Blair French returns to Rocksteady Disco with an EP of Afro Cosmic dance floor heat. Picking up from where he left off with his The Art Of Us LP and his recent Razor-N-Tape EP, this 3-tracker sounds like being happily lost in a hot jungle after crash landing your spaceship near a secret party. Tons of drums, chants, flutes, and basslines for those extra special slinky sleazy parties. Limited vinyl pressing, don't sleep. More

Michigan's ambient and soundtrack specialist John Beltran introduces a new LP that will be co-released by Delsin and his digital only label Dado Records. Entitled Through the Blinds, it features ten tracks by Blair French (who also appeared on his Music For Machine compilation on Delsin last year) and will be released on January 18th 2016. Blair French aka Dial.81 is an experimental producer and visual artist who won an award for his score of Detropia--a documentary about his home city of Detroit--and now makes his ambient debut. As you would expect of such a project, it boasts suspensory and near spiritual pieces of ambient music with angelic chords and glassy textures. There are also more frosty cuts that sound like a chilly Autumn walk, tracks that feature emotive neo-classical piano pieces and suggestively rhythmic compositions that sooth your mind. The second half of the record touches on church like passages of synth heavy sounds, strikingly sad violins and lo-fi arrangements that sound, one hopes, a little like what you might hear as you pass from this life to the next. More

The Art Of Us (TAOU) begins with the story of Blair French, a cosmic messenger raised in a house of 7 on the outskirts of a historic city. From dancing at mom's disco parties at a young age, to releasing rap tapes in middle school, winning best soundtrack for the multi-award-winning film DETROPIA and hitting the Billboard charts with his Pure Sounds of Michigan compilation; ultimately French found a home in the world of all things Detroit, Pan-African, Balearic, and ambient. TAOU is his first instrumental LP under his own name, (despite a 25 year career), bringing together his closest musical compatriots. Blair's diverse production shines on this immersive 14 track release, transcending organic/electronic, uptempo/downtempo, and light/dark, tapping in heavyweight characters including Pathe Jassi, John Arnold, Craig Huckaby, Todd Modes, Kaylan Waterman, Peter Croce, Eddie Logix, Paul Randolph, 2040, Michael Jurczak and more. Sonically, TAOU holds peak-hour Deep Cosmic Afro House freak outs ("Faded By The Sun", "Celebration Ritual", "F O A", "Chest Drum"), blunted beatdown cuts ("Stay Detroit", "Jeans", "Drop Ceiling Shuffle", "River Crossing"), and soulful R&B and Afrobeat compositions ("Honey Rooftops", "Genes", "Space Time Curvature"). Mastered by Atjazz, the vinyl is cut loud to lacquer by Carl at Trutone, and pressed with love at Archer on the east side of Detroit. It includes a double sided full color art insert with lyrics on the flip side. TRACK LISTING: A1. Faded By The Sun, A2. Celebration Ritual, A3. Stay Detroit, B1. F O A, B2. Deep Tissue feat. Craig Huckaby, B3. Space Time Curvature feat. Fahrenheit 2040, B4. Honey Rooftops feat. Kaylan Waterman, C1. Jeans, C2. Genes, C3. Honey Rooftops (Reprise) feat. Kaylan Waterman & Eddie Logix, D1. The Art Of Us, D2. Chest Drum (A Natural Unification) feat. Pathe Jassi, D3. Drop Ceiling Shuffle, D4. River Crossing
More

After 3 months holed up in the studio Blair French has emerged to bring you Genes / Space Conductor 7” in support of his forthcoming album The Art Of Us on Rocksteady Disco. The A-side holds the “Loose Fit” mix of “Genes”, where Blair channels his inner Tony Allen for an expertly executed modern psychedelic Afrobeat cut featuring a heavyweight cast of Detroit characters including Todd Modes, John Arnold, and Paul Randolph. On the flip is “Space Conductor”, a cosmic afro broken beat joint with heavy drums, a huge bassline, kora, and Blair’s vocals, exclusively available on this 7” only. Housed in a full color jacket, cut loud to lacquer, and pressed heavy with pride at Archer on Detroit’s east side. More

Blair French returns to Rocksteady Disco after last year’s brilliant Standing Still Is An Illusion for another 12” of mind, body, and soul music. “Public Park” starts off the release, with flutes, guitars, and African marimbas abound, presenting itself as the song of the summer. “Spirit Guides” follows, taking listeners and dancers on a spiritual afro jazz odyssey. The flip features two versions of “Public Beach”, a communal ecstatic dance meets Detroit Jit footwork cut with a massive bassline, pulsing percussion, and harmonized chanting, constructed for open-minded dance floors and deejays. Limited to 300 vinyl, TIP! More

Repress!

