I love Arthur Russell’s work, disco and avant-garde alike. Recorded during the years of 1985-1990, this material is culled from two albums, Corn, which was completed in 1985 but never released, and an abandoned Rough Trade album. I would describe the sound as avant pop with a serious disco sensibility. The album was released in 2004 so it’s actually kind of a new release, and even if the music itself is older it still sounds unique and contemporary. It’s the weirdest music to ever get stuck in your head, but music you’ll want to listen to over and over. The last song, “Calling All Kids,” is one of my personal favorites, if only for the refrain, “Grownups are crazy!” set to what Pitchfork describes as the noise from a digital keychain. You might dance, you might sway, or you might move in strange coordinated herky-jerky movements listening to this album. The whole thing is goofy, fresh, and kind of brilliant.

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This is probably one of the more essential disco sets you can get. Larry Levan is one of the most famous DJs of all time. Together with Frankie Knuckles, with whom he used to spin at the Continental Baths, Levan is often seen as one of the progenitors of house music, creating a dub-influenced blend of disco, hip-hop, funk, and European synth pop during his infamous sets at the Paradise Garage. I’m not gonna wax nostalgic about Paradise Garage since I was never old enough to visit, safe to say that Levan’s tastes in music were eclectic enough to bring in crowds with a little more color than the superficial, sanitized Studio 54 set, keeping disco where it started: underground. Sadly, his profile waned after the Garage’s closure, though he still made contributions to the ever-evolving club culture, such as designing Ministry of Sound’s sound system in London.

Some of the best songs include “At Midnight” by T Connection, and “Get On The Funk Train,” by Munich Machine, which just sounds like sex (”OK, blow my whistle”).

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Disco never died, but its geniuses did. Russell was one of those geniuses. Originally trained as a classical cellist in Iowa, Russell studied with Ali Akbar Khan in San Francisco in the 1970s. On his own, he split his time between avant-garde cello compositions and funky disco productions for Loose Joints, Dinosaur L, and Lola, but his passion for both shines through in each. This includes such hits as Wax The Van, Is It All Over My Face, and Pop Your Funk. My absolute favorite song, however, is not any of the disco singles but rather Keeping Up, a curiously subdued experimental pop song which features an electric cello, hush-hush harmonizing vocals and a lot of space to wander. This album should make you dance, think, then wonder why you’re not dancing, and then dance some more.

Like many awesome people, Arthur Russell died of AIDS. He had collaborated with people like Allen Ginsberg, Philip Glass, David Byrne, and John Cage. In the month of his death, Kyle Gann from The Village Voice wrote, “His recent performances had been so infrequent due to illness, his songs were so personal, that it seems as though he simply vanished into his music.” Even if his life ended too soon, at least he was able to truly collapse into his life’s work; now a part of him lives on forever.

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This is what I have of the Well Known Pleasures EP by VEGA, of Neon Indian fame (below).

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Meanderthals are, according to Urban Dictionary, “People who wander around aimlessly and always seem to get in your way in stores and supermarkets, chatting on their cell phones and paying no attention to their surroundings.” So starts the last.fm description of this new dj/production outfit’s debut, though I myself prefer the second definition, “Conversationalist that wanders from one subject to another with no apparent point, never reaching the end of the story.” This album is a combination between Norwegian producer Rune Lindbæk and London disco sensations the Idjut Boys and was recorded live between Oslo and London. The end result? A slow, meandering mixture of folky acoustic atmospherics with a balearic sheen. It’s disco on its day off, taking a vacation from the dancefloors of the shores to summer in the fields with a midday picnic. It’s lazy, wandering electronic music that is as sunny//trippy as it is slow\\groovy, with influences ranging from psychedelia and krautrock to dub and lounge. Highly recommended.

