Back in stock: Disco/Nu-Disco

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight split on top of outer sleeve, poster and inner sleeve damaged due to being glued to each other***


Canadian singer, songwriter and visual artists Allie X - real name Alexandra Ashley Hughes - is a great representative for the resurgent live electro-synth scene. Emerging from the Toronto indie circuit in the mid-2000s, it was a relocation to Los Angeles, a heartland for neon sounds, and early work with producers Circuit and Billboard that first saw an identity begin to form, which is as retro as it is futuristic, picking up scores of fans along the way, including Katie Perry no less. Girl With No Face is her latest long form, and sees the artist again stick her flag confidently in the ground. Tunes bounce, track, soar, step, pump and - at times - fall apart, emotionally speaking, with clear references to the likes of Ladyhawke, Madonna, Kraftwerk, Cocteau Twins and a-Ha, among others. Definitely one to watch, if you're not already.

Review: Archeo Recordings bring us some more Balearic Italian treasure here with some gold initially recorded in Bologna almost two decades ago. It's a collaboration between friends Bottin and Lucio Dalla that has never before been on vinyl. 'Lunedi Cinema' was an ident that played before Monday night movies on of one of the main Italian TV channels for many years. This electronic version includes the Martedi Mix from 2008, a Minibar Bonus Track and also a mix by pioneering Italian dream house dons Leo Mas & Fabrice with a Bottin dub sealing the deal. It's a superb package of real Italo music history.

Review: After his hugely well received lovers' rock compilations for this label, Sam Don digs deep into the rich world of UK sweet soul on this - typically - excellent new compilation from the wondrous ashes of the North. He comes up with plenty of mega hard to find and expensive musical treasures that have all been painstakingly researched and tracked down. It was a short lived but fertile scene in the underground back in the 90s and if you didn't; know that already you will after one listen through of this - the sounds are highly danceable with silky, low-lit melodies and steamy and seductive vocals for loved up late night dancing.

Review: It would be fair to say that "The Adventure Of Kohsuke Kindaichi" is a "cult album". While many will have heard snippets of some of its tracks in hip-hop tracks and via dusty disco re-edits (a number have been given the scalpel treatment in the past), few outside of Japan have been able to get the album since it was released way back in 1977. The premise is odd - composer Kentaro Haneda created the disco and jazz-funk set as a soundtrack to a series of detective novels - but the music is superb: a zany but hugely entertaining mixture of nods to various soundtrack styles underpinned by killer disco grooves and swirling orchestral movements. We'd heartily recommend checking out the clips ASAP.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


In anticipation of Nouvelle Phenomene's forthcoming album, Bordello A Parigi concomitantly announce the reissue of their acclaimed debut LP Glory Of Romance, almost ten years after its initial release. An emotively depth-scouring work of contemporary synthwave-via-darkwave, the musical quadrangle of Angela Santa, Fanni Santa, Peter B. and Zsolt Dziba first produced this impressive studio project under the ambit of Russian indie label Other Voices, giving rise to the likes of 'Glory Of Romance' and 'Caresse', both excellent singles venturing into a well-established sound, yet colliding it with a fabulously fresh thematic locus, such as modern-day fatigue and artifice. Truly an ever-new phenomenon, Nouvelle Phenomene's style - that of gothic-sonic art nouveau - is a newness that nevertheless does not forfeit timelessness.

Review: Croatian producer and DJ Ilija Rudman, is among the leaders in Balearic style of deep house and downtempo and has released on a who's who of some of the strongest labels in the genre like Is It Balearic? Recordings, International Feel Recordings and NuNorthernSoul. For the Retrospective EP, Ilija steps up to produce a bit more dancefloor focused works for the Maze label. 'Foolish Way's has an 80s electro pop funky feel that we really appreciate while the Grem edit of 'Where Do We Go' is great late-night driving music. For the B-side, 'How Many Ways' is almost like a mix of German and Chicago house music. 'The Last Action Hero' is perhaps out favourite on here for being the deeper and more melodic cut of the bunch. A strong dance EP.

Review: Berlin-based Saturns Drive is a project by New Zealand-born DJ and producer Elfy, and is one that takes its cues from a world of early sci-fi, exotica and library music, as well as coming on thick with cosmic disco synthesizers, Italo grooves and lush arps. His latest outing 'Next Stop Nebula' also brings in slide guitars and retro digital synth sounds over the top of rhythms that owe a debt to the 90s. It's a fresh and new sound that makes for expansive, immersive listening and transports you to an imagery, sun-kissed world where gentle grooves like 'Next Stop Nebula' and 'Bride Of Frankenstein' await for a nice laid-back party.

