Emotional Rescue returns after a much-needed year hiatus, refreshed and ready, as it moves into its 15th year, to further explore the environs of oft-forgotten musical secrets and present them to new heads and minds.

To celebrate, the label looks back to one of its favourite collaborations, the music of French ‘Ethno-Industrialists’ Vox Populi! in presenting a truly unique EP of “In Dub”, inspired remixes by 4 fellow Paris based artists of today in Full Circle, Froid Dub, Krikor and Shelter.

“In Dub” takes a selection of songs from the series of albums reissued or compiled on Emotional Rescue and sister label, Platform 23, and gives the Master tapes to this talented ensemble to offer their own, unique dub reworks. The project explores the on-going advances in technology offered, mixed with pure talent and a respectful homage.

Formed by Axel Kyrou and including wife Mitra, as well as long-term music and art partners Pierre Jolivet aka Pacific 231 and Francis Lafont aka FR6 Man, they forged a path from obscure, drum and drum-based cassette releases on to fully realized albums and compilations on their now cult Vox Man Records.

Alexis Le Tan and Joakim’s Full Circle project starts, with their electronic dub remake of Soleyman Dub from the ‘Alternatif Réalisme’ compilation (ERC079). With releases on Good Morning Tapes, Offen and their own “Released” label, their plaudits as master diggers and producers of dubby tripped-out inspired electronics – releasing slowed Trance some 10 years before anyone else – is inspired. Tuning in and turning on the original dub into a mantra style slow-breaks (Digi)dub is the perfect experimental flavour.

Jube Man is next, a twisted, psychedelic dub out by rising stars Froid Dub. The stand-out from the ‘Magiques Creations’ release (ERC052), an album that explored Vox Populi’s furtive post-industrial period of 1984 to 1988, Jube Man was the perfect selection by the duo of François Marché and Stéphane Bodin.

Froid Dub have steadily developed their “cold” Digidub style to acclaim –

releasing a steady flow of dub inspired electronics on their own label Delodio, as well as recently appearing on sister label Emotional Response’s 10th year anniversary collection, ‘All Trades’. Their haunting, shuffling and murky acid / piano dub, with the drifting “Space Echoing” of Mitra’s vocals from the live desk mix, creates a ghostly version to effect.

Next, master mixer, producer and engineer Krikor serves a steppers remake with his “OverDub” of Zen-Dub. With a career that spans releases on Tigersushi, LIES and Soul Jazz, his sound has developed from Electro, House and Techno, to Acid, Bleep, Dancehall, Dub and touches of Gabba.

Taken from Vox Populi!’s master-opus Aither (ERC030), the first of our reissues dating back to 2016, Zen-Dub’s pacey, lo-fi dub experience is transformed and overdubbed into an incessant sound system throb, a true bass quaking “steppa”.

To close, Micro Climax is put through Shelter’s increasing avant dub exposition. Appearing on the likes of Growing Bin, Emotional Response and his own Protopost, as well for – and being in-house designer – on the much-missed Séance Centre, Alan Briand aka Shelter productions have developed from Balearic, Edits and House to explore Avant, Raga and live Dub productions.

Appearing on the recent ‘Ethniques Pyschedeliques’ compilation on Platform 23 (PLA032), in original form Micro Climax is a sprawling 10-minute ethno-dub of whispered vocals, drone and sub bass. Shelter strips it back, keeping background effects, adding live bass and percussion to create a wonky, slow, shuffling ska-lite excursion to complete a true “In Dub”.

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Emotional Rescue presents the music of esteemed New York producer and sound engineer, Eric Calvi, coming together with friends, including the legendary Steve D’Acquisto, for the one-off electronic disco project Exo Fender.

Spread over 2 EPs the songs Big Mood and Music In My Mind are remastered and come with special updated edited versions by one of NYC’s latter day producers par excellence in Justin Van Der Volgen.

Born in Paris, a self-confessed music nut, Calvi moved to New York to be involved in an epicenter of music, during the furtive cross-over of 1980. Alongside studies, he landed an internship at Sound Ideas studio. Working for free, essentially as a goffer, the studio was his school. From there, he stepped on to the legendary Hit Factory and Record Plant studios, first achieving success engineering and mixing Cameo’s global hit, Word Up.

