Back catalogue: Disco/Nu-Disco

Review: West End's double-pack re-edit series continues, with long-standing UK electrofunk hero and scalpel rework specialist Greg Wilson sharing a quartet of revisions. There are airings for two of Wilson's most sought-after scalpel works from the "Credit To The Edit" series - superb versions of Brenda Taylor's "You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It Too" and Raw Silk's "Do It To The Music" - as well as a couple of previously heard rearrangements that are on-point as per usual. Wilson first adds even more mind-altering delays and low-slung dub disco flavour to Forrrce's "Keep On Dubbin'", before superbly stretching out the mostly instrumental "Melt Down Mix" of Shirley Lites' synth-laden peak-time classic "Heat You Up".

Review: During the 1980s, Fred Ventura (real name Federico Di Bonaventura) was a well-known name in his native Italy, moving from obscure new-wave and Italo-disco underground hero to dance music-influenced synth-pop hero. Here, the veteran's 21st century collaboration with Paolo Govetti, Italoconnection, reworks four of his most loved tunes from the 80s. They begin by delivering a cheery, melody-driven nu-Italo take on 'Wind of Change', before re-framing Fairlight-heavy 1988 classic 'Hearbeat' as a Bobby Orlando-esque chunk of Hi-NRG excellence. Their take on 'Lost In Paris' is a funky, arpeggio-driven throb job that doffs a cap to the power synth-pop popular in Europe at the tail end of the 1980s, while the new version of 'The Years' is a glossy, peak-time-ready slab of classic-sounding big studio Italo-disco.

Review: Fresh, bustling release magic by Tokyo-based edit/remix label Funtown, featuring a catchy and percussive disco cut replete with obscure, nigh-unidentifiable samples. Like scouring a neon-lit, Chevrolet-packed city at night - and being bowled over at the sheer wealth of nightclubs to visit and streets to drive down - the eponymous Funtown beefs up the percussion on 'Bigger Fun', extending and teasing the original elements of whichever obscurity made up the backbone of this texturally rich, limited-edition release.

Review: Newcastle's Hot Biscuit Recordings pull the strings behind many a white label sub-imprint, one of which is the elusive Funtown Records. The orchestrator of this edits series is obscure, and so are the sample sources for each of the edits heard on this 12". On the A-side, we hear a tight-lipped James Brown-style breakdown and ensuing boogie number, on which it is insisted that we "know what makes (this singer) feel alright". Good to know! The B-side, meanwhile, errs far further in the direction of instrumental synthfunk, proving the versatile mettle of this raucous reworker.

Review: French label Boogie Butt gets us moving and grooving once more with a tasty new EP in the form of The Boogievison EP. It features a lead single from Ian Ash & Ella May, 'I Want To Thank You,' which pairs some jazzy chord work with a low-slung and warm house groove. The bass is funky and the vocals are seductive. It comes as an instrumental as well as a more direct and harder-edged Mr Doris & D-Funk remix. On the flip is Jessie Wagner & Fostin meet Ian Ash with 'Try Again,' a lovely soulful house groove with sublime and emotive vocals over another lush bass guitar. All very sweet tunes, these.

Review: Six tracks by some of the less conspicuous names in 1980s Italo disco scene get pressed to a singular unifying 12" here. Commemorating Cruisin' Records' 40th anniversary (1983-2023), 'Takes Over' is a delightful compilation scouring the exclusive vaults of its back catalogue, with label mainstay Nello Jay handling curation duties. Largely centring on the year 1985, two cuts from, 'Japanese Girl' and 'Lady Fantasy', come courtesy of Max Him, while the likes of 'For Your Sweet Information' by PJ Marcus, 'In Your Eyes' by Roxana', and 'Heigh Ho' by Fabian Nesti all stomp, gyrate, and whoop away, indulging the very same escapist fantasies as those involved in the scene back then.

