Tags: Jazz Funk Disco

Review: Two out-and-out rarities from Hancock's Columbia-era output. Strictly the sole preserve of DJ promo back in 79/80, the clue is in the title 'special' disco remixes. Smooth, soulful and arranged with such style, every element of Herbie's essential ingredients is brought to the fore in its own time with its own space. "Stars In Your Eyes" swoons with a soulful ballad feel while "Saturday Night" pumps and jumps with party-pulling allure. Simply essential.

Review: Krewcial is a master of clever cut up and paste and edit jobs. He tackles a big range of old soul and disco sounds that many will know and love and he does it on labels like Gamm, Riot, We Play House and now Vinylators. 'Extended Girl' is a shoe cold classic with big trumpets and drawn out breaks all making the original that bit more club ready. 'Piano Girl' is another edit of the same tune but here with more pianos laced in - no prizes for guessing that one - and Dub Girl is a final version of the same tune that pairs things back to the bare essentials.

Review: This "Special Edition" of Lord Echo's recent third full-length, Harmonies, seems to be aimed at DJs. Whereas the original pressing contained the same tracks on one piece of wax, this version stretches the same tracks over two super-loud, heavyweight records. Formatting aside, the album itself is something of a head-in-the-clouds, feet-on-the-floor treat. It features the Kiwi producer working with a range of collaborators - Tony Laing of Fat Freddy's Drop and regular studio buddy Mara TK included - to serve up intoxicating cuts that brilliantly fuses reggae, dub and rocksteady rhythms with elements borrowed from disco, Afro-soul, Afro-funk, spiritual jazz and, more surprisingly, techno. It's a hugely vibrant and entertaining set, offering a good balance between dancefloor vibrations and more laidback concoctions.

Review: Riding high on the buzz he has generated in the last twelve months, Max Graef delivers this album to Tartelet as a man very much in demand. His style, fuelled on the foundations of sampling funk and soul to a brilliantly modern end, has more space to breathe on this LP, but still the fundamentals remain. "Itzehoe" struts on a lazy jazzed-out sizzle of drums and beautiful Rhodes notes while "Tamboule Fudgefunk" punches its way through woozy synth work and a righteous beat and "Drums Of Death" struts on a perfect disco groove replete with live instrumentation, but there's a wealth of other tempos and styles all shot through with the homespun jazz charm that Graef has made his own of late.

Review: The 65th volume in Mr Bongo's admirable Brazil 45s series shines a light on Rio De Janeiro's turn-of-the-'80s boogie scene. On the A-side you'll find "E Novamente Mas Que Nada" by Ronaldo Resado, a five-minute chunk of samba-laced boogie sunshine that was originally featured on the artist's eponymous 1979 debut album. While wonderful, it's slightly overshadowed by flipside cut "Ginga", one of the highlights from Robson Jorge and Lincoln Olivetti's sought-after 1982 full-length (which, incidentally, was recently reissued by Mr Bongo and is well worth checking). Joining the dots between synth-heavy electrofunk, horn-toting disco-funk and languid jazz-funk, the instrumental track is arguably one of the best Brazilian boogie records ever made. Don't sleep.

Review: Destination 78/79: Expansion take us deep into the illustrious back cat of revered boogaloo fusionist Willie Bobo for two of his many fiery delights. Side A is his feel-heavy cult instrumental take on Ronnie Laws' disco classic "Always There" while Side B throws us into the heart of his 1979 album Bobo with gutsy raw soul power (and just a few cheeky funk slap bass twangs for good measure) Two stone cold classics together for the first time on 45.

Review: Roy Ayers made a number of killer disco cuts in the late 1970s, though few are quite as essential as 'Running Away', which has now been reissued by South Street Disco. Built around an instantly recognisable (and much-sampled groove), the extended 12" version is rich in rubbery, rising and falling bass, clipped guitars, spacey Rhodes motifs, superb lead vocals from Ayers and even better backing vocals courtesy of the female quintet who would later become Eighties Ladies (who's superb 'Tell Him' was reissued in 2020). Turn to the flip for another chance to savour Fever album-opener 'Love Will Bring Us Back Together', a deeper and more low-down disco groover that boasts some seriously good Clavinet riffs and another inspired Ayers' vocal.

