Juno Recommends Disco September 2018

Review: For the 11th instalment of Z Records' ongoing Attack The Dancefloor series, label boss Dave Lee (AKA Joey Negro, Doug Willis, Lakeshore Commission and many more) has gathered together more certified floor-fillers from his own personal stash of productions and remixes. His tasteful rework of Harvey Mason classic "Groovin' You" - slightly more housey than the original, but making great use of the original's killer instrumentation and vocals - is particularly potent, while the rolling, horn-heavy Extended Version of Al McKay Allstars' "Heed The Message" is a good-time disco-funk treat. Elsewhere, Lakeshore Commission cut "Together (Right Now)" is a heartfelt tribute to Skyy mastermind and bass player supreme Randy Muller, while his Bionic House Mix of Doug Willis cut "Risky Biznizz" is a soaring, grandiose disco-house treat.

Review: Very little is known about disco troupe The Devoted Souls besides the fact they have a link with musical director extraordinaire Stu Gardner which is where the original master tapes were found. Pure unreleased gold from 1980, there's a bubbly harmonic soul laced throughout the original with just nuances of a more psychedelic trip while Kon searches even deeper into the cosmos with trippy double ups and blissful breakdowns. Get devoted.

Review: Swiss trio Alma Negra have been on an unstoppable march in recent years, bringing their extensive knowledge of African and Latin music to contemporary productions in a circular fashion that exists beautifully out of time. That all the music on Sedowa is hand-played is testament to the natural flow of this infectious, instinctive dance music, leading in with the sprightly funk of "Sedowa" before easing into the transcendental stomp of "Sueno Latino." "Oya" is no slouch on the B2 either, bringing a heavier disco-funk groove to the record that will suit more house-inclined DJs without compromising on the organic rattle and clatter that makes Alma Negra such a stand out crew.

Review: Thanks to soaring demand on the second-hand market, Joey Negro has decided to re-press this killer collection of disco remixes that originally appeared on a limited-edition Record Store Day release. All four were created, but not released, during the making of his superb Remixed With Love albums. The A-side boasts two versions of Lonnie Liston Smith classic "Space Princess"; an epic, peak-time disco revision and a brilliant beats version (the "Break Mix"") that consists of little more than punchy percussion, trippy effects and bags of energy. Turn to the flip for Negro's impeccably delay-laden, New York style dub of Gwen McCrae's "Keep The Fire Burning" and a spine-tingling, sing-along rearrangement of Wardell Piper's lesser-celebrated disco-boogie classic "The Power of Love".

Review: Chicago house original Mike Dunn continues to serve up dancefloor gold some 31 years into a long and storied production career. As with its predecessors, We R Tuesday Nights Vol 5 delivers dusty disco reworks from the producer's personal stash of peak-time scalpel works. To kick things off, Dunn makes merry with a lesser-known orchestral disco-funk slammer, before brilliantly chopping, looping and rearranging a rubbery disco-boogie cut rich in bold synth bass, hazy "keep on dancing" chorus vocals and jangling piano riffs. Over on side B, Dunn turns his attention to an epic chunk of seductive disco, adding spacey delays and emphasizing the crunchy Clavinet lines to guarantee serious peak-time pleasure.

Review: Some nine years after Themes From Great Cities launched with the compilation style Mogul EP, the lauded Dusseldorf label delivers a fourth volume in the series. Sparkling, spacey nu-disco chords, jammed-out piano riffs, congas, acid lines and stabbing synth solos get together for an orgasmic naked party on Stabil Elite's fantastic EP opener "Snack Jam", before Phaser Boys deliver their own fusion of bouncy Chicago acid bass, boisterous pianos and tropical percussion on the unusual (but undeniably ace) "Tennis Camp". Label regular Jan Schulte dons the Wolf Muller guise again on the trademark off-kilter percussive hypnotism of "Der Vogel Aus Der Unterwelt", while Aiwo Posse round things off with the muscular, late night acid house anthem "Your Love".

Review: Beatdown disco rework specialists Smokecloud have assembled a crack team of troops for their latest salvo into no-man's-land. Leading the charge and lobbing the first "Disco Grenade" is label chief Osmose, who contributes two tight cuts: loopy, filter-sporting disco chugger "Disco Luv" - a study in ear-pleasing, head-nodding hypnotism rich in musical positivity - and the more up-beat disco-funk thrust of flipside opener "U Promised Me", which sees him make merry with a cheery AOR disco favourite. Elsewhere, Oldchap delivers the obligatory slo-mo disco flier - think 98BPM beats, rising backing vocals, disco-rock grooves and jaunty Rhodes stabs - while The Funk District's "A Gangster Film" is a Blaxploitation-inspired bouncy disco-house treat.

Review: If you're seeking out respectful edits then look no further than New York City's Razor N Tape. JKriv and Aaron Dae now present to you Mytron & Ofofo (Les Yeux Orange, Multi Culti), the duo formed by Sasa Crnobrnja (In Flagranti) and Jacek Janiszewski. Their sonically ergonomic resplices here come in the form of "Beach Buggy" with its sleazy Italo conga funk, the late night slo-mo sexiness of "Midnight Drive" or "Capricorn" - the delightfully dark closer that's perfect for getting weird down in the Sameheads basement or Cocktail d'Amore's Cosmic Hole alike.