That led to becoming house engineer for fledgling hip hop / electro label, Tommy Boy, working with Africa Bambaataa and a stream of era defining releases. Going freelance he worked with a slew of artists from Chaka Khan to Miles Davis, before becoming A&R at Universal Records. Alongside this, Calvi was a club regular, a member at The Loft and Paradise Garage, becoming friends with David Mancuso and engineering for Larry Levan.

Exo Fenders grew out of friendships of those clubbing years. Exo Fenders first saw Calvi and fellow producer Phil Romano, plus musician-singer Randy Fredericks, team up to create Big Mood. Produced by Calvi, it was created as a ‘call and response’ to Laid Back’s cross over club hit White Horse.

Recorded at Sound Ideas studio during down-time, the tongue in cheek nature was backed with an infectious groove, that saw Calvi playing all the instrumentation and Fredericks on vocals. Co-produced and named off hand after Romano worked as a volunteer rehabilitating ex-offenders, the project sat to one side as a one off until the following year when Music In My Mind was created.

Released together on the little know Canadian label, Coach House – not to be confused with the labels run by Eddy Grant – the 12” garnered considerable club play and has gone on to become a highly sought and expensive slice of the tail-end of New York’s golden era, for DJs and many collectors.

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Emotional Rescue returns to the music of the Eric Calvi, presenting the collective project that was Exo Fender, a group of friends, musicians, fellow producers, club and studio buddies who came together to create a one-off release.

While the first EP covered Big Mood, their ‘call and response’ to Laid Back’s White Horse, the second release was recorded a year later, this time revolving around Eric’s friendship with DJ and producer Steve D’Aquisto to create the live boogie jam Music In My Mind.

A Brooklyn native, D’Aquisto began DJing as a teenager in after-hours in the late 60s. By the early 70’s he was a regular DJ at gay discos, including the legendary Le Jardin and Sanctuary, before eventually getting a personal invitation by David Mancuso to come to his new party, The Loft.

A regular and friend of Mancuso, together they came to the idea of starting a way for DJs to get better representation, distribution, and promotion from the record labels. The founders of the idea of the Record Pool, this gave greater legitimacy to the concept of a DJ being a career and integral part of the music industry that laid the foundations of much of what came later.

At the same time, his friendship with Arthur Russell he described at the defining moment of his life. Their meeting and then working with Russell in their project Loose Joints yielded one of the all-time disco anthems with Is It All Over My Face? (West End Records), as well the sublime Tell You (Today) (4th & Broadway), plus a string of still unreleased songs.

His long-time friendship with Eric Calvi came from hanging out together at The Loft, inevitably leading to taking down time studio sessions, with the idea to forming an actual band. As with Loose Joints, the idea was a real live band, with drummer, guitarist, keyboardist, and bassist all brought up together from Philadelphia for a West End session. Sung by friend Kip Kapland, D’Acquisto and Calvi co-produced Music In My Mind at Quandrasonic Studios and together with Big Mood, the one Exo Fenders 12” was released later that year.

Again the label brings in Justin Van Der Volgen, one of NYC’s best producers today. With a string of releases, remixes and edits over the last two decades, he has more recently gravitated to mixing and producer for a myriad of artists. His edit here, however, showcases all his talent. Straight to the groove, a long looped intro before teasing bass, guitar and vocals come in and the new arrangement leads dutifully to the drop, before the big soprano saxophone finally comes at around 6 minutes in, building his edit to perfection.

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Repress!

The Dancefloor Records reissues on Emotional Rescue comes in the form a true House classic. Produced and released by the Chicago legend Andrew Komis, It’s You is an original Deep House bomb and an education to those increasingly misusing the term today.

Essentially a cover / updated version of the all-time early House classic in ESP’s Its You, this 1989 update shows how much the scene was progressing in just 3 years with a tougher, heavier and deeper 12” that was all about rocking club sound systems.

