DJs: Most Charted - Disco - Most Charted August 2015

Review: After pit stops in Cuba and Kenya, Auntie Flo and Esa's Highlife World Series lands in Uganda for its closing edition. Recorded over various stints at the East Africa music conference DoaDoa in Jinja in the past year, these four tracks find our intrepid pair of travelling fusionists working with musicians from Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa. First up is "DoaDoa14" by Christopher and Swahili Alley, named in honour of its genesis at that year's conference and a fine journey through spiritual African house music. Next up Esa shows off his prowess at extended dancefloor burners with a superb twisting remix of Santuri's "Min Kula" whilst the B side features Bantu Clan Vs Sarabi's "Africa Ni Leo" in both extended and remixed by Behr form. A fine end to a consistently enlightening series.

Review: Based out of Detroit, Pontchartrain come forth with their debut vinyl release on the Lovedancing label after providing the highlight of a split 12" from the Whiskey Disco operation late last year. Setting the bar very high indeed, the Detroiter delivers a trio of tight, sample heavy house cuts that will ease their way into your affections and record boxes and leave neither for some time. "Burning" is a quite wondrous flip on Gwen McCrae classic "Keep The Fire Burning" that really teases out the source material over seven minutes. "Hugging" rewires Joe Thomas' "Plato's Retreat" to the extent the vocal is discarded completely whilst "Sinner" turns a Nina Simone classic into a blinding house cut. This is what edits are supposed to sound like.

Review: Suave Parisian scalpel-botherer Dimitri From Paris continues to churn out top notch re-edits, slightly altering his famous production persona from label to label. Here, he delivers a second 12" for Razor 'N' Tape under the Dimitri From Brooklyn alias. Like its' predecessor, it features a couple of stone cold bangers. "Right My File" offers a thunderous, housed-up take on a lesser-known cover version of Dan Hartman's grandiose disco smasher "Relight My Fire" - all vocal breakdowns, big builds and big-lunged sing-along moments. As for "I Want Your Back", it re-casts Dimitri as The Reflex, laying down a version of The Jacksons' "I Want You Back" that sounds like it was done from the multi-track parts. It is, of course, dancefloor dynamite.

Review: Brooklyn's Razor-N-Tape reach out to the Lowlands and coax Hans Peeman into donning his Junktion alias for a new four-track 12" on their Razor-N-Tape Reserve label. Living up to it's dignified and reserved billing, this fifth release on the offshoot finds the Nijmegen-based Peeman laying down some luscious, colourful disco vibes that will brighten up any sun laden afternoon on the terrace. Title track "Hot & Bothered" sets the tone with a summery vibe underpinned by some bumping drums, whilst "I'm wishin'" glides with a subtle house bump and some wonderful vocal touches. "Fling Cleaning" sees Peeman veer off into disco chug territory, whilst "Visions of You" ends the 12" on a soulful note.

Review: It's well known that People's Potential Unlimited boss Andrew Morgan has some serious crate digging skills. Even so, he continues to amaze with the obscurity and quality of the releases he chooses to reissue. Serious collectors have long sought out "Let's Ride" by guitarist Willie Lee Jnr under his occasional Junei alias. Originally released on 7" back in 1987, it's a killer chunk of synthesizer-heavy electrofunk blessed with some serious eyes-closed guitar solo action. Flipside "You Must Go On" - originally the A-side of the '87 release - is fantastic, too, offering a near perfect blend of sun-kissed Balearic attitude and smooth '80s soul grooves.

Review: There are few record collectors and DJs with crates quite as deep as Psychemagik. They've already proved this beyond doubt via a trio of brilliant Magik compilations for Paul Murphy and Simon Purnell's Leng label. Magik Sunset Part 2 continues this run, gathering together another double-album's worth of fantastic obscurities from the worlds of stoner disco, left-of-centre rock, psychedelia and Balearica. As usual, there are some genuine "how did I not know about this record" moments, from the star-kissed Balearic jazz of Fabio Fabor and saucer-eyed white boy reggae-rock of the Trepidants, to the Flamenco-tinged AOR disco shuffle of Jack Adkins' "Sunset Beach".

