So here we are. Welcome to the new decade!
The world has suddenly become an even weirder place. You’re at home and in isolation. You miss the club, you miss the community, you miss the social and physical contact of other human beings. You miss THE PARTY. What are you going to do?
In these surreal times there are two things we can all rely on to provide life-affirming energy. Music and dancing.
We would like to present to you a selection of club classics, dancefloor heaters, and straight-up bangers to help you through the long hours.
1. Loose Joints – Is It All Over My Face (Female Vocal) (Larry Levan Remix) (West End 1980)
Loose is right. One of the great things about Arthur Russell’s disco songs is that they feel more like jams. Everything sounds so organic, so loose and effortless that you feel like you’re eavesdropping on the best studio session ever. You’re right there, hearing the ideas form and feeling the feeling between the players. Arthur was a nightmare for record labels as he couldn’t work to deadlines or really finish a piece of music, but therein lies the beauty. It’s the sketches that show the thought processes and the initial forming of shapes and colours. Add Arthur’s cello and what you have is a genuinely unique sound.
2. Liquid Liquid – Optimo (Optimo Remix) (Domino 2008)
Pleasing in so many ways. Firstly, Optimo’s remix makes up for the original version’s scant running time. Secondly, what I really like about this version is that while it’s pretty faithful to the original it feels nicely positioned in clubbier territory. The treatment is subtle and considered. It also hits harder in some ways, not least because the drums sound like they’ve been tweaked to give a more pumping vibe. The additional reverb-drenched trumpet melody gives it an early PigBag / Maximum Joy vibe, which seems entirely appropriate.
3. Diana Ross – Love Hangover (Tamla Motown 1976)
“I don’t want a cure for this”. Me neither, Diana. If only actual hangovers sounded like this though. I’d like first to give massive props to my fellow bandmate Emma for introducing me to this song, for which I will be eternally grateful. It’s an undeniably beautiful composition and arrangement. The break (just listen to those hi-hats), tempo change and flawless groove really tug the soul in the way only classic-era disco songs can.
4. Terr – Energy Sync (Club Mix) (Phantasy Sound 2019)
A peak-hour banger from Brazilian-born, Berlin-based DJ Daniela Caldellas on Erol Alkan’s London imprint Phantasy Sound. A blend of electro and disco with a classic sound, it’s an ecstatic dancefloor monster full of sensual energy and built around a heartfelt and vulnerable refrain. The perfect tune for a dark, sweaty club somewhere in the heart of Kreuzberg.
5. North End – Kind Of Life (Kind Of Love) (West End 1979)
Proof that, contrary to what mainstream documentaries about disco would have us believe, disco was definitely NOT dead by 1979. It simply went back underground. I first heard snippets of this mega-soulful Arthur Baker tune in the documentary The Godfather of Disco: Mel Cheren, and pretty much had to go out and buy it straight away (well, a reissue of it). It’s the kind of tune that never fails when and wherever I play it in a set. It’s the epitomy of the life-affirming disco anthem.
6. Luke Vibert – Yeah (Afro Acid 2018)
I picked up a vinyl copy of this RSD 2018 release at Musicland in Budapest on a cold January afternoon in 2019. This one is definitely a standout, my other favourite being Gary Gamble’s Acid Icon. It’s just a vibin’, nasty, wobbly acid banger.
7. James White And The Blacks – Contort Yourself (August Darnell Remix) (ZE Records 2003)
A match made in heaven. James White’s (now James Chance) New York no wave scratchy funk classic given the four-to-the-floor disco treatment by August Darnell (more famously known for fronting Kid Creole And The Coconuts), with Bob Blank on production credits. I remember myself and a pal both losing our minds the first time we heard this in a club. An old band of mine was lucky enough to support James Chance And Les Contortions above a sushi bar in Manchester around 15 years ago. Be sure to check out the original version too.
8. Kerri Chandler – Bar A Thym (Nite Grooves 2005)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw5j9VOqy9A
A recent revelation for me, thanks to my DJ partner The Boogie Monster, and I must give great thanks because it’s now one of my favourites. It’s one of those absolutely unrelenting deep, dark, hypnotic Chandler bangers you can’t stop yourself dancing to. It’s just such a tight groove and doesn’t give in until you are losing yourself on the dancefloor. It’s a bit like the Terminator only more fun. The cowbell pattern and that little syncopated rhythmic turnaround every four bars – GOD DAMN.
9. Radiance Featuring Andrea Stone – You’re My Number 1 (Are ‘n Be Records 1983)
This M&M (Morales & Munzibai) mix of Radiance’s New York boogie classic is, for me, a benchmark of the genre, and is one of my favourite post-disco club records of all time. For the uninitiated, boogie is a sub-genre characterized by its more r&b-tinged, slower grooves and it’s use of both acoustic and traditional rock instruments (live drums, bass guitar), and drum machines and synthesizers. As much as I love Andrea Stone’s vocal it’s all about the bass line and drum loop, which are so satisfying I’d be happy just listening to those two parts on repeat.
