Back catalogue: Disco/Nu-Disco

Review: Confidence Man's third album, 3AM (LA LA LA), captures the wild energy of London's club scene and the 90s rave culture, blending euphoric dance beats with a darker undercurrent. Written during late-night studio sessions, the album pulses with breakbeat, trance, and techno influences, pushing their sound into bolder, more intense territory. Tracks like 'I Can't Lose You' and 'So Whay' hit with fierce, rave-ready energy, while vocalist Janet Planet's playful lyrics echo the spontaneity of a night out. The group's penchant for theatricality and fun comes alive in their live shows, full of synchronised dance moves and chaotic party vibes. Compared to their lighter 2022 album Tilt, 3AM (LA LA LA) is a wilder, harder experienceia hedonistic celebration that reflects the delirious, sweaty-ceilinged clubs. It's Confidence Man at their boldest, offering an electrifying escape.

Review: Crazy P's latest release sees the band effortlessly blending their love of classic disco, house and funk with a modern sensibility, exploring both the joyous and reflective sides of the human experience. The album opens with the summery, hypnotic 'Human After All', its groovy bassline and warm synths creating an instantly inviting atmosphere. As the record unfolds, the songs take on a more introspective tone, like the emotive 'The Revolution Will Not Be Anything', which pulses with infectious rhythm and nuanced melodies. There's a deep sophistication in how the group fuses elements of nostalgia with forward-thinking production, creating an album that's as much about feeling as it is about moving.

Review: Jazz-trained musicians Lauren Rinder and W. Michael Lewis were not only amongst the most prolific producers of the disco era, but also - thanks to a love of synthesiser sounds - genuine pioneers. This double-disc retrospective focuses on one of their numerous projects, studio band El Coco, showcasing cuts from their first four albums (Brazil and Mondo Disco from 1975; 1976's Let's Get It Together; and 1977 set Cocomotion). Starting off breezy and summery with all manner of South American influences (see 'Disco Carnival' and 'Masquerade'), the collection bounces between heady disco ('Disco Mondo', 'Let's Get It Together', 'I'm Mad As Hell'), quirky, synth-heavy covers (a cheeky but genius cover of 'Yakety Yak', AKA the Benny Hill theme tune), low-slung disco-funk ('Heartbeat'), eccentric horror-disco ('The Count of Monte Disco') and gritty Blaxploitation workouts ('Put On Your Jeans').

Review: Originally released in 1984, this album remains one of the most experimental and groundbreaking albums in electronic music with Jarre's fans including everyone from Jeff Mills to Eno and Depeche Mode's Martin Gore. With its fusion of cutting-edge sampling techniques and rich, multicultural vocal work, the album stands out as a pivotal moment in both Jarre's career and in the history of music production. For its 40th anniversary, the album has been reissued in a remastered edition, with a bonus track, 'Moon Machine', making it an ideal time to revisit its timeless innovation. The album utilizes the Fairlight CMI sampler to manipulate vocal samples from over 25 languages, creating a truly unique soundscape. Tracks like 'Ethnicolor' and 'Diva' exhibit Jarre's use of avant-garde techniques, blending musique concrete influences with electronic textures and vivid, expressive vocals from artists like Laurie Anderson. The album's surreal qualities are further enriched by its diverse use of genres and influencesifrom the haunting 'Ethnicolor 1' to the funky, upbeat groove of 'Zoolookologie'. Though Zoolook diverges from the atmospheric, space-themed sound of Oxygene and Equinoxe, its experimental nature and complex structure push boundaries and make it an essential listen. While some tracks, like 'Woolloomooloo' and 'Blah Blah Kafe', slow the pace, they provide a contrast to the more intense moments, rounding out the album's broad, eclectic emotional range. Ultimately, Zoolook is a landmark in blending technology, culture and sound, and this anniversary edition is a fitting tribute to an album that helped shape the future of electronic music.

Review: During the late 1970s and early '80s, Miami was a hotbed of percussion-rich disco-funk that blended popular Black American grooves of the day with nods to the drum-heavy rhythms of Afro-Cuban music. Herman Kelly & Life were amongst the outfits at the vanguard of this movement, though unusually they only released one album, 1978's Percussion Explosion! Here it gets a remastered CD reissue. It's naturally best-known for boda-fide disco anthem 'Dance To The Drummer's Beat', but there are plenty of other hot, break-heavy classics on display - not least the low-slung, high-octane brilliance of 'Who's The Funky DJ?', the string-drenched disco-soul sweetness of 'Share Your Love' and the low-down, extra-heavy funk rinse-out that is 'Do The Handbone'.

