Review: Hands up, we're longtime fan boys of the Peoples Potential Unlimited label, Whatever they do - mostly heart aching lo-fi funk and soul from artists old and new - it's always class. Next up is a reissue of Glass Pyramid's Country Cowboy on a hand-stamped 12". It came originally on this label back in 2009 having been transferred from the original tapes which were recorded somewhere between 1982-1986 At Studio 7, Oklahoma City. It soon became a bit of a classic that still fetches above the odds on second hand markets. It's a gloriously feel good mix of disco and soul with instrumental grooves and belting vocals.
Review: The Artless Cuckoo label has done a fine job of showcasing the work of lesser-known German outfit Ghia his year by releasing an album of rediscovered 1980s recordings as well as a special 7". Now Thank You has put together this 12" package with three different versions of 'Don't Leave Me Alone.' The original dropped in 1987 and was an instant euro-pop classic. An OG copy on wax is tough to find these days so often fetches three figures. Soon as you hear the tune though you know why - it's effortlessly catchy with mounting tension and super creative vocals.
Review: Mysterious edits pushers Discotecas worship a mysterious figure known as 'Gwen', the artist supposedly responsible for making these EPs. Their second instalment here comes in the form of a laid-back, electro-balearic affair replete with several layers of bass guitar, lolling synth and acoustic-mimicking percs. A remix of Sade's 'Paradise' leads the charge, centring her harmonious vocals at the core of the mix, while two further unknown re-edits cement the overall nine minute disco vibe.
Review: ZAN's latest album is currently 26 in the UK soul chart s it's no wonder the label it came on has pressed up this 12" with a couple of mixes of one of its standout tunes on as well as a new jam. The first is an extended mix of 'Follow My Heart' that has timeless synth soul and lush boogie disco drums with wet claps and cowbells a plenty. Then comes Bangsy's 808 disco mix which is a little more blissed out and low-slung with funky guitar riffs and lovely vocal hooks. Also included is the new cut 'Everlasting' which is a dubbed-out, reverb-drenched street soul stepper with retro keys to melt the heart.
Review: French progenitors of the dance Paris Acid City keep the spark of French (disco-) house alive with their latest EP 'PA City Two'. A label / moniker seemingly dedicated to capturing the bustle and excitement of 80s-90s Paris, bottling it in disco-house music form, the likes of 'Falling Planet Earth' are glamorous ear-grabbers, the equivalent of bowling down a high-fashion Boulevard with a wad of cash in hand. Then comes a tribal detour on 'Hupendi Muziki Wangu' before we land touch down g-funky, P-Funky Los Angeles on '212 North 12th'.
Review: Uniquely squeezy new funk by Robotron and the Funkadelic camp. Laying down a phat, uptempo synthfunk slew - 'Toy-Boy', 'Save Your Love' and 'Funk With Me' - alongside myriad liner note puns such as "are you ready to funk off?" and "we give a funk!", you can be sure that the tone of this one is kept both light and heavy, in a mutually opposing but impactful way. The B-side 'Save Your Love' is the particular highlight, presenting a rather interesting fusion of Italo, freestyle, street soul... it's kind of got everything.
New Sound Quartet - "Bass Construction" (Marc Davis edit) (5:47)
The Saucer Planes - "Straight To The Point" (Marc Davis edit) (8:13)
Review: Producer, DJ, and revered collector Marc Davis returns to his Chi-Talo series with a much-anticipated second volume. The Chi-Talo series deals in split EPs; each entry draws on an ultra-rare Chicago house gem and an Italian disco record respectively (one for the A and one for the B), re-working both into an enduring dialectal retelling of each city's contemporaneous come-ups in the 1980s and 90s. This time around, we're met with a reconstruction of 'Bass Construction', first heard on the Italo disco album Crazy Colours by New Sound Quartet (1979). Then comes a wonky, handclapping rendition of The Saucer Planes' 'Straight To The Point', the original of which can hardly be found on the net at all, even now. Both are huge but humble versions, marking out the guidelines for yet more editors to come.
Review: Soul Jazz Records promise this is a one off and strictly limited pressing of Alien Starr's 'World Of Ecstasy.' It is a faithful reproduction of the original in terms of art and sound and has been restored from the label after they included it on their excellent recent Space Funk 2 - Afro-Futurist Electro Funk In Space 1976-84 compilation. tUSA in 1985 featuring big slap bass energy, hand claps, drum funk and electro boogie bass. .
