Two originals from the enigmatic producer pdqb: An übergroovy and supernatural disco track that could easily be the brainchild of Claudio Simonetti and John Carpenter, followed by a dark and dystopian technoid dancescape. On the flipside Danny Wolfers chips in 2 outlandish electro-eargasm Legowelt remixes.
Forest Jams continues the journey into the great beyond with Mori Ra’s Mantra–an EP composed of four edits created for any inquisitive earthling and forest wanderer.
The italian trio Mamosato composed of Paolo Macri, Cristian Sarde and Emanuele Montalto, come back to squeeze a new lemon.
Red Laser takes us for one last spin on the waltzers. Tried and tested at their road block parties in Manchester, these edits shine a light on four primo-grade Italo face melters. Fervently excavated by Bosco over countless visits to Bel Paese and streamlined for the hydrofoil, with some extra added calories for the club.
A rare German disco experiment from 1982 by Herbert Hildebrandt-Winhauer of Rattles fame and Peter Hesslein, delivering a sleazy electro-boogie groove with funky vocal layers on the A-side and a cosmic disco instrumental with thick drums and synth magic on the flip side. Originally released as a 7-inch, this remastered 12-inch edition includes Trent’s DJ-friendly extended edit of Erotica and a high-energy reimagining of Rado-Keno.
Señor Chugger, a prolific Bristol-based producer and remixer, makes his debut on Wrong Era with an EP filled with his unique blend of euphoric synth lines and sophisticated, arcane themes. His music immerses listeners in a synth-ridden realm, offering a collection of instant classics. The EP, ‘Sunset On The A38’ , also includes remixes from Wrong Era Label heads Sesto Senso and fellow label affiliate Radondo.
Napoli based Gigi Testa brings the heat yet again on his third Rush Hour Store Jams release with some spicey Sichuan flavours, straight from the Dragon Temple.
Three groove heavyweights unite on this new Frappe release. Jamie 326, Young Pulse and Danou P are the Mystic Freaks, taking us on a cosmic Disco House flight. These 3 tracks are sweaty, made for dancing numbers. They are sexy, dirty and relentless, dripping with funk and disco influences. The very essence of House Music. You’ll hear disco drums, over housy drum machines, eiry sound effects surrounding groovy keybords and vocals franctically whispering at the dancer’s ears.
GAEG is the production pair of Tokyo’s Monkey Timers and Okayama’s Keita Sano and now they present a heavyweight release on Sound of Vast. The EP opens with ‘Jack’ with its powerful bassline, sharp synths and ACID voices from Ron Hardy’s Jackmaster Hater tapes. ‘Yamato’ follows with percussion inspired by Curt Cress’ 80s jazz-rock drumming, while ‘Central’ reimagines The S.O.S. Band’s funky bassline with roaring guitars and cosmic synths. Blending disco, krautrock and Chicago house influences, the EP showcases Monkey Timers’ club music expertise alongside Keita Sano’s experimental, leftfield production style.
The kind of track that makes you want to know what kind of morning routine Apiento has on a weekday, “The Orange Place” is simply an underground dancefloor classic of the 2010’s that makes you realise something very special was going on with Paul Byrne’s Astrological charts at the time. Pure Sleazy Belgian Indiana Jones vibes, impossible to forget and very timeless. Now with full cover artwork and additional dubbed out afro cosmic remix by Castro.
Originally released on one of Bruton’s extensive library albums but later used as the theme song to a UK drama series dealing with the intrigues of a family motor business and the world of rally driving from the 80s, “The Winning Streak” is another production by the now late library music maestro Alan Hawkshaw. A downtempo track with remarkably trippy use of percussion elements via electronics and drum machines with entertaining accents and “exotic” vocals. Another wonderful example of library music tickling the fancy of diggers and collectors with a dancefloor inclinations thanks to its highly distinct sound — everybody loves a winner.
Shades Of Blur is a newly unveiled secret label by one of the most esteemed artists in the scene offers a unique blend of New Wave and Post-Punk flavors on its inaugural record.
