Farley Silvester - Jam Down Beat Down

"Acid house survivors" (as they're dubbed on the hype sheet) Terry Farley and Stretch Silvester come to the mighty Paper Recordings.

What's surprising about Jam Down Beat Down is the reggae vocal, which is somewhat remiscent of Earl 16… what's not surprising, given that it's on Paper, is that it sits somewhere between deep house and nu boogie (though they're touting it as 'darkroom garage') and is really rather good.

There's just the two mixes to choose from – Original and Dub, and I think I'm slightly preferring the latter. That's about all I've got to say, really, but do check this one.

Out: This week

About: You can find Paper Recordings on Soundcloud, on Facebook or at their own website.

Jamie L – (What We Saw) In The Burg

A vinyl-only release here from the mighty Paper Recordings, coming courtesy of one Jamie L, who they describe as "a mysterious figure of unknown origin and history who fits into the Moodymann/Theo Parrish school of heavy future disco".

And yeah, "heavy future disco" is as good a description of (What We Saw) In The Burg as any. It's an unhurried, lo-slung and somewhat druggy, out-there kinda groove, with densely layered production driven by warping bottom-end synths, muted handclaps and barely-there samples of party noise. The Havana Candy Mix goes deeper yet more spangly, like space disco on downers, while finally the Cottam Mix is an epic, evolving pass that fuses late-night deep house vibes and soulful wails with fierce, techy percussion.

I think it's the Havana Candy Mix that does it best for me but you've got to hand it to Paper, really. Half the deep house styles that feature on this blog they pretty much invented back in the mid-90s (well, along with Pagan, Nuphonic, Toko and a few others); now the world and his brother are doing it, they're doing something slightly different, pushing us forward once more.

Out: This week

About: Paper live here, here and here (website, Facebook, Soundcloud).

Flash Atkins – Did You Forget To Shine?

Deep house and nu-boogie collide on this latest from the mighty Paper Recordings.

In its original form, Did You Forget… is a funk-fuelled, slinky nu-boogie gem in the Crazy P mold. For me, the vocal's a little too pop-tastic but never fear, cos there's a Dubstramental on hand which is all about that pulsing synth bassline… if you've got Night Dubbin', Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing or Love & Dancing in your collection this is the mix that's gonna push your buttons. Then again the lo-slung Jamie L Remix is pretty spiffing in a sleazy, lights-down-low kinda way too. The Havana Candy Mix is, again, a bit too bright and shiny for these ears but again fear not, cos rounding out the EP is the Hot Toddy Mix, which mixes up vintage house flavas (deep, Balearic and acid) for an all-round dancefloor gem.

The beards' treat of the week!

Out: This week

About: You can find Paper Recordings on Facebook, on Soundcloud or at their own website.

Havana Candy – The Black Keys EP

Some cool leftfield disco vibes here from those past masters of the artform, Paper Recordings… and for once they've actually said when it's out so I can tell you about it! The EP's made up of three original tracks, plus a remix of Tera from Flash Atkins.

We'll start with Tera, then, which in its original form is a seriously bass-heavy, mind-melting nu-disco throbber made with dark rooms, smoke machines and strobe lights in mind. Far be it from me to say something as crass as “pass the amyl” but, y'know… while in Mr Atkins' hands, it's basically the same track, only with several buckets of acid squelch thrown in. As for the other two, Last Train is wonky downtempo Balearica better suited to warm-up or post-club play, while All Night treads a similar path to Tera, but leans a little more towards the deep house (rather than nu disco) side of things.

Silly faces at the ready, please.

Out: This week

About: Havana Candy is the latest alias for Hebden Bridge-based Joe Lucas, who's had stuff out under various guises on such northern institutions as Fat City and 2020Vision, as well as Paper and his own Havana Candy Records. You can find him (and HEAR THIS) on Soundcloud, or you can find Paper Recordings here.

Ny*Ak – Stump

"Some of the good pitched-down stuff from deep disco diver Ny*Ak," reads the hype sheet for this one.

And, well, yeah. It's a four-track affair. Tenderly is a slo-mo cut with breathy fem vox, drawn-out arps and an overall post-club, comedown kinda feel. Jewel is even slower-mo to start with, a chunky, glitchy number that then goes on to do strange things to some classic Balearic pianos, while Mahna works snips of garage-y male vocal, party noise and a seriously rumblin' b-line into a slightly more floor-oriented offering topped off with some lovely tinking vibes and occasional snatches of jazz-funk geetar.

