Tags: Nu Disco

Review: The latest one on Faze Action's label comes from Robin Lee in his Rudy's Midnight Machine guise. This is where Lee's disco funk fantasies run amok, with 'Dyane' in particular coming on strong with the sound of the early 80s. This is blissfully melodic, good time stuff throughout, steeped in classic motifs but delivered with a fresh, modern panache. There are downtempo Balearic moments like 'Crystal Dragonfly' to get lost it as much as there are plenty of invigorated calls to the dancefloor, making this a five track EP to really get your teeth into.

Review: Amy Douglas is the latest addition to the Razor-N-Tape talent ranks and serves up a mighty fine rough 'n' tumble New York disco double A-side 7" to open her account. The opener is 'Freak At Night' with stiff synth stabs and strident drums that get the party pumping while the belting vocal brings the soulful hook. Absolute dynamite. Things are a little more loose on the flip with 'Bit-O-Honey' having more jangling drums and guitar riffs underpinned by a funky bass riff. The vocal is more florid and expressive making this a different but equally impactful sound.

Review: A Skillz and Krafty Kuts are veteran names by now but at one option they were some of the hottest new DJs and producers in the game. They pioneered a breakbeat, cut-up and paste sounds 20 years ago that was high on energy and with plenty of character. Now they look to the roots of the sounds they used to draw from and serve up a new single on Jam City that is all about disco. 'Lit Up' has loose, jumbled drums and funk basslines with some great vocal flourishes up top from Gizelle Smith. A remix on the flip takes things into deeper new soul territory.

Review: Exotic Illusions marks the debut album of Sydney-based duo D.D. Mirage, delivering a multifaceted blend of global sounds through a distinctly antipodean lens. Drawing from their background in the indie-psyche and punk scenes, Josh Dives and Disky Dee have crafted a record that is as much about atmosphere as it is about movement. From the opening track, 'Exotic Illusions (Feat Hotel)', the duo's signature approach to Balearic, disco, and funk takes shapeiits infectious rhythms paired with tropical melodies evoke the feeling of both familiarity and foreignness. The Neapolitan funk influences are most evident on 'So Hot', where the rhythm section, recorded with the help of Daniel Monaco and Andrea De Fazio, drives the track forward with a punchy, danceable groove. Meanwhile, 'Piranesi' infuses a South American shuffle into boogie, layering it with smooth percussion and fluid synths. The collaboration on 'Antenna (Feat Jofi)' channels '80s drum machine bossa nova with a certain European elegance, while 'Feel It' pulls the listener into a laid-back, sunset-driven groove that gradually shifts into the lighter, more experimental textures of 'Cat's Cradle (Feat Jermango Dreaming)'. On tracks like 'Livin' Upside Down' and 'Night Time (Feat Private Joy)', D.D. Mirage explore an Aussie flavour within the sonic blend. 'Night Time', with Private Joy's smooth street soul vocals, delivers nocturnal warmth, demonstrating the duo's uncanny ability to merge genres and influences into a distinctive whole. The album's diverse set of tracks highlights not just their broad musical influences but also their nuanced ability to make each track an immersive journey.

Review: The formidable Dutch trio of Kraak & Smaak has now been turning out their own brand of nu disco, house and funk for two whole decades. To mark the occasion they have been digging in their vast and vital back catalogue to come up with what they think are some of their best moments. The results have been put together on this compilation, Twenty, out via Jalapeno Records and their own label Boogie Angst. Plenty of fan favourites feature as well as collars with top names like Lee Fields, Parcels, Romanthony, Ben Westbeech and Durand Jones.

Review: He may have started life as a dusty-fingered hip-hop beat-maker, but French producer Julien Ozonder AKA Young Pulse is undoubtedly best-known for his party-starting disco, soul, funk and jazz-funk reworks (for proof, check his ongoing Paris Edits series on GAMM, which has so far notched up eight instalments). On 'Shake Your Body Down', which lands on the label founded by the Funky French League collective he's a member of, he combines samples from a forgotten disco gem with his own beats and instrumentation. On the A-side 'Disco Mix', that means squelchy bass, 126 BPM disco drums and mazy synth solos aplenty; while on the 'Beat Street Mix' he limbers up for the breakin' at the Paris Olympics via an authentically early 80s sounding electro workout.

Review: Yung Bae is the alias of Dallas Cotton, a Los Angeles-based producer with influences that include disco, r&b and Japanese City Pop. He had already proven his capabilities over the past two years, but his album Bae 3 really shows off his mastery in making A-grade funk. There's the boogie-down vibe of 'Back To The Classics', the neon-lit night moves of 'If You Want It', as well as the low slung mood music of 'All Night' and the upbeat horns-driven dancefloor heater 'Fantasy' being just of the highlights.

Review: Fresh, clean and modern disco from Japan's T-Groove. Channelling the yeah-yeah-ing vocals of American r&b contemporary Maddam Mya, 'Move Me' is a bass-riffing, double-clapping charger in the mode of 80s-20s nu-boogie. B-sider 'Keep On' Dancin' is hardly different, working a squeezy and pressurized modern pop vocal line from Maya Killtron into a chaotic, bustling shooting funk star.

Review: Milord makes his long-awaited return to Periodica here and in doing so trades his signature electro mysticism for boogie funk, disco dubs and a bit of sun-drenched pop. The club mix to kick off with is a hypnotic, ever-evolving journey through psychedelic grooves with energised chants, sleek vocals and futuristic vocoder accents. The dub version brings some Afro-tribal rhythm and bass from techno with lush pianos adding a cosmic atmosphere. The radio mix blends Kraftwerk-inspired touches with bright, sunlit pop and bubbling basslines to lodge deep in your psyche next to some jangly guitar licks. Perfect genre-blurring escapism, then.

