Supremo Bonero

Spring has sprung! This incredible Bananamania record has got me in the sunshine mood big time. I missed out on their first release and I'm kicking myself - this is such an awesome little package. Cheeky psych-rock-disco vibes, like a house party version of History Clock. The Velvet Underground-esque banana sleeve and the name of the record 'Better Than Italians' gives a pretty good indication of where Los Massieras is coming from. Insanely fun.

Los Massieras - Alrighty! [buy]

This one comes courtesy of (stolen from) Alain Finkielkrautock - thanks guys! El maestro Todd Terje balearicises (like that one?) an already mellow guitar groove. The backing track sounds like one of the demo songs from a cheesy old Casio with everything on top performed in the living room by some Sting enthusiast. Don't go stroking beards; approach with a sense of humour and prepare to be rewarded. Chris Rea... What a heartthrob. Also check out this killer TT set on RBMA Radio, perfect for seeing in the warmer months. In case you're not aware, The Todd is playing Adult Disco next Saturday the 18th at the Civic. Highly bonerific.

Chris Rea - On The Beach (Todd Terje Balearic Remix)

Todd Terje - Live from London - Secretsundaze - Pt 1

Expecting to be smashing some seasonal deep house in the coming months. This beautiful deep yet light rework of George Duke's fluttery 'I Want You For Myself' locks hard into a groove and carefully constructs itself around the bare bones of the original. I'm toootally loving all this Keep Schtum stuff. Check out Michael's SoundCloud for loads of freshness to either populate your upcoming summer playlist or, if you're one of the unlucky northerners, stockpile some sunny goodness for nostalgia's sake during bitter winter hibernation.

Keep Schtum - I Want You For Myself [buy]

Go lap up some rays!

PLUGSSS

Alright Sydney folk, listen good. We're doing a combined Death Strobe / Disco Delicious 3rd birthday party next Friday the 28th at Gilligans (Sydney) which will be super duper spectacular!! We'll be joined by a few special friends, but expect a minimum 4 hour set from Ash and I slopping out the discoest disco imaginable. I'm woeful at promoting so any help with spreading the word to wonderful dancing people would be greatly appreciated! First 50 people in get a CD of some disco faves of ours, including some tricky-to-find gems. Clickity click the flyer for deets.



Okies, now that's out of the way we can get down to business. Sounds Superb Vol. 7 was released digitally this week. No further explanation needed. As usual, In Flagranti deliver a finely balanced edits package. Vet is a classic soulful disco-funk groover, nice and simple, a great early dancefloor jam. Ahem is a dirty retro thumper saturated in Codek quirk and featuring a quick snake charmer break or two. I Sing sits more in the strange department - African chanting and warped hand drums that could make a great DJ tool if you're clever. Too easy!

Lemonade - Vet [buy]

I'd love if somebody could confirm for me if this is actually a legitimate Todd Terje edit of Chic's My Forbidden Lover. It's released on the same kind of white label with only the catalogue number on a sticker as many of his others have been, but I'm just not convinced by the editing style. It's still a really fun edit but all the effects and jagged cuts seem a bit un-Toddlike to me. Whatever, this is one of those tunes you really can't go wrong with.

Chic - My Forbidden Lover (Tangoterje Re-Edit)

Real fab acidic remix from Liv Spencer and DJ Spun of this track by James Chance & The Contortions. Picnic are hosting Spun on June 12th at The Civic - it's a collaboration with Adult Disco and should be a fucking killer party. And yeah, this tune is great.

James Chance & The Contortions - Incorrigible (Liv Spencer & DJ Spun Mix) [buy]

Lastly, this is the edit of D Train's 'Keep On' that was featured in Jacques Renault's Ones & Twos mix that I was wailing about a few weeks ago. This is ridiculously good stuff by Space Ranger! Would still love to know what the instrumental half of it is though, I heard somebody playing the original track recently but didn't catch the name. Spot away, spotters!

Space Ranger - Keep On Movin' [buy]

Have a great weekend, hope to see you kids next Friday!! xx

Disco Delicious' Top 10 Delicacies of 2009

What a wonderful year. I don't know quite how to sum it up, it's just been so completely packed full of astoundingly good music. I'm really happy with the direction everything's gone in terms of this blog and the kind of music I've been digging, and I really really appreciate all you groovy people dropping by and lapping it up. I hope it's been a help to the artists and labels behind the music too, it's so important to support and encourage the people who are responsible for all the beautiful sounds that have been floating around in 2009. It was pretty tough putting this together and I'm sure a couple of fists will be shaking at some (perhaps) obvious omissions but overall it's just all the stuff that's really hit the bullseye for me. Massive thanks to everybody who had some part in the music below, it's made my year extra extra special! Here goes...