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Voodoo Ray (main mix) (3:22)
Voodoo Ray (radio edit) (2:58)
Interplanetary Bounce (main mix) (3:17)
Interplanetary Bounce (radio edit) (3:16)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
Bjorn Wagner's all-star tropical disco band, Magic Source, loves a cover version. The outfit's first EP boasted, as a bonus cut, a superb (and colourful) take on Tom Tom Club's 'Genius of Love'. On this belated sequel, they've gone one better by re-inventing A Guy Called Gerald's pioneering UK house classic 'Voodoo Ray' as a driving, all-live tropical disco jam. It's cleverly done, with all the key elements being replicated, sometimes in canny ways (the acid lines now become Clavinet lines, the synth-bass is now bass guitar, and so on). It's a fantastic cover all told and one that is far more than a smile-inducing novelty. Also superb is flip-side 'Interplanetary Bounce', a spacey jazz-funk/disco fusion cut rich in fuzzy horns, vintage synth sounds and shuffling drums.
Review: The well-regarded Far Out label starts a new catalogue number series for this first reissue from Brit-funk band Freeze. They are of course best known for lighting up the charts and dance floors of the 1908s with their super hit 'Southern Freeez' but also penned plenty of other gems. 'Keep In Touch' is right up there amongst them and now comes as an original and edited version on heavyweight vinyl. It is a joyful track packed with busy jazz-funk keys that cannot fail to amp up the party, especially in unison with a busy and tight bass riff and hip-swinging claps and drums. The edit shortness things up t make for an even more potent gem.
Review: The Demons Singles Club is back with more devilishly good funk here in the form of Doris Duke's version of Marlena Shaw's 'Woman Of The Ghetto.' It first appeared on her 1975 alum Woman and is a searing take with full-bodied vocals full of fire. It's an urgent sound that adds weight to the social commentary of the lyrics and the b-side tune from Rhyze is just as essential. 'Fire' is a massive disco cut with stomping drums, funky bass riffs and plenty of noodling guitar riffs that make it effervesce.
Review: Late 70s funk fusion from Tunisia: capturing the moment leading Tunis bands Dalton and Marhaba Band joined forces for some legendary disco fusion. "Alech" ignites with a Doobie Brothers style shiny guitar, big slap bass and soaring synth work while "Hanen" is a little more introspective and soulful with its honeyed harmonies and cascading chord sequence. Complete with instrumentals.
Review: Owhaaou features four cuts taken from the incredibly hard-to-find and obscure Metamorphose album that was released back in 1984 by this legendary Benin soul star. He blends rare Afrofunk with digital soul as evidenced by the recent reissue of Dans le Tchink System. Now this label celebrates his work once more with this futuristic and expansive new record which was recorded on 24 analogue track channels with skilled backing musicians such as Hilaire Penda on bass, Poly Rythmo de Cotonou's Daniel Bentho and more. The title track is a big disco party starter then there are more sombre moods on 'Magnifiec' and a silky edit of 'Zemidjan' before 'Mi Tchinker' gets that booty shaking.
Review: Original copies of T.Z Junior's bubblegum-boogie cut "Sugar My Love" are hard to come by outside of the artist's home country of South Africa. It's been that way since the single was first released on Roy B Records in 1985, hence this tidy reissue from the on-point Jamwax label. The title track remains a breezy, melodious, cheery and soul-flecked treat, with T.Z Junior delivering a brilliantly evocative lead vocal over bustling bubblegum synths, delay-laden machine drums and an inspired electrofunk bassline. "Are You Ready For Love", meanwhile, may not be quite as celebrated but is equally as impressive. It's the kind of sun-kissed "bubblegum" treat that would sound perfect blasting out of a soundsystem on a hot summer's day.
I Like (The Music That You Play) (club vocal) (7:30)
I Like (The Music That You Play) (club instrumental) (7:07)
Review: Parisian jazz-funk, disco and boogie band Chatobaron - an outfit helmed by multi-instrumentalist Frank Chatona - have previously worked in the studio with house and nu-disco mainstay Art of Tones, so it's no surprise to see them recruiting the mighty Dimitri From Paris to mix their latest single. His A-side 'Club Vocal' mix is a genuinely riotous and celebratory affair, with strong group vocals (singing about how much they love 'your' music) and heady horns rising a jolly and joyous, piano-sporting disco-funk groove rich in low-slung bass and Cerrone style percussion. It comes accompanied not by one of Dimitri's deconstructed dubs, but rather an equally excitable 'Club Instrumental' mix that boasts all the goodness of his A-side mix minus the vocals.
