Band-Aid

This is getting silly, I'm waiting on 16 records at the moment from all different places... Have been trying to hold out so I've got some beasts to post but it seems futile. Please accept my humble offering of a couple of classics to see the weekend through. An old In Flagranti edit from Sounds Superb Vol. 2; a 1981 Kano staple as featured in this awesome episode of The Scene; the unspeakably funky albeit cheesy B-side of Instant Funk's I Got My Mind Made Up; and an epic Dan Hartman disco gift from Raketa4000 reissued on East End - thanks Alexander!

Fab Tack - House Of Funk [buy]

Kano - I'm Ready [buy]

Instant Funk - Bodyshine [buy]

Dan Hartman - Vertigo / Relight My Fire [buy]

Fingers crossed that next week is a 12" bonanza. Have a raaaad weekend!

Honk Honk

Waiting impatiently for a bunch of incredible records to arrive - thanks to Monsieur Volcano for the delay. In the meantime check out this amazing new Sidwho? track edited by Jamie Paton (of Cage & Aviary) with a runtime of approximately 1 week. Naturally you can expect some astonishingly funky Swiss bassline action and a more clubby approach to the construction of the track than you'd hear from the band. There's a lovely long Azari & III remix on this 12" too, which I think is out in a couple of weeks on Future Classic. Can't wait to get a proper copy of this burner!

Sidwho? - Pay For Love (Jamie Paton Edit)

Another strange release from this overly complicated web of make-believe labels somehow tied to Jordan Fields and Loft Records. I still can't work out what the deal is with everything (take a look at Jordan's Junodownload chart for a snippet) and I'm still not sure if these are all just DJ tools. I'm really confusing myself here... Anyway I've done lots of rummaging and finally come up with another track I did. Way heavy on the looping as usual, but this edit by Jacques Bonhomme is really bright and groovy and totally danceable. Big summer disco jam!

Avec Plaisir - Oasis Dub (Jacques Bonhomme Re-Edit) [buy]

Time to dig into the reserves. The B-side to my favourite edit of 2009 by the Super Value crew: this edit of Hit and Run by Loleatta Holloway is a real beauty. Nice light disco with plenty of soulful wailing and beautiful warm vibraphone. And despite bongos being done to death in just about every disco song ever, they really stand out here and make me sit at my screen clapping like an idiot. Super Value Classics is easily one of my most cherished, well-loved records.

Super Value - Untitled [buy]

We're having a Death Strobe partie this ANZAC Sunday at Bondi Social - come come come!

BURGER OF THE YEAR, WOAH

Sozzz for being slack this month, so much shit has been going on which is exciting but exhausting. Huge thanks to everyone who came down to the Death Strobe launch!!

Let's just get some music happening. The latest C.O.M.B.i. record finally arrived for the second time after the first delivery was snapped in half :( so it's late but worth the wait. I really loved this track from How We Do In NYC, super stoked that it's out on its own for everyone's dancing pleasure. Huge peak-time disco mania. Eric is WAYYYY too good.

C.O.M.B.i. - Kill [buy]

Also nothing new but I'm really mesmerised by this rad Leftside Wobble edit of Tomorrow Never Knows, one of my favourite tracks from my favourite Beatles album. Sooo psychedelic. I suppose half of what impresses me about this is the selection of the song itself as something to dancify. Yeah this is cool shit.

The Beatles - Tomorrow Never Knows (Leftside Wobble Edit)

Have had a great couple of weeks going through all my old jazz fusion / funk / soul CDs from way back, and realised this Herbie Hancock track was probably the very first time I was obsessed with a 'disco' song. Yes I'm using the term loosely but as far as Herbie's catalogue goes this was getting pretty close to his disco dabbling. Still a contender for all time favourite artist, I'm not really sure why I've never posted any Herbie before. If you're not at least familiar with his Head Hunters era stuff, that's about as essential as music gets. Also here's a cool Beatconductor mix of a track from 1980 which is around when he was really hitting the disco vibe.

Herbie Hancock - The Traitor [buy]

Herbie Hancock - Saturday Night (Beatconductor Special Disco Rework)

Shit how ancient can we get... I know I'm just about the last to board the Tiger & Woods train. Although I got their first record when it came out it sort of slipped into the shadows and I never really picked up on the Caddy Shag EP until the Jacques Renault mix I posted last month. Anyway, rock solid thumping funk house reworking of Jimmy Ross' First True Love Affair. Loves it.