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#10 Super Value Classics

Let's kick things off with a truly spectacular edits record from the Italian Super Value crew. Earlier in the year I felt a lot of the Super Value edits sounded a little bit dated and drab; however, this 12" showed me I'd completely misjudged them. Both tracks on this 'Classics' record are superbly snipped and arranged funky numbers. This one in particular, a snippet of a Gabor Szabo tune called Keep Smiling, is everything a disco edit should be. In a time when so many edits are being made 'just for the sake of it', this is both thoughtful and necessary chopping of mediocre song which turns it into a summer deck chair masterpiece. Bravo!

Super Value - Untitled [buy]

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#9 Prins Thomas - Mammut

The Prins has been on fire this year, that's no lie. Full Pupp has been churning out quality releases, as has sub-label Internasjonal, and this is without a doubt my favourite release on 'Pupp by the man himself. Mammut is a stunning deep plodding jam which features PT really cutting loose on the percussion - or at least cutting as loose as an extreme Norwegian chiller like himself can. Every aspect of the song just feels completely free; part of what makes it so great is how relaxed the groove is. This is seriously stress free music! Hats off to the Prins, he's had a great year.

Prins Thomas - Mammut [buy]

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#8 RuF DuG - Dirty

Wow, this was a massive record to kick off the Popular People's Front sub-label PPF Special Ops. Ruf Dug, also known as Some Freak, really made something special with this track. It's raw, tribal, primitive, a bit animal and, dare i say it, dirty. The tumbling drums have such a massive impact and overall it's the fundamental pounding rhythms that make this such a fantastic song to dance to. Instinctive and essential. It's a bonus that the three remixes on the 12" are all spectacular too. A must have record!

RuF DuG - Dirty [buy]

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#7 Leo Zero

Leo, you legend. Until picking up Glory's 02 early on this year I wasn't aware of this great man and his unique productions. Also on the headphones for A Mountain of One and a contributor to the elusive Popular People's Front camp, he's got many fingers in many delicious pies. From Bowie to Outkast, from Bob Marley to The Clash, one certainly can't say Leo is narrow minded in his music. His edit of Bonny by Prefab Sprout has been a staple in my car for months, and with summer about to properly begin it's looking at continuing its long residency.

Leo Zero - Bon Bon [buy]

Tele Music - Baby's Band (Leo Zero Edit) [buy]

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#6 Shit Robot - Simple Things

An obvious pick here, this was surely one of the highlights of many DJs and dance fans this year. For me I have to say Todd's mix comes out on top. The dark semi-brooding Shit Robot original and deep-and-classic Santiago remix are both stunning tunes in their own but Mr. Terje's version is sitting up a couple of rungs higher on its own plane of existence. It's certainly proof that simple electronic music can still be extremely effective if the producer really knows what they're doing. The steady and powerful build makes sure everybody is totally primed and ready to detonate as soon as those party-as-fuck rock out drums belt their way in, resulting in an orgasmic climax that encompasses everything that makes you feel good on the dance floor. In summary, GOOD TIMES.

Shit Robot - Simple Things (Todd Terje Remix) [buy]

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#5 Lindstrom & Prins Thomas - II

The masters of space cruising made a triumphant full length return this year; old mates Lindstrom and Prins Thomas exceeded expectations with II and really did put together one of this year's finest releases. I picture this being the soundtrack to relaxing on a beach somewhere in space, sipping on moon juice and soaking up some supernova rays. You really can't get a much better partnership than these two fellas. Prins bopping away having a grand old time on the drums whilst Lindstrom plays around with delicate synths and fluffy pads. It's classic yet forward thinking music for the whole fam to dig.

Lindstrom & Prins Thomas - Cisco [buy]

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#4 Clap Rules

With so much happening in the edits scene it seems to be getting harder to find 100% original 'dance' music, so this latest live project headed by saucy Italian Fabrizio Mammarella gets a couple of bonus points for being so original. Old Sequencer in particular was surely one of my favourite 12s of 2009, delivering a really broad scope of music in just 3 tracks. The title track in particular drives me crazy. Absolutely rocking sequenced bassline, aggressively hip drum programming, grimy guitar throwing in little comments throughout. I'm still desperate to see these guys bash their sounds out live, I'm told it's quite an experience. Super excited to see where Clap Rules go next year!

