Back catalogue: Disco/Reediciones

Review: Sedsoulciety Recordings have got several new 7"s dropping from Danish-German production duo Cool Million this month. For this one which arrived on black wax in March and now comes on a coloured slab, they work with Tomas Thordarson - whose Latin-flavoured single 'Shame On You' was Denmark's 2004 entry into the Eurovision Song Contest. He gets much more funky here with elements of UK street soul on 'My Life (main)' with its boogie bass and loose, louche claps, rubbery bass and catchy grooves. Flip this one over for a superb dub version.

Review: UK disco sensation Glitterbox light the touch paper on another fizzy summer with four gossamer smooth edits of four seminal house classics. Gliding us through time to soulful house's golden era with a sassy, loose groove shine to each edit; Soulsearcher's 96 anthem "Can't Get Enough!" gets respectfully plumped, Shapeshifter's 2003 sing-along bomb "Lola's Theme" is stripped back to a stark funk groove while Johnny Corporate's 2000 hit "Sunday Shoutin'" gets flipped into slinky bassline wriggler. Finally one of the best covers Stevie Wonder has ever had gets a luxurious rub down as Cleptomaniacs' 2000 swoon-fest enjoys the full Packer treatment. Summer starts here.

Review: Dancin' The Mambo (The Reflex Revision) grooves with infectious disco energy, seamlessly blending Chic-esque rhythms with early piano house vibes. The Reflex's revision injects new life into this 1980 gem, maintaining its French flair while adding modern twists. With its pulsating basslines and irresistible beats, this track is a testament to the timeless allure of disco music. Perfect for igniting dancefloors, its vibrant energy captures the essence of a bygone era while feeling fresh and exciting for contemporary audiences. Prepare to be transported to a world where disco reigns supreme and every beat compels you to move.

Review: The second taste of what is to come from the Dave & Maurissa album, 'What About My Love' is a modern slightly boogiefied take on the Johnnie Taylor classic. Here Maurissa shines with a heartfelt soulful vocal performance over Chic styled guitars, hip-cracking bass guitar and squelchy leads. On the flip is Disco Sparks's 'Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow' (feat Christine Wiltshire & The DS Orchestra) which is another life-affirming, lush disco/soul cut with funk drenched basslines, epic brass sections and standout vocal turns. Both specially edited for 7", this is an absolute must-buy for disco lovers.

Review: Vintage house and disco don Dave Lee knows a thing or two about serving up irresistible and timeless cuts and that's what he does here with the 24th instalment of the long-running Attack The Dancefloor series on his own Z Records. The man himself kicks off with Maurissa Rose on the loosely chugging, deep and soulful 'Open Me Up' (a first taste of the upcoming album together). He then slips into US garage style with his popular remix of The Trammps' 'I've Gotta Stand Up' that harks back to the glory days of 90s Soulful House. Felix Buxton's Celestial Being & Citizens Of The World Choir's 'Raise The Vibration' gets a gloriously sunny and positive Crackazat club mix before Lee closes the release with squelching synth in the form of his Boogified mix of Soul Dhamma's classic 'Flower.'

Review: CULTED return in trademark force with five wild psych-bangers from luminaries Simple Symmetry, Thomass Jackson, Orchid, Ayala, and Multi Culti boss Thomas Von Party teamed up with Oltrefuturo. A sense of weirdness exudes from these tunes, refusing the common pitfalls of twee chord progressions or underproduction hidden behind rawness; these ones are as high-qual, watery, poured-over as can be, yet also bring with them a real sense of exploration and eccentricity of mood. The utmost case in point is Thomas Van Party & Oltrefuturo's 'Kookoo', a chugging machine-elven carnival of doffed conical hats and gated cute vocals.

Review: Many happy returns to Detroit's Rocksteady Disco, an undeniably consistent label that has reached the ripe old age of ten years old. To celebrate, they're releasing a series of anniversary EPs containing fresh jams from the label's roster of artists. Mainstays Sol Power All Stars get things going with off-kilter Afro-house scorcher 'Solsibisa' - all heavy horns, hot-stepping drum machine beats, squelchy synth-bass and heady vocal snippets - before Eddie Logix combines lightly pitched-down First Choice vocal samples with Balearic guitar bursts and plenty of deep house nous on '2nd Choice (It's Still Not Over)'. Over on the reverse, Blair French gets summery on the Latin-tinged deep house joy of 'Whispers of You', while Topher Horn reaches for dense drums (acoustic and electronic), sparse melodic motifs and heavy bass on 'Gratiot Dub'.

