Tags: Psychedelic Disco

Review: Time for some Brazilian psychedelic boogie straight from 78. Erstwhile lead singer in Os Mutantes, with a personality thrice as big as the soaking wet bassline on "Agora E Moda", Rita Lee is no stranger to her motherland - even now. Flip for a huge soul injection courtesy of Pete Dunaway. Sounding English in every direction (from his name to his lyrics to the stunning, string-coated arrangement) he's actually Sao Paulo born and is a renowned multi-instrumentalist. Check this and you can tell in an instant. Stunning.

Review: After two 45s on Les Disques Bongo Joe, Dutch Afrofunk space cadets make their debut on Soundway with their first full EP. Hurling all their roots and inspirations into a heady, bewitching brew of west African, Columbian, Caribbean, Latin and all-round cosmic fusion, the results are four slabs of world funk gold. "Down In The Basement" updates highlife styles with a salubrious big-bottomed disco twist, "The Opposite" ups the tempo with a little more cumbia charm while "Continue The Fun" adds a dub mentality to the mix as we're chugged to oblivion with heads down introspection. Finally "Tuto Bay" closes somewhere on a Cuban beach with rum-warmed harmonies. Beautiful.

Review: Although born and raised in Holland, the duo behind the Yin Yin project "make music for an imaginary tropical Island" based "somewhere between the Netherlands and South East Asia". It's an apt description of their undeniably humid, wide-eyed style, which variously combines elements of surf-rock, dub, psychedelia, ambient, electronica, spaced-out synth-pop and various traditional South East Asian musical tropes. It's a style that makes this long promised debut album a unique, distinctive and hugely vibrant listening experience. While inventive and colourful, their music is also largely dancefloor friendly and highly addictive. In other words, this is one debut album that's well worth picking up.

Review: Ziad Rahbani is a Lebanese cultural icon. Born into a famous musical family, the renowned pianist and producer is also a playwright, as well as being one of the most important exponents of the Lebanese left-wing counterculture of the '70s. "Abu Ali" was recorded in Athens with a full orchestra and released as a limited run EP in his home country. Legend has it was only pressed at 500 units and hence its rarity The result is a fabulous New York-meets-Beyrouth disco. Wewantsounds presents the first-ever official vinyl reissue of Rahbani's mythical 1978 release on his label Zida Records.

Review: Mr Bongo's launch their new Cuban Classic Series with this reissue of a sought-after, psychedelic funk masterpiece: Yoyi. A fusion of traditional Latin and Afro-Cuban rhythms meets disco, jazz, and funk, with hints of 70s soundtrack productions, this much-loved cult album by Grupo Los Yoyi hears nine predominantly instrumental tracks. Together, they were originally released in 1977 on Areito Records, a sublabel of the state-owned label Egrem, it has become one of the rarest (even in Cuba) yet in-demand albums to be procured by the label. It is the sole album from Grupo Los Yoyi and was composed, orchestrated, and produced by the mysterious, Jorge Soler Leo.

Review: YIN YIN, the highly touted Dutch quartet from Maastricht, returns with a sonically expansive third album Mount Matsu. Recorded collectively in their own studio in the Belgian countryside, the album is a kaleidoscope of sounds and influences, occupying a no-man's land between Khruangbin and Kraftwerk, surf music and Southeast Asian psychedelia, Stax soul and mutant 80s disco, City pop and Japanese instrumental folk (sokyoku). Mount Matsu hears YIN YIN at their most mature and adventurous stage yet; infectious pentatonic melodicism calling for multiple rewinds.

Review: The Duca Bianco label swerves its usual various artists' format to allow CW - who has appeared on those before - to step up with his own solo EP. He is a mysterious artist but is well known for his immersive record collection and legendary sets on the London scene. He is one-third of the Beauty & The Beat party and brings his unique twists of Afro and soul to this quartet of tunes. 'Karambolage' opens up with lots of big horns and noodling string sounds over a ramshackle beat then things take a cosmic turn on the rather more psychedelic 'Six Times Seven' with its Nippon-koku polyriddims, while 'Ou Ka Jis Fe Kole' is a party starter with a Zouk dub edge and 'Nzimbab' is built on a low slung and swaggering rhythm.

Review: Since taking up music production following a career-ending football injury, 20-something Leeds lad Reuben Vaun Smith has delivered two tropical-tinged, Balearic-inspired albums for Soundway. On his third full-length (his first for long-serving Californian label Ubiquity Records), the Yorkshireman refocuses a little more on the dancefloor, offering up a range of attractive cuts that combine his love of mid-tempo, dubbed-out disco with African, Latin and Middle Eastern vocals, rhythms and instrumentation - as well as a heavy dose of psychedelic sounds and trippy effects. It's a smart shift that's undoubtedly paid dividends, with our picks of a very strong bunch including 'Beams', the dreamy 'Mali' (a track inspired by that country's vibrant musical culture), and the life-affirming dancefloor shuffle of 'The Waxing Gibbous Moon'.

Review: Naya Beat Records specialise in uncovering the otherwise forgotten sounds of 1980s Bollywood movies, shedding fresh light on the tracks that might still spark some interest for the present day. The project focuses exclusively on the musical output of CBS Gramophone Records & Tapes India Ltd: a label active during India's peak disco era and became a home for experimental, B-movie and straight-to-VHS soundtracks. 'Awaaz' compiles rare, overlooked or not-previously-on-vinyl music by composers such as Bappi Lahiri, R. D. Burman, Ilaiyaraaja, Kalyanji-Anandji, Anand Milind, Raamlaxman and Kirti Anuraag - all were released between 1982 and 1986. Shockingly catchy, the tracks are joyous fusions of both South Asian traditions and Moogy electronic and acid stylings, perfect for curios and DJ diggers alike.