New releases last eight weeks: Disco/Re-Edits

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: Los Angeles-based ASHRR are back with a new cut which comes from their forthcoming Sunshine Low album which they have re-interpreted as their ASHRR Soundsystem alter ego, while System Olympia also steps up with a remix on this fine new package from 20/20 Vision. In the hands of the latter, 'What's Been Turning You' is a remix with plenty of hi-fidelity cosmic details over mid-tempo deep nu-disco drums. The version from ASHRR is a chugging and Italo-tinged classic with loose-limbed and jumbled drum funk and plenty of bright, shiny arps. A great collection then.

Review: Funkyjaws Music is back with more music to make your jaw go funky, this time in the form of a second volume of its Let's Dance series. It features a quartet of esteemed tune makers starting with Frank Booker's 'Yes No Maybe' which is a horn laced and loose-limbed delight, while go-slow master Eddie C brings his classy touch to the funky licks of 'Love Dancing Theme.' There are plenty of cosmic synth waves to Black Truffle's 'Dancing Through The Night' while the LTJ Xperience close down with a super laid back and summery vibe on 'Sunny Groove.'

Review: 'Primitive World' is perhaps not one of Patrick Cowley's more celebrated tracks, though it is a genuinely slept-on gem. First featured on the late synth disco pioneer's 1982 album 'Mind World', the track is a three-minute blast of ultra-percussive Afro-disco largely free of Cowley's famous synth sounds. HiFi Sean has done a good job of reinventing the track on this fine suite of remixes, first offering up a 'remix' that adds energy and intensity via the addition of twisted TB-303 acid lines, starry synth melodies and tuneful electronic motifs. He also contributes a fine chant-free 'dub', a DJ mix-friendly 'bonus beats' tool, and a handy effects-laden acapella. Throw in an on-point edit and you've got an excellent package.

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: Rocksteady Disco has pressed up another tasty little hand-stamped 7" and it offers up another fine brace of Edits From Detroit on this third volume in the series. Eddie Logix is the man behind the buttons and he kicks off with 'BOSS' which has low-slung guitar sleaze and slow-motion groove rotations topped with sprinklings of percussion, angular rock riffs and guttural vocals. Flip it over and things get more smooth and seductive with 'FMPM' which has a dubbed-out disco feel, subtle cosmic chord work and bouncing bass that will keep any 'floor moving. Another great little 45.

Review: Josh Ludlow shows that he knows a thing or two about crafting superb arps and lush prog house records with this new outing on Nocturne Music. 'Mindways' is a brilliantly colourful opener with neon lines and bubbling sequences over fleshy drums. 'Touch' channels a bit of Metro Area style nu-disco production with its cowbells, textured bassline and late-night allure, and 'A Little Love' then gets more deep cut and steamy with some sensuous vocals and vast, pillowy kicks. Last of all is the more textural and raw tech-disco stepper 'Diska Tek!' to complete the package.

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: 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: The star-studded Sai Galaxy project returns, bringing together West African legends Steve Monite and Rob with multi-instrumentalist Simon Durrington, guitar maestro Alfred Bannerman, and Egypt 80 trumpet player Bade, for a second EP of vital Afro-disco and soul. Following up 2020's 'Get It As You Move' EP, the likes of 'Sometimes It Rains', the homonymous 'Okere', the truth-to-power 'Rich Man, Poor Man', and the live and swinging coda 'Hold Me Tonight' paint a multifaceted picture of a trio, equally as concerned with groove delivery as they are with narrative storytelling. Most emblematic of Sai Galaxy's approach is their inspiration by analog production techniques of similar Afro-soul albums from the 1970s and 80s, adding a modern touch informed by Simon Durrington's Digital Afrika project.

Review: Sunshine Sound's Birthday Medley, edited by Francois K, is a vibrant disco and nu-disco fusion that encapsulates the essence of celebratory energy. Side-1 kicks off with the exciting, 'Birthday Medley,' a dynamic blend of disco house and funk elements. Francois K's edit infuses the track with a pulsating rhythm and infectious groove, guaranteed to get listeners on their feet and moving to the beat. On Side-2, 'X Medley' continues the energetic vibe, with Francois K's studio know how adding depth and richness to the cosmic disco atmosphere. The track maintains a lively tempo throughout, accentuated by funky basslines, catchy melodies, and shimmering synths. Overall, Sunshine Sound's Birthday Medley is gem 12" for disco enthusiasts, offering a seamless mix of retro nostalgia and contemporary dancefloor vibes. Kevorkian is a legend of dance music for over 40 years now. If there is anyone's name you can trust, it's his.

Review: Berlin-based Saturns Drive is a project by New Zealand-born DJ and producer Elfy, and is one that takes its cues from a world of early sci-fi, exotica and library music, as well as coming on thick with cosmic disco synthesizers, Italo grooves and lush arps. His latest outing 'Next Stop Nebula' also brings in slide guitars and retro digital synth sounds over the top of rhythms that owe a debt to the 90s. It's a fresh and new sound that makes for expansive, immersive listening and transports you to an imagery, sun-kissed world where gentle grooves like 'Next Stop Nebula' and 'Bride Of Frankenstein' await for a nice laid-back party.