Review: Sometime Better Listen, Homage and Kolour LTD producer Chevals makes his bow on Whiskey Disco with a quartet of perfectly pitched re-edits. The French artist begins with the lolloping deep house-disco bounce of "La Bouteille", where jammed-out electric piano lines and rising horn motifs increase in prominence thoughout. It's rather good, all told, as is the shirts-off, hands-aloft soaring disco soul of "Under Your Command", which sounds like one of those edits that will create pandemonium if dropped at the right time. Over on the flipside, "Fairy Tales" is a slick and soulful take on an '80s soul-era electrofunk shuffler, while "Croisades" is a punch-drunk dance through horn-heavy disco-funk pastures.

Review: Time for another dip into the deep bubbling Turkish groove baths as Disco Hamam instigate a fourth volume of obscure Turkish disco delights. Tokyo Matt takes the A side with two distinct tales; the feisty dollar packing disco bullet "Fist Full Of Dollars" and a much more emotional, cinematic saga in the form of "Tales Of The Orientale". Hamam regular Afacan takes the B with two more eastern odysseys. "Ya Sabir Disco" is pure theatre with its ever mutating arrangement and almost festive feel while "Biz Salkimiz" continues the drama with added slinkiness in the groove department. Delicious.

Review: GAMM has been responsible for some killer re-edits over the years, though we're struggling to think of any that are quite as good as Prescription Pricing Authority's killer tweak of Carlos Ramanos's "1-2-1". Noticeably heavier and crisper than the original, the rearrangement utilizes a touch of delay at crucial moments and wisely makes more of the fantastic bassline and percussion breaks. Speaking of ace basslines, you'll find a heavy dose of slap bass on the flip, where PPA turns his or her hand to Kathryn Moses's flute-sporting jazz-funk wig-out, "Lucky Duck". It is, of course, killer, though lacks the sheer celebratory rush of the on-point A-side.

Review: Simon Marlin returns the source with one of his biggest tracks as The Shapeshifters in years. Loaded with the belting gospel-level charm of the currently unavoidable Teni Tinks (who's also sung and recorded with the likes of Dr Packer, Ghetts and Stormzy) it's an authentic nod to the enduring legacy of late 70s Salsoul or T.K Disco. Soulful, singalong, oozing positivity and tailored strictly for the dancefloor; this has been huge at all Glitterball and Defected parties this summer. Try it on for size...

Review: This essential EP gathers together some of the highlights from "Take It To Church", a digital-only compilation from the Showfa packed with gospel-fired dancefloor treats. We're particularly enjoying Yam Who? and Alan Dixon's fantastic new rub of The Soup Dragons "I'm Free", which re-casts the track as a righteous, sing-along friendly slab of peak-time gospel disco bliss. Elsewhere, Le Visiteur does a great job extending percussion breaks and slowly ratcheting up energy levels on superb gospel disco re-edit "Let The Sunshine", Alan Dixon's "Got To Be" is a breezy chunk of gospel-house/disco fusion and Jack Tennis' "The Light" is a filter-sporting slab of piano-rich sweetness that should put smiles on plenty of faces before the year is out.

Review: Somewhat confusingly, the two Al Dobson tracks featured on this must-have 12" are not taken from his superb Rye Lane LP, but rather a CD of possible album tracks the producer gave to Rhythm Section International last year. Both cuts are typical of his dusty, rhythm-centric sound, and are particularly sparse. This, though, just makes the remixes even more remarkable. Polish producers PTaki turn "Santiago Black" into a midtempo chunk of analogue-sounding midtempo house, complete with drifting vocal samples and a wonderfully dubby bassline. Arguably even better is Ruf Dug's eccentric version of "Kirton Street", which wobbles, pulses and darts with chiming melodies, rough sub bass and hissing, cymbal-laden percussion, while retaining the blazed feel of Dobson Jr's original.

Review: If we can dance together, we can live together... Cashmere Radio's DJ Gene G Spot Siewin makes his debut on Oye with this tailored collection of edits, complete with an intro in his signature deep smoky tones. "The Reason" waves its Willie proudly with a vibrant message of life, "2 Groove" throws down with soaring, urgent soul, big Rhodes and a relentless off grid beat, "Make Ya Feel Good" gets all frank and positive over a supreme boogie groove that will keep you coming back for more while "Love" closes the show with a sweet tale twist Hancock would be proud of. An EP seeped in emotion, Gene's added to the edit pool with pure class and feeling right here.

Review: ** REPRESS ALERT ** The wonderfully monikered Golden Flamingo out of New York City was one of many labels operating alongside the now legendary P&P Records imprint in the late 70's to early 80's. A Peter Brown and Patrick Adams production, "God Save & Protect All The Children" is an oft neglected gem in the wider P&P related catalogue. Williams is quite enigmatic and not much is known of her - other than her contributions on backing vocals to some classic records including Inner Life's 'Inner Life II' and The Salsoul Orchestra's Christmas LP. A lo-slung yet life-affirming version exists on the first side, while a more groovy and upbeat version exists on the flip of this legitimate repress.