RNT return with a 3-tracker from an alleged Brooklyn-ite with a decidedly French flair for edit mastery! On the A side, Into the Grove flips Shep Pettibone's classic production work on the pop queen into the ultimate panty-dropping dancefloor madness. On the flip side, Show You My Robe is mid-tempo feel good boogie grooves and smiles all around, followed by Opposite A Track, because a bit of cheek never hurt anyone, did it?
Will forward as hype/buzz comes in More

Repress!
Thrice is nice for Dimitri the Brooklynite-By-Way-Of-Paris, who comes correct with his 3rd 3-packer of disco edit deelite for RNT! Filling up the A-side is KETTLE AMERICA, a cheeky bit of south-of-the border uptempo disco funk. I KNEAD YOU is a stomping and sermonizing version of a cherished classic, completely redone with a chorus of handclaps and gospel piano, and the record finishes with WITHOUT ROB for some re-touched dancefloor doo-wop gold! More

Canadian diggers extraordinaires The Patchouli Brothers make their debut on Razor-N-Tape in the finest form possible, with a quartet of exceptionally tasty and soulful edit heat.

Leading of with a floor-filler that brings people together in early night excitement, then onto a peak time esctatic bomb, a gospel disco chugger, and finishing with a slow roller for that end-of-night euphoria, this 12” truly has it all.

In an an already storied career of flips, this standout record is the Brothers at the top of their game, and an absolute masterclass in the do’s and don’ts of the disco edit. Buy on sight! More

Everyone’s favourite Israeli digger is back for another round of gloriously rare edit heat on RNT!

‘Baila’ gets the party started with infectious flamenco chants and claps over a churning acidic groove, and ‘Disco Hummus’ rounds out the side with a bit of joyful disco cheek.

On the flip, ‘Sun’ turns an unlikely cover of a classic into an Afro Disco banger, and ‘Simba’ rumbles and rolls with restraint toward a hypnotic peak of brass and vocals.

Elado has done it again…Mazel Tov! More

Repress!

As the head of Berlin's eminently respected OYE Records, it's no surprise Markus "Delfonic" Lindner would come correct with the edit heat for his first outing on Razor-N-Tape.
More

Midnight Runners comes to Razor-N-Tape with a 12" of Southern Hemisphere disco gold!

Harry Septiandry has been gaining traction with standout releases on Darker Than Wax and Star Creature under his Munir alias, and for his RNT debut he serves up four extra special reworks of obscure disco from his native Indonesia.

The source material would stump even the most savvy of ears, but Harry finds the universal in these rare gems, augmenting the grooves and preserving just the right bit of camp for super sunny spin! More

A re issue of the EP that started it all for Razor N Tape, 2 superb reworks from Deep&Disco.

Limited 12 inch pressing hand stamped label, get these while you can! More

A1 - Big Baba
A2 - Gulab Jamun
B1 – Blame
B2 – Halloumi

Israeli DJ and collector Elado makes his debut on RNT with a pack of impossibly rare edit heat! A relative newcomer to the scene, Elado made some waves recently with a stunning entry on Eddie C’s Red Motorbike, and he’s clearly no novice when it comes to digging as this exceptional pack of tunes shows.

With rarefied material ranging from Africa, India and the Mideast, Elado works these 4 tunes with a careful editor’s touch, nipping and tucking only where necessary to let the incredible source selections shine through, but rendered eminently DJ-friendly. Already supported by Antal and many others, this 12” is the first essential add of 2021! More

Repress!

A1 - Star Beaming
A2 - Fred’s Groove
B1 - Laid Back
B2 – Forgot

Los Angeleno and all around swell guy Dino Soccio has been building his rep as a premier selector and editor with his own Pleasure of Love edits series, and now joins the RNT ranks with an EP of rarified rework gold.