Review: A serious piece of soul sampling history right here. "Evil Vibrations" is instantly recognisable thanks to De La Soul's "A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays". Fast-paced boogie blessed with swooping sugar harmonies, it still sounds as smooth as it did when originally released in 78. Touching stargazing ballad "The Star Children" was even more popular with the hip-hop set scoring cameos on cuts by both RZA and Mobb Deep. Both cuts are taken from the album Help Us Spread The Message. Criminally it's their only LP!

Review: Whoever Gallery are, they're a wilfully obscure exercise in metatextuality, with the digital frontispiece of this instrumental disco edits EP depicting two gallery punters idly loitering around the blown-up 12" record, as if fawning over it in a white cube. Whatever the case, these are two mysterious post-mid-70s disco-funk edits, which seem to make a mockery of the exclusivity culture endemic to the art world (a maligned practice that goes comparatively uncritiqued in the realm of dance music) - indeed, so far, the tracks have been played out solely by DJ Harvey and Artwork. Obviously, that means this 12" is worth your one dollar... right?!

Review: Having previously persuaded some of the re-edit scene's biggest names to contribute reworks, Razor-N-Tape has now recruited the Grand-daddy of the scalpel scene: 1970s disco original Danny Krivit AKA Mr K. He begins with "Stuff", a deliciously epic revision of an atmospheric and joyous disco cut rich in snaking synth solos, evocative instrumentation and glassy-eyed vocals. Krivit teases the tune in slowly, eventually cutting loose as the nine-minute edit reaches its final few minutes. Side B is all about "The Story", a jaunty and musically complex instrumental disco number that contains some fantastic orchestration, spacey 1970s synthesizer flourishes and heady female backing vocals.

Review: Two years ago New Guinea joined forces with Early Sounds Recordings to offer up a killer compilation of rare 1970s and early 80s disco, jazz-funk and electrofunk recordings from Napoli, the Italian city they call home. Such was the success of the set that they've decided to offer up this equally impressive sequel. Amongst the mostly ultra-obscure, little-known cuts you'll find a wealth of highlights, from the high-octane disco stomp of Tonica & Dominante's "Babilonia", the spacey boogie business that is Ara Macao's super-sweet "Reflection", the languid AOR-funk of Maria Kelly's "Dimme" and the low-slung jazz-funk brilliance of Tony Iglio's "Luci Di New York".

Review: Here's a pleasant surprise: a fresh set of remixes of killer cuts from the back catalogue of Melbourne-based band Surprise Chef, whose hard-to-pigeonhole take on cinematic soul contains numerous nods to classic jazz-funk and Brit-funk jams. Masters at Work give their take on 'Crayfish Caper', first joining the dots between Afro-beat, jazz-funk and West London style bruk on the 'Nuyorican Broken' mix, before delivering two house-style revisions - the squelchy, synth-bass-propelled 'Masters at Work Mix' and the tougher, more percussive 'MAW Dub'. The EP's other interpretations come from Harvey Sutherland, whose 'Weird Flex 12" and 'Weird Flex' revisions of 'New Ferrari' add the band's jazz-funk instrumentation and spacey synths to a warming, off-kilter deep house groove.

Review: Given the vastness of his back catalogue, you'd think there would be plenty of re-issue-friendly gold buried in Eddie Palmieri's discography. "Spirit of Love", first released as a single in 1978, certainly ticks a lot of boxes: the spiraling, disco-era chunk of boogaloo/jazz-funk fusion remains popular on specialist dancefloors - especially jazz-dance ones - and original copies frequently change hands online for well over 50 quid. Like the original 7", this edition of the singles also comes backed with the sweaty Brazilian style jazz brilliance of "Lucumi, Macumba, Voodoo", which also happens to be the title track of the LP that "Spirit of Love" was plucked from.

