New releases last four weeks: Funky/Club House

Review: Way back in 1993, when his career was still in its infancy, Chicago great Roy Davis Jr donned an alternative alias, The Believers, and delivered a 12" on Strictly Rhythm: 'Who Dares To Believe In Me?' It was something of a club smash, with Ministry of Sound issuing it in the UK a year later with a swathe of new mixes. This Groovin' Records reissue boasts a trio of mixes from the original U.S 12". On the A-side you'll find the original mix, a warm, spine-tingling slab of piano-rich New York style house topped off by snaking, delay-laden saxophone lines and an inspirational spoken word vocal courtesy of Davis. Over on the reverse, Davis' own 'Just Living High Mix' - a breezier, jazzier and more colourful affair - is followed by Mind Readers' tougher, chunkier and heavier revision, which is in effect a proper dancefloor dub.

Review: Michael Gray brings his famously soulful sound to this new release on Sultra and it very much taps into a timeless vibe and old school disco feel. The grooves are nice and loose, the percussion is organic and fresh and the vocals, which re-sing a real classic, solar to the heavens next to mid tempo beats. After the A-side extended mix featuring Kimberly Brown & The Sultra Gospel Singers comes 'Never Let You Down' (feat Anthony Poteat & LaMay - extended mix). This one is a little deeper, quicker and funky, but is no less impassioned with its live vocals and lush synth work all bringing the good time vibes.

Review: Some 29 years after it first hit record stores, Nick Holder's sought-after Fruit Loops EP returns in remastered and reissued form. The long-serving Canadian was already four years into his career - and many 12" singles deep - when he delivered the four-tracker, which offers a funky and seductive take on deep house rich in disco and boogie samples. Check first the Chic-sampling disco house roll of 'Dance, Dance, Dance', before moving into the more complex (but not less attractive) 'Keep On Running'. 'The Message Is Love' does a brilliant job in turning choice loops and samples from MFSB's 'Love Is A Message' into heady house gold, while 'Clap Your Hands' makes merry with the stomping brilliance of Hamilton Bohannon's most famous tune ('Let's Start The Dance').

Review: It would be fair to say that post-disco outfit Unlimited Touch's 1980 single "I Hear Music In the Streets" is one of the greatest boogie/electrofunk records of all time. Louie Vega clearly agrees, because late last year he decided to gather together the remaining members of Unlimited Touch and record a fresh 2020 version. The A-side "Touch Mix" is the bomb. It features a more organic-sounding disco-boogie groove than the 1980 original, with delicious guitars, bass and electric piano/organ underpinning seriously good group vocals from the sometime Prelude-signed outfit. Over on the flip, Vega serves up an electric piano solo-laden dub mix, as well as a "Classic Boogie" take that naturally sounds very similar to the band's much-loved original version.

Review: Spaced Repetitions is a new label by veteran producer Manuel Tur who has always been known for his deliciously deep sound. For the imprint's fourth outing, he serves up two versions of a tune by Ingrid Lukas taken from last year's album ELUMELOODIA. The Estonian-Swiss singer, pianist and composer's angelic vocals remain in place up top as the dubby drums roll down low and all manner of icy synths and gassy melodic tinkles pepper the groove and get you into a celestial state of mind. The dub version allows that to come to the fore even more.

Review: 'Stereo Love' marked the debut single of Romanian DJ Edward Maya and Moldovan-Romanian producer Vika Jigulina and it came back in 2009 on Maya's album, The Stereo Love Show. The catchy refrain is sampled from 'Bayatilar,' a 1989 track by Azerbaijani composer Eldar Mansurov and it helped the song swiftly gain global popularity and go on to rule nightclub playlists across Europe. It soared to the pinnacle of eleven national music charts and its success earned it certifications such as 8× Platinum in Norway, 7× Platinum in Sweden, and Gold or higher in ten other countries. Grab it now on vinyl and pump the party once more with this Euro-dance gem.

Review: Alton Miller doesn't get spoken about as much as he should - he is a genuine Detroit pioneer who played the city's earliest house parties and decades later he is still turning out authentic and emotive deep house. Here he debuts on Mister Bear Records, a new imprint out of Berlin. First up is 'Am Forplay', a mid-tempo roller with heady chords slowly moving through the scales next to smoky vocal coos. 'For Me' is a more edgy and energetic sound with wispy pads darting about like fireflies over more percussive, tech-leaning drums. Last but not least is our standout - 'Sweet Love' (dub) with its delightful vocal and shuffling, cuddly deep house drums soon hypnotising you.

Review: A collection of remixes that take the original Amy track and transform it into a dance-oriented experience. The Alix Alvarez Sol Channel mix on the A-side is a house remix that adds a driving beat and energetic synths. In contrast, the Al Usher remix on the B-side takes a more soulful approach, infusing the track with a 1970s vibe. Two remixes that showcase the versatility of the original song and offer a fresh take on Winehouse's iconic vocals.