Coming out on Komis’ own (Dancefloor subsidiary) Big Shot Records, this might not of been as big as Dionne’s Come Get My Lovin’, but has long been an ‘in the bag’ record for the likes of Derrick Carter and Solar. Just one listen spread across the time-defining “Mixes” and it’s clear why.

The stepping bass of the New York – London Mix was so indicative of the time. As the latter’s ascent as a clubbing capital took hold, ears were pinned to what was emanating from across the seas, especially the clubs of NYC and ‘Windy City’. Trademark Komis bass and hats ride are all here to allow the breathy vocals space to do their magic.

However it is the Free House Mix that really shows where things were at. Skipping hats, electro-meets-Belgian bass and a dark synth line pull the track down before acid touches take the song to a much deeper place and has long been the favourite version for the discerning DJ.

Ending with what was indicative of the time, the title says it all with the NU Style Mix. A drum heavy work out, taking in elements of successful records of the time, we get Break 4 Love percussion arranged around a NYC influenced Konder’s style quick cut-up editing for a more 'freestyle' mix to round out what is simply, an underground bomb and therefore, worthy of what this label has always been about, bringing great records to new ears.

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The last of the Konduko series from Emotional Rescue arrives now and quite possibly it is the best of the lot from Noel Williams. His 'Fantasy' saw him work with Larry Dermer aka Der Mer on what is an effective and catchy electro jam that operates at the higher end of the tempo chart with some classic vocoder vocal action to really make it pop. Despite being released originally in 1984 this one still bangs with its emulated TR-808 beats and nagging melodies. The instrumental heightens that and then the Jonny Rock Discomix shuts down with long-form rework that shows why the DJ, editor and all-round amiable bloke is so well regarded.

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South African Warrick Sony is a ground breaking composer who was behind the Kalahari Surfers project which now gets a vital spotlight courtesy of Emotional Rescue. This compilation shows how effortlessly eclectic his sound was - from jive rhythms to jazz, tabla to political speeches and much more in between. A Hindu pacifist who was once conscripted into the South African Defense Force, he founded this group as a way out getting his ides out there, calling on other musicians as and when he needed them. It was the first radical white anti-apartheid pop in South Africa and as this vital collection shows it explored polyrhythms, slow motorik, dub sound collage and even a goofy cover of Nancy Sinatra.

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King Sporty is something of a chameleonic artists, not that many people know. He started out int he 70s making reggae and soul 7"s, then moved into disco, boogie, hip-hop and electro 12"s during the 80s, and then when house music hit in the 90s he evolved once more. This new drop from Emotional Rescue takes a tune from that late era. 'Computer Music' is four to the floor with electro influences and a lazy break that pull you in deep. Far-sighted chords bring a serene sense of cosmic majesty while a filtered vocal adds space age vibes. A dub is included as well as the Universal Cave Discomix by the Philadelphia DJ and production crew. A retro-future EP indeed..

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Emotional Rescue's vital Konduko reissue series sadly comes to an end here with a look at the label's final years. In those days it moved away from reggae, disco and boogie towards an enduring electro sound that had a vast and lasting impact on the Miami scene. The biggest tune from that time was when Noel Williams linked with local songwriter Lawrence Dermer aka Der Mer for the track reissued here. 'Fall Out' soon became a hit with its driving electro-funk rhythms. The original sits next to the later Fresh '86" mix as well as a NAD disco mix from Dan Tyler, best known as one of the Idjut Boys. It's an irresistible package of body-popping electro with hooks for days.

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Noted reggae vocalist Barry Biggs comes under the Emotional Rescue microscope here with celebrated LA digger Patrick Billard aka DJ Duckcomb remixing one of his cuts. First up is the original version of 'Illusion' which has big pianos over the clean digital dub. The soaring vocal is obscured by plenty of lush effects and melodies. After a version twists and contorts the original, the DJ Duckcomb Discomix slows things down and ups the dazzling disco vibes but keeps the dub dubby bottom end to ensure plenty of dance floor impact. This is a classy one as ever from this label.

