New releases last two weeks: Disco/Nu-Disco

Review: Francesco Strippoli (Armonica) returns to Bordello A Parigi, following up his first two wonderfully refreshing and true-to-form Italodance EPs for a third, 'Future Echoes'. Indeed, reinterpretations of classic sounds can function as messages from the future as well as versions of the past. With cuts like 'Floating On High', a bulbous, buzzing, repetitious enjoyment is heard overflowing from a single stylistic source, every element bursting forth from its root. Offbeat bass licks double up as forward-driving donks on the likes of 'Retrospectiva' and 'Music And Lights', while the slick, coruscating synth twangs on the title track make do with 16th note repetitions that evoke the ecstatic feeling of urban mobility, each step matching the feeling of climbing higher and higher.

Review: Mikal Asher, a scion of Jamaica's Morgan family dynasty, reunites with Chocolate Star Records here and does so with a collaboration with disco legend Gary Davis. Asher, akin to his brother Denroy Morgan, upholds the family's legacy of righteousness through music. Known as the Binghiman, he crafts captivating tunes with profound lyrics and has recorded in Ghana's Hustle Hard Studios and collaborated with industry pioneers in Kingston and Brooklyn, setting new standards in musical excellence along the way. Here, 'Wicked Ah Fi' transforms into a modern dub stepper, while 'Black Woman' offers a soulful, laid-back dedication to Davis' wife, Sonjia. This 7" also comes with innovative remixes from California-based DJ and producer Knoe1.

Review: Get yourself geared up for festival season with some fierce party starters certified with the Glitterbox stamp. Melvo Baptiste leads the charge with 'Sweat', a sizzling disco house stomper with Dames Brown giving the biggest diva energy on her show-stopping vocal. Lovebirds bring unbridled joy on the Philly string swoon and slinky b-line funk of 'Burn It Down', while Art Of Tones & Inaya Day keep it peak time on the sassy strutter 'Give My Love'. Young Pulse & Fleur De Mur complete the set with 'Smooth Sweet Talker', another bright and bold vocal cut par excellence.

Review: Beatconductor's Dub Spectrum EP takes listeners on a journey through Jamaica with seven tracks of dubbed-out pop covers. The EP features creative mash-ups such as The Wailers providing instrumental backing for Adele, Dua Lipa, Christina Aguilera, and Duran Duran, offering a fresh perspective on familiar tunes. Additionally, Amy Winehouse and The Pretenders unite to form a ska supergroup, showcasing Beatconductor's innovative approach to blending genres. Beatconductor's skillful reinterpretations breathe new life into classic tracks, infusing them with reggae and ska influences while maintaining their original essence.

Review: NYC Records looks outside its in-house stable for the first time here and signs the delightful nu-disco delights of Constellation. This duo hails from Miami and focuses on space disco sounds that fans of the famous Metro Area style are sure to love. They remain mysterious themselves but their beats are brilliantly designed with plenty of retro-future pads, cosmic arps and tight basslines full of colour, texture and soul. Like Daft Punk but deeper and more dubbed out. All four of these cuts are sure to get floors going but also bring plenty of style.

Review: Da Lukas's Satisfy Your Soul EP is a four-track full of disco goodness that opens with the title track, a driving, percussive workout with a powerful vocal performance. 'Let Your Body Be Free' continues the party music with a dynamic horn section and disco breakdown. 'Supergood' is a hi-energy dancefloor anthem, with a pumping beat an infectious filtered house sound. The EP closes with 'Music Turns Me On', a slow-burning track that enjoys riding the groove with a generous amount of funk. Da Lukas' tracks are nicely crafted, with a deep understanding of the disco genre. Satisfy Your Soul is a must-have for fans of disco and nu disco alike.

Review: Twilight is the latest piece by long time DJ, producer and remixer, Dominic Dawson. The Japanese label Flower, has released this single to 7" complete with a remix for the second side. The title track is a catchy and funky house track that while the remix is a bit more Balearic and beachy. Both versions have their place in any house setlist and will set the tone for any eclectic DJ set. With the DJing background Dominic has, he is a great guide to setting the mood with music. Like the title artwork suggests, this is perfect music to watch the sun go down to.