The record kicks off with the meteoric energy of 'Star Beaming', a rolling interstellar disco stomper, then lays back with the low-slung 'Fred’s Groove' and jazzy balearic groove of 'Laid Back', finishing off with the bouncey early-'80s boogie feel of 'Forgot'. All dusty digger’s delights, simonized and edited to perfection for maximum vibes!
More

A1 - Clash and Burn
A2 - KOHO2
B1 – Dust
B2 – Stop

Known for releases on Apron, Misterio and Stillove4Music, Devin Dare join RNT with a 4-tracker of straight dance floor heat. The production alias of NYC’s Duane Harriott and Shawn Marquand, Devin Dare produce disco edits with a driving, almost techno-like sensibility, and this 12” showcases their ability to coax every last drop of energy from a chopped and looped sample.

From the rolling thump of ‘Clash and Burn,’ to the percussive and bass-driven ‘Stop,’ the low-slung gospel organ groove of ‘Dust,’ to the explosive and exuberant ‘KOHO2’ this record pretty much defines what a rework can, and should be. In a word, PROPER! More

The much-hyped and long-awaited Danny Krivit edit EP on RNT is finally getting a release, be quick though this one is going to flllyyy! (You know it's good when Hunee's jumping on Antal's back as he closes out Rainbow Disco Club Japan with 'Stuff')
Razor-N-Tape welcome hometown hero Danny Krivit into their stable of editors with a 2-track EP that sources a pair of vibes from the catalog of the ubiquitous "Q."
"Stuff" begins with a mysteriously looped and reverbed-out saxophone sample, building perfectly toward an eventual explosion of soulful horn stabs and vocals over a percolating rhythm section, in classic Q style.
"The Story" tells a mellower yet mesmerizing tale, with its lush string arrangement and artful groove, perfect for those early warmups or late-night comedowns. A true living legend of NYC's rich DJ history, Danny dug deep into his personal cache of edit weapons for this very special record. Absolutely essential!
More

Brazilian DJ and producer Rafael Cancian delivers a veritable United Nations of diverse international disco flavor for his first outing on Razor-N-Tape.
The A side delivers cheeky horns and gyrating synths with 'Ç'est La Douceur', followed by a flurry of string stabs and vocal fourishes with the Italo-tinged 'Fascino Di Milano'. On the flip we get a taste of Rafa’s native Brazilian boogie with the stomping 'Frágil', and the EP winds down with the sensual slow groover 'Besos Libres'.
This is a 4-tracker of serious heat representing all four romance languages…perfect for romancing, and dancing! More

Irishman Jimmy Rouge of Orange Tree Edit fame joins the Razor-N-Tape team with a 2-track EP of bumping edit heat.
On the A-side “So Long” flips a cheeky hook over a rub-bery bass-line, with tension-building synth interludes that release into an ear worm of a vocal riff. On the flip, “Movin'” is a deep uptempo burner with piano stabs, rhythmic guitar plucks and an unstoppable groove.
RNT takes it back to their OG format of a single track per side, running loud and proud…one listen to these belters and you’ll see why!
More

Repress!
The boys from Munich are back on RNT with a 4-tracker of serious flavor! 'Express Lane' launches the 12” on the disco highway for a wild ride of cheeky vocals, horn stabs, and vocoded synths, then veers south for some North-African New Wave with 'Libyan Sun'. The B side kicks off with the Afro-disco monster 'Don’t Oho', already a staple in RNT sets and then finishes with the minimalist electro-soul bounce of 'Emergency Loop'. Sure-shots, the lot of 'em!
More

Felipe Gordon and Vagabundo Club Social (aka Jaime Tuiran) deliver 3 excitingly unique edits in their first 12” outing on RNT, sourcing the Afro-Carribean sounds of their native Colombia.
From the Latin-Afrobeat flavor of 'Shakala', to the Salsa-funk swing of 'Los Bareteros', or the Cumbia-inflected romp 'El Cateter', this 12” is something quite different than the typical edit fair, and a likely new staple for any box!
More

Marcel Vogel aka Em Yee joins the RNT roster with a 4-pack of unsurprisingly heavy edits. The Lumberjacks In Hell label boss takes us on a little trip through one of his own eclectic sets, starting with the oddball boogie of You Move Me and then moving on to the hands-in-the-air positivity of Spreading Energy.