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Here comes Emotional Rescue and Konduko's last in their series of Noel Williams/King Sporty reissues, this time looking at later electro productions and the hip-hop/boogie influenced 'Sun Country'. Vocals and co-production come from Williams' long-time partner Betty Wright and as well as a vocal and instrumental mix there's a longform remix by Bay Area disco dub stalwarts, 40 Thieves.
By this point in his career, the godfather of Miami Bass had travelled a long way from his Jamaican roots in reggae and soul, paying homage to the warm climbs of the Sunshine State and laying down a much copied template using the TR-808 drum machine create the electronic emulations of the breakbeat, claps accenting the backbeat and trademark low frequencies shaking the floorboards. The instrumental stretches the arrangement, emphasising the interplay between electronics, bass, vocal samples, scratching and fx, the voice transformed into a percussive element in its own right. The flip sees 40 Thieves flexing their understated understanding of electro funk, making for a rounded, generation-jumping package.

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Group Du Jour was founded in Portland, Oregon in 1983 and have had a storied career spanning the decades since. They have always brought together live, ethnic, and electronic sounds with folk and modern pop, later getting ever more experimental. Early albums Forgotten Colors in 1986 and Wonderful Vision in 1988 are groundbreaking affairs, the latter of which gave rise to 'Motion Of Waves', which is something of a cult favourite for deep diggers. It is a rich instrumental groove that layers up synthesiser, flute, guitar and haunting vocals sitting over a brilliantly electric beat. The whole thing was a live one-take recording and is perfectly suited to both sunset and sunup moments of dancing pleasure.

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There is always a good backstory to the music that Emotional Rescue releases and this EP is a case in point. It comes from Betty & The Code Red and Betty was the girlfriend of Tunde Obazee, a Nigerian-born artist who used music as a "non-violent tool to express his socio-political opinions on global injustice." The pair would entertain people on campus by playing anything they could get their hands on, informed by the old Edo folk songs they had grown up around. They went on to live in Italy and the US and start a family as well as lay down self-released songs that have become cult classics. A selection of them feature on this, the first of two EPs from the pair.

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Betty & The Code Red is a life and creative partnership between Benin-born Tunde Obazee and his girlfriend Betty. The pair grew up in Nigeria and would play all manner of instruments to entertain people at the local school before staying together as they went on to live in Italy and the US. Obazee performed at colleges and universities despite no formal training and eventually recorded a selection of tunes together including a small album on relatively new bits of gear like the Yamaha RX7. Especial has collated some of their best work across two new EPs, this being one of them.

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Emotional Rescue looks to the newly rebuilt but still very much culturally separate East and West Germany of the 1980s with this new EP. It's dub reggae through a post-punk and alternative lens by Hanover artists Felix Holter aka Dubvisionist. All these cuts have a very live, improvised feel because father way he worked from rhythms first and jammed endlessly before adding the vocals. They are taken from their 1987 release 10 Tracks Of Reggae & Dub Music which was inspired by the great Adrian Sherwood label On-U Sound label, and you can hear that clearly.

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Emotional Rescue can be relied on to dig up obscure, left of centre dance gems and serve them up to newer, wider audiences. Adu's reggae-pop cut 'Burkina Faso' is a great example, re-purposed for the dancefloor without any of its original flavour lost in the overhaul. A
South Saharan/West African emigre to Brixton, Rauf Adu would go on to fairly sizeable European fame with the Eddy Grant-esque 'Human To Human'. This, however, is his 1982 debut for Copasetic Records, another reggae-pop inspired, ludicrously catchy effort with scorched electric guitar and a Compass Point-style drum/bassline providing rhythmic rocksteadiness. As well as the buffed up original, there's a dub mix, which gives his beautiful guitar plenty of room to breathe, and an appearance from the Isle of Jura Sound System boss Kevin Griffiths , whose remix completes the trio of mixes.

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Emotional Rescue is delighted to debut a first. Rather than a straight reissue of an (obscure) classic or a collection of music by an artist or label, here presented is a compilation of various artists centered around a sound and movement reggae-tinged music and how it influenced and spread from the Caribbean and diaspora.

