A&R Edits Vinilo y CD

Review: After five years on ice, Greg Wilson has rebooted his long-running A&R Edits imprint, an outlet the UK electrofunk pioneer founded back in 2013. As usual, the edits come not from the man himself, but rather mates and collaborators. Ian Ossia steps up first with 'Papa Stoned', a deep, driving, dubby and lightly acid-flecked rework of 'Papa Was a Rolling Stone' with tightened, beefed-up drums and heaps of peak-time potential. Over on the flip, Che and Matica provide a 'cryptic retouch' of a familiar disco-funk favourite (titled here 'Dream a Dream'), foregrounding heady horn blasts, sprawling and spacey synth solos, and another sweat-soaked disco groove.

Review: Hot on the heels of Greg Wilson's ace-graced "Volume 8" comes another A&R session from consummate south coast editor Fingerman. First up is a glossy, disco-minded twist on Steely Dan's "Peg". As famed from the classic De La Soul sample, Fingerman has extended the whole original to remind us how great the source material was in the first place. Flip for "Found Love". Another expert extension, this time he's taken a Fatback Band classic and given it the 2015 it's always needed. Powerful.

Review: There will always be a demand for modern retouches to classic old touches, those edits which take out the naff bits, extended the breaks, beef up the bass. So it is that another such label joins the fray, and kicks off with a various artists affair that takes on some big tunes. A&R Edits Revisited is actually a new series from Greg Wilson, who draws from his diverse back catalogue to re-issue some of the best loved old gems. Henry Greenwood's electrically charged rework of Neneh Cherry's 1988 classic 'Buffalo Dance' opens up then Peza updates The Blackbyrds' 'Walking In Rhythm' and Derek Kaye offers a lively reinterpretation of The Player's Association and Sophie Lloyd's take on the much covered 'Rise' from Herb Albert closing out with big bass.

Review: It's been four years since A&R Edits ceased releasing music after serving up nine essential EPs between 2013 and 2015. This return to action has been masterminded by Merseyside scalpel fiends Greg Wilson ("GW") and Henry Greenwood, whose fine revision of Neneh Cherry's "Buffalo Stance" kick-started the imprint six years ago. A-side "Disco Mondo" is a rolling revision of a lesser-known breathy disco jam of (we think) Italian origin. It boasts a metronomic groove, wah-wah guitars, elongated organ chords, congas for days and a few well-placed swirling electronic effects. Over on side B, "In The City" is a dreamy chunk of mid-tempo, Italo-disco influenced synth-pop.

Review: With fine multi-track re-edits and remixes to his name already on GAMM, KAT and Lumberjacks In Hell, it would be fair to say that Moplen (AKA Italian producer Luca Locatelli) is currently one of the most sought-after rework specialists in the disco scene. Here he makes his first appearance on A&R Edits, a sneaky imprint that has been around longer than most rework labels. A-side "A Minute" is an energetic, all-action revision of Tavares' 1975 disco gem "It Only Takes A Minute" - a song later made more famous by Brit boy band Take That. Over on side B Moplen gives his take on David Joseph's sparse, synth-powered Paradise Garage favourite "You Can't Hide Your Love", which has in turn been further extended by Greg Wilson.

Review: Whoever A&R are, they know edits; in one form or another, they've been putting out sneaky scalpel works since 2005. This seventh installment of the A&R Edits series, launched in 2013, marks the vinyl debut of Reading's Twisted Soul Collective. They serve up two formidable dancefloor shakers, with the heavy funk-goes-house of "Shake & Blow (Reworked)" being particularly impressive. With snappy, hip-shaking beats, righteous horns and heavyweight bass, it sounds like a slightly more house-friendly version of the Reflex revisions. On the A-side you'll find "Do", a smooth version of Stevie Wonder's "Do I Do" with additional house percussion. It has the makings of a scene anthem.