THE PATCHOULI BROTHERS Schallplatten & CDs

Review: The Patchouli Brothers are Jedi-level Canadian diggers who now make their debut on the always excellent Razor-N-Tape label. They offer up four edits from the world of disco starting with the driving and striding 'Disco 4 A Non-Nuclear Future' with its expansive vocal and big string energy. 'Emotional Dancing' is a clean and serene disco groove with florid female vocals and a super funky bassline which leads into the classic sounds of 'Dance, Disco Dance', a feel good and heart swelling sound then things slow down into big hand claps and vibing trumpet motifs on 'Zane & Len.'

Review: Following a successful run of disco deviance on top labels such as GAMM, Basic Fingers, Barefoot Beats and Tugboat, Toronto's Patchouli Brothers are up next on the sixth edition of the "Pleasure of Love" edit series. The "Beam Me Up" hosts have a proven track record with the ol' razor and tape, distilling rare and underappreciated cuts and turning them into peak time dancefloor gems. These four cuts on volume six are no exception. Our picks: the joyous and sunkissed "Made In France" (tres bien!), followed by the carnival energy of "Soca Danny" with its powerhouse brass section and the classic Stateside vibe of "Crossed Your Mind" on the flip.

Review: US re-edit crew The Patchouli Brothers return to Sweden's Gamm with two more reworked dancefloor cuts from days gone by. On the A, you'll find the exuberant 'Fuqua & James' with its sweeping strings, brass fanfares and falsetto "I'm so grateful" vocal - the track being a rejig of Sylvester's 'Grateful' from 1978 that, somewhat unusually, is quite a bit slower than the original. In comparison, the B's 'Peace, Love & Understanding' mines velvet-suited mid-70s soul a la Barry White or Joe Simon for its source material, but is every bit as upbeat and danceable as the A-side.

Review: Razor-N-Tape's white label series serves up its first-ever various artists collection here, and it opens with Windy City master Glenn Underground. His 'Happy House' is a joyous disco stomper with florid strings and lung-busting vocals. Rahaan adds his own edit to 'Be Cool', which is a jazzy dancer with magnificent guitar work and brassy horns. 'Hot Damn' (JKriv edit) keeps the love flowing with funky disco house energy and an air of hands in the air celebration and The Patchouli Brothers flip 'Love Explosion' into a strident, front foot wafered and pumping disco funker with gorgeous vocals. There I so much sunshine and joy in these tunes that they melt even the stoniest of hearts.