Drawn from the off kilter digging of archivist, DJ and collector Bruno (perfectliv.es), Nowhere Like Here is not a follow up, but a sideways accompaniment, to his recent and already cult like 'Perfect Motion' collection of left field pop and new wave, recently self-released with Flo Dill (NTS).

This is a special release to celebrate the label's 10th year and beyond, offering a treasure trove of lo-fi and often pop inspired reggae cuts, mixing heartfelt Lovers Rocks style paeans and quirky private press oddities, all guaranteed to 'make-a-move and tap', these are, in the main ridiculously rare or impossible to find alternative bombs, that are just as sound system rocking and massive bass line quaking showcases of the enduring legacy of this Jamaican music phenomenon.
As with much of the early 80s period, the music community was in the throes of a Do-It-Yourself cultural renaissance as small labels, where crazy limited, one off White Labels Onlys came and went. Songs like Avalanche 's 'Your Love is Such a Good Thing 'or Warp Speed's 'Take It To The Night' were part of the claiming the means of production in to their own hands, pressing up the records and self-distributing. This raw, naive exuberance can be heard in the songs themselves. This is not reggae or Lovers as known, but something more expressive. Musical, simply produced, but with intelligible and uplifting optimism that is just superlatively catchy.

While Paul Thompson's 'Can I Take You Home' and Ras Ibuna's 'Black Beauty' are more straight-ahead Lover's style cuts, there is the parallel dance pop private pressing vibrations of the two Keith Robinson songs and Majority's 'Caroline' included all part of a thread; a joining the dots that Nowhere Like Here is at its most basic, a warmth the whole album exudes.

This is not a Lovers Rock Hits of some, but a left-of-center versioning, spread across Double Pack and cut loud for DJ play, fitting the ethos of Emotional Rescue by presenting something most will not have heard before and all the better for it.

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Emotional Rescue dives back in the world of post punk experiments and early synthesised electronics to present another of the labels iconoclastic 7" 'collectors specials', with a look at Stockholm's Staalfagel.

Born in 1977, Erik Fritjofsson and Petter Brundell merged and formed Staalfagel out of the suburbs of Jakobsberg. Like so many at the time, the duo was tired of Prog, Jazz and Symphonic Rock and formulated something new and against at the same moment; a time where drummers were jettisoned in place of drum machines and the inspirations of artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Devo and Pere Ubu were thrown in the mix to fervent results.

With Micke Kjell soon joining on bass, they toured Sweden constantly, the manic machine beat, beating guitars and strange synth sounds defeated the throng and led to a considerable following. Recorded live to tape with no overdubs or mixing, the faithful CR 78 drum machine, the results radiate energy.

Release just 4 records in 2 years (1980 - 1982), Utan Rymddrakt Pa Uranus appeared as their last ever release. Jettisoning the punky-funk vocals of previous releases, the single is a pure electronic groove. Funk bass and guitar atop, its short form simplicity is perfection distilled in 2 parts of less than 3 minutes, conjoined like some reggae dream, with 'Uranus II' acting the dub 'version' counterpoint.

Discovered and shared by long-time friend, DJ and collector, Gary The Tall steps out from behind the decks and microphone of his long running NTS show to present an exemplary "Reversion". Teaming up with master producer and label affiliate, Timothy J Fairplay on engineering duties, they keep the originals' straightforward charm, deceptively editing, looping and reversing with aplomb, for a killer flip side.

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REPRESS ALERT!: A planned reissue for many years, the untimely passing of Steve Coe shortly after the label's rerelease of The Ganges Orchestra's The Dream put everything on hold. However, time moves and so now seems a fitting time to revisit this "world dance" classic with fonder hearts. Long cherished, it is a reminder of Steve's enduring studio mastery. After the initial success of his work with Sheila Chandra in Monsoon, Steve expanded his musical scope, working on an Indipop compilation as clubs looked to Eastern flavours to add a new dimension for the dancefloor.

