Stefan Cordery – Incorporated

This WAS gonna go in the 'So many tunes…' round-up, but the four mixes are just too different, and too good in their own ways, for it not to get a full review.

Stefan Cordery is the man at the helm: his original version of Incorporated is an atmospheric tech-house chugger with that minimal-style trick of layering lots of scratchy, high-end sounds. Carlo Galliani's rub adds some stripped-down bass throb and brain-frying disco stabs for the 3am strobelit floors, while Ken Rok strips things right back to a minimal/deep techno pulse. And I'm liking all three mixes to be fair, especially Galliani's.

But it's the no-nonsense Mario Conte & Fabio SPZZ1 rub I'm loving best: it's the kind of muscular disco-techno that makes me think of Vague or early-doors Trade back in the day. Shirts optional.

Out: This week

About: This comes on London's Menomale Records, who can be found on Soundcloud, Facebook or at their own website.

Giorgio Moroder – From Here To Eternity

In which Europe's original disco don gets the remix treatment from a clutch of today's young whippersnappers.

Aeroplane, Antilope, Fusty Delights, Attari, Compuphonic and Daryl are the whippersnappers in question, and while I'm not going into each and every mix individually, suffice to say lovers of nu-disco will be more than satisfied with most of 'em, while the Fusty Delights rub edges towards deep house and Compuphonic's slower, dreamier version could appeal to a wider audience as well. I'm thinking listeners to Rob Da Bank's shows and such.

Oh yeah, and the original came out on Casablanca Records in 1977, BTW, and all the remixers are Belgian. For all you fact-lovers out there!

Out: This week

About: This comes on Martin Brodin's MB Disco label, who can be found hanging around the internet looking shifty (and Swedish) in such places as Facecloud and Soundbook.

Martin Brodin – Humming Bird

Time for some nu-disco action now, courtesy of Martin Brodin and his MB Disco label.

There are three mixes of Humming Bird. The original builds slowly with an Italo-style bassline and "ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah" female vox, the Kasper Bjorje Remix is slightly more shiny and contemporary-sounding while the Discolog Remix adds some tinkling piano.

Whichever mix you go for – and to be honest they don't vary hugely – this is a very solid bet for your disco floor.

Out: This week

About: Martin Brodin, you may recall, used to run Swedish deep house label Deeplay, but these days he's all about the disco vibes. You'll find MB Disco on Soundcloud and Facebook.

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.

August Rush - Outta Dreams

Time to dig out those white socks and burgundy leather blouson jackets with big shoulderpads, as Incepto Music take us back to the 80s with two tracks of straight-up retro electrofunk/boogie.

So respectful are August Rush to the music they're paying homage to here, in fact, that I don't really have much else to say about either the title track or B-side Olds Cool (though the latter would have been a clever title, if they'd only put in the apostrophe). This is pretty much out-and-out pastiche, but if you like it lazy, laidback and above all smooooth then you won't go wrong here.

Out: This week

About: You can find Russian-run, LA-based Incepto Music at their website, on Facebook and on Soundcloud.

Alexander Robotnick - Robotnick's Archives Volume 5

The stream of material from this veteran Italian producer's DAT vaults isn't showing any signs of drying up just yet - here's the latest installment, with a whopping five tracks to choose from.

Whizzing through 'em quite quickly, then… Infinite Solitude is an analogue-drenched Italo-disco offering, made in 2001 but infused with the spirit of 1981. Similarly, It Was Like A Dream was made in 2008 but harks back to the electro/proto-techno of the early 80s, while Can You Hear Me? is a decent slab of bubblin', bouncy, happy electro-disco-techno in both its Things Happen and Robot Scientists mixes, though the Things Happen rub edges it, I think.

But the standout of the EP for me is Funky Shonky – made in 1996, remade in 2012, this midtempo groover is all about the ass-shakin' bottom end and a disco vocal sample that's used in both dry and vocodered forms, making for a track it's not hard not to smile to.

Out: This week

About: This of course comes on Robotnick's own Hot Elephant.

Nobiilo - Your Love

Imagine the Phenomenal Handclap Band doing their very best impersonation of Salsoul legends Skyy, and you've got a pretty good idea of what this bass-fuelled, sweetly-voiced, lo-slung n' lazy nu-disco gem from Bass United Recordings sounds like.

And with Faze Action on remix duties (as well as Estate and Dirty Mackenzie), well… basically if you dig nu-disco at all then you need this record, end of. So let it squelch and shimmy its way into your life at the first possible opportunity.

That's all I've got to say, really. But yeah, this is great.

Out: This week

About: I suppose I should also tell you that Nobiilo are Zimbabwe-born, Minneapolis-resident vocalist/pianist Sophia Shorai and Bass United Recordings label boss Dory Kahalé (AKA the aforesaid Dirty Mackenzie and, once upon a time, DJ Apollo). So, there, now I have! This is apparently a cover of a French track from 1978, albeit one I'm not sure I've come across personally, and is the label's seventh release. Here's their website and Soundcloud.

