Glitterbox レコード& CD

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: Casbah 73 makes his Glitterbox Recordings debut here with a slice of disco so funky and soulful that you will not be able to get it out of your heart or head. The big vocal hook is what drives the whole tune forward and is from Angela Goode, who sounds utterly timeless. Although it's a brand new tune it drips with that 70s authenticity and comes with a Percussion Jam, noodling remix from Body & Soul man Danny Krivit who draws out the breaks, and then a more steamy and freeform version from Rahaan who makes more of the jazzy keys.

Review: Escort's 'Cocaine Blues' is undoubtedly a 21st century disco classic -a peak-time ready riff on Dillinger's 'Cocaine in the Brain' and People's Choice's 'Do It Anyway You Wanna' that has been a mainstay in DJ sets for the last 12 years. These fresh versions do a decent job breathing new life into a familiar favourite. John Morales does a good job of joining the dots between disco and house on his EP opening multi-track remix, while band-member JKriv adds a little more weight and spacey synth noises aplenty on his similarly fine rework. Sheffield's Crooked Man take over on side B, first delivering a pitched-down revision blessed with jangling piano stabs ('Crooked Line 1'), before reaching for the squelchy synths and trippy noises on a slightly wilder take ('Crooked Line 2').

Review: You know what you are going to get when you see the Glitterbox label - big, timeless tunes that are designed to get glamorous dance efforts in a spin. Glitterbox Jams Volume 4 is another fine assemblage of such sounds, with Moplen opening up with an edit of 'Love Will Be Our Guide' that is built on train track drums and fleshed out with magnificent horns, strings and synths. The Dr Packer remix is only a slight touch up then on the flip Aeroplane offer up an old school electro-boogie mix of 'Armaghetton' that sure is fun. Flush's 'Come Back Baby' closes in romantic vocal house fashion.

Review: Not only has it been some 15 years since The Shapeshifters bothered the pop charts with soaring disco-house anthem "Lola's Theme", but also nearly a decade since their last vinyl single. Appearing on a tasty seven-inch single, this two-tracker for Glitterbox features some of their strongest work since those halcyon days. A-side "Try My Love On (For Size)" is arguably the duo's most "pure" disco cut to date - a classic production that boasts rising horns, sweeping strings and a strong, Salsoul-esque vocal from Teni Tinks. Turn to the flip for the more relaxed and groovy "When Love Breaks Down", a future end-of-night anthem that's as poignant as it is uplifting.

Review: The Shapeshifters are bonafide dance music champions with some rare studio skills. Their golden era sound is as rich as they come and their on going relationship with Glitterbox now results in a new future classic, 'Finally Ready.' It follows on from jams like 'Try My Love' and 'Life Is A Dancefloor' and has a strong message that no matter where you come from, on the dance floor there is always acceptance and hope. Grammy, Tony and Emmy Award-winning singer, director, composer, actor and playwright Billy Porter is the co-writer and with all its big strings, live horns and sense of theatre, it's another winner.

Review: Candi Staton's gospel-fired "Hallelujah Anyway" has a long and complex history. Over the years it has appeared in countless different forms, with this Glitterbox edition pairing two 2012 reworks with a couple of fresh rubs. In the latter category you'll find a deliciously bouncy and loved-up interpretation from Dr Packer that sounds like a late '80s Frankie Knuckles remix, and a "Classic Club Vibe" version by Moplen that dips the tempo and doffs a cap to early '90s New Jersey garage and gospel-house. Also worth a listen is Frankie Knuckles' luscious 2012 "Directors Cut Signature Praise" version, while there's also a fresh airing of Larse's chugging and dreamy deep house take.

Review: You might well have seethe new Glitterbox documentary. It was two years in the making and is all about the communities and friendships formed through dance music. Taking its title from the Alison Limerick classic, it now lends its name to a two part compilation of tunes that featured in the story. The second volume is packed with extended mixes of plenty of cornerstone classics. There is raw as you like stuff from Mike Dunn, glossy sounds from Horse Meat Disco and party starting tunes from the likes of Mousse T whose full flavour house mix of Powerdance's 'Power Dance.' is a real doozy.