Review: Hailing from Philadelphia, the Eraserhood Sound label has been fostering a particularly cosmic bend of synths and soul music which is primarily rounded out by their in-house band, Fantasy 15. Following a string of on-point singles, the group now coalesce for a hotly anticipated debut album which delivers on the promise of those early drops. Drop in on 'Ray Gun' and let the thick swathes of brain-tickling synths send you stratospheric - this is hot and heavy boogie colliding with the loftiest prog and coming up trumps. There is a luscious vocal cut featuring Kendra Morris, but primarily this is an instrumental trip to take you very far out indeed.

Review: Never Gonna Leave You is a rarity from the esteemed Brunswick label, credited to the sevensome US disco-soul-funk band active throughout the 1970s and beyond. With production by disco maestro Tony Valor, arrangements by Chi-Soul legend Eugene Record, and a new mix by the great Tom Moulton - not to mention an instrumental accompaniment from Valor's highly esteemed Tony Valor Sounds Orchestra - this 1976 classic is a cornerstone of stone-cold proto-disco, having already been reissued on CD in Japan multiple times since its creation. For its very first vinyl reissue, Never Gonna Leave You is lent the Real Gone treatment, delivering a newly r-rubbed version of the Chi-Lites' 'Stoned Out of My Mind' and delivering instant soul salvation.

Review: Fatima Yamaha is one of several aliases used by Dutch musician and producer Bas Bron, who is best known for the anthemic 'What's Girl To Do'. but who has so much more in his locker. This album proves that. It was recorded over a five year period after his 2015 album Imaginary Lines and draws together electro, p-funk, Detroit techno, Chicago house and plenty of in between styles. 'Drops In The Ocean' is a fantastic opener with potential to become another huge hit while the mix of hooky vocals and melodies with underground beats pervade tracks like 'Day We Met' amongst other highlights.

Review: Although Peoples Potential Unlimited mostly deals in super sweet little 7"s, it also does a fine job of putting out some top notch albums. Italian musician Alex Fernet is next up to keep that going with his Lucidanotte. It's a feel good record couched mostly in disco but with heavy elements of funk and Italo, soul and electro. There is an 80s vibe to the tools used and the sounds that result, with poolside funkers like '"Medusa Smith' sitting next to sunset dancefloor gems like 'Phantom Of The Club'. His own vocals appear in many tunes to back up the boogie baselines and as well as being great in isolation, the tracks all add up to a fine and coherent longer player.

Review: F.I.D.E.L (Further Individual Delusions) is the avatar project of Paris-based composer, producer and A&R, R. DIlouya; UK funk and soul and Northern soul legend John Turrell; and French hip-hop, soul and jazz force majeure Sly Johnson. Hailing from North Paris and Northern England, F.I.D.E.L release their latest project Out Of Sight to the great post-disco, boogie and new wave pop that shaped the world's collective unconscious at the twilight of the Thatcher / Cold War Era. F.I.D.E.L takes this as a jumping off point and channels its sound through the care and the musical craft of the past to a yet more modern soundscape using Prophet Synthesizers, Clavinets and Drum Machines to create a fast, nervous, funky, ironic and intoxicating satire of post-COVID Western society. While most of the musical heavy lifting is done by Dilouya himself, Turrell lays down socially anchored lyrics, rooted firmly in the gritty, no-nonsense world of a working-class man. Recorded over two week-long studio sessions in Paris, Out Of Sight showcases Dilouya's timeless songwriting and bold production style, setting ground for Turrell's classic vocal performances and Sly Johnson's revered musicianship.

Review: Flight Facilities picked up plenty of fans in the wake of their first album so this sophomore effort has been much anticipated. And they won't be disappointed as Forever is another superb display of widescreen musical ability, rich in playful experimentation and traversing several different genres with equal elan. Everything from Chicago house to techno, lush orchestral stings to indie-tinged electronica and more feature across this fine mix of timeless tunes. Long featured vocalists Emma Louise, Georgia Nott and Caroline Smith all feature once more here to add their lush vocals tones and take things to another level.