Tags: 80s House

Review: Orpheu The Wizard is a Dutch DJ and co-founder of the infamous but sadly now defunct Red Light Radio. Coming through for the fifth edition of the Sound Of Love International series - which showcases the eclectic musical tastes of the DJs who play at the Love International festival in Croatia - this fresh selectors' comp hears Orpheu crate-fiddle through cosmic disco, Balearic pop, synthwave and ambient, by the likes of Khidja, Benedek, Donato Dozzy and Gaussian Curve.

Review: In Order To Dance 4.0 is along, long overdue follow up to the Belgian label's last legendary entry into this series many decades ago. In the years since, the prancing horse logo has become synonymous with cutting edge techno and electronic music from names as revered as Aphex Twin, Derrick May and Joey Beltram. This instalment shows that label founder Renaat Vandepapeliere's curation skills remain as sharp as ever, with a mix of new school names and enduring pioneers all contributing fresh sounds. Hyphen's 'Winter Sky' opens in lush melodic fashion, veteran Dino Lenny impresses with his 'Did This' and Dharma's 'Structured Chaos' is a more soulful moment of chord-led calm.

Review: Between 1986 and 1994, Tony Boninsegna released an insane amount of music under dozens of different aliases, offering up rave-ready tracks that variously mixed and matched elements of acid house, bleep & bass, hardcore techno and breakbeat. Yet he remains almost unknown. Notes From The Underground, a two-part retrospective of his career, is therefore well overdue. This second part, which boasts extensive sleeve notes from UK dance music historian Matt Anniss, is packed to the rafters with re-mastered treats, with highlights including the electro-tinged bleep business of Lab Technicians' 'We Gave You Life', the weighty acid breaks of Sykosis 451's 'Monsoon', the breakbeat hardcore funkiness of MI7's 'Show I', and the proto-jungle madness of Raggahead's 'Give The People What They Want'.

Review: At long last, a light has been shone on the career of one of the UK's true underground rave heroes: Bedford producer (and man of umpteen aliases) Tony Bonisegna. Cold Blow and Musique Pour La Danse have done a terrific job on the two-part set, offering up remastered killer cuts from Bonisenga's vast catalogue alongside extensive sleeve notes by Join The Future author Matt Anniss (whose book was the first to tell the producer's remarkable story). There's plenty to set the pulse racing on this first volume, including Bonisegna's earliest explorations of house in the late 80s (both as part of The Rhythm Squad), the clonking and bleeping shuffle of Original Clique's 'F (Whistle Mix)', the Pet Shop Boys-go-to-a-rave shimmer of 'Tonnere' by Pierrepoint, the acid-flecked breaks madness of Big Showdown's 'They're Here' and the sub-heavy early breakbeat hardcore of AEK's 'Lick It'.