Review: French outfit Disco Records - whose name is a masterclass in SEO - returns for four new disco edits, this time housed in a deep purple sleeve. On the A, we hear nominally unchanged, but sonically-tampered-with, versions of Billy Frasier's 'The Mind Blower...' and King Tutt's 'You Got Me Hung Up'. The B-side, meanwhile, flaunts two further excellent cuts reworking The Hippolytes and Ozone, the latter of which is a particularly intoxicating slice of laserific, finger-licking boogie.

Review: Dombrance is back with a typically vibrant new EP on Discolypso that features two fresh tracks and remixes from luminaries Francois K and Lindstrom. Once referred to as a 'French Jarvis Cocker with a bushy moustache and flares,' Dombrance is a musical maverick who dropped his debut album last year and performed globally from Glastonbury to Downtown LA. On this one, 'Bayrou' and 'Cope' draw inspiration from politicians, delivering timeless electronic disco vibes with sugary chords and pulsating synths, then Francois K transforms 'Cope' into a psychedelic journey, while Lindstrom's remix of 'Bayrou' conjures images of a David Lynch pool party. It's peak disco fun.

Review: A real doozy of an early Italo, proto-darkwave heater from Fred Ventura-led Fokewulf 190, bound to illicit dancefloor devastation any darn time of year. Straddling the boundary between the more uptempo chapters of Italo and the more austere permutations of synth pop, Fokewulf's timeless anthem lends itself well to DJ Tin Tin and Flemming Dalum's respectful but gently modernised remixes. If anything though, they cast the original in a more innovative light, with its sparse, classy drive.

Review: It's hard to imagine how different club culture would be without Ron Hardy, the legendary American pioneer who set out the blueprint for how DJs should play. His own edits often formed plenty of the backbone of his sets back in the 70s and for many years the RDY label has been serving up some of his most reliable and go-to records. This 54th installment is a tasteful four-tracker that draws on house, gospel, disco and soul. 'I Have A Dream' kicks off with some raw Chicago jack, 'Dub Love' is a stripped-back sound full of menace and 'Hot Hands' gets busy with textural claps and screwy acid getting ever more wild. 'Acid' shuts down with mid-tempo drums full of rawness.

Review: Hey Cabrera! brings the heat with Italo Void, a vibrant fusion of electro disco, Italo, and house that embodies the essence of summer. Clean drum patterns lay the foundation, complemented by captivating melodies that shimmer throughout the track. Lauer's remix adds an analogue touch with piano keys, infusing a sense of late-night romance. On the flip side, 'Forelskelse' transports listeners to Scandinavia, blending disco and house elements to create an uplifting atmosphere filled with emotive energy. David Bay's remix of 'Forelskelse' offers a measured yet addictive rendition, allowing the instruments to shine while retaining the essence of the original. Together, these tracks comprise a mesmerising soundtrack for the approaching summer season, promising nights filled with dancefloor joy and unexplored passions.

Review: House music and fresh modern funk are happy bedfellows on this new EP from Moniquea with the masterful production taken care of by XL Middleton who, if you ask us, cannot miss at the moment. With an unmistakable West Coast vibe characterised by punchy synth bass and leads, this A-side embraces the good times with pulsating beats and detuned chords. On the B-side, the '97 Remix pays homage to Moniquea's g-funk origins while the bonus Applejac remix of 'Hate To See It' seamlessly blends dance-oriented elements with lush synth strings reminiscent of peak-era Neptunes productions from the 2000s.

Review: Originally recorded in the late 1970s and using many of the musicians employed by Diana Ross on her track 'The Boss'. 'Can't Put No Price On Love' has long been regarded as North End's 'long lost' single - an inspired disco workout employing that pre-dates the Arthur Baker/Tony Carbone-helmed project's most famous song, Tee Scott/Larry Levan favourite 'Happy Days'. The original multitrack was unfortunately lost, but the track finally appears, 40-odd years after it was recorded. Whether what we're hearing was finished and mixed at the time is uncertain, but the 'Club Mix' is certainly authentic sounding - a genuinely energetic, joyous and effervescent New York disco number with full orchestration, addictive vocals (Jocelyn Brown & Dennis Collins on backing Vox) and a killer groove. Elsewhere across the EP, we get two versions of 'We Can't Live Like This Anymore' - the synth-laden, solo-heavy disco-boogie style original mix (B2) and a superb 'drum break' percussion tool (A2) - and a brilliantly low-slung instrumental dub-disco cover of The Temptations' 'Cloud 9'.