Review: T-Connection was a late 70s funk and disco band from Nassau, Bahamas that moved to Miami. They had plenty of input into the early disco sound and have long been favourites for remixers. Which is why Dr Packer steps up here with two versions of their 'At Midnight' classic. It has some raw and guttural vocals and majestic horn leads with plenty of neat and funky basslines and loose-limbed percussive layers with hip-swinging claps. The Dr Packer Pianola dubstumental closes out with even more florid trumpets. Both of these are primed and ready for plenty of fun.

Review: Tamati's Notte in Riviera EP on the ever-stronger young label Saint Wax is a perfect bit of Balearic house escapism. The title track, which translates as 'night on the Riviera', is just that - a humid late-night house cut with some erect female vocals. 'Tutto Un Deja Vu' cuts loose with freewheeling melodies and blissed-out pads, and 'Magica' then goes deep. Italian producer Franz Scala blends 80s vibes with modern sensibilities like few others as he shows on his remix of the title cut, then Sparkling Attitude and Gledd add their own fresh versions.

Review: This one is such an evergreen summer classic that it sells out whenever it reappears and gets reissued on a regular basis. Last time was last summer but now the rays are back in our lives we're glad it is available one more. Brazilian jazz vocalist Tania Maria is a true icon with a huge back catalogue of music behind her. Here, Soul Brother look back to her 1983 album Come With Me and lift a pair of pearlers for this vital 7". 'Come With Me' is a sundown slinker, with Maria's airy tone gliding over the sprightly piano chords while on the flip 'Lost In Amazonia' is a joyous, scat-powered slice of jazz funk with incredible slap bass flex. Essential summer grooves.

Review: Napoli-based Gigi Testa is next up on the mighty Rush Hour with a third outing on the Store Jams label featuring "some spicy Sichuan flavours straight from the Dragon Temple." 'Sichuan' is the opener and it pairs some bubbly synth lines full of colour with happy piano chords that dance about over nice analogue house drums. 'Dragon Temple' on the flip has a worldly feel with Eastern melodies, nice 80s drum sounds and a squelchy bassline that brings a nice exotic feel to any set.

Review: This scorching 7" single features standout tracks from Chicago's Third Rail, who later became known as Maxx Traxx, and specifically for their monster hit 'Don't Touch It' (which has also been reissued by Star Creature and Numero before now). These tracks are drawn from the band's sole 1982 album, Reachin' For It, which is listed on Discogs for over L700, so not one for the feint-hearted. The single delivers high-octane, first-wave boogie with big bass, catchy choruses, energetic playing, and soulful vocals that infuse both tracks with joy and positivity. Limited import copies mean this will go pick and become pricey again so don't dally on it.

Review: Under the Tigerbalm alias, Rose Robinson has done a stellar job in crafting a trademark style that blends elements of boogie, nu-disco and proto-house with a variety of global musical influences - most notably African, Latin and South-East Asian sounds. On this welcome return to Razor N Tape, the London-based producer leans into the Latin inspirations, first via the colourful nu-disco breeze of 'Profunda Alma' (featuring regular vocalist Joy Tyson), and then on the 21st century synth-samba of 'Vem Ca' (featuring Jao Selva's honeyed vocals). Yuksek turns the latter into a club-ready Latin nu-disco gem, before rising stars Make a Dance deliver two rubs of 'Profunda Alma': a superb, warehouse-ready and TB-303-laden 'Acid Remix', and a percussive, spaced-out and decidedly delicious 'Tribal Dub'.

Review: Desencanto is carving out its own sound world with its first releases and this one again taps into a loved-up deep house vibe that puts beautiful melodies and serene moods front and centre. 'Pipina' kicks off in the form of an Acqua mix that is downbeat and blissed out. 'Miss U Too' then brings some retro 80s synth work and taught basslines under celestial keys. 'Temptation' has more glassy melodies making for a rather haunting and eerie mood and finally, 'Last Kiss' is a suspenseful ambient soundscape that floats you up amongst the stars with reverential flutes encouraging nostalgic dreams.

Review: Pretty much does what it says on the tin this one - a lovely slab of vinyl packed with high-octane, main room club bangers. Torpedo is a master of that form and has proven it repeatedly over the last 30 years. He kicks off here with the steamy, sizzling and low-slung house of 'Red Killer', 'Fascinating' then has a chunky Kerri Chandler style bounce to it and 'Bonkaz' brings warm and silky deep house depths to a classic Dizzie sample. 'Renegade' is the raved-up closer that will get hands thrown skywards.