Review: This special 12" features two tracks that will not be on the vinyl version of the forthcoming AC Soul Symphony, Disco opus "Metamorphosis" featuring a 20 piece orchestra alongside a whole host of top live players. That makes it an even more vital pick up because both are pure disco fire. 'I Want To See You Dance' has the title's classic refrain repeated over big Salsoul style string licks, funky basslines and soloing piano. 'The Talented Mr Adams' is a tribute to the legendary disco producer Patrick Adams and is a super sweet swooner with golden live strings and brass backing up a loose-limbed rhythm and vamping pianos that get you in the mood for love. These two tracks act as a fine teaser for what's to come on the much-anticipated album from a contemporary version of acts like MFSB and Love Unlimited Orchestra.

Review: ** REPRESS ALERT ** A couple of all time George Duke greats get the official remastered and reissue treatment here. The American songwriting legend's "I Want You for Myself' from 1979 gets a mighty Tom Moulton rework on the A side - which streamlines the essential groove of the original just nicely. On the flip, the sultry late night mood lighting of "Brazilian Love Affair" is funky, soulful and groovy in all the right amounts - the album of the same name from 1980 was hailed as his most popular. Duke was known primarily for thirty-odd solo albums, as well as his collaborations with other musicians - particularly Frank Zappa.

Review: A really cool concept from Expansion here; one side is a reissued seminal classic, the other is a contemporary version. And what a way to start the start the series; hard bop hero Johnny Hammond influenced pretty much every soul, jazz, rare groove and funk artist who've followed in his path, and the joyously unpredictable "Los Conquistadores Chocolates" is one of his best. Naturally Japanese jazz outfit Quasimode are an ideal remix choice. Known for their wildstyle riffage and signature switches, they've paid the utmost respect to Hammond.

Review: .No, this is not a surprise jazz-funk outing from Dan 'Caribou' Snaith, but rather a reissue of the sole single that French outfit Cortex released as Caribou, way back in 1977. Copies of that record are now very hard to come by, so it's great that Trad Vibe have delivered this fresh edition. It's worth picking up for 'Californie' alone. The track is a near perfect fusion of the Gallic ensemble's usual loose jazz-funk sound and energetic, sun-drenched disco - all breathless electric piano solos, memorable guitar licks, dancefloor-friendly grooves and spiralling group vocals. Original flipside 'Stevie', a more relaxed and loved-up affair closer in tone to Cortex's usual material, once again resides on the reverse.

Review: Funkyjaws Music launches a new edits series here with four absolute dons of the form on one vital 12". It's Lay Far that kicks off with 'Never Ever Edit' which is all horn-led excitement and upbeat disco claps and kicks before Admin's 'Moon Trippin' takes a more slow and soulful approach. When it comes to edits few are more essential than Chicago's Rahaan who kicks off the B-side with 'Gonna Get Ya', a leggy funk number infused with cosmic synth rays and warm piano chords. Delfonic shuts down with the loose percussive jumbles and jazzy vibes of 'Let's Dance The Spank'. A fine start to the series with volume two already in the works.

Review: Time to Attack the Dancefloor once more as we supply some heavy Disco & House weaponry. Featuring the brand new remix of Opolopo's storming 'Stroke my Disco' by dutch funkateers Fouk who double down on the Piano and Clav workouts for the peak time. Exclusive new material from Wipe The Needle who's 'Skyscrapers' track is a modern Jazz-Funk masterpiece, heavy on the flute and soulful bass. On the flip Dave Lee takes it back to '97 with his rework of Backroom Productions 'Classic Vibe' which sees him flex his house-ier muscles, re-arranging the classic elements and adding extra keys to this much loved underground tune. Finishing off the EP is Dave's remix of nu-soul diva Raquel Rodriguez, where he crafts Raquel's dynamic vocal delivery over chunky Disco drumming & soulful synths before letting loose into Roy Ayers-esque vibes finale!