Clap Rules - Old Sequencer [buy]

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#3 Dirty French Psychedelics

Now here we have what IS my number one album of '09. You'd be able to tell by looking at how worn out my poor overworked record is how many times i've taken an hour out to sit on the couch and listen to this without distractions from start to finish. Whilst all the songs are each very beautiful in their own way, it's how the album flows and grows that really makes this such a special record. Dirty seriously know how to put together a compilation that sounds stunningly organic, as though the individual tracks were made specifically to slot right into their respective positions. This exquisite release is absolutely vital for those who enjoy a late night aural journey.

Nino Ferrer - Looking For You [buy]

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#2 In Flagranti

Massive massive year for my favourite disco-sleaze 70s porno pimps In Flagranti: Two albums - one of originals one of edits - two more twelves, a huge string of amazing remixes and plenty of touring in between. It's quite incredible that possibly two of the most over-productive musicians about are also maintaining such a high standard of quality. They just can't be stopped! Brash & Vulgar featured some, uh, quite vulgar sounds with drums bashing and crashing all over the place and dirty humour flowing out in copious amounts. Sounds Superb was an assembly of some of the freshest and finest edits of this year, despite many being made years ago (a couple feature on A Decade of Hero Worship.) I don't think anybody can argue that they are easily the best at what they do, whatever that might be.

In Flagranti - A Brag Mount [buy]

In Flagranti - Svelte Blonde [buy]

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(What would have been) #1 House of House - Rushing To Paradise

Well the recent reissuing of this has softened my negative feelings about this track, or rather its distribution, once again making way for pure love and affection. I just think it's criminal that the BEST track of the year should be for elitist collectors only, those who were lucky enough to get their hands on a ridiculously priced copy of the original Whatever We Want release. I don't mind the idea of these boutique labels but making great music only to deprive people of it is just wrong - it shouldn't be an exclusive thing, y'know? Thank god this injustice is being overturned and the House of House guys are releasing the record, along with a mouthwatering Harvey mix, independently and limitlessly. Although I've been hearing the pressing is totally shit which just rubs salt in the wound. Sigh. To get onto the song itself... There's not a whole lot that needs to be said, except that it's one of the most perfect house music compositions ever made. Carefully calculated yet free flowing, every part of this song fits together flawlessly resulting in a euphoric 13 minute dance floor anthem. I couldn't get permission to post a low quality version but the record is as essential as it gets.

House of House - Rushing To Paradise (Walking These Streets) [buy]

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#1 Faux Pas - Rose's Lament

So technically this came out in late December last year but I was overseas so I'm counting it in this year's running. Upon first listening this song completely knocked my head off; each listen after that somehow managed to deliver an even deeper impact. I still get goosebumps every time I sit down and blast this on my stereo. I'm not really sure how you'd describe the track musically... Maybe you'd find it in the 'psychedelic tribal folk' section of your local CD store. The density of emotion packed into this song, helped a great deal by haunting intermission clips of an old Bread track 'Look At Me', pushes this song over the finish line in first place for the last 12 months. There's no doubt that I've developed a really personal adoration for it which is one of the reasons it's right at the top, but at the end of the day it's an absurdly well produced song that I feel has a timeless quality that will preserve it for many years to come. Thanks, Faux Pas.

Faux Pas - Rose's Lament [buy]

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Honourable Mentions:

Golf Channel - Fantastic boutique edits, obviously some fierce crate digging is responsible for these great releases. Thanks Justin Vandervolgen!

Lars Von Trier's Antichrist - Simply the best piece of film making in recent times. Spectacular.

Dishonourable Mentions:

Steve Aoki feat. Zuper Blahq - I'm In The House - Are you fucking kidding me? It was released 6 months either side of April Fools Day so I have to assume this is a legitimate release. Nice one Steve...

People saying 'FML' and 'fail' every second sentence - Please please please just stop. Please.

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So there you go. I strongly urge everyone to buy this music if you really like it and help all these rad artists out. Would love feedback of course, and would certainly love to hear other people's top 10 lists - go comment crazy and give your 2 cents. Next year is looking to be even more exciting, particularly with our little label Death Strobe on the verge of launching. We've got some really cool music lined up which we have a lot of faith in so keep an eye out for more details as the months roll on. Thanks again y'all, much love! Have a really nice Christmas/silly season, stay cool and tell some strangers about how good disco music is. Spread the love! xxx

Ground To A Halt

Well my internet is capped at the moment so this will just be a scraping together of whatever I've already got - searching for music in this state is pure agony. It's put me in an extremely impatient mood so I'm just going to fly through these with minimal effort. Soz.

