Back catalogue: Disco/Nu-Disco

Review: Sweat It Out Records kicks off their tasty Sweat Sampler series with their first volume, cutting niftily across four exceptionally sweaty bops, spanning tongue-in-cheek deep tech reworks and downtempo disco delights. First off is the dream team of Cid and Havoc & Lawn, whom together deliver a hilariously effective house version of America's 'A Horse With No Name'; this is shortly followed by Saturday Love, Kon and Furious's 'Come Out', a rejigged nu-disco samosa packed with some rare vocal spices; then there's 'Give It To Me' by Marco Lys and Ben Miller, a bass-driven bouncer unafraid of lasershot winddowns, injunctive vocals and risers; and finally, there's Set Mo's 'Could I Be', the anthem of the bunch, whose buildup and drop is alarming, affecting, cumulatively awe-striking.

Review: The star-studded Sai Galaxy project returns, bringing together West African legends Steve Monite and Rob with multi-instrumentalist Simon Durrington, guitar maestro Alfred Bannerman, and Egypt 80 trumpet player Bade, for a second EP of vital Afro-disco and soul. Following up 2020's 'Get It As You Move' EP, the likes of 'Sometimes It Rains', the homonymous 'Okere', the truth-to-power 'Rich Man, Poor Man', and the live and swinging coda 'Hold Me Tonight' paint a multifaceted picture of a trio, equally as concerned with groove delivery as they are with narrative storytelling. Most emblematic of Sai Galaxy's approach is their inspiration by analog production techniques of similar Afro-soul albums from the 1970s and 80s, adding a modern touch informed by Simon Durrington's Digital Afrika project.

Review: Fool's Paradise is the exciting new label from Toolroom Records' Mark Knight. Coming straight from the heart, it's a natural progression from his hugely acclaimed 2021 album release, 'Untold Business', which saw Mark go back to his roots, paying homage to the more funky, soulful, and vocal house from the 1990s from where he came. With a focus on real instrumentation and production, coupled with great songwriting, this new Toolroom sublabel will be a platform for high quality house music designed to stand the test of time. Launching the new label with a mighty bang and delivering the first in our exciting new vinyl sampler series is head honcho Mark Knight, who joins forces with his Australian Toolroom labelmate, Sgt Slick, and British Soul sensation, Beverley Knight, on a dynamite cover of Prince's 1979 classic, 'I Wanna Be Your Lover'. Respectfully transporting the song onto today's dancefloors, Mark & Sgt Slick deliver a classy uplifting soulful house production, loaded with funky guitars, warm pads and sublime key performances. Adding the icing on the cake and putting her own stamp on things, Beverley belts out one of her signature spine-tingling vocals, garnished with lush harmonies and BV's that would indeed make The Purple One proud. Completing the vinyl package is dance music stalwart, Opolopo, and British soul icon, Jaki Graham, whom together bring the dancefloor heat with their new single, 'Fire'. Powered by a potent soulful house groove from Opolopo, loaded with warm piano hooks, emotive synth melodies and a sublime popping bass hook, 'Fire' see's Jaki flaunt her electrifying vocal talents with a show-stopping performance on this irresistibly catchy song.

Review: Str4ta is a joint project that includes Gilles Peterson and Jean-Paul Maunick aka Bluey, inspired by 80s Brit funk bands. In 2022, Str4ta released their third album Str4tasfear for Gilles's label, Brownswood Recordings and this 12" stamped white label offers two dance remixes of two tracks from Str4tasfear. For the A-side, 'To Be As One' is remixed by Venom with vocal by Theo Croker. This soulful house version is jazzy and slightly psychedelic, that gives off a tremendous 70s vibe to it, while the second side sees 'Lazy Days' is remixed by Wallace, adding a bit more of a Latin house feel and features Emma Jean Thackray on vocals. Both versions turn the originals into the perfect dancefloor shufflers for eclectic people. This is the perfect 12" for house, soul and Latin DJs to express their more jazzy side.