For fans of: Studio, Quiet Village, D. Lissvik, Hatchback, Air France

Best tracks: Andromeda (Prelude to the Future), Desire Lines, Collective Fetish

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I have been anticipating this album ever since I first heard of its planned release from Cosmic Disco. Perhaps it was its pairing with the above album cover, which showcases a subtly lascivious physique, which reminded me to pursue it. After I thought all was lost, I did finally get a hold of it and here it is. Afrobutt is the moniker of London-based disco-wonderman Stevie Kotey, who regularly releases leftfield electronic music on his own label, Bear Entertainment. This album, Kotey’s debut on UK label Electric Minds, is actually a collection of re-edits which cleverly combines dance styles across a spectrum, bringing disco back to the melting pot it always was. Throughout the record there is a strong calypso rhythm laced with afrobeat percussion, even as many tracks are solidly cosmic disco. Album opener Urgent Workout Required is a funky disco bouncer, and songs like Torro de Butt and Morning Bump can get pretty raunchy at times. The whole album is a bountiful collection of chuggy jungle beats with space disco fervor. It sounds at once fresh and timeless, like Lindstrøm covered by Daniele Baldelli. Make no mistake about it, it is disco to the core, and as tacky/wunderful as the cover may seem, the songs rival its glitzy splendor.

Best Tracks: Urgent Workout Required, Torro de Butt, Disco Mudma, Feast Your Eyes, Banger Disco, Morning Bump, Wunderbutt

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OK, so I am now the fourth (so far as I know) blog to post this, which means it’s up to you, dear reader, to spread this everywhere! With cover art like this, you know it’s gonna be some ultra-kick-ass retro 80s french house electro nu disco awesomeness, but you just don’t know the degree to which FM Attack has hit the nail on the head. Although there are only two songs from which to gauge his talent (check his myspace for more), Vancouver’s Shawn Ward has proven his place in a burgeoning scene that is often overcrowded with cheap imitators. The first track, Disco Attack is a nice, rhythmic deep housey electro track that recalls early 80s French clubs, while the second track, Take Me Away, is a much fresher and contemporary interpretation of retro electro sounds with a nu-disco sensibility brought to us by artists from the Valerie collective such as Anoraak, among others. Each track represents a pole on the range of electro music wonderland that FM Attack deftly traverses, though if I could I would encourage him to stick to innovating with more tracks such as Take Me Away for a more accessible full-length and stick to extended edits of tracks like Disco Attack for his live performances, which I eagerly await.

Two full tracks at 320 kbps, pick ‘em up down below!

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I always think I have all of my slow, cosmic disco music when lo and behold, I am missing another essential new album by a pioneer in the style. This is that album. Chuggy, stardust-sprinkled stoner disco (as I am now referring to this stuff), this will bring you down nice and easy and have you continuing to dance, even if you’re just swaying in bed. I highly recommend, if the cover doesn’t speak for the wonderfulness that lies inside…and beyond.

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Disco legend. First album. 320 kbps. “La Vie En Rose.” “I Need A Man.” Ultimate classic. Ultimate necessity.

I have decided to write less as I increasingly have more to do and less to write, and realize that when looking for links you probably care less about what I have to say and more about my taste. Also, a guy who smells like ravioli just sat next to me and I want to move so I don’t have to listen to LBJ talk for three hours with my surroundings smelling like the bottom of a pot of pasta. Gross (yet my stomach is rumbling….)

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Who are Diamond Vampires? A crazy ass disco band with a free album, that’s who! It’s basically disco heaven. Or maybe mysterious disco, secretive disco, or walking in a dark alley late at night disco…

I recommend Friday Nights as a starter, so you realize how cool this album is. It’s ridiculously understated evil disco wonder. Go at it. Check out their site (to download the album, but also to just look at the cool looping model shot videos).

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Here’s another (meta)disco release, and one of the all-around best albums of the disco revivalism in the past few years, and it comes off Eskimo Recordings. This music is disco couture, carefully woven to create the best beats and non-beats around. Some of the best songs are the ones without “slow” in the title, but all of them are top-notch. This has been really highly praised recently, and with good reason, so do yourself a favor and check it out. Album is at 320 kbps too, and the cover art is beautiful, as it is for all their singles - check their myspace for more.

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This is a really INCREDIBLE album from Dan Lissvik, one half of equally awesome Balearic krautrocky guitar disco revivalists Studio. All the tracks are untitled, so I had it titled as they would be on the record itself (A1, A2, B1, B2, etc…). Correspondingly, it’s hard to tell you which songs are truly badass, but that’s because ALL of the songs are. No, seriously. This is a dance party like you’ve never heard it. It’s almost hard to describe…it’s otherworldly music, but not in a tacky “making fun of otherworldly music” way, but genuinely new and wow. I can’t describe this very well. If you like Studio, Can or Neu!, get it.

