No.1 x 2013

Mindless Boogie was a true trendsetter in the early years of the disco edit-boom. With a concept that set aside traditional genres and re-edits as simply DJ tools, they went looking for the right vibe no matter what the BPM counter said.
The label was run between 2006 and 2010 by Dirk De Ruyck (who also worked with Eskimo Recordings) & Tonic out of the small city of Ghent, Belgium. Size doesn't matter though, since Ghent has been a source of great dance music dating back to the New Beat-movement of the 1980's. Besides hosting some now classic edits by big names such as Prins Thomas, Lexx, In Flagranti & Todd Terje (under the pseudonym Wade Nichols, which was the real name of gay porn-actor turned disco singer Dennis Parker), the label made their name with some great edits by Tonic himself. Under three different names (Tonic, Skinny Joey & Rubber Room) and altogether six 12"-releases he stirred up an interest for both the leftfield as well as the mainstream (especially the discovery of everything Hot Chocolate made EXCEPT "You Sexy Thing"). The choice of original tracks was always the genius of Mindless Boogie.
Tonic recently put up an archive of his works on Soundcloud:

No. 16 x 2012

Long-time friend of the Academy, the Amen Brother Disco Band, has finally entered the realm of black plastic paradise with a 12" of some heavy edits on AMBRO 001.
And thus, a new label is born at the hands of Dubliner-in-exile Niall Kirk. The palette here is full of dusty, greasy stompers rolling along the desert plains with a mean & funky attitude. "Underground psychedelic soul" as Piccadilly Records puts it. I would say that this is a big step to re-organize (or wreak havoc if you will) on any record collection that separates disco from afro & psychedelic rock. They just wouldn't know where to put this one.

No.14 x 2012

The man from Pampas, Mr. Ric Piccolo, is following up on Diavol after the higly acclaimed  Diavol Edits-series (which I myself provided the third volume to) with a special digital EP of reworks/edits-and-then-some  of the yet quite unknown Argentinian producer Andres Massetti. The tracks that have been reworked all source back to the library productions under the name Music Hall Pop Orchestra, "directed" by Mr. Massetti. Specificly the Como Antes LP of 1977, which seems impossible to find (although the sleeve art seems to scream out bargain-bin find). The music is all about erotic flamingos flapping their wings in the sunset to a easy listening disco-fusion-house beat.

Ric Piccolo has been exploring his native crates before on the PampasDiscoShock mixtape series, and will soon be featured on the third volume of Heavy Rotation together with Frisbee Records regulars Albion & spAceLex.

The Diavol release is as usual digital & free (it's a brave new world) and comes with a kick-ass video and artwork by Enrico Nagel. Get it here: http://diavol.bandcamp.com/

No.9 x 2012

It's been a while since you heard from me here, since I've been finishing my bachelor degree (not in disco though). But I have been keeping myself busy on that scene as well, providing the third volume for the very interesting Edits-series by netbased label Diavol.
The Argentinian label is run by local discophiles Premini & Jovan, and they have developed a quite uniqe concept with this project. All volumes are released digital and free of charge, accompanied by cover art from interesting young artists and video trailers in the same vein of musical visualization as In Flagrantis promo films.
The first volume features edits of obscure Brazilian disco, new wave and pop signed by themselves, the second volume had Nassau edit the local flavours of his home country Italy. For this third volume I pitched in with one edit of a Swedish original (Subway At Night) but expanded to an international scope on the following three cuts (spanning three diferent continents - Japan, UK & USA) and also decided to keep the names of the originals to myself - not out of pride, I've just always enjoyed the mysterious side of edits more (it makes the crate digging so much more fun).
The cover art was provided by Los Angeles-based Cleon Peterson, and is one of the pieces of a series called The Practice Of Masters.
All edits are now available for free on Soundcloud but you can also show your love by getting the whole volume for just a dollar at the Diavol site.