Review: Like its predecessor, Diggin Disco Deep #2 is an all-star affair, with all manner of established artists queuing up to contribute woozy deep house cuts infused with rich disco influences. This time round, it's a two-disc affair, with some eight tracks to enjoy. It represents great value, as there's little in the way of filler and plenty of highlights. Saine delivers some breezy, almost Balearic goodness in the shape of "Bronx Medium", while Junktion's "Sidewalk Salsa" joins the dots between early Latin house, mid '80s New York garage, and the kind of sumptuous contemporary deepness that sounds tailor-made for open-air parties. Best of all, though, is Funkyjaws' "World Spin", which comes blessed with some of the most evocative, jazz-inclined guitar solos you'll hear all year.

Review: London's Lodger makes his comeback on the young Stamp imprint with another two slices of mesmerizing house funk. "Herbie's Jam" is a neat little number featuring plenty of jazzy brass instrumentation, gentle piano keys and a punchy percussive roll. Over on the flip, "Oliver" is more playful, bringing in a bumpy, guitar-led hook and shreds of vocal samples jumping in and out of the groove. Lovely.

Review: There's usually plenty of A-grade material to be found in the Editor's Kutz EPs, and this sixth volume in the popular re-edit series is no different. Chief amongst these is The Silver Rider's "Good Lovin' Baby", a chunky disco-funk roller - slightly straightened out for contemporary dancefloors - that boasts a terrific, string-drenched breakdown. There's also something deliciously glassy-eyed about Doc Jam's "In Your Eyes", a tasty, house style loop-jam that expertly cuts up a familiar disco classic. Elsewhere, Ed Wizard & Disco Double Dee provide a dubby take on Marcos Valle's Brazilian boogie classic "Estrelar" ("Stellar Dub"), and Vinyladdicted joins forces with Sleazy McQueen for a trip into groovy, AOR disco territory.

Review: Can We Melt The Ice is one of those mystery records that collectors love so dearly. Very little is known about it, other than that it appeared on Plush Records sometime around 1982 or '83. It was written and produced by Chicago producer Morris J Williams, whose sweet vocal provides a vocal point for the track's sensual boogie vibes - all lilting horns, subtle synthesizers and shuffling grooves. Brilliantly, this reissue from Finland's constantly on-point Traveller Records also boasts a previously unreleased longer version, which naturally extends the track's wonderful instrumentation in all the right places. Recommended.

Review: Danny Krivit returns to the vinyl source with two killer edits for Paul Raffaele's Most Excellent Unltd. Label. He kicks off with a Cymande version that's been lurking in his crates for well over a decade. Taking the iconic bassline and stretching the Dickens out of it, it's a kindly reminder of how well Danny understands groove dynamics. Absolutely perfect for teasing a crowd before dropping the classic original. Flip for a shake-up of Niagara's "Sangondongo". A dedication to the drums whipped up with shamanic feels, say hello to your brand new favourite secret mixing weapon.

Review: Multi-instrumentalist synth-fancier Brian Ellis has already proved to be more than adept at crafting high quality revivalist electrofunk, with the Omega Supreme released "Midnight Again" being a particularly potent example. Here he pops up on Austin Boogie Crew with "Peg", an all synthesizer-and-talk box cover of the much-admired Steely Dan classic. While a curious idea, it works remarkably well, with the famous melody lines and guitar riffs translating perfectly to shimmering synthesizer parts. Original B-side "Dream Wave" is great, too, with a delightfully glassy-eyed, almost Balearic feel to the tuneful synths and skittering drum machine grooves. Only a limited number have been pressed, so don't sleep on this one.

Review: Two delightfully contrasting sides from respected editing/mastering troupe Ebony Cuts. "Carrie On" is all about the sweet cascading vibraphone riff that spirals further and further into the dancefloor over a mildly chugging beat, broken only by even sweeter pianos. "Oba Chule" is a much headier affair; loaded with African percussion, densely over-layered with exciting rhythmic switches and folk chants, it's all tied together with a persistent kick drum. Meltdown.