Teaming up with tabla disciple turned teacher, Jhalib (Millar), as well as long time collaborator Martin Smith, it's hard to imagine Mysteries was first heard in 1982. Hailed as an all time classic, it's enduring appeal can be seen in how it became a staple for the likes of Danielle Baldelli at the infamous Cosmic club and beyond to become an original Evissa "balearic" secret play for Weatherall & co in those fateful summers of love and beyond.

Remastered especially for this release, the orchestral Eastern melody and mid-tempo chugging rhythms and vocals marry in perfection with a dub bassline of Wobble inspired depth. This alone would be enough, however, the original is at last backed with the 1988 remix. Aimed at the then burgening New Beat scene, a subtle straightening kick is added, but it's the unmistakable vocals of Sheila Chandra that finally brings this release together in melodic harmony. Peace be with you Steve. I AM x

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Taken from the already popular Joaquin Joe Claussell Unofficial Edits & Overdubs 2XCD Limited 7” Vinyl Release. Comes Joaquin Joe Claussell’s Edit and Overdubs of “Energy to Burn” by BT Express.

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Emotional Rescue presents the music of esteemed New York producer and sound engineer, Eric Calvi, coming together with friends, including the legendary Steve D’Acquisto, for the one-off electronic disco project Exo Fender.

Spread over 2 EPs the songs Big Mood and Music In My Mind are remastered and come with special updated edited versions by one of NYC’s latter day producers par excellence in Justin Van Der Volgen.

Born in Paris, a self-confessed music nut, Calvi moved to New York to be involved in an epicenter of music, during the furtive cross-over of 1980. Alongside studies, he landed an internship at Sound Ideas studio. Working for free, essentially as a goffer, the studio was his school. From there, he stepped on to the legendary Hit Factory and Record Plant studios, first achieving success engineering and mixing Cameo’s global hit, Word Up.

That led to becoming house engineer for fledgling hip hop / electro label, Tommy Boy, working with Africa Bambaataa and a stream of era defining releases. Going freelance he worked with a slew of artists from Chaka Khan to Miles Davis, before becoming A&R at Universal Records. Alongside this, Calvi was a club regular, a member at The Loft and Paradise Garage, becoming friends with David Mancuso and engineering for Larry Levan.

Exo Fenders grew out of friendships of those clubbing years. Exo Fenders first saw Calvi and fellow producer Phil Romano, plus musician-singer Randy Fredericks, team up to create Big Mood. Produced by Calvi, it was created as a ‘call and response’ to Laid Back’s cross over club hit White Horse.

Recorded at Sound Ideas studio during down-time, the tongue in cheek nature was backed with an infectious groove, that saw Calvi playing all the instrumentation and Fredericks on vocals. Co-produced and named off hand after Romano worked as a volunteer rehabilitating ex-offenders, the project sat to one side as a one off until the following year when Music In My Mind was created.

Released together on the little know Canadian label, Coach House – not to be confused with the labels run by Eddy Grant – the 12” garnered considerable club play and has gone on to become a highly sought and expensive slice of the tail-end of New York’s golden era, for DJs and many collectors.

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Gina X makes her way to Dark Entries for Greatest Fits, a compilation of gems and jams from the eccentric New Wave icon. Gina X Performance was formed in Cologne in 1978 when art history student and chanteuse Gina Kikoine teamed up with synth wizard Zeus B. Held. Inspired by Patti Smith and Lou Reed, Kikoine aimed to create "the absolute union of music, poetry and travesty," a lofty goal that she most certainly would achieve. 1979 saw the release of the classic first LP, Nice Mover, which put Held’s lush electronic production in dialogue with Gina X’s deadpan delivery. Songs explore androgyny, decadence, and avant-garde art in a fashion that is stylish, sexy, and more than a touch transgressive. Nice Mover quickly became a cult favorite thanks to tracks like the euphoric “Nice Mover” and the dancefloor bomb “No G.D.M.”, dedicated to queer icon Quentin Crisp. Three more LPs followed in the coming years: X-Traordinaire in 1980; Voyeur in 1981; and Yinglish in 1984. The duo continued their genre deviance throughout, exploring uptempo space disco on “Strip Tease,” punk-laced New Wave on “Babylon Generation,” and icy electro-pop on “French Lift.” Greatest Fits is the first-ever double LP compilation of Gina X material. The 17 tracks on Greatest Fits were selected by Kikoine and Held, reflecting the duo’s most cherished moments from their wide-ranging catalog. The record comes housed in a gatefold sleeve designed by Eloise Shir-Juen Leigh featuring press clippings and photographs, and includes an insert with lyrics and memories about each song from Kikoine and Held.