No.6 x 2012

Heavy Rotation 2 is about to hit the stores soon, and sees the return of the cosmic-european trio of Albion, Spacelex and Dea to the frontiers of the edit desk, this time joined by the serious sidekicking of Emil Doesn't Drive. Fans of the blog should already be familiar with Albion since back in 2009, if not sooner. The first volume was a deep plunge into the same vaults of disco obscurity that has been the source for Albions classic mixtape series dating back to the CBS era, and volume two is no exception.
The Heavy Rotation team of cosmic explorers has for this trip as well as the previous manned the vehicle that is Frisbee Records (run out of Berlin by Spacelex), but I'm thrilled to say that their next mission will be on the Blackdisco label (run by Lovefingers & Nitedog in the U.S.A.), one that has hosted previous voyages by the likes of Basso, Alexis Le-Tan & Justin Vandervolgen.
And if you don't like waiting for good things to come, and want to have this slice of cosmos right away, Oye Records in Berlin has had the privilege to receive a limited first batch of these darlings. Go get one here, just don't be fooled by the incorrect release date.

No.2 x 2012

Here's a re-edit of jazz-funk organist Ronnie Fosters 1978 trip on a percussion-fueled boogie airplane which apparently crash-landed in Copenhagen, got picked up by local digger Jens Dahl and re-built into a working machine, ready to fly again.

RONNIE FOSTER - MIDNIGHT PLANE (Jens Dahl Edit)

No.21 x 2011

Another killer cut from our guy in Dublin, mister Niall Kirk. So what's on the plate? Lots of space for those drums to pierce through - and they certainly do - and a healthy dose of shenanigans over at the synthesizer to take the edge off the otherwise overwhelming coolness.

Not sure if this is a rework of a John Travolta track as the title would suggest (how about it Niall?), but anyway you get a picture of his crotch cirka 1978 just for good measure.

Update! The Amen Brother Disco Band will see it's first vinyl release soon, featuring this hot track, therefore we're switching the download link to a Souncloud-preview, yank! Great news Niall and god bless your groovy fingers!

Amen Brother Disco Band - Travolta by niallkirk

No.12 x 2011

Cazbee and Richard Sen (of Padded Cell) are both old school UK grafitti writers who by some chain of events have wound up as modern day disco pioneers. Their label Mixed Blood Cuts, mainly sporting their own re-edits, has been flawlessly staking out the sound of a total meltdown between hiphop, rock and disco into pulsating bass-heavy dance music.
Their latest release on Autodiscoteque is no exception, starting off with a classic electro-funk nugget gone crazy.
When not teaching his son Persia wild style-ing on trains, Cazbee has generously loaded up his Soundcloud with edits left on the shelf. Not surprisingly, they're all ace. This one is however, in my opinion, a real killer! Any ideas on what the original could be?

CAZBEE - MAGIC ME

No.1 x 2011

Amen brother indeed! An irish dude getting his hands all over a Czechoslovakian prog disco cut from the late seventies is surely something to praise. And especially since it's the very promising chap Niall Kirk that is behind the grandios alias of Amen Brother Disco Band.
The name apparently originates from the Amen Brother parties that he and his friends have been hosting at the McKenna Brewery, obviously the hotspot of the city of Monaghan. And if it's psyched out and heavily funky disco you want to hear whilst enjoying your pint of beer, but like me live too far away to be able to just pop my head in there, you can always download the recurring mixes that Niall puts together as resident over at MNtothat.
Getting on to the edit at hand, he's really spotted a winner in this one. Building up steam with an infectious groove led by a hillbilly-style funk guitar riff and then occasionally turning on the taps on some heavy rock breaks, all the while keeping the wonderful singing of Bohuslav Janda. Great stuff.

