Disco Recommendations August 2011

Review: *** REPRESS *** Following some weeks after the usual drip of 'blink and you've already missed them' Golf Channel promo copies comes the finished version of the latest Try To Find Me output. Nicknamed the Justin Vandervolgen Hit Factory at the Juno Offices, this release sees the producer once again proving his record collection is matched by a deft touch when it comes to the edit. Vandervolgen offers up contrasting ends of the modern discoteque spectrum with Side A's "I'm Dancer" a muscular flex of EBM and proto house with a punishing kick drum rhythm attacked from all corners by heavily funked guitar, devilishly devious arpeggiated bass and a proper 80s male vocal hook. On the flip "Needs Ending" provides overdue satisfaction for all those who heard Phil South drop the track at Electric Elephant last year, with the TBD man does wondrous looping things to a chugging 80s electro disco oddity - just wait for that vocal to drop! Mad limited and mad brilliant as usual!

Review: When Jay Shepheard launched Retrofit in early 2010, deep house with a splash of disco was on the menu. Six releases later and the quality of music hasn't faltered once. Jay's own work has always been the main focus on all five releases but for Retrofit 6, Rudy's Midnight Machine, (who is in fact Robin Lee of Faze Action) takes to the stage alongside an appearance from Shepheard (as Ee_Ef_Ex) on remixing duties. "Ecstatic Love Glow" kicks off the EP, diving head first into the disco and synth heavy realm that we expect from Retrofit (and, for that matter, from Mr Lee), whose house outputs with Faze Action as far back as 97' speak for themselves. The intro of tip tapping hats and congas leads into a penetrating bass guitar, a riff that goes on to be cleverly mirrored by keyboards and later, by what sounds like a scratchy Lakland guitar. Wooden hats, sirens and a plethora of cosmic elements boogie their way around until the track's dominant synth parades in and takes over the arrangement, striking a dramatic and smug pose at the close of each stab. The second track of "East Side Good Living" sticks with its predecessor's groove; cosmic sirens, electronic whistles and metallic drum taps yet again highlighting Rudy's modern disco sound.

Review: Yam Who?'s ISM label come through with a four track slice of disco centric Futurism, featuring the man Yam himself alongside PBR Streetgang and Ron Basejam. It's the latter who takes the lead with a remix of Alena's "Changes" that sees her sultry vocal teased by a most excellent of analogue synth leads that splurges brilliantly across the crisp mid tempo chug. Yam Who? teams up with vocalist Natasha Watts for the similarly bottom heavy bump of "I'm In Love" which has a certain warehouse appeal to it. On the flip, PBR pay respect to the godfather of soul James Brown with the gritty flex of "J2thaB" with the sadly departed Mr Brown strangely sounding at times like he wants to go to Tesco. We always took him for a Waitrose man, but regardless this is probably the track you'll reach for most! Finally Brothers Young do their thing to a Trammps classic, with little more than the bassline retained. Big tip!

Review: The second release on the label shaped offshoot of Melbourne Deepcast sees the collective make further room for themselves in the house scene. If the inaugural release was a statement of intent, introducing four key members of the Melbourne Deep House Mafia, the second release is more focused with Andy Hart returning to the fray and serving up a delightful collaboration with the rightly lauded Francis Inferno Orchestra. "D2Me" has everything you want in a modern deep house jam; a bassline that is subtle yet heavyweight, crisp drums, multiple layers of melodics and deft vocal turns dipped in soul and most importantly there's a real progression throughout. The duo flex their solo production muscles on the flip with Mr Hart taking the lead on "Tell Her You Know", which similarly impresses via the sheer depth of sounds at play through out. The Francis Inferno Orchestra solo jam is more about the groove, whipping up a head of sultry steam over a rasping beat and gliding disco strings.

Review: The first volume of Istanbul Edits from the Nublu imprint didn't spend long at Juno, and rightly so because the killer Anatolian tweaks from Baris K were more than matched by the cover art! The NYC label swiftly serves up a second helping from the Turkish disco lynchpin which maintains the standards set with aplomb. There's a real devilish charm to all the tracks present here, with the overtly dramatic vocals on Cem Karaca's "Nem Alacak Felek Benim" complemented by a subtle filtered sensation from Senor K - you'll love the slight slip of acid wigout that appears midway through. After that you get sultry twilight slink (Ikimiz Bir Fidaniz), something approaching proto house (the revelatory "Disko Kebap" from Urfali Babi) and perhaps the mosty overtly disco track in "Dalkavuk" from Senay. If you're a fan of the more obscure disco sounds out there this record will hit the spot perfectly.

Review: London based label ISM serves up a massive EP with three tracks from Russian disco producer Volta Cab, all of which offer some seriously downtempo grooves. "Play On" and "Magic In Your Eyes" nail the classic sub 110BPM disco sound with its lush live instrumentation. However it's the shining 80s feel of "He's A Bad Mutha" that is the most impressive, melding a sleazy vocal with a heart-rending combination of synths and horns. Label bosses Yam Who? offer two remixes, with their version of "Play On" a cosmic uptempo version of the original, with an ascending synth bass that elevates the original vocal to new heights. Their remix of "He's a Bad Mutha" adds a similar amount of extra dancefloor kick, removing the original's yearning melody for something a little more forceful.

Review: Big round of applause please for Bristolian disco troupe Bedmo Disco, who enter the murky world of vinyl after a couple of successful digital dalliances. Step up Rocco Raimundo; if this marvellous moniker doesn't tip you off as to where this 12" is heading, the Italian flag and crumb catcher that adorn the centre of the record surely will. A-Side missive "Steamy Summer Sonnet" is all heavily filtered synth hits riding above a glorious arpeggiated bassline; killer vocal too! Flip over for the more frenetic disco-funk of "Turn Me On", while the soaring strings and almost French touch loopy filter fest that is "Ridin High" stands out as our pick of the bunch.