Review: It might be sub-zero outside as we sit here in the middle of a cold spell in early January but you can always rely on Red Laser to serve up some sizzling hot disco goodies. This one from the magnificently named Tranquil Elephantizer features just two versions of the same track. The A-side features 'Trisha' (Felix live Drum Italo Monster mix) and that pretty much sums it up - bright cosmic arps, chugging low ends, crispy drums and fat bass that take you on a trip. The original version in the flip is a deeper, more languid but no less richly atmospheric cut.

Review: LA-based band ASHRR picked up plenty of new fans with their recent Sunshine Low album and now they're back with the sixth single from it and it comes with some seriously heavyweight names on the remix. Chicago house pioneer Ron Trent does his thing to 'Please Don't Stop The Rain' by going super deep, spine tingling and heady with some lush arps and distant guitar twangs adding a Balearic feel. Dub treatments come from the Prescription boss himself, while ASHRR's alter ego, ASHRR Soundsystem, offer up an instrumental and a remix that lay down dubby house drums and lush chord work. This one keeps the summer vibes going well into winter.

Review: Tropical Pop serve up their latest two-sided selection of edits as metaphors for the illicit joys of sugary drinks and/or mocktails; though despite the comparisons drawn between 'Volume 1' and a drink packed with E-numbers, we actually find these to be quite natural in sound, with just the right amount of polish finessing them. 'Lilt' and 'Rubicon' lend functional but buzzing sugar-intromissions to the floor; this is a well-balanced sugar rush, one that burns brightly and shortly. Best suited for peak times, in our view!

Review: The finger-click-clap is a staple of nu-disco, and doesn't Turbotito flaunt it on their latest EP. The artist has been dubbed an electronic-slow-disco artist, never swooning to the indulgent high of a tempo above, say, 120bpm. This approach allows the categoric glitz and sparkle of disco extra time to shine through; 'Time Starts Moving Slow' kicks off the EP as a sort of slow-disco manifesto, seeding ideas of a phonic slow food movement; high-pitched synth plucks and pickled, finger-picked guitars come clearly apiece, as the artist sings, untethered to any effect save for long-tailed reverb, on top. 'Breaking 84' contrasts with a talkboxing groove which soars past the A's establisher tempo, but still, necessarily, goes steady.

Review: Dan Tyler and Nick The Record's third installment in the Mr Bongo Edits series brings a bold twist to Cuban classics with three tracks that are equal parts cosmic and dancefloor-ready. On the A-side, Tyler extends two Juan Pablo Torres tracks from his reissued 1978 'Algo Nuevo' and 1977's 'Super Son.' First, Tyler reimagines 'Cacao,' a standout track from Torres' LP, giving it room to breathe and intensifying the percussive climax with swirling synths and spacey dub effects. It's a track that thrives on a big system, building tension as it goes, and works wonders in the right environmentijust ask anyone who caught it at La Paloma in Barcelona. Next, Tyler dials into 'Pastel En Descarga,' turning the Latin-funk fusion into a punchy, trippy dub with delay and drama, keeping the track's energy while taking it further into spacey, cosmic territory. On the flip, Nick The Record tackles Grupo Los Yoyi's 1977 'Paco La Calle,' taking a 2009 edit and expanding it into a longer, more hypnotic piece. The percussion pushes and pulls as the psychedelic synths swirl, creating a dynamic and ever-building groove. The 2025 version is elevated with new synth lines courtesy of Tyler, deepening the track's psychedelic richness. A cosmic whirlwind of reworks that bridges the gap between '70s Cuban innovation and modern dancefloor sensibilities.

Review: Verrazzano is back with a second issue in its summer EP series, this time from Type-303. His Lost In Paradise is a four-track EP catering to sophisticated tastes with opener 'Acid Disco Time' blending a familiar disco groove with an acid twist and featuring Seinfeld-esque bass slaps and rising energy to create a spacey, glittering dance experience. 'Lost In Paradise' transports listeners to turquoise waters with enticing mermaid melodies, echoing ancient Minoan bliss. 'Spirit Dance' follows with ethereal flutes and otherworldly harmonies, creating a deep, introspective journey. Finally, 'Wild Horses' celebrates untamed energies, reminding us to cherish the wild essence of music and life.