Review: Salsoul herald the new generation with this powerful double A 12" featuring brand new edits of two out and out label classics; Germany's Phonk D flips First Choice into a total barn rattler. Jacking, loopy but every bit as urgent and infectious as the original, it's less of an edit and more of a total rebuild, crafted with full celebratory spirit. On the B-side we have Tiger & Woods' Delphi laying down two immaculate extensions of Salsoul Orchestra's "Time Out". Edit 1 whips up the full instrumentation while Edit 2 strips things back for more focus on the vocal. Contemporisations don't get much hotter than this.

Review: Robert Ouimet - the Godfather of Montreal disco - puts his magic touch on three tracks for British disco label Basic Fingers. A DJ/producer since the early '70s, Ouimet was a regular contributor to The Steede Report (published from 1975 to 1979) writing a column dedicated to the recent arrivals of imported records, in addition to his role as a disc jockey. He was also responsible for remixing Francine McGhee's vocal/instrumental mixes of "Feeling Good" and "Delirium", which both charted in the UK in 1977, as well as also Gino Soccio's "The Visitors" - having been a consultant to the fellow Montrealer on his first three LP's.

Review: When it comes to crafting languid, sun-baked Balearic grooves and shuffling, soft-focus disco-pop, few are quite as accomplished as Poolside. That much is proved by Heat, the LA duo's first album since 2012 debut Pacific Standard Time. This time round, they've embraced their West Coast roots even further, throwing elements of yacht rock and blue-eyed soul into this mix alongside their usual saucer-eyed blend of lilting Balearic instrumentals (see stunning opener "Hot In The Shade" and the Windsurf-esque "Drifting"), huggable slow motion disco-pop and jaunty, piano-heavy dancefloor workouts (there are numerous cuts that echo the sun-bright brilliance of early single "Do You Believe").

Review: I Robots first unveiled the original version of "Glamouflage", a heavily percussive, occasionally tribal disco roller built around layered drums, psychedelic guitars and a rubbery bass guitar motif, back in 2016. Two years on, they've decided to give it a new lease of life via a swathe of fine new interpretations. I Robots handles the first remix himself, serving up a "Take II" version that's arguably even more percussive, stripped back and psychedelic. Our favourite of the new mixes comes from Kuniyuki Takayashi, who turns in a steamy dub disco interpretation smothered in mazy Moog solos and breathy chanted vocals, though Gary Martin's Teknotika rework featuring Colten Decker - a wickedly hypnotic mix of chugging techno rhythms, layered hand percussion and snaking sax solos - is also rather good.

Review: Belpaese Edits is a new Balearic and cosmic-minded rework series shrouded in mystery. We know it is Italian in origin (the label makes that clear), but very little else. In many ways, it doesn't matter; whoever is behind it, this debut EP is excellent. It opens with the chant-along, carnival-ready jazz-funk/South American style disco fusion of "Sentimento", before charging off on a more low-slung and driving direction via "Ancora Piaccio", a tasty revision of a lesser-known disco-era Italian record. Over on side B, "Di Chi Sei" sounds like it was made by Italy's answer to Sade (and, yes, it made us want to walk barefoot down a beach arm in arm with a loved one), while "Para Para" is a chugging, reggae-influenced chunk of slo-mo Italian disco-exotica.

Review: Edinburgh's Natasha Kitty Katt has previously proved to be a more than reliable source of contemporary disco sleaze. Here she returns to action after a 12-month absence with another batch of throbbing, floor-friendly cuts. Chief amongst these is opener "Master of the Moon" - co-produced by regular collaborator (and daddy Kitty Katt) Dennis Probert - which elevates the Winners' underground disco classic "Ready For The Future" to dubbed-out new disco-house heights via new beats, synths and tons of trippy effects. It's a party-starting winner, all told. Similarly impressive is chunky and throbbing flipside "Glitter In The Dark", a bouncy dose of Italo-disco/house fusion rich in thrusting arpeggio bass, glassy-eyed synthesizer melodies and sweaty layered percussion.

Review: In order to mark their 20th release, Invisible Inc has put together this tremendous compilation loosely inspired by Philip K Dick's dark, retro-futurist sci-fi masterpiece Blade Runner. It's a willfully eclectic and hugely atmospheric affair that tends towards the cosmic and otherworldly, with contributing artists including a mix of experimental pioneers, lauded experimentalists and contemporary rising stars. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, with notable cuts including a languid, pitched-down Afro-cosmic remix of Richard Bone's "Saiyuji Dawn" by Daniele Baldelli and Marco Dionigi, the sludgy mix of field recordings and tropical ambience that is Komodo Kolektif's "Fire Walk", a glistening chunk of West Coast bliss from Secret Circuit, a deep space ambient dub masterpiece by Bal5000 and some impeccable ambience from long-serving electronic composer K. Leimer.