Back catalogue: Funky/Club House

Review: ***B-STOCK: Corner slightly damaged in transit***


Is there a label as iconic Nervous in all of house music? Probably not. The New York staple is responsible for shaping and reshaping the genre many times over the years and in 2021 turns an impressive 30. Of course, there are plenty of celebrations going on to mark the occasion, including a bumper multi-part compilation feature all the label's many golden grooves and classic tunes from over the years. Next to enduring label associates like David Morales and Mood II Swing, Armand Van Helden and Kim English, plenty of new school names get in on the act such as Danny Howard, Darius Syrossian and Gerd Janson. Superb.

Review: Red Laser's brilliantly entitled For Gees Only series hits volume number four here across four sides of screen-pained wax in mega-limited quantities. The eight cuts are all untitled and uncredited which makes them all the more tantalising, frankly. They are all couched in classic disco and boogie sounds, with some hitting harder and some more seductive and loved up. 'Track 3' is a real street soul stepper that will enliven any crowd and get the emotions going while 'Track 6' has a crunchy, raw electro-inflected style. All killer, no filler.

Review: Things were different back in 2001 and the dance music world was less attuned to the responsibilities it has towards the marginalised communities that birthed the genre back in the 80s. For that reason, it's unlikely any new compilation featuring music by mostly white artists would be called Africanism Allstars these days, but alas that was the case with this collection when it was originally released. Title aside, the music stands up with a chunky house sound and plenty of tribal grooves featuring big names like DJ Gregory, Martin Solveig, Bob Sinclair and Soga amongst others.

Review: 'Latin Freestyle: New York Miami 1983-1992' is a double LP compilation curated by Bob Stanley covering the whole spectrum of Latin Freestyle, a genre that emerged in the early 80s as a fusion of electro, disco, house, and Latin music. Though Freestyle itself was a prominent fixture of the 1980s-90s New York scene particularly, relatively little is known of the genre's popularity in Latino communities at the time. Mitigating the risk of historic erasure, 16 tracks of enduring uniqueness - from the likes of Expose, Stacey Q, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, Debbie Deb, Connie, Cover Girls, Pretty Poison, Company B, Will To Power, Alisha, Lil Suzy, and Cynthia - all appear here, recalling genre's massive impact on the community and worlds beyond it.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged, product unopened & in excellent condition***


To mark 30 years in the game, legendary NYC house label Nervous Records has decided to release a series of compilations that pair classic cuts with new remixes. Louie Vega kicks off the first volume by remixing one of his own productions, Willie Ninja's 'I'm Hot', reinventing the analogue-rich deep house bumper as a disco-centric, while Radio Slave turns Ralph Falcon's sleazy 'Break You' into a stomping techno anthem. Tensnake adds warmth and wooziness to The Messenger's 'End This Hate' (a classic Todd Edwards production), Agent Orange delivers a warehouse-ready techno version of Phuture Trax's 'Future Groove' and Dr Packer emphasizes the gospel influences in Kim English's 'Unspeakable Joy'. Arguably best of all though is Kevin McKay's muscular electro-disco mix of Byron Stingly's superb Sylvester cover, 'Yu Make Me Feel Mighty Real'.

Review: French label Wagram knows a thing or two about putting out superb compilations that take a widescreen look at a diverse array of genres. For this latest double album release it carries on in its Africanism series with a second volume of house sounds with an Afro undertone. French legend Bob Sinclair appears several times with his lavish house sounds, and countryman Martin Solveig brings the heat with 'Heartbeat', a bright, prickly and vocal jam with plenty of irresistible hooks. It's a great collection of party-ready sounds.

Review: The Milk & Sugar label has been responsible for plenty of house's most fun and funky moments over the years. Now it looks back over another 12 months with its Milk & Sugar Winter sessions across two unmixed CDs that are perfect for those who like a big hook and singalong vocal with their beats. These 30 tunes are all remixes, edits or extended versions of radio friendly dance pumpers like Freuds' 'Why I'm Here', Michael Cleis & Toto La Momposina's 'La Mezcla' which becomes an Afro workout from AMEME and a new take on an acid classic from Josh Wink by Damian Lazarus.

Review: French label Wagram is a go-to when it comes to quality compilations that take a broad look at certain sounds and scenes, and this one is an on-going series that focuses on house sounds with an Afro undertone. The grooves are lively and often come with plenty of percussion. The drums hit hard but with funk, the vocals are Afro-centric and plenty of irresistible hits come thick and fast from the jazzy tribal swagger of 'Imbalaye' to the big steel drum party sounds of 'Viet Dao' (Klement Bonelli & Yann DL remix). Another great collection of colourful Afro house sounds.

Review: We're prepared to argue with anyone on this, but Universal Robot Band's "Barely Breaking Even" is one of the best boogie-era disco records ever made. Its title was also the inspiration for the name of BBE Records, so it seems fitting that the label's 500th release is an all-star re-recording that brings together NYC house hero Louie Vega and original creators Leroy Burgess and Patrick Adams. Vega delivers vocal and instrumental versions of two distinctive passes: a slick, smooth, soulful and string-laden "Boogie Mix" rich in warm electronics and subtle nods towards the early '80s original, and a rolling "NYC House Remix" full of twinkling Fender Rhodes solos and atmospheric chords. As you'd expect, Burgess' re-recorded vocal is superb.

Review: Ben Westbeech and Kon are The Vision, an accomplished musical duo who first came together having made a chance meeting at Southport Weekender. Between them they have covered all dance styles from classic to contemporary and so it's no surprise this album is a special one with fine craftsmanship and exemplary mixes of disco, soul, house and funk over 14 lush tracks. The list of collaborators is also high class with Roy Ayers, Honey Dijon, Andreya Triana, Dames Brown and Nikki-O all adding their own excellence. It all adds up to a record that gets form dance floor delights to funk laden gems, soul drenched jams to heartfelt odes.

Review: Modern G-funk star artist XL Middleton curates a compilation of his favourite artists of the moment, affirming the tastes of this veteran MoFunk stalwart. Middleton's motto is, "Whether you're on or off the dancefloor, it's always on the one", reflecting his emphasis on funk as a music for grounding oneself "on the one", despite the style's emphasis on swing and syncopation. It's the electronic element that provides this groundedness; every track here - highlights including Milk Talk's 'Sayonara Alpinist' and Middleton's own 'Awn-N-Crackin' - is backed by a regimented, hotly processed production, fleshing out the style's readied catering to the dancefloor.