Cybernetic disco maestro Patrick Cowley returns to Dark Entries with ‘From Behind’, a collection of grooving and ecstatic covers of 60s garage and soul cuts. Best known for his chart-topping disco anthems, Cowley left us with an incredible body of work before his tragic death in 1982 due to AIDS-related illness. Since 2009, Dark Entries has been working with Cowley’s friends and family to uncover the singular artist’s lesser-known sides, including his soundtracks for films on compilation albums School Daze, Muscle Up, and Afternooners. From Behind reveals yet another facet of Cowley’s myriad influences; garage and soul. As a tripped-out teenage music freak who arrived in 60’s San Francisco, it should come as no surprise that these psychedelic sounds, both heady and visceral, infuse Cowley’s oeuvre. Recorded during Cowley’s most productive period, ‘80-’82, these tracks show the master flexing his virtuosity while paying loving tribute to the songs that shaped him. A rough draft of Loverde’s “Iko Iko” contorts the jaunty Dixie Cups classic into a slithering, monstrous bathhouse groover, the song’s signature claps draped in cavernous reverb. An unexpected hi-NRG cover of The Doors’ “20th Century Fox” has Paul Parker on vocals, ironically twisting the original’s overt heterosexuality. Via Cowley’s vocoder, The Who’s “Shakin’ All Over” is transformed into a haunting meditation on the loss of bodily autonomy that AIDS inflicts, while the Moody Blues’ “Ride My See Saw” appears in instrumental, amped up and synthesized for dancefloor impact. We’re also graced with instrumental demo versions of The Seeds’ “Pushin’ Too Hard” and The Electric Prunes’ “Too Much To Dream (Last Night),” which later appeared on Paul Parker releases. Things close out with a swinging version of the Four Tops’ Motown classic “Baby I Need Your Loving”, Cowley later reimagined for R&B artist Carl Carlton.
Daniel Monaco returns on the Rush Hour Store Jams imprint with another disco heavy two tracker, with vocals from TK daMonza.
SIRS throwns in some free downloads of disco dance tunes that are mysteriously not so mysterious.
Discoring Records presents a 12″ white vinyl official reissue of 1982 classic, Klein & M.B.O. – Dirty Talk.
L.A. threesome Ashrr aka lead vocalist Steven Davis and producer-musician-vocalists Josh Charles and Ethan Allen are back with a brilliant new album for Ralph Lawson’s superb 20/20 Vision Recordings that finds them working by the old mantra of ‘art for art’s sake’. This effortlessly eclectic record collides electronic soul, post-punk, space disco and indie-dance and is rich in melancholic melody, hazy, late-summer moods and late-night dancing. The vocals bring an indie edge to jangling delights like ‘Please Don’t Stop The Rain’ while ‘What’s Been Turning You On’ is a laidback and languid groove for lazy sessions.
The project “GǼG” was started by Disko Klubb boss Monkey Timers, who leads Tokyo’s underground disco scene, and Keita Sano. Using a variety of sampling and unique FX, thier music has created a unique GǼG sound that is psychedelic and anarchic, dance music for the open-minded and genre-free crews. Optimo Music unleashes now their second volume from Anarcho Disco into the world.
Japan meets funky disco in an explosive fusion led by maestro Jiro Inagaki here on a classic album that gets a worthy reissue. In a particularly inspired year during which he also released Funky Stuff on Nippon Columbia, Inagaki masterfully reinterprets tracks by Quincy Jones, Commodores, Graham Central Station, B.T. Express, Kool and The Gang, Stevie Wonder, Sly and The Family Stone, Ohio Players, Ripple, and Billy Preston on this one. He does so in collaboration with Hiromasa Suzuki, a prominent name in Japanese jazz, and seasoned session musicians who add their own spice. Inagaki brings a fresh, danceable sound here with a broad mix of inspirations from jazz to city pop all shining through.
The Hipodrome Of Music 