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Emotional Rescue returns to the music of the Eric Calvi, presenting the collective project that was Exo Fender, a group of friends, musicians, fellow producers, club and studio buddies who came together to create a one-off release.

While the first EP covered Big Mood, their ‘call and response’ to Laid Back’s White Horse, the second release was recorded a year later, this time revolving around Eric’s friendship with DJ and producer Steve D’Aquisto to create the live boogie jam Music In My Mind.

A Brooklyn native, D’Aquisto began DJing as a teenager in after-hours in the late 60s. By the early 70’s he was a regular DJ at gay discos, including the legendary Le Jardin and Sanctuary, before eventually getting a personal invitation by David Mancuso to come to his new party, The Loft.

A regular and friend of Mancuso, together they came to the idea of starting a way for DJs to get better representation, distribution, and promotion from the record labels. The founders of the idea of the Record Pool, this gave greater legitimacy to the concept of a DJ being a career and integral part of the music industry that laid the foundations of much of what came later.

At the same time, his friendship with Arthur Russell he described at the defining moment of his life. Their meeting and then working with Russell in their project Loose Joints yielded one of the all-time disco anthems with Is It All Over My Face? (West End Records), as well the sublime Tell You (Today) (4th & Broadway), plus a string of still unreleased songs.

His long-time friendship with Eric Calvi came from hanging out together at The Loft, inevitably leading to taking down time studio sessions, with the idea to forming an actual band. As with Loose Joints, the idea was a real live band, with drummer, guitarist, keyboardist, and bassist all brought up together from Philadelphia for a West End session. Sung by friend Kip Kapland, D’Acquisto and Calvi co-produced Music In My Mind at Quandrasonic Studios and together with Big Mood, the one Exo Fenders 12” was released later that year.

Again the label brings in Justin Van Der Volgen, one of NYC’s best producers today. With a string of releases, remixes and edits over the last two decades, he has more recently gravitated to mixing and producer for a myriad of artists. His edit here, however, showcases all his talent. Straight to the groove, a long looped intro before teasing bass, guitar and vocals come in and the new arrangement leads dutifully to the drop, before the big soprano saxophone finally comes at around 6 minutes in, building his edit to perfection.

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In celebration of Pride Month, Kinga struts to Dark Entries with “Sexy Boy,” a steamy Canadian pop gem. Inspired by gender-bending pop stars of the 1980s like Boy George and Janet Jackson, a young Tomas Fussey aka Kinga ditched his “schoolboy appearance” to adopt an edgier, androgynous style. Immersed in Calgary nightlife, he became acquainted with sexy synthpop and disco songs like Madonna’s “Everybody,” Divine’s “Native Love,” and the Flirts’ “Passion” - songs which still linger in his mind. He began writing music: “It was 80s. Everyone was making a record. So I made one too.” In 1988 he teamed up with keyboardist Dan Madison and veteran producer Bob Gallo to make “Elevator Operator” and “Sexy Boy.” Kinga was surprised when the B-side “Sexy Boy” garnered substantial radio play from CFNY in Toronto. But he notes: “They saw the obvious... My physical appearance supported the lyrics.” In 1989, Amok Records backed a new “Late Night Dance Mix” version of “Sexy Boy.” Almost every part was re-recorded or remade, including Kinga’s vocals. The new version surprised Kinga with its slick production and moody atmosphere. Sales were disappointing, and Kinga stated “It was not the sound of the moment.” But these deeper house-inflected grooves feel like the sound of our current moment. This release of Sexy Boy includes five different mixes, including the original 7” mix, three versions from the 12”, and the previously unreleased “TV Mix”. Sexy Boy comes sleeved in a reproduction of the original artwork and includes an insert with liner notes and lyrics, as well as an 8x10 glossy press photo of the sexy boy himself.