Review: House music has been huge in South Africa for some time, and not just in the underground but everywhere - it can be heard on radio, bleeding from car stereos and out of boomboxes all over the townships. It has its own distinctive twist and influences and some of those are explored on this new Voom Voom 12", which is just the second from this label. It features different remixes of two originals and all are steeped in sun-drenched synths, with funky Afro rhythms underpinning the lush vocals. A heart warming EP of real house depth.

Review: The now nicely matured Samosa label out of Italy is back with a 31st offering of its lavish disco and funk fusions. This time out the four tracker features four different artists starting with Strange and 'Hard Working' (De Gama Re-drums) which is a cosmic laced late night stomper then Frank Virgilio gets all romantic and feel good with 'Love Is Positivity.' Mosaik Kollektif opens up the flip with the deep sounds of 'Keep' (De Gama Re-drums) and last of all comes some more freewheeling funk with Monsieur Van Pratt and his 'Funk De Ibiza.'

Review: Scottish house music duo Silicone Soul aka Craig Morrison & Graeme Reedie's turn-of-the-millennium deep houser 'Right On!' certainly made a big splash back then, breaching the UK dance singles chart by bringing the genre an oily soulful emulsion. However, not their first release for the esteemed Soma Quality Recordings, 'Right On!' was an expert construction and a favourite for lovers of vocal house at the time. The track is a cover of Curtis Mayfield's 'Right On For The Darkness', a paean for living in the now and grabbing life by the bullhorns).

Review: Tatsy Recordings is up to a fifth release and it wants you to sample what it is all about with this fine sampler. It kicks off with Disko Junkie's 'I Like To Party' which will indeed get you ready to party with its lavish grooves. A Nu Disco Mix of Discotron's 'September' then brings more good time feels with its colourful synths and vibrant rhythms. Flip it over and HP Vince has got the sauce with 'Got The Groove' with its loopy bass and classic samples, House Punkz then rework another super smooth soul sample into some disco house beats and Serial Thrilla end it all with the slamming 'More More More.'

Review: "Once upon a time, along the coasts of this sea, passed the silk road, the route of salt and spices, oils and perfumes, amber and ornaments, tools and weapons, of wisdom and knowledge, art and science.
Here different people and races have continued to interweave, unite and dispute for centuries as perhaps in no other religion on this planet." These are the words that introduce the new eponymous album by Flankup Recordings artist Sidi Bou Said or Paolo Russi and Marco Lanfranchi (aka. Indy). The Milanese duo, who originally joined forces over the creation of a score for a short documentary film - which told the story of twin brotherly cultures the Sicilians and Tunisians from the northern coast - expanded on that energy and decided to make a proper duo record. 'Sidi Bou Said' is, indeed, a stunning five-track composition, on which Paolo and Marco establish an inspiring array of Arabic disco, Afro-house and Balearic rhythms, and giving life to an acoustic, perceptible musical exploration of such pan-Mediterranean lands; gathering together, most importantly, in the most sensitive and conscious way, the sounds that portray them. The EP takes the listener on an auditory pilgrimage to the loudest and most vibrant Sicilian road markets with 'Babbaluci', then on to the unmistakable scent of spices and olfactory street-scenes of the titular neighbourhood, 'Sidi Bou Said', located north of Tunis. Then to the coastal town of 'Hel Haouaria' with its wind and shiny waters.

Review: The Backatcha label has been busy turning out the jams recently and this 82nd EP is another one that will get you up on your feet in no time. Style X was at the helm of the original tune here but now two edit and remix masters get their hands on it and head into all new realms. First up is Sean P with The Second Line Jazz Funk Excursion remix which is all overdubbed horns and hurried disco rhythms, cosmic synths and loose percussion that make you move. Then it is the Ge-ology Truth To The Light remix that brings driving, deep and dubbed out disco goodness with majestic horns.

Review: We're big fans of what the Whiskey Pickle label has been doing over the course of its first few releases. This 10th outing from Silver City is another case a point. Across four fine cuts, it explores deep house and Balearic sounds with real heart. 'Atalaya' opens with dreamy and shiny synths up top sprinkling in some subtle cosmic energy and 'Nomad' then gets more down and dirty. 'Before' again casts you adrift under starry skies on a warm summer's night and 'Calisto' is for when the lights go down and the dancefloor is where you want to be.