Review: While it's fair to say that most of Voltaire Records output has been quietly impressive, it's the San Francisco label's compilations that really hit the high notes. Endeavours, their fourth such exercise, is as likeable as its' predecessors. Loosely based around a modern boogie, synth grooves and modern funk ethos, it contains a string of highlights. These include the deep, Dam Funk style synth-boogie bounce of Harvey Sutherland's "That's The Fact, Jack", the sparkling '80s soul-goes-boogie revivalism of XL Middleton's gorgeous "One & Only", some vintage Bobby Konders style deep house goodness from Moon B, and a typically atmospheric chugger from Timothy J Fairplay.

Review: Following the runaway success of their re-release of James Mason's cult classic "I Want Your Love" a few years back, Rush Hour asked the legendary disco-soul producer whether he had any unreleased material in the archives. After rooting around, he unearthed enough material to fill an album, Recollection Echo, which hits stores later in the year. Before that, Rush Hour present two previously unheard gems; the breezy, soulful disco brilliance of "The Rhythm of Life" (which, brilliantly, features Bernard Purdie on drums, and Fonda Rae on backing vocals), and "Up Jump", a brilliantly strange - and thrilling - combination of pitched-down electro beats, vocoders and spiraling soul vocals. That album should be pretty sensational; until it's released, these two tracks will more than suffice.

Review: Having spent the last three years successfully mining obscure Polish music for inspiration, The Very Polish Cut-Outs has decided to apply their formula to little-known Russian releases. The Very Soviet Cut-Outs, then, features prime re-edits - presumably by Russian producers - of Soviet-era material. There's much to enjoy, from the chugging disco-meets-electro brilliance of the Beard In Dust edit of Pavel Ovsyannikov Orchestra's "Downhill Skiinga", to the eccentric and downright bizarre Russian disco-rap of Bratya Po Razumu's "Skrech Rap (Schmoltz Edit)". For those keen on more traditional disco thrills, Krjuk's head-nodding, toe-tapping rearrangement of Alla Pugacheva's sweet "Cafe Dancing Lights" more than fits the bill.

Review: Nohelani Cypriano's 1979 debut album, Nohelani, has become something of an in-demand item since Athens of the North reissued two of the tracks last year. Here, it gets a handy reissue, so those without the desire to dig deep can revel in its' curiously unique mix of styles. Cypriano's Hawaiian heritage is represented by the strange sound of pedal steel on a number of tracks, which also feature easy listening, disco, boogie, soul and jazz-funk influences. It's a bizarre but entertaining melting pot of influences, and one that happily steers clear of kitsch territory thanks to the high quality of its' most notable moments, in particular "Lihue", "Island Boy" and the deliciously camp "South Sea Island Magic".

Review: Red Laser's Wet Play trilogy concludes with four of the juiciest disco treats of the series; "Streetboxx" is a sopping wet electro boogie jam that wriggles so hard its speedos pretty much fall off half way through. "Your Sunshine" splashes down in the early 80s with processed vocals, lounge chords and synth-toms that spurt so hard we should really sell towels with this EP. "Xanthan Gum" dives deep into an Ame-style tech pool while "Another Life" whips up a tsunami of nostalgia thanks to a well known arpeggio and a bassline that's soaking in boogie feels and refuses to shake itself dry. Squirty.

Review: Two diamonds mined from Studio One's ever-potent coalface, Ximeno have unearthed two sides for all occasions; Norma White's cover of Chic bubbles with early '80s light synths and subtle elements of boogie without losing its rocksteady roots while The Skatalite's rare rolling funk-up "Ceiling Bud" comes with breaks so hefty you could channel the spirit of James Brown and flutes and keys so psychedelic this highly limited 45 should come with a free Jethro Tull fan club membership. Delightful.

