's a chance to savour Afro National's heavy, low-slung stomper 'Push Forward', a cut that brilliantly adds chanted vocals and Hendrix style guitar solos to a sweaty, non-stop groove. Al Zanders does a great job in ratcheting up the tension and heaviness on his accompanying club-ready extension.

Review: Australian Latin combo OYOBI step up here with a fantastic remake of the stone could Gamble & Huff classic 'Don't Let It Go To Your Head'. Commissioned by Groovescooter for its 45 imprint, it's got twinkling late night chords and plenty of Latin percussion, xylophone sounds and that soaring vocals to melt your heart. On the B-side is an original Oyobi cut that heads to the dance floor on busy rhythm section work and starry-eyed chords. Both are essential little gems.

Review: Neon lit Italo disco magic from Endrik Schroeder here on the ever reliable Bordello a Parigi imprint. The producer had two releases between 1997 - 2002 on Grenoble's Interface Label then resurfaced last year after an 18 year hiatus, If he keeps on with this quality, we're sure glad he's back! On the A side we have the pumping technicolor euphoria of 'Second Breath' awash in a glorious concoction of vintage synth sounds that you could imagine pumping your fist in the air to up at Panorama Bar. On the flip we have 'The Quest' hammering the message home, all adrenalised arpeggios, epic FM strings and 707 beats galore.

Review: The cheeky scamps behind the Boots & Legs label, whose releases blur the boundaries between re-editing and remixing, are back again with a third volume of synth-laden dancefloor fun. This time round, Kayroy kicks things off with 'Silicon Horizon', a delicious chunk of spiralling synthesizer futurism full of glacial melodies and thrusting synth-bass, before Romain FX joins forces with Guido Ballboa and Annika on 'Make Italo-Disco Great Again', a self-explanatory effort that reminded us of Shep Pettibone's remixes of early Pet Shop Boys hits (which, we should add, is a good thing). Over on the flip, Compilerbau provides a locked-in 'DJ Edit' of a bonkers-but-brilliant Italo number ('Raindance'), while Greetings' reaches for the Fairlight CMI stabs and spacey bass breakdowns on 'Time Is A Thief'.

Review: There is unbridled joy and musical richness in this spirit-raising new EP from Sound Support. As we've just learnt that summer 2021 is on, we're all imagining ourselves on outside dance floors, moving and grooving under a hot sun and through a balmy might, and these are the tracks we we want hear. 'Clavi on the Rocks' is all squelchy bass and cosmic keys over mid tempo beats, 'Thesaurus Rex' is grown up Balearic for those cocktail moments and 'Super Elevation' then heads into more nocturnal territory with its stiffer basslines and more acidic synths. 'Enduro' close sin playful and care free fashion.