Tiger & Woods - Deflowered [buy]

Picnic this Saturday at Gilligan's with MAURICE FULTON woahhhh spoooooooge, followed by Picnic (AGAIN) at 202 Broadway on Sunday with a 5 hour set from Derrick May. Sosososososososo ridiculous.

Peaceful...

Fuck me sideways it's been a hectic week. GoodGod is closed and we're still a bit confused as to why so we've had to find a new venue for our launch at the last minute. SOOOOO all you Sydney kidz, the partie will be at Iguana Bar in Kings Cross. Come witness the bubble machine cop some serious abuse!

To de-stress here are some hot hot hot records that have been spinning in my room all week. The new Hotbath (Crazy P edits) record finally emerged and it's even better than the first! Absolutely zero shame on these tracks, 100% fun times. This is a pretty straight forward dancefloor jam until about half way when a DURTY DURTY BASSLINE comes out of nowhere and begins an all out party bitch slap. I can't help grinning ear to ear knowing what's coming, it's pure brilliance. Detonate this late at night and it'll have brutal effects. LUV U CRAZY P.

Hotbath - You Wanna Do [buy]

Fab reissue of this Bill Withers track which many will recognise from Harvey's Black Cock series. Stupidly funky. Oh how I adore this song..

Bill Withers - You Got The Stuff [buy]

This Charanga 76 12" (just reissued on a nicely pressed white label) is so lovely. Latin disco at its finest. The covers of Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now and Good Times are super classic, but for me it's all about the original of the bunch, Music Trance. Disco vocals don't get much catchier! Will be playing this non stop for a long time to come.

Charanga 76 - Trance De La Musica [buy]

I'd continue but there's tooooo much shit to do and too little time. A few amazing records are due on my doorstep any day which I'm very excited about sharing so keep an ear out. Much heart 2 u!

Bobbing

SO, did I tell you about our label launch? Just making sure. Shit is getting so busy, it's tiring but very exciting!! And just reminding everybody plodding on keyboards that we're still after submissions, email away! info[at]deathstrobe.com

Lots of yum tracks sitting here ready to be posted and more arriving on my doorstep tomorrow I hope! This new Arision record has me really excited - particularly the A-side which is a killer LTJ edit of Hudson People's 'Trip To Your Mind'. Pure floor-pumping up-tempo dancey disco. Impossible to fault.

Hudson People - Trip To Your Mind (LTJ Re-Edit) [buy]

This rad record was somehow in the sale rack at Spank! having not been sold for yonks. I can't believe people would pass this up! On one side is this amazing Rinder & Lewis track called Lust, though on this label printed as Seven Deadly Sins - the album which the song comes from. Aside from the scarce vocals being taken out, an airy introduction being tacked on and a great little witchcraft xylophone break bring spliced in (from elsewhere on the album maybe?) it doesn't sound like this tune has been changed much. I reckon it sounds like it could be a really mellow Space track or something. Funky but sedated galactic adventures ensue. Enjoy this gem!

Rinder & Lewis - Seven Deadly Sins [buy]

Excited to see that Past Due, a sub-label of Still Music (also parent to Stilove4music) has been resurrected after 3 years. This record unearths some really sweet funky disco from the early 80s, a group called D.I.T. or The Destiny In Time Band. Although there's a great Prins Thomas edit on the B, my favourite is this track 'Dance' which doesn't seem to be on either of their 45s. It's a straight up funk jam, a total hand-clapper. Definitely recommend getting your hands on this 12 for all four tunes though, and definitely recommend keeping an eye on the label. Hopefully it's still got some life in it yet!

D.I.T. - Dance [buy]

Just a warning, Picnic is getting totally ridiculous. This Thursday at 202 Broadway is Linkwood and Ali Renault - huge. Then April 17th is Maurice Fulton at GoodGod and just 24 hours later on the 18th Derrick May plays a 5 hour set at 202. Sadly Harvey's tour has been postponed until December but this is much more than enough to get me by.

Also this Easter Sunday swing by Slow Blow at GoodGod, I'll be spinning some tasty African disco treats early on for their jungle party.

DDEEAATTHH SSTTRROOBBEE

Uh oh, welcome to spam city. Sorry but I'm going to be wanking on about our label's launch party at GoodGod until the day. Which is April 9th in case you've forgotten :) We'll be hiring a Funktion One system, or something of similar awesomeness; our first signing Domeyko/Gonzalez will be bringing in the live show; wonderful special guests will be gracing the decks; and we'll be sweating sangria to impossibly hip disco music all night. If you're in Sydney pretty please come party with us! It happens to just about coincide with this little blog's 3rd birthday so consider it a double celebration. If you're not in Sydney, build a raft and start paddling!