Review: Thus spake Zaratustra, who clambered down from his mountain lair after ten years of brooding and solitude to let the people of the meadows and grasslands know of the true nature of reality; the overman, aka. Stolt. Nietzsche references aside, this new release by French disco artist Zaratustra, in collaboration with singer Stolt, is a riveting take on electro-disco-Italo; 'Uprising' is a ricocheting heater of immeasurable proportions, channelling the spirit of hi-NRG and new wave in its vocal shrieks, eighth-note bass runs and gated splashy snares. A veritably worthy addition to Skylax's LAX series.

Review: You can always count on the Legofunk crew to bring you disco and funk edits from less mined sources that will absolutely rock it on the floor. On this instalment we have five different joints to get stuck into, from the slow Afro house throw down of Alexny's 'Meneao' to Siggatunez's slinky, soulful groover 'Boogie'. Look out for the low tempo seduction of DJ Laurel's 'Let The Good Time', which will get a warm-up slot thoroughly juiced for the night to come. The Lego Edit 'party dub' of 'Party Freaks' heads more explicitly towards peak-time house, but as ever it's delivered with heart and soul thanks to the vintage source material powering the track.

Review: Melodisco taps into a nostalgic world of sugary synth, Italo and disco goodness on this brilliant new single featuring Synergic Silence. 'Disco Temptation' is brilliantly authentic and could be a reissue some long-lost classic but no, it is a new single with retro and rose-tinged specs. The synths take the form of dizzying arps as well as soaring pixelated leads. Pulsing pads add further colour and great vocoder vocals are the icing on this most delicious cake. The three different mixes propose the tune to different parts of the night in equal style.

Review: Melbourne's Sgt Slick returns with another four superb re-edits for his Recuts imprint. 20 years deep in the game, accolades aplenty, collabs with some of the finest out there and with a serious string of his own productions to his bow, Sgt. Slick knows what works on the dancefloor. These edits flaunt this intel to a T; tracks one to four are all edited out-and-out classics, with each original cut extended to ultra-dreamy and driving effect.

Review: Stima has obtained full permission to reissue these two fresh 80s gems from Sophie Stanke, a star of Montreal's famously bubbly disco scene back in the day. The dynamic Quebec-Lithuanian actress, radio host and singer collaborate notably with Geraldine Hunt on the sultry boogie track 'L'amour d'une diva' and it was soon seen to be a scandalous tune before becoming a local disco sensation. Renowned French singer Daniel Guichard took notice and signed a slightly altered version for his Kuklos label but here the rarest original Canadian arrangement is presented in all its glory with extended and instrumental renditions.

Review: Daniel Klein aka SIRS impressed us recently with his fine work on Robert Johnson and is now back on his own Sirsounds Records label with a seriously seductive collection of tunes. His The East Is Near EP brings melodies from that faraway land to Balearic beats. The Berlin based talent kicks off with the winky and intricate rhythms of 'Zappelnder Hindu' before 'Treibsand' layers up what sounds like a didgeridoo with loose-limbed drums. The marvelous 'Ocean Dreams' brings upbeat sounds and smart arrangements that are run through with exotic melodies and last of all is a blissed-out instrumental mix of 'Zappelnder Hindu.'

Review: A superb 12" slab of rare South London British jazz funk, originally released in the UK in 1984 by Jamaican-born producer Tony Williams, the man behind the seminal Funk Masters' jazz-funk masterpiece, 'Love Money'. Now heard again, 'Keep On Searching For Love' is emblematic of London's 80s dub disco sound, with its every constituent part recorded, arranged and processed to the discotheque-addict's letter. Gated snares and acapella croons abound, with the uplifting vocals of Linda Taylor shining as brilliantly as star at the peak of its supernova. The flipside instrumental, 'Eastern Lady', comes complete with hypnotic bassline, drum machines, synths and stabbing horn lines; both tracks have been lovingly remastered from tape and now come exquisitely repackaged for you to enjoy. Gotta keep on!