Review: Victor Simonelli's house music legacy is assured - he more than made his mark on the genre back in the 90s with plenty of iconic cuts and legendary DJ sets and now that is all being highlighted by this ongoing multi-part series from Unknwn. The comprehensive collection looks at the early years here with some of his top mixes including those that have not previously been released. There is an in-depth almost hour-long audio and written interview between BTG founder Alex Rose and Victor to go with this release that is well worth finding.

Review: The result of three years of digging through tapes of "strange music" in the Radio Mogadishu archives and restless research to find the musicians involved, Analog Africa's latest compilation shines a light on Somalia's previously undocumented dance music scene. It features tracks recorded between 1972 and '91 by a variety of unknown artists, with the assembled music touching on disco, psych-funk, Moog-laden club-focused instrumentals and heavyweight, Bob Marley-inspired reggae rhythms. It's a hugely vibrant and entertaining set of off-kilter and unusual Somalian translations of American and Caribbean music styles, with the bumper accompanying booklet offering up a wealth of little-known information.

Review: Cologne's legendary Kompakt label has been rolling out these superb compilations for many years now. The 23rd instalment is another fine snapshot of the more matter and grown up end of the tech, minimal and techno spectrum with plenty of familiar faces as well s new school stars. Boss man Michel Mayer opens up with the bright melodies and swinging grooves of 'Talmi' before Jurgen Paape keeps it deep and delicious with more easy going grooves and keys. Elsewhere a Sofia Kourtesis remix if Perel brings more dancefloor ready sounds and Reinhard Voigt's 'Endlich XXL' (feat Eduard Weber) is a freaky one for the afters.

Review: The Four Flies crew has been hard at work assembling this comprehensive collection of soul, AOR and Italo disco from between the very specific years of 1977 and 1986. Across four fantastic sides of wax it shows how Italian artists took those sounds and added their own perspective to them during that era. Accompanying text says "In Italy, a soulful and sophisticated approach to pop music was embraced ... by an entire generation of writers, arrangers and musicians" and that is sure highlighted here in lush grooves, escapist melodies and feel good tunes that are effortless and timeless.

Review: French label Wagram is a go-to when it comes to quality compilations that take a broad look at certain sounds and scenes, and this one is an on-going series that focuses on house sounds with an Afro undertone. The grooves are lively and often come with plenty of percussion. The drums hit hard but with funk, the vocals are Afro-centric and plenty of irresistible hits come thick and fast from the jazzy tribal swagger of 'Imbalaye' to the big steel drum party sounds of 'Viet Dao' (Klement Bonelli & Yann DL remix). Another great collection of colourful Afro house sounds.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Isle Of Jura propel their Instrumental Dubs series further forward with a second release. Capturing the etheric essence of the 'version' and ready-making it for the present day, the nominal series welcomes contributions and reissues from new and old producers alike. This time around, we're met with a slow, George Kerr-produced cut from 1984, 'If You Want My Lovin', followed by a Brit-funk-esque instrumental from Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes, originally released on the Philly World label. The A-side closes with the 'Sweeter' instrumental mix of boogie bomb 'Loving Sweet Devotion' by Idiater Edwards; then comes the B-side with that indelible Mad Professor flavour, bucking the dub trend with a syncretic of dub, freestyle and disco; and finally, we end on a touch of next-gen psydub bubbling up from The Underwater World (of Jah Cousteau, that is).

Review: In 1977, Gaye Mody Camara, a young Soninke raised in Mali's Kayes region, settled in France to found his own empire modelled psychically after the great Soninko empire. Initially selling wax, kola nuts and other goods in his Parisian outlets, he rapidly started distributing cassette tapes and eventually producing a multitude of recordings for his own label, Camara Production. Crossing paths and collaborating over the next four decades with legendary artists, griots and industry moguls like Boncana Maiga and Jean-Philippe Rykiel, Camara became one of the great independent music producers of his generation, and a pillar of the Parisian Soninke diaspora. Released in close collaboration with Camara and with the assistance of Daouda N'diaye, one of A.P.S' (Association pour la Promotion de la langue et de la culture Soninke) historical members, this selection of songs and accompanying notes aim to shed a light on an intricate culture and its modern music, unjustifiably unknown outside of West Africa and the various diasporas around the world.