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Originally Produced by Timmy Regisford, Donny Hathaway’s I love You more than you’ll ever know. Timmy produces another Shelter classic. Here he creates a back drop of electronic house music that seemly fits with Donny Hathaway’s emotional vocals. The flip side houses an Edits and Overdubs version produced by Joaquin Joe Claussell. Joaquin’s version is an instrumental that can be labeled as soulful electronic dance music and features Joaquin’s signature outwordly keyboard solo- overlaid over his re-aranegment of Timmy’s original version. The end results are a powerfully produced twelve-inch record that can be played and enjoyed by Deep House and Electronic DJ’s alike.

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Limited hand numbered 300 copies only. NO REPRESS
The new G&D 4 is amazing Disco Boogie edits, three powerful killer tracks for people who want to dance until dawn.
The versions are always seriously edited by the unknown Italian duo. The 3rd track is featuring Fede G. from the Grasso brothers,
Essential!! Supported around the world by the best Disco Djs.

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more copies coming in soon!

DISCO REMIXES!

PICTURE SLEEVE SHRINK WRAP HYPE STICKER!

A1. MEEE AND THE GANG (Raw StripDown Version)

A2. KEEEP THE BEAT (Extended Funk Mix)

B. AFRIKA (GE-OLOGY’s SunShine Mix)

C1. SUMTHING ELSE (GE-OLOGY’s DeepDisco Mix)

C2. STILL IN LOVE (Extended FeelTheFire Mix)

D. YOU DON’T WANT MY LUVVV (Beatin’ Hard Version)


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DISCO EDITS!

A. IN THE BUSH

B. NOW I KNOW

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Welcome to 'Instrumental Dubs #3', the ongoing series that delves into the world of the Dub Version and beyond. Side one explores the axis of UK Street Soul and Reggae with the opening two tracks produced by Howard Hill and originally released on his Passion Enterprises label in the late eighties. Both 'Versions' have a machine lead rhythm section paired with a reggae skank and snippets of soulful vox. The Proto House of Protek's 'I Love to Dance With You' featured on a Jura Soundsystem DJ Mix for Planet Trip, a one off single from the now sadly deceased Errol Parkes that's been re-edited with love by The Nightlark from Edinburgh.

The B side features The Cool Notes 'Natural Energy', which isn't strictly speaking a Dub Version, but it has that vibe with a primarily instrumental backing track featuring sparse vocals and spacey FX. The album closes with a secret weapon of Ilija Rudman 'Dub 4 Love' that pays homage to a famous track from Acid House's heyday.

Pressed on 180g Heavyweight Vinyl with full sleeve jacket design by Bradley Pinkerton.

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140gram pressing in 3mm spine Disco Sleeve

Two lost Disco classics appearing for the first time on a single 12” featuring soul legend Leon Ware and Jo Ann Harris, a little known backing singer for Bob Dylan throughout the 80s.

Both songs originally appeared on the ‘20 Minute Workout’ Video and LP released in 1983 by Canadian label Ronco, ‘What Does It Take’ providing an uptempo crescendo to the third part of the workout and ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ the final warm down track. Licensed from producer Ira Newborn, Hollywood soundtrack royalty who composed the scores for an incredible run of films including The Blues Brothers, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Naked Gun trilogy, Weird Science, Ace Ventura and Uncle Buck. Ira’s lawyer persuaded him to get involved in the project for Ronco and it was Ira who hand picked Leon Ware and Jo Ann Harris to add vocals to two tracks to aid the commercial potential of the album.

There are two original versions backed with extended instrumentals sourced from a rare Lazer Disc Version of the album. It feels right to shine a light on one of Leon Ware’s lesser known performances, whilst the Jo Ann Harris cut has a distinct Balearic air featuring sultry keys and sax at a tempo of 98 BPM.

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