On the flip it’s the up-tempo afro burner 'Don’t Be Sabi Say', with the 12” concluding on the whimsically catchy 'I Wish I Knew The Words'. Tried and tested and found true! More

OG Razor-N-Tape crew right here! Having graced the RNT hall of fame for only their third release back in 2013, Frank Booker returns in style for round two.
Straight off the bat ‘Be Yourself’ takes you on a sensuous journey around the disco cosmos. Interplanetary echoes, stratospheric strings and a bass and brass beamed down directly from the outer galaxy are brought together with those heavenly vocals alluring any lost souls.
‘More’ follows up – a hair raising, funk fuelled edit combining luscious vocals, a badass bassline and the kind of guitar riffs that will leave you straight up salivating for more. This is peak time, delectable disco with an added umph and rhythms that are kind to the discerning DJs out there.
Closing out the EP Frank slows things down to galactic chugger territory, marshalling the funky starship to the underground with the pied piper of supercharged jazz flutes leading the dance.
A raucous return from the masterful Frank Booker.
More

Record store owner, DJ, producer, and digger extraordinaire Tom Noble comes to RNT with a superb edits EP of sought-after Caribbean and African sounds. The A side burns hot right out of the gate with the explosive and percussive Soca-disco pulse of 'They Came To New York', then settles into the laid back lilt of 'Zouk Pour Esa'.
On the flip, 'Disco Massamba' is a wild ride of an Afro-disco burner and 'Parang-A-Teng' brings it back to the Western hemisphere for some Latin-tinged funk from Barbados. Well worth it for the value of the original source material alone, this 12” is nothing short of dance floor destruction!
More

Veneno hits Dark Entries! Spain’s most loved transgender TV star arrives on the label in celebration of Madrid Pride on June 30th. Cristina Ortiz fled her home in Almeria at age 13. While working as a sex worker in the Parque del Oeste in Madrid, she was discovered by the TV program “Este Noche Cruzamos el Mississippi”. Her acerbic wit and candid descriptions of life as a sex worker (including graphic use of the microphone as a visual aid) struck program host and director Pepe Navarro, who recognized a star when he saw one. As a regular on the show, La Veneno (The Poison) became a TV sensation and an icon for the trans community. Her music career began in 1996 with the release of “Veneno Pa Tu Piel”, a sassy but mournful Eurobeat number about forbidden love with her johns. The flipside features “El Rap De La Veneno”, a house track over which Veneno improvises some of her famous catchphrases, including her iconic “Digoooo!”. The release was a hit, selling over 50,000 copies in Spain. Two different mixes of both tracks are included on this reissue. Each copy includes an insert with lyrics, notes, and a photo of La Veneno. Celebrate Madrid Pride with these ecstatic gay anthems! More

Boston born, Medellin based producer Bosq once again collaborates with the mighty Kaleta on his own Bacalao imprint. The perfect blend of modern production sensibilities and classic musicianship & soul. Having first worked together in 2013 on Bosq’s first original single Dem Know, they have strung together an impressive run of hits since.

Kaleta brings an incredible history to the project, being born in Port Novo, Benin, and raised in Nigeria, he was steeped in the world altering West African musical movements of Voodoo Funk & Afrobeat from their inception. Bosq himself has written and produced five full albums and countless singles and remixes, maintaining a consistent and recognizable fingerprint while fusing influences as varied as Funk & Disco, Salsa & Cumbia, Afrobeat & Jazz, even Hip Hop & Dancehall.

‘Meji Meji’ straddles the line between Afro Funk & Disco, with bubbling organ and Rhodes stabs, a massive horn section, layered percussion & vocals, and chants from ex-Egypt 80 member Kaleta. One of the biggest names in dance music, Folamour joins the fold pushing the underlying house groove to the forefront, creating a perfect dance floor version with a pulsing kick, deep bass line, and funky synth horn lines that dialogue back and forth with the live horn section. Dance floor tested and approved! Also included is the B-side ‘Sonayon’, a pure afro disco scorcher in which Kaleta sings a message of hope in his native Goun language.