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This new Jacques Renault mix is absolutely fucking spectacular. I only just noticed Discobelle posted it a couple of days ago and said it's 'perfect for a lazy weekend'... Perhaps if you enjoy dancing to the sound of circular saws and jackhammers and TVs on static and Limp Bizkit performing in a wood chipper, otherwise this is an absolute dancefloor crusher. The whole thing is full of thumping funky disco house and a few tracks I'm desperate to ID - if anyone could spot the second track that would be super fab! Also the track around 40 mins which samples First True Love Affair.. It's a fucking beast. This shit is crucial for getting the juices flowing before a big night out at the dancetaria. Have also chucked in the first track by Average White Band which is a cover of Ned Doheny's 'Get It Up For Love', the only moment of so called 'laziness' to be seen anywhere in this mix. A real nice laid back groover.

Jacques Renault - One's & Two's Mix

Average White Band - Get It Up For Love

I can't believe it, the first Mad on the Moon release (the most recent being the Heels of Love track I posted a few weeks ago) has been sitting in the corner of my room for almost a year, having been misplaced and put in with some very old music I'll probably never listen to again. AND it's by The Love Supreme which makes it hurt twice as bad. The Simone Fedi remix on this record is really huge, the aggressively slappy bass plods it out in the middle while synths and guitars and all kinds of instruments snowball into what ends up being a really chunky high energy song. I'm really digging this label, even more-so now that I've 'discovered' their first release.

The Love Supreme - Tangram (Simone Fedi Remix) [buy]

A mate of mine very kindly got me a CD this week with the most fantastic name. 'Nigeria Disco Funk Special: The Sound Of The Underground Lagos Dancefloor 1974-79' is a killer collection of really soulful funk jams with an authentic vintage sound, the kind that artists like Quantic Soul Orchestra and the Mighty Imperials strive for. Don't need to say much except it's just top fucking quality music made by honest and simple people who loved their grooves. I can't wait to dust off all the similar music I'd forgotten long ago!

Asiko Rock Group - Lagos City [buy]

NYC Sound Record is a really weird label.. Their first release, a fantastic King Onkyo edits record, has been followed by a heap of digital-only releases, and I'm struggling to work out the purpose of a lot of them. Some are barely more than a 4 simple bar loop continuing unchanged for up to 8 minutes, and most of the releases come with bonus beats which makes me think they must just be going for the DJ tool market. But then why go from vinyl to digital? ANYWAY, this one song I really quite like and it's not as repetitive as most of the others. Similar bass to the Love Supreme track, super-slap and beefy, with an obscure kind of disco vibe going on over the top. In any case the whole thing really intrigues me. Does anybody know anything about the label? And what's the connection with Loft Records? Hmm.

Happytouch - Happytouch (Lost Dub Version) [buy]

OK we'll leave it there. See you soon for more ugly plugging!~

Call, Listen

Incredible weekend. Now to follow up with a new In Flagranti track which is equally incredible. Typically brilliant twisted thumping disco named after a German film from the 70s which sounds right up their alley. I'll never be able to get enough of their irresistible sleaze - the first minute is a symphony of moaning, it's fantastic!

In Flagranti - The Swinging Co-eds aka Madchen, Die Nach Munchen Kommen [buy]

Picked up one of Ray Mang's super cool Mangled records from July last year while I was in Auckland a couple of weeks ago. Reminds me a heap of Chaz Jankel's 'Glad To Know You' - just stretched over twice the distance. Anyway, it's a really nice edit of a Denroy Morgan tune that features some big-biceps bass which is nicely evened out by some light disco-gal vocals and, at one point, some cute synthesised steel drums. A great slow burning track.

Ray Mang - Prozac [buy]

Another from the archives, a fab old Moxie edit from the Run Disco Run record. In some ways similar to that Black Cow sound I posted a few weeks ago, tight funk with a nice acidic synth thrown in. Wonderful strings too, and the sneaky keys hanging back in the right channel are just beautiful once you notice their little hiding place in the corner. I'd love to know what the original is if anybody can spot it! I think it's about time Moxie released their first record for 2010, I'm getting seriously impatient.

Moxie - Loving It [buy]

Start preparing for a month-long onslaught of plugging our label launch. Death Strobe will be officially kicking off on April 9th at GoodGod and it will be nothing short of spectacular. Put it on your whiteboard kids!!