Z Records Vinilo y CD

Review: Woody Bianchi, renowned funk digger and DJ, embarks on yet another archaeological record collection excavation, unearthing yet another volume of badass funk from the adjacent era of disco that emerged in the 70s and 80s. This is an in depth compilation series to say the least: the tracks are all examples of funk greats which reflected certain motifs from the disco explosion that came after it - even "James Brown had to take notice of the Saturday Night Fever". Several hard-to-find gems appear among ubiquitous classics, among extensive liner notes by Woody himself.

Review: Colin Curtis returns with another finely-curated selection of the best 'Jazz Dance Fusion' records he could find. In Curtis' own words, Volume 4 reflects a combination of new music, unreleased music, and tracks that have never been on vinyl before or have not attained the recognition they deserve. A whopping 26 tracks are racked up on the digital edition, but this special vinyl record yields just thirteen further selections from that initial batch; leading the charge is the Rhodesy, hi-hatty '46 To Somewhere' by the Sultan's Swing, capturing the free-spiritedness of hitching a ride to somewhere untrammeled. Further choice sonic infections, infusing elements of vocal jazz, salsa and Latin spoken word, include Somos Amigos' 'Pa'gozar' and GeeW's 'Kyoto'. Get grooving!

Review: The Jazz Dance Fusion series is a compilation-based series collecting some of the finest songs in the Jazzdance, Latin Jazz and Fusion. Each volume is careful cultivated by the well-known British DJ Colin Curtis. After the first three successful editions, the fourth boasts tracks like 'Mother Of The Future" by Venus Dodson, 'I Face East' by Mary Greer Mudiku and 'Ponteio' by Miho Nobuzane, to name but a few. Volume Four Part 2 is spread across two pieces of vinyl housed in a beautiful gatefold vinyl. If you are a jazz fan looking for a compilation to expand your knowledge and love the style, then look no further than this one here! Thanks ro Colin Curtis for continuing to curate such a great series!

Review: During the 35 years of making music, Dave Lee has constantly been searching for new singers and writers to work with. A search that's ended up with many fantastic collaborations and releases with the likes of Thelma Houston, Taka Boom, Diane Charlemagne and Seal. More recently this quest led him to Maurissa Rose and the creation of their album 'London / Detroit'. After hearing Maurissa's voice on a Theo Parrish record Dave reached out to her and after a few long phone conversations and mp3 swaps, they both agreed a visit to London would be much more fun than trying to work together remotely. Maurissa made the journey from her home in Detroit to write and record an album with Dave at his studio in March 2022 - as they both feel that creating music together in the same room is always better. The fruits of their labour yielded 11 brand new songs (and 1 cover) tapping into their collective love of Soul, Disco and R&B, with a sprinkle of Soulful House. This album is a special one for Dave Lee as it's the first time in his career he's recorded an entire album with the same singer on every track.

Review: For our landmark 400th release! Two of the most prolific remixers in the world of Disco, Dave Lee and John Morales have teamed up for one of their biggest projects to date - 'Mixed To The Maxxx' After gaining access from the legendary original artists these two highly esteemed producers take the multi-track tapes of many classic Disco, Funk & Soul tracks and re-work them...to the Maxxx! Here we are treated to a double 12" sampler of what is to come from the Album later this year.
First up, the Bass twanging floor filler version from Dave Lee of 'The Brothers Johnson - The Real Thing', which has already been causing a stir in his DJ sets of late, featuring lots of musical parts not audible in the original. Following up is Dave's Friday Night Fever Mix of Philly legends 'Bell & James - US chart hit "Livin' It Up (Friday Night)' where he beefs up and extends the original to re-step back out on the town, a masterclass in elevating something that is already great to start with.
On the second 12", we have John Morales taking on a biggie! Inner Life's - Aint No Mountain High Enough. Here, John handles the prestigious parts with the respect due, re-shaping key moments in a new light and bringing the sonics up to par for modern dancefloors, an Anthem Mix indeed. To finish proceedings, Morales takes on British Jazz-Funk band 'Light Of The World' with their mum loved classic 'London Town', bumping the tempo a touch and beefing up the funk.

Review: DJ, curator and producer Dave Lee (fka. Joey Negro) continues to celebrate his 30-odd year long career in music with his second curatorital comp release. The 'Produced With Love' series charts all of Lee's original productions in soulful house and disco, and this second edition includes choices songs by the likes of Destiny II, Leroy Burgess and Andreya Triana. Always collaborative and with effortless attention to funking detail, Lee brings it once again.

Review: Hit makers Rodgers and Edwards' mammothly influential Chic songs enjoy one of the finest curatorial salutes from UK disco's most discerning torch-bearer/creator Dave Lee. Digging deep into his vaults and unearthing some of the best homages, references and blatant covers, Negro join the dots and delivers some rarities you may have never heard before. Get lost in the music of She's shiny guitar strumming "Easy Money", freak out to Charanga 76's "Good Times" and get lucky with Van Jones's "Not About That"... Everyone knows about the hits and influence, most of us know how important a role Chic played in sample culture but Negro has gone the extra mile to celebrate some of the lesser known references Chic have had over the years. Freaking great.

Review: You can always count on Z Records to bring a deep-digging, dedicated approach to anything they put out, and that goes double for their flawless Under The Influence series. The 10th volume in the series sees them inviting the incredible Chicago-born DJ Rahaan to select some seriously headsy cuts from his collection, carefully cleaned up, de-clicked and remastered for the best listening experience. Given the nature of the series, don't expect the usual suspects, and instead savour the discovery of some of Rahaan's most treasured cuts, presented here on a double LP comp brimming with discoid magic.