Review: Primetime Paris producer Jay Murphy first teamed up with Natalie Nova in 2022 to release 'Boogie Oogie', a rejig of the classic A Taste Of Honey song. Emphasising postmodernity, we hear a timeless club classic liquefied for a fluid psychic economy: Murphy, a Franco-American musician based in Paris, produces, sings and key-plays over this funky opus, attesting his involvement in the funk scene since as far back as the early 1990s. But now Rob Hardt and Young Pulse bring their own versions, spanning slapping, chime-trilling propulsions, and a wildout inductive monologue from an anonymous contributing vocalist: "if you think you're too cool to boogie, boy have I got news for you... I wanna see you shake your derriere..."

Review: Ritual Release, the California-based imprint established by Woolfy vs Projections, have long kept tight-lipped about the identities of synth boogie revivalists Guruku. We have no idea (we suspect it's them, but could be wrong), but we do know that the act's latest EP is superb. There are two original tracks on offer, both featuring vocalist Rojai: the Dam Funk-meets-Dayton brilliance of 'Mesmerized' and the dreamier, sunnier, 80s synth-soul-inspired excellence of 'What It Takes'. Both come accompanied by tasty remixes. Giovanni Damico re-imagines 'Mesmerized' as a thickset electrofunk-goes-jazz-funk workout, while Daniel T stretches out and lightly dubs out the same song in a nu-disco style. Rayko and Woolfy vs Projections join forces on a dubby and club-friendly nu-disco revision of 'What It Takes', before we treated to a dancefloor dubs style 'Bonus Beats' mix.

Review: KC

Review: Dutch party-starters Kraak & Smaak have always been hard to pin down, with their vast catalogue containing everything from jubilant nu-disco, funk-fuelled breaks and Afrobeat to club-ready hip-hop jams, revivalist electrofunk, purple P-funk and slow-motion Latin treats. What unites their output - as this expansive two-disc 20th birthday celebration proves - is a hard-headed commitment to making sure everyone has a good time (something also proved by their occasional live shows). As best of collections go, Twenty is inspired, not least because it not only contains their biggest singles and fan favourites, but also some of their most notable collaborations. Look out for killer cuts with house legend Romathony, soul sensations Durand Jones, Mayer Hawthorne and Izo Fitroy, and yacht rock-loving Aussie nu-disco band Parcels.

Review: The Outer Edge rounds off their series reworking tracks from the archive of lesser-known German 80s outfit Ghia. This time round, they're offering re-imaginations of an instrumental synth-funk track first featured on last year's Don't Look LP, 'Message From The Other Side'. This time round, the band has recruited vocalist Adrian Prestel and re-imagined it as colourful and authentic synth-number simply titled 'The Other Side'. As well as a solid instrumental take, we're also treated to a superb Marian Tone take which blends bits of the 1985 demo with elements of the 2023 re-recording. Elsewhere, there are also three takes on previous single 'Out of Luck': squelchy and crunchy neo-boogie vocal and instrumental versions courtesy of DJ Friction (the disco one, not the d&b producer of the same name) and a more low-slung, dub disco style instrumental revision by Soundrays.

Review: For her latest trick, long-serving Canadian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ivana Santilli has decided to cover one of her favourite Level 42 tracks, 1983's 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind'. Her take, which includes additional lyrics she wrote especially, sits somewhere between glossy mid-80s soul and colourful boogie. It has a much more electrofunk and soul flavour than the British band's Brit-funk/jazz-funk original, which is no bad thing. B-side 'Air of Love' sees Santilli dip the tempo and charge towards the close-dance zone - all sparse, slow-motion Loose Ends beats, chiming synthesiser melodies, dreamy chords and her own impeccable, slow-burn lead vocals.

Review: Since dialling down on his re-editing activities in favour of showcasing his composition and production skills, Paris-based Young Pulse has released a swathe of sensational singles - most of which doff a cap to his long-known love of disco, boogie and 80s electrofunk. He leans giddily into the latter on this superb three tracker, kicking things off - with a little help from vocalist Wayata - with the revivalist P-funk colour, squelch and shuffle of Parliament/Funkadelic side A-side 'Reachin' Out'. The fun continues on the flip, where the organ and sparkling synths-enhanced headiness of 'Lose Control' (a kind of Prince tribute by the sounds of it) is followed by Fleur De Mur collaboration 'Love Addict', a Skipworth & Turner-esque slab of mid-80s dancefloor joy.

Review: Released by Funk Embassy Records, 'Universal Language' is the debut album by Estonian funk outfit Silky Steps, a five-piece band from Tallinn that blends neo-soul, nu-disco and pop-funk. The album is full of catchy hooks, smooth vocals, funky guitars and synths that evoke the likes of Nile Rodgers, Jungle and L'imperatrice. The lyrics are playful and sensual, exploring themes of love, lust and connection. Highlights are the slo-mo opener 'Music' with its infectious vocoder, 'Falling For You', a collaboration with MC Roki that explores deep bass-driven territory and 'Fly, Goodbye', a bittersweet and nostalgic track with sensual neon-lit aesthetics.

Review: The UK's Robin Lee is one of the members of much-loved disco gang Faze Action but also he's behind Andromeda Orchestra who return here with an album that offers a cosmic fusion of jazz-funk and disco. It's been put together with Moogs, clarinets, Rhodes and rich analogue textures that make for a mix of nostalgia and sonic richness that sinks you in deep. Blending nostalgia with innovation, Lee creates deep, immersive soundscapes. There are widescreen odysseys like 'Mythical', loved-up bunkers such as 'Thinking About Your Love' and a rare Nick The Record remix of 'Get Up & Dance' that overflows with cosmic melodies and lush, life-affirming strings.