This really doesn't need any caption attached. It's as classic as songs come and it's a Terje edit so it sounds fantastic in a club or in your car or on a boat or on an elephant or anywhere on the planet. The end.

Stealers Wheel - Stuck In The Middle With You (Todd Terje Edit)

Great old techy kinda song from a few years ago, picked up the record for $1 over in Auckland and have reignited my lurve for it. Âme are beautiful producers and this is a really beautiful song. All dark and brooding and stormy. Quality music.

Âme - Rej

Chug chug chug chug this Lovefingers tune from his RVNG release yonks back is like a slow but determined funky disco steam train. Great tune!

Lovefingers - Kentucky

For the sake of adding another track, and to be a self-indulgent twat, here's a mashup I did of Metro Area, In Flagranti, Holy Ghost!, Barbara Norris and The Rapture. Would love some feedback if anyone's interested?

Andy Webb - Hold On To That Heavy Orange Box

The Revenge plays in Sydney this sunday at the next Picnic warehouse party. And so do Dangerous Dan, Tim from Cut Copy, Loin Brothers, Ash Le Rouge, and so on. Will be spectacular. Details here.

Give me a week and I'll be back in full force. Be good!

Just Some Suggestions

Just a quick heads up about goings on this weekend in Sydney this Easter weekend (sorry everyone else :( but you really should be living here.) Let's have a fun fun fun few days!

Thursday is Egg Hunt at Fringe Bar which does indeed include an egg hunt. Hott luneup with sterling locals Sleater Brockman, The Inappropriates, Mehow, Tyson and a handful of others. Email me your name, whoever's first gets a double freebie. Seriously, go see the Inappropriates (with MC Gaff E) and marvel at the extravagance. An excellent way to kick off the festivities!

Friday if you're really keen there's the Ladylux annual boat cruise with Carl Kennedy and Garry Todd. Personally I'll be recouping but the music and vibe should be great.

Saturday, HAHA Industries are putting on a warehouse party *somewhere* which can't be anything short of 'YESSSSSS'. Their night last year with Tim Sweeney was my best night out of 08, perhaps this will be a contender for 09? Keep an eye on the website, not sure when they're announcing the venue.

Sunday is We Had Parties which is the annual ridiculous mash of Purple Sneakers, Starfuckers, Hot Damn, Ro Sham Bo, etc etc etc. over about 800 rooms with 300 million people at the Exchange Hotel. Numbers may not be accurate but it's still a pretty massive party.

And for those of you who this post doesn't have any relevance to, here's a yummy easter egg apology. Be happy!

The Turtles - Happy Together (Wade Nichols Edit)

Have a lovely weekend all.

WhyUpsetMe

Well, the new WhoMadeWho album is out. I'm tempted to lie, but after my first listen I have to admit I expected something more. It's still very good but lacks the energy, chunky arrangements and quirky edge their self-titled debut had. I'm hoping on second/third/tenth listen it'll blossom into some magical tasty Danish butter cookie. But not yet. The songs that caught my ear which might be blogworthy, aside from TV Friend and The Plot, are Motown Bizarre because it's still got that classic peculiar sound, and Keep Me In My Plane which is just good solid WMW light pop. And I guess the Munk edit of This Train which adds a bit of spice with chubby distortion. Perhaps I'm just clinging to the first album too much. It shouldn't be surprising that in 4 years they've changed their sound somewhat. That bass just isn't what it used to be...

WhoMadeWho - Motown Bizarre

WhoMadeWho - Keep Me In My Plane

WhoMadeWho - This Train (Munk Bonus Edit)

Let's move on to more positive things shall we? I've been punishing this mini-record for the last couple of weeks and it refuses to leave my stereo. Yes I'm pretty late with it, but a couple of years ago Bullion put together a fucking fantastic reworking of the Beach Boys' masterwork Pet Sounds as a tribute to J Dilla. I am in no way shape or form a fan of hip hop, I like virtually none, and this is certainly not hip hop in any traditional sense but the grooves and the extremely clever editing and arranging shoot this into a whole new galaxy of awesome. A lot of people say Bullion and The Avalanches in the same sentence. I still can't decide if I'm one of those people (I guess I just did though) but they're pretty much on the same level of kick ass. This is even more of a treat if you already love Pet Sounds, but I reckon a crucial listen for anyone who likes cool music!

Bullion - Pet Sounds: In The Key Of Dee

Um okay here's some more old stuff I need to offload for the sake of fleshing out this post. A splendid old Shit Robot remix (one of James Murphy's many partners in crime) featuring plenty of dicking around with different synths and the occasional dorky vocal. The Echologist track is super mega dubby, Salmonella Dub with bigger subs. Choof choof. The Faze Action tune is just a bit of silly space house. All in all nothing that special but there's some minutes of your day wasted if you need it.