Review: There is a very loveable retro soul feel to this new package of trad house sounds from Steal Vybe & Lamone. It takes the form of a The Heatwave classic that has been all remade and flipped into a slightly more contemporary cut but one that will still make a big mark on the old school crew. The instrumental is a real gem but it's the soaring vocals and funky baselines of the original that are sure to get plenty of hammer under the sun this summer, especially the irresistible boogie mix. Drop this one and it is sure to get immediate and big reactions.

Review: Soft Crash electrifies dancefloors with their immersive orchestration as they craft uplifting sonic waves that synchronise with the unified heartbeat of their crowds. Their EP 'NRG' showcases the Berlin-based collaboration between Berghain resident Phase Fatale and French producer Pablo Bozzi. Combining mechanical precision with fantastical elements, they deliver Italo Body Music anthems that pulse with post-humanist energy. Fresh from their 2022 debut album, the EP blends Italo and synth-wave with wave-pop, acid house, and post-punk influences. With sanguine vocals from Kyiv-based musician Ready in LED, Soft Crash continues to carve their unique niche in dance music.

Review: Voodoos & Taboos unveil their anticipated new LPs series with Human Aventura, the debut self-titled album from the promising Corsican producer. An unusual dance release modelling itself on electro and chiptune, but finding itself somewhere in the hidden interstice between them, this is a self-described "libidinous Mediterranean spoken disco" album, giving elements of Telex or Kraftwerk, albeit with a progressive bent best heard on pithy cuts 'Solid State Scouter'. Not one to be missed for those who like it intelligent, fidgety and FMmy.

Review: Styloo was a collective of musicians who turned out a handful of successful Italo disco sounds back in the genre's heyday in the eighties. Rino Facchinetti was on vocals, programming and was the founder of the band and he was joined by Tullio Colombo on vocals and guitar and Alberto Signorini with more keys. Pretty Face was their compelling debut outing on Hoel Records back in 1983 and it has been reissued to mark its 40th anniversary. It's a perfect Eurodance and Italo fusion with drums and synths very much redolent of the 80s all characterising the cut next to the flamboyant and camp vocal turns.

Review: Mystique is a brand new label out of the always fertile Dutch scene and it opens its account with a no holds-barred EP from Sylvester Javier, aka Stefano Curti of Vibraphone fame. He offers three originals and two versions starting with 'Secret Ceremonies' (Italo Disco mix) which is a pulsating house cut awash with plenty of across textures and percussion. The Cocorico mix has shimmering vocal sounds stitched into the arrangement and the original has a spooky, rather eerie feel with its hurried drums and squirrelling synths. 'Lost In 1st Avenue Loop' is a gritty Detroit house cut with heart of the dance floor intensity and 'Microdot' gets as twisted as you would expect of such a track title. A fine debut EP overall.

Review: Numbers hold the key to unlock the universe. So, a six-pack can either consist of six bottles of beer, very well developed stomach muscles or in our case: a string of smash hits. To take it even further, it's exactly six tracks for the sixth part of the VA-series that is One Swallow Doesn't Make A Summer. Hit men include friends new and old: Llewellyn, Stereocalypse, Zillas On Acid, Storken & Hammer, Ede, SeNor Chugger & Count Van Delicious. The pace is cool and hot at the same time. Rave signals by Ede foil the nouveau disco by Stereocalypse or Storken & Hammer, Llewellyn does a classic house piano hop, Zilles On Acid deliver mid-tempo acid, and last, but not least, SeNor Chugger & Count Van Delicious strike a delicious pose.

Review: For the label's latest on-point reissue, Groovin' Records has delved into the slim catalogue of short-lived Italian production duo Soft House Company. Originally released in 1990 and a dancefloor smash all over Europe, 'What U Need' is typical of loved-up Italian house of the period - all life-affirming piano stabs, tactile synth-bass, occasional synth-strings, rolling drum machine beats and cut-up vocal snippets from First Choice's much-sampled disco classic 'Let No Man Put Asunder'. Over on the reverse you'll find original B-side 'A Little Piano', a deeper and even more loved-up workout that's effectively a deep house style dub of the A-side, shorn of the vocals, featuring chunkier beats, more prominent bass, and delay-laden piano motifs aplenty.