Disco Recommendations Best Of 2011

Review: Yam Who?'s ISM label come through with a four track slice of disco centric Futurism, featuring the man Yam himself alongside PBR Streetgang and Ron Basejam. It's the latter who takes the lead with a remix of Alena's "Changes" that sees her sultry vocal teased by a most excellent of analogue synth leads that splurges brilliantly across the crisp mid tempo chug. Yam Who? teams up with vocalist Natasha Watts for the similarly bottom heavy bump of "I'm In Love" which has a certain warehouse appeal to it. On the flip, PBR pay respect to the godfather of soul James Brown with the gritty flex of "J2thaB" with the sadly departed Mr Brown strangely sounding at times like he wants to go to Tesco. We always took him for a Waitrose man, but regardless this is probably the track you'll reach for most! Finally Brothers Young do their thing to a Trammps classic, with little more than the bassline retained. Big tip!

Review: ** Repress from the Hands Of Time ** The second Hands of Time Gold release sees everyone's favourite Parisian called Dimitri transposed from the exotic climes of Tokyo to the less salubrious Stoke On Trent for a handful of edits that have wedding disco tackle written all over them! Dimitri's timeless edit of the purple one's "I Wanna Be Your Lover" has long been desired by the disco loving cognoscenti and will guarantee this release a towering presence in the bestseller charts. Let's not forget the trio of cuts that make up the remainder though, with "Just Sayin' Really" and "I Pay A Little Slayer" adding a sprinkle of magic to two soul classics whilst "Dem Oi Garl" is guaranteed to get the uncles on the floor.

Review: ** Running Back Repress for the Terje Fans **Terje Olsen doesn't release many records, but when he does they tend to be pretty special. This surprise EP for Running Back is his only his fifth original single in seven years, but it's arguably his best yet. "Ragysh" is devilishly simple, a naggingly hypnotic house/ electronic disco head-nodder that builds to a gasping climax of chic, intergalactic melodies. It's partnered by "Bonysh", a dubwise beats track that ekes maximum thrills from little more than ever-changing percussion. B-side "Snooze For Love" - available in dancefloor and downtempo versions - continues the stargazing theme, offering up an uber-Balearic mix of bleep melodies, dozy chords and sleepwalking percussion.

Review: David Woods - one half of filter loving disco tweakers extraordinaire Tiger & Woods - goes solo on this new 12" on Editainment, aptly titled On The Green Alone. We are not sure of the whereabouts of his acquaintance, Larry Tiger, but Dave shows he's equally adept at chopping semi-forgotten vocal samples on his own, with A-Side cut "License To Drill" bumping hard thanks to its indecipherable but immensely pleasing vocal snippets, omnipresent funk riff and delicious keys. "Slazenger 1" and "1:00:00" share the B-Side, with the chunky acid bassline of the former totally outshone by the brilliant bongo/wailing vocal combo of the latter.

Review: Mr Duff returns to his Disco alias with two typically lackadaisically paced edits of familiar jams - if you can't figure out the source material from the titular clues and sound clips then back to music history night classes with you! "Grandmaster Duff" teases out the classic strains with the sort of expertise you'd expect from the Duff, whilst all manner of dubbing and delay utilised in the name of fun. On the flip, this nation's favourite Australian sees one of her most ubiquitous tracks almost ground to a halt and married with one of house music's most famous hooks (which has been equally slowed down).

Review: REPRESS ALERT: This time on transparent vinyl. Amsterdam dwelling editor par excellence Em Vee took the solo reigns on the inaugural Lumberjacks In Hell - and truly excelled with a great reimagination of "Miss You". The second release on the label sees the German share duties with Spanish edit demon Rayko, with the Rare Wiri boss hogging the A Side. First up is an expert rearrangement of Candi Staton's cover of the Bee Gee's standard "Nights On Broadway" which strips the track of its orchestral leanings to focus on the groove! Following this is a meaty take on a classic, with Barbara Keith's cover of "All Along The Watchtower" reinforced with some bottom end bump. Em Vee spreads a special disco version of Alma Lee's late 70s Philly delight "Gimme Your Love" with an extended intro that fully displays his edit talents.

Review: For the uninitiated, Odyssey are a band who thrived in the 1970s disco boom thanks to an insouciant blend of live funk, soul and Afro Caribbean rhythms. Recently Yam Who's ISM imprint embarked on the Legacy project, which will see the band get back together in the studio to record a new album that includes updated versions of past hits alongside new material. In addition to this, ISM have commissioned a number of remixes, with expertly selected knob twiddlers turning reimagining Odyssey material for contemporary dancefloors. On the first edition, "Native New Yorker" - the first true Odyssey smash hit - is given a thorough disco treatment from Ashley Beedle with his "Big Apple Uptown Story" rife with piano keys, funky guitars and soaring string sections. On the flip, two upbeat and feel good remixes of "Inside Out" from DJ Friction and PBR are both pure disco euphoria. Bells chime, vocals bounce and the irresistibly groovy bass keeps them well and truly alive.