Dondolo - Dragon (Shit Robot Remix)

Echologist - Faith (NY Mix)

Faze Action - Spark (Dub Mix) [removed by request]

And just because this song is eternally fantastic (cleaned up by Mr. Terje)

America - Horse With No Shame (Todd Terje Edit)

Playing at Fringe Bar on Oxford St tomorrow night for both Disco Delicious and Hobo Gestapo. And maybe Sosueme depending on how drunk things get. Observe the flyer and come say hello!

No Title For This One

Fork me I love Todd Terje. Fiercely. Picked up a copy of the new Dean Meredith (of Chicken Lips, here called Rogue Cat) single with his killer remix on the B side, I must share. When the bass launches the funk busts out and chugs along a solid groove. Really glad to see Tiny Sticks (Mock & Toof's label) is still in operation! The Lindstrom remix is a hair heavier and funkier with a bit more variety and progression. And the Prins Thomas mix is, like the name suggests, orgasmic. Ridiculously hip, Robert Plant samples and all. Lap it up.

Lindstrom - Another Station (Todd Terje Remix)

Todd Terje / Akwaaba - Bodies (Prins Thomas Orgasmatron Mix)

Rogue Cat - Magic Journey (Todd Terje Remix)

A couple more old tunes that were meant to be posted a while ago and weren't. Morgan Geist's take on House of Jealous Lovers is super hot; laid back and subtly pumping at the same time. I miss the vocals, but then maybe I don't. But I probably do. Just a bit. Anyway, the trumpet makes up for it. This old Chateau Flight remix is here for whoever wants it. I'm just as undecided on it. It's pretty nice, but then, is it really that nice? It probably is. Maybe it's a bit much, maybe not. Seriously, can't you just make up your own minds? :)

The Rapture - House of Jealous Lovers (Morgan Geist Version)

Dub Da Kitchek (Chateau Flight Remix) - Joakim

And one more for good measure. Beautiful work by Tim Sweeney and Tim Goldsworthy, glad to finally have this one in my record box. This 12" rip seems to be the only one going around and it skips at one point, but I wouldn't be able to get the same sound quality if I did it so... sorry. The B-side, their edit of Superstition by Stevie Wonder, is worth hearing too so buy the record! Ok maybe it's not as good as Terje's edit. Whatever. Stop hassling me.

Michael Jackson - Don't Stop (T&T Version)

Tata

Colours of Colours

Having a bit of a Prins Thomas moment right now after finding a record of his I thought I'd lost and giving it another whirl. I was supposed to post his Force of Nature mix before I left and somehow missed putting it in the pile, so here it is belated and brilliant. Super chunky bass, hot percussion. His ability to sound like a true master of everything inbetween cosmic disco and techno is pretty impressive.

Force of Nature - To The Brain (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)

These are a couple of really interesting tunes I stumbled across during the week. Although the majorness of the Mugwump tune kind of irritates me a bit, I guess I can peer through my haze of bitterness and see that it's a really nice fun song. Just really playful and happy. Raoul7000 runs a really neat albeit sparse blog where I found this amazing edit he's done. The editing style and sound really reminds me a lot of In Flagranti. Lots of fucking with the structure, a big emphasis put on the bassline, pounding drums. This is definitely one of the coolest tunes I've heard lately. Viva el kazoo!

Mugwump - Ignored Folklore

Skyy - Skyyzoo (Raoul7000's Acme Edit)

This is another tune that was in my 'to post' pile and somehow vanished. Love Todd Terje's stuff, gutted that I missed him in Sydney a few weeks ago. The Chaz Jankel edit is a delight - the song is given a bit more space and disco atmosphere. The beautiful keys always send me to the clouds. And for good measure here's his classic Stevie Wonder edit. As close to perfect as it gets..

Chaz Jankel - Glad to Know You (Todd Terje Re-Edit)

Stevie Wonder - Superstition (Todd Terje Edit)

How much WhoMadeWho is too much WhoMadeWho? I suppose it's easy to just keep posting stuff of theirs since it's always going to be a guaranteed winner. Easy blogging! Anyway I've really warmed to In Flagranti's mix of Out the Door over the months after not being totally sure about it initially. A little dark at first but slowly little things are added here and there to brighten it up. It's a nice listen.

WhoMadeWho - Out The Door (In Flagranti Remix)

More more more more more more more coming.