Review: More from the mysterious Ron's Reworks series, which appears (though it has never been confirmed) to have been launched in tribute to late, great Chicago DJ Ron Hardy. The shadowy scalpel fiend (or fiends) behind the series begins volume three with "Revelation", a sparkling rearrangement of a life-affirming, piano-laden number that sits somewhere between jazz-funk, Latin jazz, spiritual jazz and disco. It is, beyond a shadow of doubt, one of the most positive tracks you'll hear all month. Elsewhere, "Games You Playing" is a synth-sporting slab of disco-funk heaviness, and "Bada Bongo" a percussive, break-driven, bongo-laden workout guaranteed to get limbs moving on the dancefloor.

Review: Detroit's John Beltran can do no wrong if you ask us, and what he does do is always famously varied, from sound design for TV to melodic techno excellence via ambient beauty. Here for MotorCity Wine he revisits his Back To Bahia series with a third volume that finds him flexing his Afro-Brazilian deep house chops. The 7" opens up with the jazzy boogie of Lsaura' which is steeped in Minneapolis funk and will get cultured dancefloors in a spin. 'As The Sunsets' that appears on the flip and is a superbly emotive sound with wispy late night melodies and glowing harmonies and shuffling Latin grooves. Essential.

Review: Monsieur Dimitri from Paris works his magic on Casbah 73's organic disco grooves with a remix treatment that surpasses all expectations. Casbah's original track may sound like a band-recorded take with added production sheen, but it's actually a deceptively well-made track recorded by a talented solo artist. Dimitri brings added wompy disco-house heat to the track in two parts, with the first part focusing on the more bangerific elements of the original, and the B (part two) stripping things back to focus on the more minimal, solo dubby parts.

Review: Having previously dipped into the back catalogue of a host of disco, house and U.S garage acts, Groovin' Records has decided to offer up a trio of tracks from jazz-funk maestro-turned-disco don Eumir Deodato. First up is John "Jellybean" Benitez's superb 1982 remix of "Keep On Movin", a dreamy disco club-cut rich in bold slap bass, swirling chords and sweet female vocals. Benitez is also at the controls on "Keep It In The Family (Remix)', another 1982 rework of one of Deodato's most famous disco-era anthems (check the clips - you'll be singing along within seconds). To round things off, the label steps back to 1978 with the hard-to-find and in-demand 12" version of jazz-funk/disco classic "Whistlebump".

Review: We're prepared to argue with anyone on this, but Universal Robot Band's "Barely Breaking Even" is one of the best boogie-era disco records ever made. Its title was also the inspiration for the name of BBE Records, so it seems fitting that the label's 500th release is an all-star re-recording that brings together NYC house hero Louie Vega and original creators Leroy Burgess and Patrick Adams. Vega delivers vocal and instrumental versions of two distinctive passes: a slick, smooth, soulful and string-laden "Boogie Mix" rich in warm electronics and subtle nods towards the early '80s original, and a rolling "NYC House Remix" full of twinkling Fender Rhodes solos and atmospheric chords. As you'd expect, Burgess' re-recorded vocal is superb.

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.

Review: Chicago collective Starvue's sole album, 1980's Upward Bound, has long been considered something of an underground classic by disco, soul and jazz-funk collectors, with numerous reissues and bootleg editions of the album appearing at various points over the last four decades. This licensed seven-inch single boasts two of the set's most potent tracks: single 'Body Fusion', a super-sweet, string-drenched slab of dewy-eyed jazz-funk/disco fusion that has been sampled on numerous occasions by house and nu-disco producers, and the lesser-celebrated 'Put The BS Aside'. This is arguably even better: a super-soulful post-disco number that boasts sumptuous orchestration and lusciously loved-up male and female vocals.

