MIDNIGHT RUNNERS レコード& CD

Review: A decade has now passed since the birth of Harry 'Munir' Septiandry's Midnight Runners project, a studio outfit turned live band whose sound mines South-East Asian funk, soul and disco for inspiration. The Indonesian outfit's latest release, 'Nusantra Tropic Disco Volume 1', is arguably one of its' strongest yet. Rich in vintage 1970s synth sounds, tropical colour and live grooves that variously draw on disco, jazz-funk and library music, it feels fresh and exciting despite its nostalgic inspirations and authentic period instrumentation. Highlights include, but are no way limited to, vibrant and percussive disco opener 'Kaliuga', the spacey and warming 'Ratna and Galih' and soaring, future peak-time Indonesian disco anthem 'Kasih Bersemi'.

Review: Ever reliable NYC label Razor-N-Tape returns this week with some tropical boogie madness by Indonesia's Harry Septiandry. He surfed the globe with his band Midnight Runners, which has stirred up the underground funk community worldwide, with releases on Omega Supreme Records and Groove College. Here he serves up some wicked edits for DJ use; there's the low slung funk of 'Time' followed by the smooth disco heater 'Christi' on the first side. Flip over and you're further treated to the sweltering Latin vibes of 'Rame' and the late night boogie-down vibe of 'Telephones'.