Back catalogue: Disco/Nu-Disco

Review: Get yourself geared up for festival season with some fierce party starters certified with the Glitterbox stamp. Melvo Baptiste leads the charge with 'Sweat', a sizzling disco house stomper with Dames Brown giving the biggest diva energy on her show-stopping vocal. Lovebirds bring unbridled joy on the Philly string swoon and slinky b-line funk of 'Burn It Down', while Art Of Tones & Inaya Day keep it peak time on the sassy strutter 'Give My Love'. Young Pulse & Fleur De Mur complete the set with 'Smooth Sweet Talker', another bright and bold vocal cut par excellence.

Review: House music's roots are in the church and this new a celebratory various artist collection pays homage to that. The grooves are laced with soulful vocals, churchy chords and big strings that make for grand architecture and grander feelings of joy. Mark Brickman & Yam Who? open with a vocal gem that cannot help but bring a smile, while Wayfaring Strangers pump it up a little more with some funky disco house before Platinum City get you locked in a nice loose, long legged groove that is resplendent with lush keys and big vocal turns. 'Yah Mo B There' has an irresistible 80s vibe and big sing along choruses that will get hairs standing on end.

Review: Maurice Joshua presents Yvonne Gage's Garden of Eve, bringing back the iconic 1980 Chicago production by Donald "Dee Bee" Burnside. In this 2024 remake, Grammy Award-winning producer and DJ Maurice Joshua delivers a fresh disco-funk twist, injecting new life into the classic with smooth grooves and an infectious rhythm. To complete the package, renowned remixer Moplen steps in with a masterful rework, adding his signature touch and rounding out this release on M-Jay US with style and flair, making it a must-have for dancefloor enthusiasts.

Review: Disco Juice kicks off with some irresistibly sweet disco jams on this first volume on 12". Sonic Soul Orchestra get things underway with 'Good Inside' featuring the one and only Kathy Brown belting out some big hooks over strident drums. There are more rickety drums and loose-limbed funk workouts on Da Lukas's 'Drop The Funk' then Yam Who? & Rikky Disco's 'Set Me Free' brings big trumpet energy and withering pads next to lush strings. Last but not least, Guy Preston's 'Purple Heart' (feat Adrian Crutchfield) rounds out with a hip-swinging groove and call and response vocal to get hands in the air.

Review: There is scant little information out there about Yoanson & Karamie. What we do know is that they were young artists from the French African diaspora who met with Nessim Saroussi and his label Ness Music in the late 80s and were encouraged to record the music presented here. It is their only official EP and it is a brilliant mix of Afro-tropical percussions, disco, electro and vocals that call to mind the likes of Arthur Russell. Philippe de Lacroix-Herpin is the man festered here as Prof Jah Pinpin and he brings some of his signature saxophone brilliance to flipside jaunt 'The Final Bird (Le Temps D'une Vie)'.

Review: Correcciones Calypso returns from a generous hiatus with the fourth edition of its acclaimed edit series, replete with four re-edits that veer from the subtle to the downright brazen. Thomass Jackson and INigo Vontier invite the French duo Youkounkoun to open proceedings with an insane early 80s edit full of big drums and exotic touches that's been blowing dancefloors all around the world for the past years - and definitely resides in the brazen category, despite a lot of work having gone into it. Olta Karawame make their debut on the series with a powerful, compact edit full of ballsy keyboard riffing and a military-sized kick drum that is guaranteed to have heads banging . To complete the release label bosses Thomass and INigo deliver edits of their own with their characteristic sound, giving this EP maximum a value for money factor and entertainment from start to finish.

Review: He may have started life as a dusty-fingered hip-hop beat-maker, but French producer Julien Ozonder AKA Young Pulse is undoubtedly best-known for his party-starting disco, soul, funk and jazz-funk reworks (for proof, check his ongoing Paris Edits series on GAMM, which has so far notched up eight instalments). On 'Shake Your Body Down', which lands on the label founded by the Funky French League collective he's a member of, he combines samples from a forgotten disco gem with his own beats and instrumentation. On the A-side 'Disco Mix', that means squelchy bass, 126 BPM disco drums and mazy synth solos aplenty; while on the 'Beat Street Mix' he limbers up for the breakin' at the Paris Olympics via an authentically early 80s sounding electro workout.