Review: Remarkably, almost a decade has passed since the first missive from re-edit crew Heavy Disco (AKA Ashley Beedle, Dave Jarvis and Darren House) landed in stores. Here the London collective returns for the first time in four years with two more tried-and-tested dancefloor rubs. "Run Down World" is particularly delicious, delivering a groovy revision of what sounds like one of the Police's hazier and more groove-based moments (IE there's less reggae influence and more of an AOR disco flex - think great grooves and flanged, spaced-out guitars). On side B it's all about "Times Are Bad", a fine extended revision of Tavares' deep disco/Steely Dan-goes-jazz-funk rub "Bad Times" that seems eerily fitting for the situation the world is in.

Review: It's always a good day when Al Kent is back with new music. This one on Gamm, Welcome To The Dub, finds him dubbing out some lush disco sounds. The title cut is a loopy and jazz-funk-infused number with lovely hi-hats and noodling chords all radiating joy and uplifting energy. 'Dubanova' then takes a more low-slung route with a sleazy guitar riff and nice live drums embellished with smartly overdubbed vocals coated in echo. 'Happiness & Peace' is a quieter affair with echoing hits and a meandering lead that encourages your mind to do the same.

Review: Astonishingly, original copies of Energize's 1979 private press single "Piece of Class" have changed hands for over 500 quid online. Helpfully, Rain & Shine have decided to save us all a few bob by slinging out this licensed reissue. The title track is something of a bustling disco-funk gem - a genuinely wonderful fusion of hazy vocals, dueling horn solos, spacey synthesizer flourishes and driving bass guitar. B-side "Star of the Disco" is an even more up-tempo affair, with mazy saxophone solos, rasping horn stabs and starry jazz-funk keys riding a walking bassline and high-octane disco drums.

Review: Kalita Records are proud and honoured to announce the first ever official reissue of the four choice tracks from Randolph Baker's privately pressed sought-after 1982 disco album 'Reaching For The Stars', plus an unreleased instrumental take of 'Party Life' sourced from the original 24-track analogue master tapes.

Originally recorded at Jim Morris and Rick Miller's Tampa-based Morrisound Studios, 'Getting Next To You' features both a mixture of both local Florida talent plus jazz superstar Nat Adderley and bassist John Lamb at their finest. Originally pressed in a limited run of just one-thousand copies, with no distribution and most copies being sold in the local city and on Randolph's own merchandise table at the back of live gigs, original copies have long been sought-after by both collectors and DJs alike, acknowledged as a true grail and masterpiece in the disco scene and deservedly demanding extortionate figures to those lucky enough to find their own.

Here, in collaboration with Randolph, Kalita Records have chosen to re-release the four choice tracks from the album: 'Getting Next To You', 'Jazzman', 'Callin' Me' and 'Party Life'. The former is an in-demand horn and chant-filled disco masterpiece, which, as Randolph explains, concerns unity and "everyone on the same level in other words, everyone just loving life". It is arguably the song that Randolph is most well-known for in the disco and funk scene and perfect for the modern discerning dance floor. 'Jazzman' is an instrumental track with prominent trumpet and saxophone solos working with funky basslines to produce a truly great jazz-funk groove. It was "a tribute to Nat Adderley and Duke Ellington's bass player, John Lamb, for being so generous and saying yes to the project". 'Callin' Me' is a soulful disco number featuring the lead vocals of Laurie Erickson and is "about being on the road and ensuring loved ones that you will always come back home no matter what. It was like a promise to ensure loved ones they didn't have to worry". Lastly, 'Party Life' is a joyous disco track with a strong funk bassline and horns. As Randolph recalls, it "was the joy like after an actor finishes a movie. There was nothing but joy. It's finished; let's celebrate big time. Where everyone in the studio yelled at the top of their lungs - The End!" Here, with access to the 24-track master tapes we have been able to include the original version plus an unreleased instrumental take, allowing us to focus on the infectious bassline and make it even more ready for the modern dance floor.

