DJs: Most Charted - Disco - Most Charted August 2012

Review: A second standard pressing of Kon's masterful Cerrone edit arrives following the the initial 'blink and you'll have to pay a hefty price on Discogs' gold edition and subsequent repress. Originally released back in 1981, "Hooked On You" featured an early guest spot from one of THE voices of disco in Jocelyn Brown, and Kon's edit of the track under his Sir Own name has been burning a hole in the internet via Soundcloud and YouTube since late 2010. The label calls it "one of the most talked about and sought after reworks in recent times" for a good reason! If you like this check Kon's new LP for BBE too!

Review: Surfacing earlier this year on those all too limited Golf Channel promos, the full version of Juju & Jordash's Jewsex 12" arrives replete with some amusing artwork and the even more amusing tagline "Conceived by Juju & Jordash on a balmy night 9 months." Such is the production versatility of Gal and Jordan you never quite know what to expect from the Amsterdam based duo, and this long awaited return to Golf Channel finds them channelling the spirit of countless deliciously filthy italo denizens of days gone by. It's hard not to get swept up in the relentless waves of raw and libidinous sounds that pummel through the speaker cones on the original "Jewsex." Flip over and switch down to 33rpm and the "Clubsex" version goes tougher, harder, and stronger as the rippling arpeggio bassline gets lost amidst the steamy jacking drums - maybe this is bath house music? The duo's penchant for horizon widening dub expanses finally makes an appearance on the appropriately titled "Dubsex."

Review: The variety and ingenuity that a relatively small operation like Don't Be Afraid has shown in their releases this year to date put the somewhat linear approach of many larger labels to shame. Here they launch another new label in DBA Dubs, a ten inch series with a simple yet all too compelling concept - gather up an original house dub from a UK producer and enlist a transatlantic counterpart to deliver a more techno flavoured remix. Modern Soul boss Tom Giles opens proceedings under his Claws For? alias with a typically boogie indebted slice of analogue house in "Profumo" that is up their with Mr Beatnick's "Sun Goddess" in the shamelessly summery vibe stakes. In the US corner DBA have West Coast heat shaper Gosub who delivers a typically fully stacked Miami electro remix with the greasiest of funked out synth lines daubed lazily across the snapping 808s. The standard is set and we can't wait to see who follows!

Review: ** ESP REPRESS ** In this enduring age of shallow house and poorly executed "disco edits" you have to applaud labels like ESP Institute who keep veering down their own stylistic trajectory with little regard for trend or fad. Their latest 12" emission comes from a new name to us in Michael Ozone, a Melbourne based producer whose apparent interest in Giallo Horror soundtracks and New Beat is very much evident here. However it's the unique and absurdist way with which Ozone implements these influences across both "Perfect Systems" and "Hetropia" that grab your attention and have you flipping the needle back to the start again and again to try and cram every detail into your cerebral cortex.

Review: Judging by the DJ reactions, "Open Your Mind" could be Al Kent's strongest edit to date - and that's saying something. Free of contemporary frills, it deliciously extends a warm, inviting and occasionally sweaty disco-funk groove to ten glorious minutes. Throughout, it gently ebbs and flows, moving from a shuffling instrumental number to an inspirational vocal cut midway through. "Like The Way", meanwhile, offers a deeper, more soulful vibe, playing around with a formidably obscure cut dripping with lazy guitars and hushed, almost casual vocals. While not as impressive as the epic A, it's still pretty darn tasty.

Review: Hot off the back of being hailed the "edit king of 2012" by Gilles Peterson and dropping THAT Gold Fingers release, Kon steps back into Basic Fingers mode to deliver two more sublime disco boogie cuts for the more funk friendly floor. "Get It Together" has summer written all over it, burning into action with a killer horn loop before the bass kicks and the track heads for the stars. Kon demonstrates his skill and understanding of structure throughout, dropping the groove to a lull before building it right back up throughout, and the sweetly soulful vocals have that eminently sing-along quality. The tempo drops to a low slung bump on the flip as Leroy Burgess gets expanded with equal aplomb on the seemingly infinte "Strong Love (Everlasting)".

Review: Given that they released their first 12" nearly 20 years ago, it's somewhat surprising to find thatCellar Door is the Idjut Boys first "proper" album of original material. There have, of course, been other albums - a 2002 collaboration with Quakerman on Glasgow Underground, 2009's Rune Lindbeak hook-up as Meanderthals (on which they were rumoured to have done most of the work) and a string of typically dubbed-out disco re-edit collections (Phantom Slasher, Noid etc) - but nothing that could be called a definitive Idjuts album.Cellar Door, then, should perhaps be seen as a neat bonus rather than the culmination of a career that has stuttered between sublime brilliance and aloof eccentricity. Listened to on those terms, it's even better than you'd expect. First of all, it's a proper album in the old fashioned sense. Clocking in at under 40 minutes - like many of the greatest albums of the vinyl era - it shimmers with Balearic intent. Heady and intoxicating on one hand, sweet and country-tinged on the other, it's a grown up, radio-friendly set that should please those with a penchant for glistening Balearica.

Review: The innate joy in the Running Back catalogue is the sheer variety of the label's output, with Gerd Janson happy to release exuberant Theo Parrish remixes of Helium Robots one moment and some peculiar 'Vatican house' from BDI the next. This curveball has Norway going toe to toe with their Scandinavian rivals Sweden as a certain (Todd) Terje Olsen sprinkles his magic on two sublime cuts that Samo Forsberg aka GAMM regular Samoo originally released in 2010. Slipping out on a debut ultra limited 7" from the Drifter STHLM imprint, both "To Be There With You" and "Viking Line" charmed both Janson and Terje to the core, with the latter electing to provide his own extended edits. It's hard not to fall for the charms of the title track, a breathy Italo flecked disco number that wouldn't sound out of place on Italians Do It Better and sounds even better in disco mix form. "Viking Line" is just as good, think Man Parrish born in Malmo and you've got it.

Review: DJ Harvey's Locussolus return to International Feel with a two track twelve dominated by the storming ode to Berghain, coincidentally arriving at a time when the Berlin club's future is very much in the air. Sounding every bit as good as the best parts of last year's Locussolus album for the label from the Punta Del Este, "Berghain (Darkroom Mix)" offers a chugging, K-hole friendly alternative to the all too prevalent pedestrian nu-disco sound that should appeal to the afterhours heads. "Telephone (Mediterranean Mix)", meanwhile, is a prime slice of Balearic disco-pop in his own inimitable style. Oozing fun, it should get an airing at plenty of festivals this summer.