Back catalogue: Disco/Nu-Disco

Review: This "Special Edition" of Lord Echo's recent third full-length, Harmonies, seems to be aimed at DJs. Whereas the original pressing contained the same tracks on one piece of wax, this version stretches the same tracks over two super-loud, heavyweight records. Formatting aside, the album itself is something of a head-in-the-clouds, feet-on-the-floor treat. It features the Kiwi producer working with a range of collaborators - Tony Laing of Fat Freddy's Drop and regular studio buddy Mara TK included - to serve up intoxicating cuts that brilliantly fuses reggae, dub and rocksteady rhythms with elements borrowed from disco, Afro-soul, Afro-funk, spiritual jazz and, more surprisingly, techno. It's a hugely vibrant and entertaining set, offering a good balance between dancefloor vibrations and more laidback concoctions.

Review: "45:33" was originally recorded by James Murphy (aka LCD Soundsystem) as a continuous album-length disco symphony. It is the result of Murphy's desire to create a piece of music outside the typical commercial constraints. Don't miss this DFA release.

Review: DJ, curator and producer Dave Lee (fka. Joey Negro) continues to celebrate his 30-odd year long career in music with his second curatorital comp release. The 'Produced With Love' series charts all of Lee's original productions in soulful house and disco, and this second edition includes choices songs by the likes of Destiny II, Leroy Burgess and Andreya Triana. Always collaborative and with effortless attention to funking detail, Lee brings it once again.

Review: We're prepared to argue with anyone on this, but Universal Robot Band's "Barely Breaking Even" is one of the best boogie-era disco records ever made. Its title was also the inspiration for the name of BBE Records, so it seems fitting that the label's 500th release is an all-star re-recording that brings together NYC house hero Louie Vega and original creators Leroy Burgess and Patrick Adams. Vega delivers vocal and instrumental versions of two distinctive passes: a slick, smooth, soulful and string-laden "Boogie Mix" rich in warm electronics and subtle nods towards the early '80s original, and a rolling "NYC House Remix" full of twinkling Fender Rhodes solos and atmospheric chords. As you'd expect, Burgess' re-recorded vocal is superb.

Review: Unlike most disco re-edit EPs, Salsoul's latest instalment of 'Reflex Revisions' are "proper" remixes, making full use of original master stems and session tapes sourced from the parent artists themselves. With all four tracks handled by French producer and remixer The Reflex, we know we're in good hands here - he's been at it since 2012. Reflex Revisions don't just add a janky kick beneath a beatgridded 16-bar loop, but rather, they move and sway with the tracks' original feels. Our case in point: 'A Little Love' completely reimagines the drum section found on Aurra's 1983 original, making the whole sonic experience much clearer and brighter. As much can be said for Metropolis' downtempo 'I Love New York', on which Reflex here makes the song grander, wider. Compared to most re-editors, this is an impressive feat occurring in a different ballpark.

Review: Less than 10 months have passed since the release of Matt Lord and Dennis 'Dego' McFarland's first collaborative album, but the long-serving duo have already readied album number two. The pair have been working together on-and-off for years and are clearly kindred spirits, at least musically. There's a warmth, looseness and pleasingly effortless feel about much of the material on show, which - like much 2000 Black crew material of recent years - adds luscious synthesizer and electric piano motifs to rubbery bass guitar parts and crunchy beats. It's naturally rooted in broken beat, but rhythmically also pays homage to jazz-funk, hip-hop, Azymuth-esque jazz fusion and boogie. It also includes an excellent, acid-flecked collaboration with mutual friend (and fellow bruk stalwart) Domu.

Review: Greek DJ/producer Lex has been part of the scene in his home city of Athens since the dawn of the millennium, though it's only in the last few years that he's focused more on making music. The results of his efforts, which were previously showcased on 12" singles for Leng and Samosa Records, amongst others, have been quietly impressive. His debut album, Waving, continues in the same vein, utilising a pool of musician friends to craft cuts that blur the boundaries between sun-kissed, sofa-friendly Balearic warmth and subtly funk-fuelled, dub disco-framed dancefloor shufflers. The plentiful highlights include the stunning, tropical-tinged opener, 'Punta Allen', the organ-sporting vocal squelch-along 'Window Spells', acid-flecked nu-disco-meets-cosmic disco workout 'Silver Peace' and high-octane number 'Down My Soul'.

Review: Is there a more iconic modern disco duo that Lindstom and Prins Thomas? The superb Scandic-pair link up here to great effect on a six track record for Smalltown Supersound. As ever the references are far and wide, from world music to deep house, cosmic ambience to synth music. The tracks are stuffed with subtle details and a rich overarching musicality that makes them as good for focussed headphone listening as it does an early evening dance. 'Oranges' is achingly gorgeous, 'Harmonia' is awash in lush arps and 'Small Stream' is dreamy bliss. Once again these maestros have come through with the goods.

