Back catalogue: Disco/Nu-Disco

Review: Voodoos & Taboos unveil their anticipated new LPs series with Human Aventura, the debut self-titled album from the promising Corsican producer. An unusual dance release modelling itself on electro and chiptune, but finding itself somewhere in the hidden interstice between them, this is a self-described "libidinous Mediterranean spoken disco" album, giving elements of Telex or Kraftwerk, albeit with a progressive bent best heard on pithy cuts 'Solid State Scouter'. Not one to be missed for those who like it intelligent, fidgety and FMmy.

Review: On this fresh disco 7", DJ Koco (aka. Shimokita) and DJ Kawasaki have re-edited and cut Nayutah's hit songs 'Keep It Up' and 'Stand Up' into an enduring pair of bright disco edits. Both Nayutah's original tracks really wanted us to keep it supine; Koco and Kawasaki act as commanders of this charge, not shying away from the ostensible stringy glitz of the original song. Kawasaki's edit skews funkier, employing live bass and rhythm guitar and adroit drumming to fit around Nayutah's agile, sisterly vocals, and drawing on his already extensive experience of working alongside Nayutah for her album, also called Keep It Up.

Review: You can't beat a good edits label and that's what we seem to have here off the evidence of the first release from NIN Edits out of Italy. Ninja Edits 1 opens with the fused charms of what sounds like sleek, proto-techno synths from Kraftwerk and disco percussion on 'Dance & Music'. 'Get Up & Down' is a deeper cut with some smoky and soulful pads and nice loose percussion that throws it back to the New York disco scene, and the most buttery and seductive of the lot comes last. 'Moon & Night' has a woozy groove and lush strings scoring high next to plenty of rich instrumental funk.

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: Chris Bangs, under his alias Nova Vida, delivers a vibrant and colourful sonic trip on his album Ritmo Da Vida. Infusing Afro-Latin rhythms with electronic elements, Bangs creates a vital soundtrack to a steamy dance floor session in tropical weather and humid atmospheres, all of which pulse with infectious energy. Driven by hypnotic beats and vibrant melodies, Bangs showcases his mastery of groove and texture, weaving layers of percussion and synths into a dynamic tapestry of sound that will unite dancers with its global appeal.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


In anticipation of Nouvelle Phenomene's forthcoming album, Bordello A Parigi concomitantly announce the reissue of their acclaimed debut LP Glory Of Romance, almost ten years after its initial release. An emotively depth-scouring work of contemporary synthwave-via-darkwave, the musical quadrangle of Angela Santa, Fanni Santa, Peter B. and Zsolt Dziba first produced this impressive studio project under the ambit of Russian indie label Other Voices, giving rise to the likes of 'Glory Of Romance' and 'Caresse', both excellent singles venturing into a well-established sound, yet colliding it with a fabulously fresh thematic locus, such as modern-day fatigue and artifice. Truly an ever-new phenomenon, Nouvelle Phenomene's style - that of gothic-sonic art nouveau - is a newness that nevertheless does not forfeit timelessness.