DJ Support:

Yuksek, Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy, Marcel Vogel, Richard Dorfmeister, Aroop Roy, Laroye, Lex, Faze Action, Darker Than Wax, Dicky Trisco, Pete Herbert, Harri Harrigan, Clive From Accounts, Jaye Ward, Hot Toddy, Moplen, Pete Gooding, DJ Rocca, Flash Atkins More

An historical live recording at The Brain Club that captures the unique vibe and flow of a brand new life-changing musical era in 1990 London Soho. Includes liner notes by The Brain club co-owner Sean McLusky, writer ("Bass, Mids, Tops") and DJ Joe Muggs and original sleeve art by the other The Brain club co-owner Mark Wigan, like you were back there. For fans of ambient, acid house, and fucking brilliant live music!!



TRACKLIST

A1. Irresitable Force - Medley #1
A2. Ramjac Corporation - Wikki Loop
A3. Ramjac Corporation - Para Ti
A4. Irresistible Force - Let's Go Swimming
A5. Ramjac Corporation - Massif
B1. Irresitble Force - Medley #2
B2. Ramjac Corporation - Keep on Turning On
B3. Irrestible Force - Finale



INFO



Back in the late 80s label owner Olivier Ducret entered 11 Wardour Street in London, home of the mighty Brain Club, a gallery · club · bar owned by Sean McLusky and Mark Wigan, where many (acid) house and techno visionaries played their early live on Thursday night to less than 50 people, that was quite intimate: Orbital, Simon Lovejoy, Mr Monday, If?, Doi-Oing, Nexus 21, Funtopia, Hi-Ryze, Adamski, 808 State, Ultramarine and of course, Mixmaster Morris's Irresistible Force and Irdial's RAMJAC Corporation. The energy and the creativity was incredible, at its peak, everything was fresh, innocent, naïve, new and oh so exciting. Boundaries in genre did not exist, and everyone was welcome aboard, no superstar, no business, just pure great fun. The crowd was eclectic, you could bump into Mark Moore or Neneh Cherry while the oung guns Andrew Weatherall or Steve Bicknell were spinning. This is most possibly where it all started for me & the label and this unique recording captures it all like no other, like a time capsule, impressively, and amazingly, a classic slice of British rave history unearthed via Switzerland. Just close your eyes and go back to the phuture.



The Irresistible Force is underground legend, ambient dj, writer, critic of corporate dance business (thanks for that) and producer Mixmaster Morris. He became involved with the emerging UK acid house scene, touring with The Shamen and releasing his first and still outstanding album "Flying High" on Caspar Pound's great Rising High Records (to be reissued on WRWTFWW with that classic T-Shirt "I Think Therefore I Ambient"). He played all raves, clubs, radios and festival, all around the world, did so many mixtapes and compilations and more albums, always so enjoyable and and still is one of the most truly enthusiastic DJ around. He's currently preparing 3 new albums to be release on Ninja Tune.

mixcloud.com/mixmastermorris



Ramjac Corporation is Paul Chivers, producer, percussionist, sound artist and teacher, with first release on the cult London label Irdial Discs, one of UK's unsung electronic pioneers, known for his voltaic live shows during the heady Summer of Love in 1988 and beyond. Jamming his own flavour of sampled beats live from his Atari and Emulator, Ramjac performed at the now legendary Sunrise, Energy and Back To The Future raves and went on to tour with Orbital, The Shamen and The Irresistible Force. Ramjac went from playing from 50 to 10,000 ravers in a matter of months. In 2018 London-based record label Emotional Rescue have announced the reissue of Ramjac Corporation’s debut extended player “Cameroon Massif!” mixing a love of techno and house with dub bass and break beats into a proto-jungle swirl.

ramjac.co.uk



Sean McLusky went on to set up Brainiak Records with Tim Fielding, the legendary Live At The Brain albums, then they went to mastermind various London clubs like Love Ranch, Club UK, Sonic Mook and Mr C's The End. Today Sean McLusky runs Whitechapel Gallery in Hackney where this album release party is held on 11.03.2022. Sean wrote liners notes for this album.

whitechapelgallery.org



Mark Wigan was an influential pioneer of urban art in New York, Tokyo and London during the 1980s and 90s. Amongst other, he did the whole The Brain club visuals, as well as several records sleeves for Frankie Bones, A Guy Called Gerald and Bobby Konders. His work explores and responds to anthropology and subcultures, evoking a magical symbolism and the collective unconscious, ancient motifs and the beginning of language itself he has created a whole universe of compelling artworks. He was also involved in illustrating the London club scene. Mark draw the visuals for this album.

www.markwigan.com



This album is for Steen who what there on the night, and Louis the dancing cat.