Review: Anyone lucky enough to have caught James Murphy and his entourage of highly talented musical friends live will attest that it's here LCD Soundsystem truly excel. And whilst this London Sessions album recorded in the aftermath of such a performance at last year's Glastonbury Festival does not replicate such an elation filled experience, the chance to hear some of the band's best tracks recorded live makes this worth investigating. It's basically a showcase for how tight a group of musicians Gavin Russom, Pat Mahoney and Nancy Whang are, most notably on "Get Innocuous" where Russom really goes to town on the synths and "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" which gets embellished with a liberal dose of tightness, tautness and spikiness. The band has such an all encompassing back catalogue that you could spend all day dissecting which tracks they should have included here, and it's a mark of the aforementioned tightness that even the somewhat risible "Drunk Girls" sounds markedly improved here.

Review: Los Angeles' producer Luxxury has long specialised in the kind of opaque, warming, stylish and melodious fare that tends towards the timeless - retro-futurist, yacht-rock-tinged fusions of disco, AOR, synth-pop, boogie and blue-eyed soul that sounds like it was tailor-made to listen to while cruising down the Pacific highway in an early '80s convertible. Alright, his latest album, sees him subtly tweak that sound further and in the process deliver his most consistently entertaining full-length excursion to date. Our picks of the plentiful standouts include the slap-bass propelled dreaminess of 'Somebody Tonight', the radio-friendly dancefloor delight that is 'Be Good 2 Me', the yacht disco goodness of 'I Need Somebody' and the kaleidoscopic, filter-sporting lux-pop of 'Alright'.

Review: Everyone Else Is A Stranger by Lindstrom is the Scandi-don's first new solo studio album in four years. It his his sixth overall and thought it only has four tracks, it plays out over more than 40 minutes. Each of the cuts is classic Lindstrom but with subtle new tweaks and additions. They are chord-stacked disco epics that take you on a freeform cosmic voyage to the stars on uptempo rhythms aimed at the dance floor. He plays a Chinese cello and violin for the first time along the way, but the Solina String-Ensemble he has used on every track since his debut still remains. All hail the king of space disco once more.

Review: Prolific American producer Steve Moore served up some low slung retro grooves under the Lovelock alias a decade ago on Prins Thomas' Internasjonal imprint. Burning Feeling receives a much needed second coming on London reissue label Be With, finally appearing on vinyl for the first time with a fresh remaster (supervised by Moore himself) and pressed as a double LP with stylish new black & gold artwork. Bright like neon throughout, with classic (Italo) disco motifs galore and late night boogie-down vibes abound. It's what the label best described themselves as 'the sound of Big Room Smooth' and that's pretty spot on!

Review: The Mellophonia label offshoot Fusion Sequence won us over with its well-presented and great-sounding first EP, and now a quick follow-up does the same. This one is another various artists affair that starts with some nice futuristic robot disco from Vanity Project. There is more organic and lush Balearic from Bobby Bricks and Pacific Coliseum follows that spine-tingling Ibiza sunset vibe. On the flip side, there is everything from late-night electronic house to lazy disco via Sorcerer's blissed out 'Just For Love' which would entrance any dance floor. There's as much quality as there is variation on this one, which makes it a useful EP indeed.

Review: Since appearing in limited numbers back in 2019, vinyl copies of Luca Trevisi's seventh album as LTJ Xperience, Deepening of a Groove, have swapped hands for surprising sums online. IRMA has responded by delivering this reissue. We're glad they have, because it's one of the Italian veteran's strongest sets - a wonderfully groove-driven fusion of chugging disco, deep house, jazz-funk, soul and sample-rich club cuts that's packed to the rafters with playable treats. Our picks of a very strong bunch include the acid-flecked loop funk of 'Deeper', the rolling swamp funk headiness of harmonica-laden future classic 'I'm Coming Down', the sensual nu-disco soul of 'Infiltrator', and the bluesy, slow-motion hypnotism of standout 'Black Feeling'.

Review: Une Histoire D amour Bresilienne is the new album by Berlin based Le Commandant COuche-Tot which is "A nostalgic soundtrack to a vanished France from the late 60s." It's the second chapter in this odyssey and finds plenty of exotic disco, languid downtempo and grown up Balearic sounds all making for a super smooth and escapist listen. After the difficult couple of years we have all had, albums that offer such glorious space funk sounds as 'Les Pyramides Cosmiques' and the warming sun of face soul of 'L'Ete Indien' featuring the great Omar will always be well worth hearing.