AMEN BROTHER DISCO BAND - TAK-PO

No.53 x 2010

Our friend Crinan from Gothenburg has dug up some primo norwegian disco. I first heard this in a mixtape by Tiedye, another couple of guys from Gothenburg, made for the music section of the danish fashion label Wood Woods excellent website.
Back in the 90's Crinan made electronic dance music released on Börft Records. Now he runs the music blog/club Mind On The Run and is together with a friend responsible for the Parlour releases, some of the hairiest and most wildgrown edits put on vinyl over the past couple of years.
This one is jawdroppingly rough and funky progrock groover. Åke Aleksandersen in fact started out as a hairdresser in Oslo, and then moved his way to the microphone by playing drums in a jazz band. The songs title refers to the king of winter, a common figure of scandinavian mythology, which seems to have taken over as the unchampioned ruler of the weather during the last days.


FRANK ALEKSANDERSEN - KONG VINTER (CRINAN EDIT)

No.51 x 2010

You could say it was quite unfair that Eric Duncan (Dr. Dunks) stole the limelight from Space Kudu with the release this year of a much praised edit of the same Dolly Parton song that the Kudu did a rework on just last year. But in the game of hype, credit is often overlooked in favor of some influential friends. And I hate to say it, but I like the slower cut that Duncan gives it.
So it's a hard choice not to agree with old Harvey that he is "pretty much the best editor on the planet right now". Especially since his latest (well it's new to me) effort under the C.O.M.B.I. moniker is a monster of a floorfiller. This time speeding things up in an epic take on Village Peoples 5 O'Clock In The Morning from 1980 (when the group was re-invented as a kind of new wave version of Imagination).
But - to be as diplomatic as I can - I would say that there is a thin but substantial line between an editor and a DJ, and whereas Space Kudu surely shines when it comes to unearthing rare and overlooked grooves, Duncan is the guy who can really play a record.


VILLAGE PEOPLE - 5 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING (C.O.M.B.I. Edit)

No.46 x 2010

Curtis Black of the Phantom Dogs Disco outfit takes a spin on the B-side of the french cosmo-rockers epic Philippe Renaux-produced Future Woman 12" single, which the Academy covered extensively in a recent special.
Here it seems the guys are left to figure out things themselves (no Renaux or Honeyman on credits), which they had no trouble with. The hissing vocals are hilariously "sexy".
This version kicks out most of the mellow string parts and focuses on extending the dubbed out percussion climax, even adding a little extra echo to the mix.

ATOMIC CONTROL - CURTIS BLACK EDIT

No.45 x 2010

Daniel, who helps to run the gallery space Makeriet where The Academy recently exhibited (pics are on the way!), also has a local club called Music People together with two people. A guy called Johannes and a girl called Johanna.
Johanna Knutsson lives in Berlin where she makes dance music and cuts hair pro-style. Her first EP will be released early next year by Klasse Recordings.
She's recently put some of her Knutsson magic on an old proto-house joint, So Good So Right, off the classic gay disco album Body Talk by Imagination.
As far as I know, this is the first introduction on the disco edit-scene by a woman. Wether they are generally too cool to care about such a marginalized effort or just feel left out of the picture, the reason why the output of disco edits over the last few years have gone under the adjective of "bearded" is pretty plain to see.

IMAGINATION - SO GOOD SO RIGHT (Johanna Knutsson So Easy Edit)

No.41 x 2010

To tell you the truth, I really don't know who Mystic is. I was searching for this particul song and found a random and seemingly anonymous download link of this pretty awesome edit. And since I can't find any other information about this mystery editor I guess he really lives up to his (or her?) name.
The original is an oriental flavoured disco boogie cut from 1978 by the same producer that would later go on to cut some serious latino cheese with Kaoma. But here, Jean-Claude Bonaventure really nails the groove with that sitar. The Panama project (which also included prolific drummer Serge Haouzi who worked on all the Martin Circus albums as well as the Zebra record together with Bonaventure) later went on to record a very tribal percussion trip of that Doobie Brothers song.