Review: He may have started life as a dusty-fingered hip-hop beatmaker, but French producer Julien Ozonder aka. Young Pulse is undoubtedly best-known for his partystarting disco, soul, funk and jazz-funk reworks. On 'Shake Your Body Down', which lands on the label founded by the Funky French League collective of which he also a member, Ozonder mixes stems from a forgotten disco gem with his own beats and instrumentation. The lost azure in question is KC & The Sunshine Band's 'Get Down Tonight' (1975), and Young Pulse's version is restless as it is redolent of fishy funk, exuding eurgh-inducing effluvia at every turn, be that through wow-modded bass progs or topline squeezers. The Beat Street Mix on the B-side moves much more streetwise, trawling, navvying the rues with a cabbie's knowledge of Cybotronique vocoders, 2-step breakdowns and factory-fire percs reminiscent of the turn of the 80s, almost completely upending KC's original for an entirely new mix.

Review: It's been two years since the 2022 release of Young Pulse & Natalie Nova's multi-mix single 'Free', across the digital version of which we were graced with five exclusive mixes. With the 'original' itself and in turn being a cover of the Ultra Nate song from 1997, Pulse and Nova's version is a jubilant, disco-strung version, abandoning Nate's garage house proclivity for an upped sense of swing. This new vinyl edition also brings a fresh mix to the table, totting up the versions to six; first, there's the OG aforementioned 'Disco Tribute mix', as well as a 'Disco Dub' version, the new and never-heard-before highlight.

Review: Yse Saint Laur'ant makes wonky, left-of-centre sounds for proper underground parties. He's done so for years, and now returns with more of his raw and inventive disco on the sought-after Vinyl Only label. Opener 'Bad Company' pairs visceral arps with glossy pads and soulful vocal, which is stripped away from the 'Better Company' version. On the flipside, 'Don't Look Back' is a more freewheeling and funky feel, with silky basslines and hip swing claps under buttery vocals. Last of all is a classic chug-disco gem. 'Foreign Love' goes slow, with crashing hits and languid bass all topped off by a yearning female vocal that slowly but surely rises into euphoria.

Review: Disco and house deviant YSE Saint Laur'Ant is back with a dive into groove-laden sounds that have long been his signature, all while blending genres with real finesse. Side-A begins with a gospel-tinged track featuring ESG-style rhythms, raw beats and an addictive bassline. It is followed by 'Special,' where airy vocals over a laid-back groove create a dreamy atmosphere then flip it over and New York Boys delivers a spaced-out pulse with urban grit. The finale, 'Gone Fighting' is a midtempo closer that shines with its infectious Slavic sample wrapping up this EP with a reflective, groovy vibe.

Review: French producer Yuksek has released rather a lot of music over the last 15 years, though this appears to be his first ever collection of re-edits. You'll want to check tasty opener "How I Love To Dance", a lolloping rendition of a quirky and obscure disco number rich in Patrick Adams style instrumentation and well-placed dub delays, while the drum-heavy "The Beat" features waves of wonky percussion, a pulsating bassline and plenty of sweaty FX. Elsewhere, "Think Of You" is a head-bobbing revision of an AOR disco/disco-rock cut that sounds like it could have been re-edited by Eric Duncan, and "Dance In Disco" is a seductive Gallic disco chugger rich in heavily accented English vocals and jazzy electric piano solos.

Review: Pierre-Alexandre Busson, a producer known for his multifaceted talents in both music and photography, steps further into his Destiino alias with a darkly ambient collection that stretches across downbeat house, industrial electronica and melancholic disco. Having made his name in the world of French electro, Busson's transition to Destiino was marked by an exploration of improvised compositions following his participation in a sound installation at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017. This shift from his previous styles allowed him to dive deeper into moody, atmospheric landscapes. The current project, released under CHLOE's Lumiere Noire imprint, comes as a continuation of this artistic exploration, breaking from the dancefloor-driven energy of his past work to embrace a more introspective and expansive approach. Opening with 'Yokohama,' Busson sets a pensive tone, layering soft synths over a minimalist beat. 'My Crush' follows with a reflective yet upbeat mood, while 'Somlake' (feat. Inigo Vontier) weaves light, meditative textures. 'Transe Has No Speed' dives into dense atmospherics and 'Imagery' introduces a rhythmic, bodily groove. The second side offers 'Musique Electronique Repetitive,' using looping motifs to create a trance effect, while 'La Houle' brings fluidity and 'Morning Routine' soothes with its gentle vibe. 'Pulsar' (feat. Inigo Vontier) pulses with cosmic rhythms, and 'No Pain' closes with a melancholy, reflective note.