Toy Tonics Vinilo y CD

Review: Ever a treasure trove of house goodness, Toy Tonics Music is back with Para Mytho Disco, the second album by label founder and creative director Mathias Modica who is also known as Kapote. His work as Munk on Gomma Records might be his best-known stuff at the moment but this album goes a long way to redressing that with its fresh take on disco house, experimental electro, jazz fusion and Afro-American grooves. All of that is distilled through a futuristic mix of keys, bass, synths and percussion inspired by 1970s jazz and 1980s synthwave. As such this record reflects Kapote's vision of bringing diverse musical styles together to create a positive, inclusive vibe and is own that yields more rich detail with each listen.

Review: A clutch of 12 new tracks from contemporary Italian producers, offering a snapshot of modern disco rooted in local language and rhythm, without leaning into retro tropes. Paul Older's 'Che Disco Vuoi' and Riva Starr's 'Allora Amore' both lead with clean percussion and full-bodied basslines, the former leaning pop, the latter more loop-driven. 'Statua Greca' by Valentino Vivace and 'Tutto Matto' by Hey Cabrera! extend the formula with sharper synth programming and a vocal-led structure. Sam Ruffillo & Fimiani's 'Non Era Facile' blends house swing with lounge-adjacent instrumentation, while Kymono's 'Lasciati Andare' keeps things percussive and tight. Dov'e Liana's 'La Notte Infinita' and Mille Punti's 'Matto' take a looser approach, building around layered synth work and call-and-response vocal phrases. Bruno Belissimo's 'Donna Piu' cuts more minimal, with a stripped rhythm section and filtered pads. The final third of the set moves further into dancefloor territory: Fimiani's 'Proibito' and Alessandro Rotter's 'La Sera, La Discoteca, La Spiaggia' both favour extended intros and vocal refrains. Alberto Melloni's 'Credimi' rounds things off with a warm, restrained finish. The sequencing keeps a balance between form and variation, with the Italian-language vocals acting as the unifying element across styles.

Review: Who is Magou? That's anyone's guess, however it is said to be a mysterious side project by an otherwise respected Italian producer and DJ. They return to Berlin's Toy Tonics for a full and proper double 12' release, a debut album in-fact, taking in disparate elements. We really enjoyed the low-slung modern disco on offer ('Eco' / 'Borges'), as well the neon-lit Italo numbers ('Pas Jolie' / 'Sample Dream') and were even impressed a by that bit of electro-boogie ('Heather's Body') - all blended in a classy and understated manner throughout.

Review: Toy Tonics has established itself as one of house music's most interesting modern labels. It deals in all the myriad niche styles with equal elan, and always manage to call upon producers with something original to add to the conversation. The musical take on house is exemplified again on this second volume off their Mushroom House series from Kaputt. There are bright, glistening melodic cuts from Harry Wolfmann, tribal grooves from Kiwi, deep basement tackle featuring Italian designer Mathew Burlon and typically balmy and elegant grooves from the always on form DJ Sprinkles. The whimsical charm and lightness of touch displayed by Art Alfie on 'Dance To The Conga' is also to behold.

Review: Gomma played a vital role in the popularisation of the indie-dance explosion that happened some 20 years ago now. Best known for being spearheaded by US indie outfit LDC Sound system, it combined dance, disco, wave, post-punk and more into a party-ready sound that found favour with both ravers and guitar heads. This second collection from the German label highlights the best of music they put out back then with names like In Flagranti, label co-founder Munk, Nancy Whang & Bonar Bradberry and many more all present and correct.

Review: Toy Tonics is a label that has always done house music well - it doesn't follow trends, it doesn't look to reinvent the wheel, it doesn't repeat the same old tricks. What it does is serve up superb good grooves with plenty of character that are always going to get any crowd going no matter the time or place. The label now goes big with this double 12" of Gomma Dancefloor Gems Vol 1. It is, they say, a collection of "Y2K indie dance tracks" that were all originally released on the German Gomma Records label between 2001 and 2010 and were right up there with music on labels like James Murphy's DFA and Trevor Jackson's Output Records as the hottest of the day.