Disco Recommendations September 2011

Review: Sleazy Beats takes on four fresh artists for its latest vinyl release, entitled the Dirty Dancing Sampler. French newcomer Modsleep opens the EP with the rich and drum heavy jam "Women Don't Want To Love Me"; stylish and with an unrivalled groove, it certainly makes us love him! Dead Rose Music Company occupies the rest of the side with "Never Gonna Stop" - deep, sexy and funky as hell, it's another winner for the EP. Flipping over, Lord Of The Isles give off deliciously moody yet bright vibes with "Teach Them No Hate" while The Noodleman and his "Lovers Dub" take things into charismatic quarters with a never ending builder.

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: 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: This 12", containing two unreleased tracks from Can co-founder Holger Czukay, is a typically gorgeous effort from Claremont 56, replete with gold embossed sleeve, and full liner notes on these two 30 year old gems. On the A-Side is "Music is a Miracle", an 18 minute musical lecture, in which Czukay talks the listener through selected examples of sounds from several tracks contained on his 1981 album On the Way to the Peak of Normal, the first he wrote solo following the break-up of Can. On the B-Side is "Ode to Perfume Part 2", a companion piece to the opener to that album, a leisurely guitar jam with elements of French horn that would be considered positively Balearic by most quarters today. But it's the extensive vocoder use, which, together with the spectral organ sounds, add a particularly haunting element to the track's proceedings. A must for Czukay collectors and Can fans alike.

Review: Brisbane based producer Youth is the latest producer to break free from the infinite realm of waveforms and inane comments that is Soundcloud. A prodigious talent for recrafting his favourite tracks under the Young Edits name has landed this 22-year-old with the chance to impress via the tenth release from Finnish label Kojak Giant Sounds, and he certainly doesn't slack lacing the A Side with a beefed up take on the Stevie Nicks classic "Smiling At You". If you're a fan of Ms Nicks and a fan of chugging arpeggios then you'll be keen on this. On the flip The Catch's high pitched ode to getting home "25 Years" gets put through the Young Edits mangler, extending and dubbing out the intro and slipping in a great big kick drum that has satisfying weight to it.

Review: The good folks at Ambassadors Reception finally unleash unto a baying disco loving public the vinyl sampler addendum to the excellent Mixtura compilation put together by Albion. Released back in April, the compilation of gems and oddities from the Swedish crate digger's enviable record collection was a thrilling conclusion to an idea first formed back in 2008. This limited edition sampler which purportedly will resist all calls for a repress is worth investigating alone for the exclusive to this release take on Nevaboston Team's "Leslie" which melds both sides of the late seventies seven inch with an aplomb matched by few. Alongside it, one of our favourites from the compilation, the heaving arpeggiated glee that is Norma Jordan's "Feel Me" makes for excellent company. Any Clark Kent wannabes best beware of the B Side delight that is the uber "Krypton" from Captain Torkive, whilst Eva Eva Eva's "Invasione" ends proceedings in suitably oddball fashion.

Review: Judging by the inherent floating sensation that runs through "Just Think About It", it would seem that Lithuanian producer Mario Basanov has found his muse in Miss Bee. Regular followers of Under The Shade output will know the former has already worked his magic with the latter, having remixed her collaboration with Rampi earlier this year. It's a partnership that works wonders, with Miss Bee's sultry tones the perfect match for Basanov's elastic treatment of analogue sounds and upwards glancing melodics. The usual array of remixes sees Art Of Tones calling shotgun and delivering a remix that swerves proceedings down a decidedly rump shaking disco path, with some excellent key stabs throughout. This is matched by the Social Disco Club and Mirror People remix that builds brilliantly from the glistening opening few bars into an excellent live disco chug - just wait for those piano lines to come soaring in!

Review: Croatian's finest purveyor of disco and boogie returns with a delish four track EP on Yam Who's ISM imprint. The four tracks have all the delicious trappings of Rudman; dramatic strings, ample helpings of cowbell and vintage synth stabs. The A-Side consists of the sleazy squelch of "Crazy With You" in both original and remixed by Yam Who form, with the latter, more uptempo version just shading it. The flipside consists of the sultry boogie bap of "Let This Dream Be Real", with the original bringing to mind a glacially paced version of Rockers Revenge classic "Walking on Sunshine", while the Disco Dirtbox tweak bumps and grinds in all the right places - totally primed for club play!

Review: Continuing their fine vintage of releases in 2011, Tigersushi's attentions cross the English Channel where two generations of music making join forces for the excellent Gravity EP. The names Justin Robertson (here under his Deadstock 33s alias) and Stopmakingme should be familiar to your ears, and this release marks the first occasion they've collaborated together fully - having swapped remixes in recent times as well as releasing a track together for Southern Fried. There's much to enjoy here among the four tracks that straddle the tempos and moods, with the title track the most horizontally leaning and sprawling in its outlook. "Park Drive" is a more elastic, analogue heavy accompaniment, similar in its cavernous treatment of rhythms to a Chicken Lips production and it's matched in the energy gifting stakes by "Oscillate" which operates on a similar level of fun to James Curd's DFA classic. "A Rising Madness" completes this release, aptly titled as it gradually rises from a drum machine heavy intro a surfeit of schizophrenic synth modulations.

Review: Perennial crate-diggers BBE have long been capable of unearthing hidden gems and shining a light on long-forgotten scenes. Here, with the help of fellow vinyl-sniffer Mr Peabody, they highlight Chicago's little-known 1970s/early 1980s underground disco and boogie scene. For those reared on the familiar sounds of New York disco and boogie, it's something of a revelation. For this double vinyl edition of the release, Mr Peabody lifts his favourites from the 23 track double CD edition with eight specially edited versions. Certainly, there's plenty for disco enthusiasts to get excited about here, with everything from hustlin' party jams and essential 80s groove to crackly disco-funk and distinctly cosmic soul represented.

Review: Ace boutique imprint Voyeurhythm returns with impressively tattooed label chief Tyson Ballard taking the reigns. The original version of "Little Too Much" is a sleazy analogue jam, with a sultry vocal snippet sitting amongst some beefy bass drums and a pleasingly sparse arrangement augmented by arpeggiated synth hits. Flip over for remixes from two rising talents - Sidwho and Ben Sun. The former's 'late night mix' trades in the original's smooth vocal sample for some vocoder action and icy 80 atmosphere, while the latter's 'dawn arrival' version - one of the highlights of the recent Tornado Wallace podcast for RA - is subtly anthemic. Highly recommended.