Review: Established way-back in 1981, before the idea of Italo-disco as a standalone style became popular, Erik van Vilet and Michael van der Kuy's Laserdance project was responsible for a string of synth-heavy electronic disco and prototype Eurodance anthems. Unusually, the project is still a going concern, with the duo recording a new album in 2024. Fire On Earth dates from 1994 and here reappears on CD for the first time since. Largely cheery, sci-fi-fired and undeniably optimistic, the music on show combines elements associated with Italo-disco and 1980s synthpop - thickset, arpeggio style basslines, colourful chords, Fairlight-derived orchestral stabs and bubbly electronic lead lines - with conscious nods to Eurodance, Italodance and the then emerging sound of trance.

Review: After a 10-year hiatus, Balearic Mike and Kelvin Andrews return to continue the journey of the Balearic Beat with another edition of their distinguished Down To The Sea And Back compilation series, presenting a formidable new set of rare and obscure records. Once more sifting from the formidable crock of late 80s to intra-90s Balearic music, this eight-track LP begins on a serene note with the expertly layered guitars from Dagobert Bohm on their re-arrangement of Josete Ordonez, before moving into increasingly complex but still no less sunny waters from the likes of Vidderna, Lee Ryda, and Pressure Drop. A veritable three years' worth of digging, finally condensed into a single selection.

Review: Rufus and Chaka Khan's final stretch balances the unfiltered funk of their live performances with the studio polish of their later work. Their live recordings deliver an electrifying set, reworking classics like 'Tell Me Something Good' and 'Sweet Thing' into extended, groove-heavy jams. 'Ain't Nobody' stands outinot just as the lead single but as a masterclass in electro-funk, pairing airtight drum programming with Chaka's soaring vocal for a career-defining moment. Their studio material shifts towards sleek 80s production, offering a more restrained but still soulful contrast. A dynamic farewell from an era-defining partnership.

Review: Strut continues to explore the vast archives of Disque Debs, a long-running, Guadalupe-based label that, over the course of half a century, released a wealth of music from the Caribbean. In the process, Henri Debs imprint helped launch the careers of countless French-speaking artists while not only showcasing stylistic movements such as zouk, bouyon and merengue, but also bold, colourful and tropical takes on existing Caribbean, Amercian and European sounds. Highlights include - but are in no way limited to - the slowly unfurling, synth-heavy shuffle of Sadi Lancreot's club-ready 'Dou Se Vou Ki Siwo' and the horn-heavy tropical disco brilliance of Dominuque Parol's 'Come On Baby'.

Review: International favourites on the boogie-and-beyond selection circuit, Horse Meat Disco deliver the first edition in a brand new compilation tracking yet more heat disco of a Brazilian flavour. Some 13 years in the making, much love and attention has been poured into this compendium, which unearths tracks from the seemingly endless urban goldmines of Brasilia and Rio, twin obsessive loci, nurtured by founding member Luke Eagle amid an extended exploration of the South American nation's dance music culture. Having learned to dance samba and paraded the Rio Carnival, this is a compilation rooted in worldly experience, made up largely of 7" finds. Chief among the brilliants are Ze Carlos' Italoesque wonder 'Venha' and the well-spiced 'Sol De Verao' by Lafayette, spanning years' worth of digging.

Review: By now, we should know exactly what to expect from Mr Bongo's superb Record Club series of compilations: inspired selections, across a range of complimentary styles, from the esteemed label's staff and roster of in-house DJs. Predictably, volume seven is another must-check treat, with the plentiful highlights including the sun-soaked samba shuffle of Yvette's 'Upa Neghuino', the jazzy MPB excellence of 'O Espaco' by Os Panteras, the joyous and spiritual dancefloor soul-jazz of Roman Andren's 'Captain's Sword', the gritty funk-rock of Truth & Devotion ('Bless My Soul'), the heavy disco of 'Come Inside' by The Shades of Love, the self-explanatory (but hard to pigeonhole) brilliance of Tony Wilson's 'Hangin' Out In Space (dub mix)' and the hard-to-find excellence of JC Lodge's 'In Between The Sheets', a far-sighted Jamaican street soul jam from 1993.