The album’s at 320 kbps, so you have NO excuse to not get it (unless you have a small hard drive). I think the intermission track is A4.

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This has got to be one of the top releases of the last decade, and I believe it is one of the best releases of the millennium thus far. It’s slow, funky and crazy original “meta-disco” (my new favorite last.fm tag). This is how I previously described it: “The best genre I could classify this as would be ’stoner disco.’

Seriously.

Like some teenage Balearic surrealist warrior said “fuck society i’m gonna disco” but caught too caught up with all the sour diesel coming in from up north and wound up feebly but brilliantly smoking hir way out of the middle of the dance floor. Excellent song “Free Rider” clocks in at 4.20 minutes, “Too High To Move” adds a touch of humor and class, while the closer “Keep On Rolling” is the perfect plush melody for any comedown. I strongly recommend this album for the most frivolous of Fridays.”

Enough said.

The album’s at 320 kbps, perfect for playing super soft or ultra loud!

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This leaked a few days ago and I was SO ECSTATIC that it did that I didn’t even listen to it until right now, as I’m sharing it with you. It is the sophomore effort of unstoppable nu space disco wunderKINGS Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas. Although I haven’t listened all the way through yet, it seems to have a slightly more kraut-rock/yacht-rock beachy flavor to it where their debut was more traditionally space-disco influenced (think a dash of Studio in place of Daniele Baldelli). That being said, it is still an all-over epic cosmic disco album, and L&PT continue to push the boundaries of this exciting and (re)newly popular genre with their measured additions of rock instrumentation alongside lush cosmic synth loops. This album will make your year. Have at it.

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This is a brand new album from venerable Italo cosmic disco master/founder Daniele Baldelli. If you liked his historic Cosmic, The Original, then there is no reason to not try this - it’s his first album of fully new material in a looooong while, and I have a hope that it will pave the way for a space disco revolution on the dancefloors over the next few years. Snap it up and dance it out!

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Grace Jones is a goddess born out of the Paradise Garage and runways of Paris. She defined the post-disco sound of the late 70s with her albums Warm Leatherette and Nightclubbing, and she made a comeback this past year with Hurricane, her first album of original material in 20 years. It is KICK ASS. Aeroplane did a remix of William’s Blood, which you should hit up for sure.

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Grace Jones: Reclaiming primitivist stereotypes or reinforcing them?

This came out last year, it’s by Kleerup, a famous producer for Sweden who came to prominence for me with his writing/production of Robyn’s “Every Heartbeat,” which appears on this album as well. This is probably one of the best albums from a producer that I’ve heard in a while. I listened to it the entire summer, on repeat. He has a lot of guest vocalists (Neneh Cherry!) who simply add to the beauty of his electronic instrumentation. It’s just really lush and wunderfull electronic disco-y pop.

Too bad he looks so crap on the cover. Seriously, man, clean up a bit.

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I don’t actually really like this band, but maybe just cuz i’m in a pissy mood. It’s kind of harder disco(f/p)unk shit, idk, i feel like it’s a little overdone. it’s just kinda…brash and vulgar (just like their second album title). so whatever - get it or not…your choice

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So this is Aeroplane. They are also on Eskimo Recordings, kickass nu disco label with Lindstrøm on its roster, among others. They remix a ton. Their own songs are good too. Here they are (i was too lazy to go drag the remixes into the folder so you’ll have to find them yourself which shouldn’t be hard considering these guys are the shit recently). They did a song with Kathy Diamond. It’s on here. They don’t have that much out yet until their full-length, which is inevitable, so this will have to do for now. Check out DISCODUST for a great remix they did of Grace Jones’ “Williams Blood”

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He’s the man. Oh yeah. The Man. And he’s got a hell of a plan.

He’s the shit. He remixes Prins Thomas. He remixes everyone. I wish he would come out with his own album. Soon enough. Meanwhile, here are all the tracks by him I could find, including a pack called Edits, which is I believe all of his (best?) remixes to date.

Let me know if he has anything else out (in the comments) and I’ll work on putting it up.

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