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• Underground DISCO

Bo Kool / Funk Masters - (Money) No Love / Love Money - 21-Nov-07 08:19 AM
Gorgeous, early example of dub /disco from the underrated Funk Masters (who were seemingly alone in the UK in pushing a harder, New York groove whilst many other British disco / funk outfits, such as Light of the World and Central Line, were going down the far cheesier jazz / funk route). Ignore the Bo Kool side, which contains a simply hideous early rap (rhyming no love with rubber glove, for no apparent reason) and head straight for Love Money - deeeep bass and funky synth stabs mix with blissed-out jazzy guitar to stunning effect... and the contemporaneous remix that can be found on Champagne Records takes the groove even deeper, further playing up the dub angle. Utterly essential for any underground disco heads, even at its current over-inflated original 12" price...

West Phillips - (I'm Just A) Sucker For A Pretty Face - 24-Jun-07 03:07 AM
Wow. Classic piece of downbeat electro-funk from West Phillips, about whom I know very little. Hard to put ones finger on why it sounds so bloody great - after all, the vocals are so-so at best and the track doesnt really go anywhere too meaningful once it gets going. But its just... indubitably funky. And Suckers mix of ultra-tight guitar licks and typically 80s style synth stabs sounds surprisingly fresh even today... drop this early on in any set and watch those heads start nodding...

Renegade Soundwave - The Phantom - 19-Jan-04 10:03 AM
Although the years 1988-1990 are simply labelled as the UK acid house years, the most exciting music for anyone stuck in a freezing cold field during that time was the stuff that was loosely termed freestyle - it kinda covered alot of bases back then, from The Moody Boyz "Funky Zulu", to Masters At Works (the Todd Terry one) "Alright, Alright" to alot of Frankie Bones tunes to Renegade Soundwaves "Ozone Breakdown". But the master of all was undoubtedly "The Phantom". Very seldom did a bassline cause complete bedlam as soon as it came on (one of the few rivals in the acid house arena I can remember is Charles Bs "Lack of Love"), but this did the business everytime. And the difference between this and 80% of the acid house output is that "The Phantom" STILL sounds great today.

Various - New York Noise - 07-Oct-03 12:20 PM
Another slightly confused post-punk/dance compilation from Soul Jazz: if youre supposed to be highlighting NYs early eighties avant-garde club culture, why havent you included August Darnells excellent remix of "Contort Yourself" rather than the (admittedly also great) rockier Contortions version? And it may be an obvious tune to drop, but Dinosaur Ls "Go Bang" is infinitely preferable to the cheesy "Clean On Your Bean" included here (and if you had to include a lesser known Arthur Russell tune on the album, why not "Wax The Van"?). Disappointing.

Various - In The Beginning There Was Rhythm - 07-Oct-03 12:11 PM
Fairly disappointing compilation from Soul Jazz: top tunes from This Heat, Cabaret Voltaire & Human League, but The Pop Group & The Slits released way more interesting tracks than the ones featured on this album. And a couple of tunes lean a bit too close to early eighties jazz-funk for this listeners comfort...

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