FREE TRACK from Kraak & Smaak – BPLB

Bit busy today so in case I don't get manage to get round to any reviews, here's some freebie justice from Kraak & Smaak to keep you entertained… this is taken from the Kraak Beats EP, which is out on April 9



Out: Now, obviously

About: For more info, see the Kraak & Smaak website or hit up Jalapeno Records

Alexander Robotnick – Robotnick's Archives Vol 3

The Italian disco don serves up three more from the vaults, this time in the form of Serenade from 1986 and, coming more up to date, Sharper Bluesman from 2004 and a cover of Le Freak from 2000.

The electro-funkin' Serenade will delight those with a fetish for squelchy analogue 80s synth-bass, which I suspect might be quite a few TIWWD readers… vocodered vox from Robotnick himself merely add to the track's retro-tastic appeal. Listening to stuff like this, it's very easy to see how we got from disco to house, which I guess is kind of the point of issuing it now (like the rest of the tracks, this is seeing the light of the day for the first time).

Sharper Bluesman is less essential to these ears – as mid-noughties electrohouse goes it's fine, better than most in fact, but I wouldn't rush out and buy the EP for it. But more pleasing is Le Freak – for curio(sity) value alone, but also as a prime example of how/why Robotnick has been such an influence on the current wave of Italo-obsessed nu-disco producers (or was that last year?).

Anyway, never mind the last paragraph… you need this for Serenade alone. The rest is just gravy.

Out: This week

About: This is brought to you – like Vols 1 & 2 (obviously) – by Robotnick's own label, Hot Elephant

tONKPROJECT feat Marie K - It's Time To Introduce You

A nice varied set of mixes on this latest from Romanian label Behaviors and he of the jammed Caps Lock key, tONKPROJECT.

The Radio Mix I guess is the 'original', a mellow, trippy affair in a laidback, downtempo kinda vein, featuring a breathy spoken female vocal with a touch of the 'birth tapes' about it and lilting, soothing piano notes. The Arthur Abidzhba Remix stays in a downtempo vein, but here things take a notable turn towards the glitchified n' twisted… find the magic space between 'easy' and 'uneasy' listening and file this one there.

But for TIWWD's purposes, it's really the other two mixes that are of most interest. In the hands of Disclosure Project, It's Time… becomes a sumptuous deep disco groove with live-sounding funk bass, soaring-yet-understated strings and crisp, unrushed 4/4s – nice – while finally on the Pion Remix, it's reinvented yet again, this time as a dreamy, late-night deep house chugger that'd also work well in warm-up or bar sets.

Quality stuff, make no mistake.

Out: This week

About: You can find Behaviors on Facebook, Soundcloud and YouTube.

Giorgio Moroder - E=MC2 (Remixes)

Something of a coup for Martin Brodin's MB Disco label, as they get their hands on this Moroder/Faltermeyer proto-Italo classic from 1979 and get it remixed by a stellar array of Italo/cosmic disco producers. In fact, with Alexander Robotnick, Daniel Baldelli and Klein & MBO all on-board, it's hard to imagine an array of Italo/cosmic disco producers that was much MORE cosmic! Brodin himself, LIS and Rodion all have a pop as well, making this one the Italo crew won't want to miss.

But for all that… it's the I-Robots mix that I'm feeling the most. This is the one mix that does anything radically different, as they move outside the Italo blueprint to deliver a housier refix that puts deep organ sounds over an E2-E4-ish Balearic backwash of tribal percussion. Quality.

A landmark release for the label for sure, and well worth checking.

Out: This week

About: Martin Brodin, you may recall, used to be the mainman behind the fine Swedish house labels Deeplay and Deeplay Soultec, before shifting his focus to more overtly discofied vibes with MB Disco. Established in 2010, the label has already put out releases by disco dons both old (Moroder, Leroy Burgess) and new (Ray Mang, Iliija Rudman).

DJ MIXES - Larry Levan, 1979!

Thanks to my man Rob Clarke for bringing these to my attention via a Facebook post! A whole evening of Larry Levan live at the Paradise Garage in 1979, so I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how much you need these mixes.

To grab them, head over to the Isodisco blog. Must admit I hadn't come across Isodisco until five minutes ago but I'll be keeping an eye on it now for sure… excellent work dudes!

DJ MIX Sav Manganaro - Deep Into Wired 001

Well, it's Sunday night… but you can banish those back-to-work blues with this free, downloadable mix from Mr Manganaro, who for the duration of one of your Earth hours takes it deep, dubby and discofied… enjoy!

Sav Manganaro - Deep into Wired 001 by Wired [Label]

Thanks to Enzo Siffredi cos I nicked this off his Facebook wall!