Review: In 1969, Albina in the US underwent a pivotal transformation which saw the arrival of Black residents displaced by the Vanport floods. While a local Black economy thrived to start with, the neighbourhood eventually got neglected due to disinvestment by the city's elites but citizens didn't take it lying down and some of them formed Shades Of Brown, a group that emerged at the Albina Arts Center which was a haven for artists during civil unrest. With members from various musical acts, they found unity under leader Thara Memory who instilled discipline and required them to read and write music before performing. This EP, which is the group's sole record, embodies their camaraderie and the community's struggle against neglect across six raw-as-you-like funk cuts laden with emotion and narrative.
Out Of Luck (feat Adriano Prestel - DJ Friction remix) (5:36)
The Other Side (feat Adriano Prestel - Marian Tone '85 rework) (4:35)
Interlude I (0:44)
The Other Side (instrumental) (4:21)
Out Of Luck (DJ Friction remix - instrumental) (5:41)
Out Of Luck (Soundrays mix - instrumental) (4:36)
Interlude II (0:21)
Review: The Outer Edge rounds off their series reworking tracks from the archive of lesser-known German 80s outfit Ghia. This time round, they're offering re-imaginations of an instrumental synth-funk track first featured on last year's Don't Look LP, 'Message From The Other Side'. This time round, the band has recruited vocalist Adrian Prestel and re-imagined it as colourful and authentic synth-number simply titled 'The Other Side'. As well as a solid instrumental take, we're also treated to a superb Marian Tone take which blends bits of the 1985 demo with elements of the 2023 re-recording. Elsewhere, there are also three takes on previous single 'Out of Luck': squelchy and crunchy neo-boogie vocal and instrumental versions courtesy of DJ Friction (the disco one, not the d&b producer of the same name) and a more low-slung, dub disco style instrumental revision by Soundrays.
Review: NYC Records looks outside its in-house stable for the first time here and signs the delightful nu-disco delights of Constellation. This duo hails from Miami and focuses on space disco sounds that fans of the famous Metro Area style are sure to love. They remain mysterious themselves but their beats are brilliantly designed with plenty of retro-future pads, cosmic arps and tight basslines full of colour, texture and soul. Like Daft Punk but deeper and more dubbed out. All four of these cuts are sure to get floors going but also bring plenty of style.
Review: French label Boogie Butt gets us moving and grooving once more with a tasty new EP in the form of The Boogievison EP. It features a lead single from Ian Ash & Ella May, 'I Want To Thank You,' which pairs some jazzy chord work with a low-slung and warm house groove. The bass is funky and the vocals are seductive. It comes as an instrumental as well as a more direct and harder-edged Mr Doris & D-Funk remix. On the flip is Jessie Wagner & Fostin meet Ian Ash with 'Try Again,' a lovely soulful house groove with sublime and emotive vocals over another lush bass guitar. All very sweet tunes, these.
Review: 'Anything Goes Vol. 7' the latest vinyl release EP from Rollover Edit Service, a subsidiary of Anything Goes, is back. Delve into the Italian music scene of the 70s and early 80s with four meticulously edited gems; all four versions here are billed as originals, credited to contemporary producers' hands (Black Pomade, Pablot, etc.) yet are heavily built around each respective sample. Our highlight is the hard-won, twangy B4, 'Prima O Poi Ti Prendero'.
Review: French-Haitian saxophone player Ulysse laid this cult gem down in 1983. After its release, he became an underground sensation within the niche French boogie scene, Both of the tunes which now get reissued manage to successfully mix political statements with dance-floor fire. First up is 'Naima' which is about the resilience of a woman who has grown up in war. On the flip is 'Tiers Monde' which is a much more heavy digital reggae tune that offers a reminder that we must not forget about abandoned children of the Third World. This was big in Paris in the 80s and will be just as big now.
Review: The Reel Estate label is back with another limited slab of clear wax and two devastating outsider-disco cuts. 'Shape The System' has crashing hits and dark, chugging drums, with plenty of sleazy guitar lines king out of the mix, effects and delay adding tension and a bulbous bassline bringing the weight. On the flip, 'River Art' is less dense but no less out there with its twanging riffs, muted jazz horn motifs, broken beat drum tumbles and organic percussion. It's controlled chaos that makes you shake your limbs loose. An essential leftfield cut.
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