10. Lazywax – Santa Catarina (Lazywax 2020)
One of the comments on You Tube says “this song makes me want to quit my job and buy a yacht”. Well, quite. Lazywax is the project of DJs Hans Müller & Wolfgang Schneider and this is my favourite release so far on their self-titled imprint. Just waiting for a vinyl release which, under current circumstances, could be a long way off. Anyway, it’s a breezy, chunky, disco bomb with a playful Latin feel and some really solid production. The ascending synth part that begins in the breakdown sounds very reminiscent of Daft Punk’s Crescendolls.
11. Marquis Hawkes – Sunset (Houndstooth 2018)
Equally as potent played at sunset or sunrise, this release on Fabric Records’ Houndstooth imprint was definitely one of my favourite dance albums of 2018, with this being one of two standout tracks (the other being We Should Be Free). In my humble opinion deep house can sometimes be a sub-genre full of generic and forgetable music, but this has just the right vibe and balance for me. It’s soulful, swinging, and summery.
12. The Units – High Pressure Days (Rory Phillips Remix) (Relish 2009)
San Francisco trio The Units were part of the city’s synthpunk movement that emerged during the early 1980s and which borrowed heavily from genres such as Krautrock, no wave and punk, replacing guitars with synthesizers. Other notable acts from this movement include The Screamers and Suicide. I actually like this Rory Phillips rework more than the original and it’s one of those records people always ask about when you play it in a set.
13. Omni Featuring Connee Draper – Out Of My Hands (Long Version) (Fountain 1981)
The original version of a song later re-released in 1987 as a Frankie Knuckles-produced rework by Unfinished Business. Not sure which version I prefer but the original has a less-produced disco/boogie feel and sound, with the rework having a more kick-heavy polished kind of vibe going on. Either way, it’s a pure Chicago banger with a great bass line and a pounding drum track.
14. Mosca – Bax (Numbers 2011)
Ah, UK garage. A much-maligned genre these days. I admit that this is one of only three UK garage records I own, but I’m completely unashamed in my love for it. I wouldn’t say it’s a typical Mosca record as he seems to hop across different styles quite a lot, but it’s still my favourite song of his. The swung hi-hat pattern, the classic wub-wub bass line, the occasional syncopation which breaks from the 2 and 4 backbeat are, for me, the defining parts of this tune. And all talk aside, it just totally slays in the club.
15. The Jackson Sisters – I Believe In Miracles (Prophecy 1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MYdr8Fkah0
Quite simply unfuckablewith (or unfuckwithable if you prefer) soulful funky magic from 1973. A record I can listen to any time of the day or night. Originally hailing from Compton LA, the Jackson Sisters recorded just one self-titled album for Tiger Lily in 1976. This was their most successful song and it’s easy to see why. It’s just one of those records one never tires of, from the funky in-the-pocket groove to the beautiful vocals. If this song doesn’t move your heart and soul, well, you’re probably dead.
16. Jodeci – Freek’N You (MK Dub) (ZAC 1995)
A peak-hour house monster that just bangs hard. I have very happy memories of playing this one at the last Anthology Brewery rave back in February this year, when the world felt almost normal (whatever that means!). It always brings whistles, whoops and smiles from everyone in the room. Fair to say it’s the sassiest tune on this list?
17. Prince – 17 Days (Zach Witness Version) (Purple Witness 2019)
Anyone who knows me knows how much I adore Prince. I remember how excited I was at age 14 somehow getting into the Regent cinema in Redcar to see Purple Rain. That film and album made such a huge impression on me and his death affected me greatly. Anyway, here’s a stomping rework of a pre-Purple Rain song, which I wouldn’t have necessarily thought I would love as much as I do, but then what’s not to love? It’s a beautiful gospel-influenced vocal put to a disco beat and a reverb-drenched conga pattern. Bingo.
18. Alisha – All Night Passion (Jordan Nocturne Edit) (Nocturne 2019)
Tune alert! Alisha was a Brooklyn-born singer who had three albums on Vanguard, RCA and MCA between 1985 and 1990. I don’t often say this but this recent JN edit improves on the original through some considered tweaks to both the production and arrangement. The beefed-up drums and synth bass really drive the tune and give the composition a tighter, tougher feel than the original. Either way, it’s just a great tune with that unmistakable early 1980s New York electro/boogie sound I love so much. It could easily be an early Madonna song.
19. Happy Mondays – WFL (Wrote For Luck) (Vince Clarke Remix) (Elektra 1988)
Whilst I’m not really a massive HM fan by any means, I do love this tune and remix. It will forever have a place in my heart because it triggers happy memories of sixth form college and summers spent messing around and getting drunk with good pals in the North Yorkshire countryside.
20. M’Bamina – Kilowi Kilowi (JD Twitch Edit) (A7 Edits 2019)
M’Bamina’s 1982 cut ‘Kilowi-Kilowi’ gets the JD Twitch treatment on London / Paris label Africa Seven. What you get from this considered rework by one half of the much-loved Glasgow label and DJ duo Optimo is an understated, laid-back disco groove . M’Bamina (meaning Lightning) was a band from Italy made up of musicians from Congo, Benin and Cameroon.
Sheffield DIY collective The Audacious Art Experiment returns to the Picture House Social for another Bank Holiday marathon of intense and delirious underground sonics, chopped against the rarest visual stimulants.