Accompanied by extensive interview-based liner notes and never-before-seen photos.

Review: Killer version of the Lonnie Liston Smith classic monster club track by Incognito side project Citrus Sun featuring Valerie Etienne on vocals.

Review: At the tail end of the '80s, Sylvia Striplin quit Norman Connors' jazz-funk group Aquarian Dream in order to pursue a solo career. Joining forces with producers James Bedford and Roy Ayers, she recorded 1981 debut album "Give Me Your Love", a well regarded but largely overlooked set that has since become a sought-after item amongst soul collectors. This Expansion reissue presents the album on vinyl for the first time in two decades. As with many soul albums of the period, it sashays between jazz-funk, boogie and heartfelt slow jams, contrasting memorable dancefloor workouts (see stone cold classic "Give Me Your Love" and a stellar cover of Roy Ayers favourite "Searchin") with more saccharine, loved-up fare.

Review: Z Recordings chief Dave Lee has teamed up on this one with Omar, a prolific multi-instrumentalist who was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to music. The result is 'Starlight', a serving of emotive soul funk with a nod to legend Stevie Wonder. Over on the flip, we have the late night boogie-down vibe of Destiny II's 'I'm Here For This' featuring Aria Lyric's powerful vocal delivery, underpinned by an uplifting arrangement that has summertime vibes abound. A new project by Lee, it debuted earlier this year with the excellent 'Play 2 Win'

Review: A momentous reissue of Funk Masters' 1981 disco/jazz funk hit. Out of print for over 40 years, 'Love Money' was a staple of the New York underground scene, spun everywhere across the city from Larry Levan's Paradise Garage to David Mancuso's Loft. With a low swung, funk-geared groove, 'Love Money', is a truly timeless track, encapsulating the sheer energy of disco, funk, and proto-house across eras. On the B-side, Bo Kool's '(Money) No Love' is a track steeped in historical significance - it's one of the earliest examples of UK rap. With nods to the reggae and dub culture at the root of the UK's club scene, it's no surprise to learn the track was produced by Jamaican reggae DJ and producer, Tony Williams. We're delighted to hear this lauded record make a triumphant return to record bags and dancefloors.

Review: Favorite Recordings founder Charles Maurice - initially better-known by his production alias Pascal Rioux - has long been regarded as a dusty-fingered crate digger, so his new compilation series, Fusion Global Sounds, is hotly anticipated. He says it will be an outlet for jazz-funk and fusion tracks of the 1970s and early '80s, mostly made by artists in different parts of the world whose fame never spread further than their own local scenes. You'll find numerous highlights on the series' debut, from the breezy, morning-fresh loveliness of Renato Anselmi's 'Hello Mr Acuvis' and the sun-soaked, afternoon shuffle of The 1960 Band's 'Keep That Same Old Feeling', to the dream pop-influenced sparkle of Otoshakers' 'Simpere Tu' and the righteous dancefloor hedonism of Sundance's 'Buster'.

Review: Expansion Records' continues to delve into the bulging archives of Roy Ayers' influential Uno Melodic Records imprint, which issued some superb jazz-funk, soul and boogie throughout the 1980s. Here they offer a new pressing of Ethel Beatty's sought-after, Roy Ayers' produced 1981 double A-side. For some reason they've reversed the running order, with side A offering original flipside 'It's Your Love', a Dee Dee Bridgwater co-authored slow jam that's soulful, seductive and sumptuous. Over on the reverse you'll find the more celebrated ''I Know You Care', a deep disco number full of glistening guitar riffs, smooth chords and warming grooves. In a word: luscious

Review: When Atmosfear released "En Trance" in 1981, jazz-funk ruled UK dancefloors. The British outfit's lauded debut album reflected this fact, brilliantly joining the dots between jazz-funk, soul, disco, jazz-dance and the soundsystem dub influences that were becoming increasingly prevalent in British music at the time. As this re-mastered Mr Bongo reissue proves, it remains a potent and hugely enjoyable album all these years on. Check, for example, the dub effects, sweet vocals and punchy sax riffs of "Free Tonight", the rubbery dub disco/jazz funk fusion of "Creator's Dream", the Azymuth-esque antics of "Interplay" and the synth-laden former single "Invasion".

