Disco/Nu-Disco

Still buzzing from the first House of Spirits 12 Inch earlier this summer, RNT tops up our collective high with even more soulful bliss from the mind of Tom Noble. A Brit-funk inspired uptempo heater with spindly guitars, driving bass and a joyous vocal hook, 'Please Take Me There' is another all original modern retro offering that portends the massive gravity of the full LP to come. On the B side, Dutch producer Makez reconfigure the tune into a sultry vocal house excursion, and Sizmo takes it to the beach with an extra wavey balearic A Capella dub. End of Summer essential!

Tom Noble, digger extraordinaire, owner of Superior Elevation Records, and general Brooklyn/LA legend, dons his House Of Sprits moniker for the first single from a forthcoming LP on Razor-N-Tape.'Times Are Changing' sets the tone for this album project that collects the work of nearly 15 years, a gritty vision of modern-retro soul that throws a reverent nod to its Mizell Brothers and Patrick Adams influences as it brings the sound into the future. Recorded with all live instrumentation and mixed tough for the dance floor, this limited 12 Inch boasts an extended original and instrumental on the A side, and a huge remix from Aussie synth wizard Harvey Sutherland on the flip that highlights the rich instrumentation and extremely catchy vocal hook. A surefire summer jam, this is timeless music that is only the tip of the iceberg from a future classic album.

LA via Paris classically trained keyboard wizard DAVID ZYLBERMAN AKA GHOST from EGYPTIAN LOVER's spaced out synthfunk backing band follows up his sold out/out of print STAR CREATURE debut with another set of Contemporary Electronic Jazz Funk primed for peak hour dance floor action. After flipping bananas covers of LONNIE LISTON SMITH and ROY AYERS, he drops an original production that gives that same synth driven, rhythm forward dance vibe. The B Side takes us straight to deep space with an uptempo cracker of a remix of BRIAN BENNETT's ‘SOLSTICE” done in a zero-gravity flavor previously considered impossible. The promo copies have already seen major support from Chicago and NYC heavyweights.

Limited edition of 1000 exs. Special DJ cutting, 45 RPM, one remix per side.

Surfing on the wave of 1980’s Nippon’s bubble of electronics and economics, fashion and the femme fatale, explosion of its pop culture and computerized technopop, and the world’s sudden fascination with everything Japan, a group of young studio musicians stemming from Tokyo’s downtown of Akihabara and Kanda came together for ad hoc recording sessions between 1982-1986. Their goal… produce the next domestic hit album, a travelogue of city pop inspired by the urban yet lonely sprawl of now globally admired Asia. Yet their vision of the concept album under the City Heights moniker never came to see the light due to the group’s sudden disbandment after the tragic loss of love.Led by the guitarist come arranger-producer HASEGAWA Joe (Jô) and keyboardist KATSURAG Mariko, the City Heights sessions drew form Tokyo’s musical melting pot of early 1980s with a distinct blend of jazz, funk, boogie, spiced with a local touch of Nippon’s finest electronic instruments.Now, restored, remastered and occasionally redubbed by Japanese music connoisseur Sten Saluveer aka MILDHANS, this second, highly anticipated volume will take you on a journey through the love-longing nights of Aoyama, to the festive matsuri bustle of Jô’s hometown of Kanda, the Jasmine dreaming of Taipei, and a quirky nod to a then legendary musical superhero.

Naya Beat continues to champion South Asian musical heritage with the aptly titled Bhangra House Xtc EP featuring music from the late great Manjeet Kondal with remixes from Mr. Scruff and new tracks from label heads Filip Nikolic and Raghav Mani aka Turbotito & Ragz. It celebrates the overlooked influence of late 80s dance and dub music on Bhangra and comes complete with over-the-top artwork, an ode to Bhangra sleeves from the era.This EP pays homage to a special and relatively untold time when Asian and Western producers collaborated to bridge musical cultures on the dance floor and when British Asian youths were finding their own space at daytime raves. It is in part a tribute to Bhangra innovator Manjeet Kondal, who passed away late last year, and part a tribute to the forgotten yet scintillating confluence of acid house and dub music with late 80s and early 90s Bhangra, now highly sought after as long out of print 12”s.Kondal, a founding member and percussionist of the legendary band Alaap, left to pursue his solo career as a vocalist. He helped broaden the Bhangra sound by incorporating elements of dub and house into Punjabi folk and traditional instrumentation. His first album, Holle Holle became a household hit, and it is from there that the originals for this package are taken.The famously deep digging and eclectic selector that is Manchester's Ninja Tune regular Mr. Scruff remixes Kondal’s proto-house banger Ishkaan De Mamle. He first became a fan of Turbotito & Ragz after their label’s superb Naya Beat Volume 1 release and doesn’t disappoint here with a sublime acid house-inspired take with the most infectious and bounciest of basslines. He also serves up an Instrumental Dub and Vocal Strip Down that twists the original into subtly different moods.Next up, Turbotito & Ragz deliver a dub tribute that works with Kondal’s vocal stems from an assortment of tracks from his album ‘Holle Holle’. It's a compelling and vibrant sound with exotic instrumentals and dubbed-out low ends, all held together by hooky Punjabi vocals. It also comes as a Lovey Dubby Dub version.With dance music now coming full circle and South Asian DJs increasingly regular faces on the mainstream festival, club, and underground circuit, this release is a fitting and timely modern tribute to the pioneers that came before.