The latter is particularly cool but the standout for me is Echoes, which pairs a very familiar vocal courtesy of a certain former Geordie schoolteacher with subterranean bass growls and a looped "house, house, house" sample to really quite devastating effect. Shut your eyes and just feel it throbbing!

Out: This week

About: This comes on the mighty Paper Recordings, pretty much always an assurance of quality! Find 'em online here.

2 Million Beats - Deep Fried Northern

Legendary Manchester label Paper Recordings have been putting out leftfield disco since the days when half of today's clubbers were still in bed by 7pm, with a story if they were good and ate all their peas and carrots.

So they ought to know a thing about it by now, really. And they do… here, serving up a nu-disco three-tracker that'll appeal to those with a fondness for glacial Italo and rasping analogue synths. Admittedly I'm more a 'Philly strings, handclaps and cowbells' kinda guy myself, but horses for courses – devotees of this style will lap these cuts up without a doubt.

Of the three, Factories & Pistons would be my pick, as it's the most obviously dancefloor-leaning… for some reason it reminds me a bit of vintage Cabs. Albeit only a bit.

Out: This week

About: Here's where to find Paper online.

Sleazy McQueen - Reconnect EP

Don't seem to have had as much nu-disco on here lately, but here's good ol' Sleazy McQueen keeping the flame alive…

Rollin' Me By is meandering, languid groove based around a lo-slung bassline, while Under My Spell is an even slower affair with elements of both cosmic disco and late 70s/early 80s NYC punk-funk and would surely make the perfect mixtape coda.

But the standout for me here is We Need To Reconnect, that kicks off with a sleazy (if you'll pardon the pun) electrofunk bass n' handclaps intro before some joyously old-school house pianos join the party. This one could have come out on Easy Street circa 1983/4, no problem at all… if your vinyl collection includes any of those classic Garage Trax or Garage Sound of Deepest New York comps then you need this in your life, believe!

Out: This week

About: This comes atcha on the mighty Paper Recordings, and you can HEAR all the tracks on their Soundcloud page

The Treatment – On & On

Next up, we stick with the disco vibes. But given that this hails from Norway and is brought to you by Paper Recordings, you'd be expecting something a bit deeper, and you'd be right. That said, while On & On features the lush production values we've come to expect from that whole Scandi-disco scene, it thankfully lacks the epic/prog pretensions of certain bigger-name artists I could mention.

There are five mixes in total, the Original plus re-rubs from Leca, Mowgli, Ralph Myerz and Proviant Audio. The general vibe doesn't vary hugely on the first few, it has to be said – lush, melodic instrumental disco with some vaguely John Carpenter-esque synths ("is this a Halloween mix or something?" asked my GF) is pretty much the idea on the Original, Leca and Mowgli mixes. Not that that's by any means a bad thing!

Proviant Audio though does head off in a different direction, with a jazz-tinged mix that makes me think of 70s cop movie soundtracks in some parts, and of hypothetical lounge bars in outer space in others. And then there's Ralph's take: his 5am Eternal Love Dub puts the emphasis on dub in the traditional sense, and throws in that classic "you make me feel so good" sample for maximum "90s raver post-club" effect.

All of which adds up to another must-have from the mighty Paper.

Out: This week

About: Find Paper Recordings online here or on Soundcloud

Proviant Audio - Hey, Let's Do It!

From the decidedly experimental and future-leaning (see Avrg Joe review below) to the decidedly retro, with this nu-disco gem from the mighty Paper Recordings.

The original is more or less just straight-up disco, until some rap and ragga vox come in a couple of minutes before the end. Brrrrrrrap! Jay Shepheard's mix has more funked-up feel and adds some old skool housey-housey pianos, while Daco and DATG turn in rubs that are pure retro with a little bit of Italo thrown in.

Bit of disco gem all round really, not much more I can say.

Out: It just says 'April', sorry

About: Fantastic to see Paper back in the saddle, innit? Here's their Soundcloud, where you can currently HEAR THIS for yourself…

Daco - Drip Dry

After all that bouncy techno bizniss last night, let's slow down the pace with this nu-disco nugget from the mighty Paper Recordings. Drip Dry comes on like some lost rolleskating jam from circa 1983, with a heavy hint of Italo in the analogue synth sounds and some housey pia-pia-pianos to boot.

Just two mixes to choose from - Original and Yam Who? - but then, as either will move your floor nicely, you don't really need any more.

Out: It just says 'March' so that's as much as I can tell you.

About: Is anyone else confused about the whole Paper/We Are Woodville situation? I certainly am. But never mind that for now, here's the Paper Recordings Soundcloud and blog.