PANAMA - SO HIGH TONIGHT (MYSTIC EDIT)

No.40 x 2010

It's been a long while since I posted something from my friends of Vidderna over here, mainly because we all blog over at Prejka together now.
They cetrainly have been keeping busy; with a recent tour of São Paulo, releasing a very limited split 12" with Ljudbilden & Piloten on Neosordo Records, as well as doing an upcoming tour of China. And yet they are always moving forwards on the lookout for new sounds, records and instruments. Often intertwined into the hybrid projects they call Vidderna Versions, which has of yet spanned everything from turkish prog rock, swedish new wave & Bryan Ferry.
Far from your ordinary edits, these are elaborate remixes with live instrumentation and studio tricks far from the reaches of my comprehension, but still very subtle and a with a carefull enchancing of the original. This tribal excursion by old aussie goths Dead Can Dance from 1996 was picked out of oblivion recently and sent into deep meditation.

Dead Can Dance - Song of the Stars (edit) by Vidderna Versioner

No.23 x 2010

How wierd this world can be, that a Checkoslovakian guy picks up a foreign record with an 80's mainstream look and hits a jackpot of sleezy synth boogie, while here in Sweden most of us would shrug at the notion of yet another Carola record while flipping through a bargain crate. The fact that this crazy-eyed christian is one of our biggest celebrities and the queen of schlager here also makes her name and recording efforts invisible to the eyes of anyone who doesn't buy into the wholesome swedish lifestyle.
A nice surprise it is then, that my computer machine told me about this amazing blog and this dudes re-edit of Carolas 1983 single Hunger. Thank you (and God bless you) Oozlum for re-introducing us to the cheesy yet cool sound of Carola.

CAROLA - HUNGER (OOZLUM EDIT)

No.21 x 2010

Did some fixing up on an old Killing Joke track I found in the basement of the post-punk movement, caught in flagranti banging on the machines of the emperor.
The angry young man-singing had to go, but the teen frenzy is still there. The rhythm leaves you with a slightly seasick impression, like drinking a whole crate of Jolt Cola while headbanging.
I will be playing this at my friend Mathias excellent club SPASM tonight (which happens to be held in a basement), along with some action-synth-laser-rock out of the 1980s.


SERGIO RIZZOLO - MOLOTOV MODULATOR

No.20 x 2010

King Sling & Samo DJ finally closed the book last year and ended the saga that was High Feelings, one of the greatest yet most shortlived record labels out of Stockholm.
Three years in the running did however unveil such classic cuts as the COS MES Sadistic Skatepark 7", Kool DJ Dust The Disco Opera LP and some timeless techno from Over The Hill (Samo DJs excellent re-edit of an obscure library record).
High Feelings went beyond the re-edit scene with the way they presented themselves, and thus defined its greatest nerve as a cutting edge phenomenon of pop culture.
Here is an awesome New Wave-Electro joint from catalogue number 002.


KOOL DJ DUST - TURBO BY MR Z

No.19 x 2010

Gary Numan, master of baselines & Star Wars fan. We've all been in a constant mind-blown state here at the Academy over the allround awesomeness of Numans vast catalogue, largely due to Bonar Bradburrys epic re-edit of his Music For Chameleons, which introduced his work from the stale shelf of New Wave unto our discoteques.
Our main chopper Tobinski puts some loving touches on another knockout track, Stormtrooper in Drag, which appears to have originally only been released as a solo single of fellow Tubeway Army bandmate Paul Gardiner, despite most credits belonging to Numan.

GARY NUMAN - STORMTROOPER IN DRAG (TOBINSKI EDIT)

No.10 x 2010

I found this crazy Russian record from 1983 at an outdoor yardsale last summer. As with most east-european records, the english subtitles sound riddiculuosly awkward when out of context. Which is much the same these days with the cut and paste language of Babelfish.
Anyway, there are some spaced out disco vibes on two of the tracks, and I decided to do an edit of one of these. Anastasia starts off with some cowbell action straight out of some farm, and the bouncy guitar'n'strings groove is coupled with schmaltzy but charming vocals. There are however some excellent breaks thrown in here and there that make this a killer on the dancefloor. Насладитесь!


YURI ANTONOV - ANASTASIA (RIZZOLO EDIT)