Review: Walter Gibbons tripped out 1978 rework of "Get Up On Your Feet (Keep On Dancin')" by TC Funk & The Fist-O-Funk Orchestra is rightly regarded among the disco pioneer's finest works, stretching the glory out to a wondrous 11 minutes (and 2 seconds). It was a highlight among highlights on Strut's Jungle Music compilation of Gibbons productions back in 2010 but the 12" original edition has been a long sought after rarity. Out of nowhere comes this limited repress from the Fist-O-Funk label with the killer Gibbons mix backed the ecstatic and superbly named "Bumpsies Whipping Cream" which features mixdowns from Tom Savarese.

Review: The Rimini Rimmers aka Nijmegen pair Derksen (Slowpoke) & Wolters (JMMSTR) debut on the latter's label with the super limited 12" Coke Rock Disco Edits Vol 1. Pressed in a quantity of just 100, this hand-stamped 12" finds the Dutch pair plundering the disco archives for some nicely quantized, and heavily treated edits that should fill the needs of any self-respecting discotheque dancefloor. Of the four cuts, "Tonight Dub" will be familiar to any disco scholars but fair play to the Rimini Rimmers for the manner in which they've deployed their box of FX heavy studio tricks.

Review: The first volume of Delfonic's Disco Halal series, featuring brilliant re-edits by Acid Arab and Mehmet Aslan of obscure Middle Eastern material, was something of a hit. Four months on, the series returns with another quartet of Arabic dancefloor treats. While ears will undoubtedly be drawn to the intoxicating Lebanese disco of "Sorarim (KMTR Edit)", there are plenty of tasty treats to be found across the EP. We're particularly enjoying the clavinet-heavy slo-mo disco chug of Rabo & Snob's edit of "Hilbeth" and Moscoman's darkly spun, extra-percussive rework of "Machintosh". That said, Red Axes version of "Hamathil" is a certified killer, too.

Review: Number #5 in VinylAddicted's popular Editors Kutz series has been split into two parts with this first 12", arriving on rather dashing pink vinyl, featuring contributions from Luvless, Trujillo, Jean Claude Gavri and Sleazy McQueen who collaborates with the label boss. Indeed they call shotgun with a breezy disco number "Lonely D", complemented well by the star struck strut of the Luvless rework of "My Luvin". Trujillo's edit of "Get Up And Dance" has one of those grooves that will rescue any dancefloor whilst Monsieur Gavri offers some Soulful Relief with a nice closing tweak of an unknown disco cover of Al Green classic "Stay Together".

Review: Russian wizard-fingers Arsenii is a relatively new addition to the tight-knit sport of editorship... But he's making all the right moves to secure his place in the premier league. Excavating the well of jazz funk obscurity, he's repurposed two beautiful instrumentals that would otherwise remain criminally anonymous. "Allgeria" is a swooning Bob James style adventure that gets sweatier and sweatier as the groove develops. "Turbo", meanwhile, hits much harder thanks to melodic indulgences and a general synth boogie flavour. Just wait for the breakdown on the middle eighth when the bass and drums are given space to really shine... Stunning.

Review: Five releases in and Al Bunz and Tone B Nimble switch up things on their Al Tone Edits series, downscaling from 12" releases to dinked 7"s but there is no drop in standards of quality. Dipping into their personal armoury of Disco, Soul, Funk, and Gospel weapons, All Tone come up trumps with the vocal disco burner "Silly" on the A-side, which features some heavily phased trickery that will delight the discotheque dancefloors. On the flip, "Dis-Go Theme" is an exercise in groove laden intensity, with the occasional detour into a vocal passage.

Review: There's been a fair bit of hype surrounding this latest release from Fouk man Johannes Peeman's Junktion project. Listen to the clips, and you'll soon realize why. Ostensibly a re-edit with some additional beef to the groove, "Running From Whatever" offers the perfect balance between the warm, jazzy looseness of laidback disco-funk, and the woozy lusciousness of contemporary deep house. In other words, it will fit into either house or disco sets. Similar accolades could be bestowed upon B-side "Pale Blue Dot", which moves further towards traditional deep house territory, while including some seriously cosmic synthesizer builds and all manner of neat musical touches.