Review: Earlier in the year, Miss You offered up a first ever 12-inch pressing of Patrizia Pellegrino obscurity 'Il Mondo Da Una Nuvola', an obscure Italo-disco B-side that they backed with their own tastefully executed extended mix. Here they repeat the trick with one of the Italian singer and actress's earlier B-sides, 1982 gem 'Musica Spaziale'. In its original form (track one), the song is a throbbing, heavily electronic chunk of infectious Italo-disco excellence topped off with a decidedly cosmic lead vocal from Pellegrino. It comes backed with a suitably moody, chugging and even more musically expansive 'Extended Mix', and a fine TB-303-laden Italo-meets-acid revision courtesy of the cheekily monikered 'DJ Asshole'. Space disco for the win!

Review: For years, Purple Disco Machine has been igniting dancefloors worldwide and his momentum shows no signs of waning here. His latest single, 'Higher Ground,' is a collaboration with German artist Roosevelt and is a track that channels the vibrant energy of the 80s to deliver a club banger with an infectious synth loop that keeps dancers sweating on the dance floor. With its retro-inspired sound and undeniable groove, 'Higher Ground' is poised to become another standout hit for Purple Disco Machine and Roosevelt.

Review: Maurice Fulton has delivered countless killer remixes over the last two and a half decades, including plenty that for one reason or another remain hard-to-find. This remix of LA r&b/indie-pop fusionists Rhye - first released 11 years ago - fits in that category. Fulton's version, showcased on side A, is a typically atmospheric, spaced-out affair rich in trademark crunchy disco drums, fluid and wayward electronic synth-bass reminiscent of his Syclops project, elastic bass guitar, effects aplenty and tactile female lead vocals. As the B-side original mix - a piano-laden downtempo pop number that swims in similar sonic waters to Sebastien Tellier's 'La Ritournelle' - shows, Fulton's mix is a genuinely radical re-build that exemplifies the very best of remix culture.

Review: Matteo Mussoni and Nicola Zucchi, the masterminds behind Sparkling Attitude, pay homage to the disco era of the 1970s and 80s with their debut EP. Dov'eri Sabato Sera narrates a tale of unrequited love, weaving crisp rhythms and wistful melodies into a captivating narrative of youth and dashed hopes. The instrumental version amplifies the emotional depth with soaring analogue strings. On the flip side, 'Melodico Romantico' infuses disco beats with bold hues, as breathy vocals whisper amidst dark rouges and effervescent greens. Drawing inspiration from Japanese culture, the duo presents a glittering finale with daring key stabs and astral echoes draped in a late-night groove. Sparkling Attitude delivers joyous sounds that celebrate the magic of Italo disco and synthesiser soundtracks, evoking the romance of the Italian coastline.

Review: Universal Cave's Self Control cover is a captivating reinterpretation of Laura Branigan's synth-pop anthem. Stegemann's balearic house rendition infuses the track with a laid-back groove and echoing vocals, creating a hypnotic and alluring atmosphere. Universal Cave's other offerings on this release showcase their eclectic disco influences. 'Up All Night' transports listeners to the funk and groove era of the 1970s, while 'Too Much' tantalises with its disco-tinged sensuality and infectious melody. This EP is a versatile record that should appeal to those who enjoy disco and the innovative spirit of nu-disco.

Review: The T Recs label has another playful funky house offering here on hand-stamped blue wax. The opener is awash with samples you will recognise if you are of a certain vintage and enjoyed chart music in the 90s. The loopy synths borrow from French filter house and the bassline bobbles with a great sense of funk with the erotic vocal coos add the heat up top before some big male vocals finish it in style. The flipside is a backup of the same tune just in case you play out the A-side too much.