Review: Opolopo has been serving up floor filing blends of disco, funk and soul for two decades on plenty of well regarded labels. Toolroom now invites him to serve up three brand new jams that show off his pedigree. "Sickla Side Push Shuffle" is a funk-licked, string-laced soul searcher with plenty of poolside appeal and "Aqua Lung" is a big disco roller from the Philly school. Mellifluous closer "Groovitational Waves" has some slick keys, tight bass licks and loose and authentic drums that make it feel like an OG wedge of disco gold.

Review: Jay Kay's powerhouse of crossover Brit funk maestros never stayed in one lane, but progressed from album to album without missing a beat. On 2001's A Funk Odyssey, they folded some explicitly floor-focused house and disco ingredients into their soul stew and came up trumps, smashing the hits out while staying true to the elevated musicianship they marked themselves out with in the beginning. There are monster hits like 'Little L' and cheeky bangers aplenty dotted throughout this pearler of an album, and despite how long ago it came out, it hasn't aged a bit.

Review: Who doesn't know this classic? Sampled by almost every hip-hop artist under the sun, and remixed many-a-time even by electronic artists and covers vultures, 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine' is Roy Ayers' least deniable classic, often placed firmly in many 'greatest songs of all time' lists. In theme and sound, it is pure summer, capturing Ayers at his creative peak while in the company of his employ band, the Ubiquity. Peaking strings, lackadaisical melodies, and references to 'bees and things and flowers' paints an almost dizzyingly high-as-a-kite mood, as if Ayers wrote the song while under the effect of heatstroke. Whatever overtook him, it worked. Once more, the original releaser Polydor reminds us of the song's impact.

Review: Soul meets speed garage on this new V/A EP from Z Records, blurring the lines between the genres in just the way we like it. The opening track - Grant Nelson's mix of 'Starlight' by Dave & Omar - is a euphoric, piano-laced uplifter which both sonically and lyrically urges us to reach for the sky. That's followed by the DJ Fudge production 'Everything' by Chocolate Fudge Band, featuring lots of live instrumentation and a Curtis Mayfield style vocal, while over on the flip, 'Looking For You' proves to be a deep and bouncy cut filled with soulful Motown vocal chops and an organ workout worthy of any Sunday service, over a beautifully wonky house framework.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: The Edits Collection label is fast becoming essential with a third irresistible offering in a little over a year. This latest one opens with some soul drenched boogie and disco featuring a heart-aching vocal hook and snappy grooves, then gets more deep and jazzy with 'Disco Is A Feeling'. The flip side opens with the steamy 'Take U 4 A Ride' with its explosive Philly strings and busy percussive lines and '10.15' then slow it down with a more steamy and sexy late-night sound that is all big loved-up vocals and freewheeling synths. All four of these are glorious weapons to have handy.

Review: Super Disco Edits decision to focus on releasing previously unissued gems from the disco era has resulted in a string of essential 7" singles. Predictably, this is another must-have. Vocalist and actress Roz Ryan recorded them with producers Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore in 1980, during a spell in Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin'. They were destined for a six-track album that was sadly never released. A-side "Keep Shining" is a killer chunk of sing-along jazz-funk/disco/boogie fusion, full of sprightly P-funk synths and punchy horns. Flipside "Put Love Back", on the other hand, is a slow burning delight: a wonderful chunk of boogie-era late night soul shot through with heartbroken emotion. Both tracks are brilliant, in other words.