And to all that where around there then, and somehow still are.
More

Bosq & Pat Kalla unite again for an uptempo disco funk floor filler with blazing horns, heavy percussion and disco tinged guitar & bass. Pat’s vocals, alternating between his trademark falsetto & hypnotic chants, perfectly tie together the tracks 70’s Funk, Disco & Afro influences.

The B-Side dub mix is a perfect DJ tool that focuses on the percussion breakdown, stretching out the groove and pushing the drums to the forefront. More

Vinyl Only

Colpo Grosso is back with another massive edits collection. More

Vinyl Only!
A much welcome to a new Italian job...Colpo grosso is here with an uplifting double sider of disco magic.
Things up with a piece of disco house that is designed to feed your mind as much as for your feet. More

Bosq & Pat Kalla have been traveling parallel paths from across the Atlantic ocean without ever intersecting for too long. They have both been deeply involved in the modern / retro Afro Disco scenes in their respective countries but it wasn’t until the legendary French producer & label head GUTS asked Bosq to remix Pat Kalla & Le Super Mojo “Canette” that they met musically. That remix was received so well by the public as well as the artists themselves that they decided to work on an original track together.

“Mouna Power”, sung in a mix of French, English & the Cameroonian dialect of Pat’s heritage places Pat’s smooth vocals over Bosq’s raw & heavily layered, percussion & horn driven Disco Funk. The Dance Dub strips back some of the vocals, pushes the percussion even further up in the mix, and stretches out the grooves, focusing more on the infectious B-section than the original. This makes for a perfect body moving excursion that will let the dancers delve deeper into the groove while being carried along by the horn blasts and Pat’s chanted vocals. The record features the renowned horn section of the Bogota Orquesta Afrobeat, and djembe work from “Beto” Salas, a world class percussionist from Turbo on Colombias Caribbean coast. Bosq as usual handles all the rest of the percussion, instrumentation & production. More

Repress!

Basic Spirit welcomes the first out-of-house artist to the label, our dear friend Fantastic Man. A household name at this point, FM hedges the Basic Spirit catalogue into a deeper, more euphoric territory, with four tracks that quite frankly melted our hearts and minds when we heard them. It's a big heads-down record, which gets a big thumbs up from us. More

Following on last year’s standout 7” release from Diogo Strausz, RNT now reveals the incredible extended mixes of the original pair of tunes, along with a strikingly beautiful remix of the title track by the inimitable Ron Trent. Originally conceived by the Brazilian producer to be long form songs that showcased the deep musicianship of Strausz and his cohorts, extended organ and piano solos and instrumentation now stretch out in all their jazzy glory across one side of a heavyweight 180g 12”.

On the the A-side, Ron Trent takes Emancipação positively interstellar, with added instrumentation and mounting percussion that builds toward a soulful and hypnotic peak, the way only he can do!


Emancipação:
Drums by Patrick Laplan. Moog, organ, electric piano by Rafael Vernet. Sequences and bass by Diogo Strausz. Mixed by Fred Deces.

50 Anos Em:
Grand piano by Rafael Vernet. Sequences, bass, congas, wurlitzer by Diogo Strausz. Additional production by Antoine Gaillet. Mixed by Diogo Strausz and Fred Deces.

Remix and additional production by Ron Trent.
More

Bosq & Kaleta return for the second single off their forthcoming full length album. Uplifiting Afro Disco & Funk are the name of the game on this beautiful release with artwork by Amanda Lobos from Brasil.

It's not possible to pick an A & B side between these two quality cuts, recorded between Bosq's Medellin Studio, NYC & Cotonou, Benin (one of Kelata's hometowns).

Sonayon is a midtempo summertime Afro Disco burner that almost doesn't need a translation from it's Gun (A language native to Benin and some parts of Southern Nigeria) lyrics for you to understand that it speaks of overcoming hardship & brighter days ahead.

Meji Meji, loosely meaning something akin to "two heads are better than one" in Yoruba takes a similarly positive stance, with Kaleta singing about unity over division on a heavy Disco Funk groove with blistering horns and heavy percussion.

Both sides already getting heavy support on dancefloors worldwide. More