Review: Infamous Parisian afterparty Discomatin update the edit series they launched earlier this year with another clutch of beautifully modified obscurities. Once again we're treated to the full spread as the collective lay down the sunny side grooves: "Show Me" is a brilliantly kitsch moment in disco with spoken word that guarantees dancefloor humour. "I Need To Meet You" whisks us off to the horizon on a yacht while "Le Paradis C'est L'enfer" is an emphatic piece of French electroboogie that's so raunchy it could make Gainsbourg. Finally we hit "Deboto Love Song". A serious end-of-night (or end-of-morning in the case of Discomatin) unity cut, if the harmonies don't have grown men on their knees you're doing it all wrong.

Review: Gilles Peterson and Incognito main man Jean-Paul Maunick (AKA Bluey) are the two artists behind the Str4ta project. It debuted last year with a superb full-length and now is already back with a seance on Gilles's Brownswood label. 'STR4TASFEAR' is a mix of songs, grooves and melodies from the Brit funk world that the two collaborators emerged from. It finds them working with some legends of the scene from neo-soul Godfather Omar to Emma-Jean Thackray, Brighton duo Anushka and Floridian trumpeter/vocalist Theo Croker. A superb collection of timeless sounds, then.

Review: First released way back in 1980 on the album of the same name, 'Coming To You Live' is one of the most beloved dancefloor jams in the sprawling catalogue of sorely missed soul-jazz organist Charles Earland. Here reissued on seven-inch (and therefore presented in edited form), the track blurs the boundaries between Latin-tinged disco and jazz-funk - all heady female group vocals, heady horns, spacey Herbie Hancock synths and infectious grooves. Over on the flip you'll find original B-side 'Street Themes', a breezier, similarly Latin-tinged jazz-funk cut that features some sensational keys-playing from Earland. In a word: essential.

Review: Str4ta is a project that harks back to the glory days of the vibrant British jazz-funk scene of the early 80s. Gilles Peterson and his partner in crime Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick are behind the music and the new album is the first new music they have put out in over a decade. Quick on the draw as ever is Dave Lee, fka Joey Negro, who on this 12" on Brownswood serves up two alternative mixes of one of the singles. The fist version of 'After The Rain' is all hip swinging claps, low slung funk and brightly shining, starry-eyed melodies. The second dub version is more scripted back but still with plenty of irresistible percussion and bass.

Review: Opolopo is a machine when it comes to serving up superb disco, funk and soul sounds. He's done so for two decades on plenty of top labels from Toolroom to Version Galore to Gamm. This time out he finds himself on a self-released tip with X Machine which is a mash-up of James Brown. The original vocals cut through funky basslines and lots of big percussions as the loose drums rumbled on next to warming organ chords. The instrumental is a more direct to dancefloor jam.

Review: With a streak of hits reaching back to the early 90s, chart-topping Brit funk phenomenon Jamiroquai have plenty to celebrate. In 2006 they decided to remind everyone how much heat they've gifted to the world with High Times, a definitive overview of the singles that thrust them onto prime time radio and beyond. Now that compilation makes its way to vinyl for the first time, giving us the chance to spin such classics as 'Too Young To Die', 'Virtual Insanity' and 'Canned Heat' to our hearts content - all killer, no filler. This edition has been pressed up on green marbled vinyl and comes with and autographed art card, insert and a slipmat, making it a must-have for collectors and die-hard fans alike.

Review: Since launching in the summer of 2017, Alex Attias' edit-focused LillyGood Party label has consistently delivered the goods. It helps that Attias' approach to re-editing mirrors original scalpel legends like Danny Krivit - think killer rearrangements with no cheap production trickery - but this would mean nothing if the selected material was below-par. This time round he's on a Latin-tinged jazz-funk and disco tip, first teaming up with brother Stephane to deliver a superb, horn-heavy rework of Onward International's 1985 all-dayer slayer "Foot in the Door". It's a righteous and funk-fuelled affair guaranteed to bring a dose of sultry sunshine to any party. On the flip, Attias goes solo to lovingly extend Elbertina "Twinkie" Clark's 1981 gospel-fuelled disco-soul treat "Awake O Zion", with predictably fine results.