All hail the Friday gods! It’s sunny and the mighty Factory Floor are back! London’s finest exponents of synth-techno-noise mayhem team up with the very special Optimo Music for the exclusive single “~(R E A L L O V E)”.

JD Twitch and his sometime collaborator Dave Clark unleash an absolute sky rocket of a remix. A jittering, euphoric re-tweaking of the London-based trio’s original, the Optimo (Espacio) mix floods the senses with relentless and pulsating rhythms that leaves you with no other option but to let out an almighty cheer and give a little fist pump. The weekend starts here folks. Actually, you can start your weekend by seeing Factory Floor aaand JD Twitch in real life tonight at the Citipost Building in glamorous London! (See flyer below for more details)

Make sure you pre-order your copy of ~( R E A L L O V E) here and here. It’s due for release on the 6^th April. Don’t sleep!

Factory Floor – ~ (R E A L L O V E) (An Optimo Espacio Remix)

I was devastated to hear about the passing of Loleatta Holloway this morning, who died of a heart failure at the age of 64. As one of the most distinctive voices of disco, Loleatta provided many, including myself, the soundtrack to many wonderful nights, with her voice leaving dance floors shaking and inspired. Best known for the extensively sampled 1980 hit ‘Love Sensation’ and many a Salsoul standard, Holloway’s powerful and unforgettable voice forged a memorable and magical chapter in dance music history.

So here’s to you Loleatta, there’ll never be another like you.

Loleatta Holloway (November 5, 1946 – March 21, 2011)

Loleatta Holloway – Catch Me on the Rebound (Walter Gibbons 12″ mix)

Funky Brazilian legend Eumir Deodato has a few jazzified disco classics to his name, from his stupendous nine-minute spaced version of Also Sprach Zarathustra to perennial disco compilation favourites Super Strut and Whistle Bump, his catchy Latin rhythms still resonate today.

“S.O.S Fire In The Sky ” was released in 1984 and was the opening track of Deodato’s album Motion. Upbeat and leaning more towards the HI-NRG way of life (if ya know what I mean), the song was recently included on the fantastic Disco Discharge series further confirming the Man from Rio’s enduring appeal.

Deodato – S.O.S (Fire In The Sky)

I’m really looking forward to Matt Edwards’ (Radio Slave, Quiet Village) forthcoming project, The Machine. Released on his own fantastic imprint Rekids, the album promises to be a cracker, as the below clip will testify. Edited by none other than Lovely Jon of Jigoku  (who will be personally gracing these pages in the very near future!), it calls upon voodoo spirits and beguiling minimal beats to create a slightly NSFW mini-epic!

Till next time, see you at the Videotheque!

It’s not every day that we have a “hip, young band” gracing the pages of our brilliant website but Archie Bronson Outfit – Domino’s very own trio of bearded ruffians have always had a fond place in my heart. Whether it was their obvious references to psychedelic dark disco type stuff or their crazy rhythms, they always seemed alright to me.

The hotly-tipped and ever so talented Moscow remix the group’s second single from the album Coconut with a lovely and balmy Balearic finish.  Hypnotic and all soft synth pads, it just proves that these Archies are alllll right.

Archie Bronson Outfit

The Clash shed a lot fans when they released ‘This Is Radio Clash’ in 1981. Released on a 12” between the ‘Sandinista’ and ‘Combat Rock’ albums, it was a massive club smash, promptly entered the disco charts and the Clash famously divided their fanbase. It marked the point when the band started to experiment with their sound to incorporate dub, dance and gospel influences. When they went to New York in the early eighties, they started to immerse themselves with the burgeoning rap scene and the culture that went with it.

Hooking up with infamous graffiti artist Futura, who they asked to go on tour with them, they released this downtown classic in 1983. With the Clash providing the dubbed-out groove and Futura rapping on top, it’s one of the many exciting examples when NYC’s music scenes cross-pollinated, creating an explosive downtown clash.

Futura 2000 – The Escapades of Futura 2000 (dub)

One of my favourite Metro Area songs ever, this bubbling track from 2006 seems to sound better every year. Does that mean the quality of ‘dance’ music is generally declining or does it mean that I need to get out more? Anyway, since the gloomy weather has taken hold, I fancied posting this. A sumptuous slice of minimal nu-disco, with its spongy electro-bass and lush synth-pads, it should cheer you up almost immediately. Well, it cheers me up!

Formed by brothers Stephen and Martin Eicher in 1978, the Swiss band Grauzone were part of the ‘Neue Deutsche Welle’ (New German Wave) – a collective of European bands who took their inspiration from punk, early electro and the grey decaying urban cities around them. From its early beginnings in 1981 from the underground punk scenes of Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg (amongst others) to commercial success in the mid-eighties, the NDW is now regarded to have exerted its influence on genres such as, new beat , electroclash and the ‘dance-punk’ phenomena of the early noughties.

‘Film 2′ is one of the genre’s understated masterpieces.  A b-side from the hit single ‘Eisbar’ (which was later covered by the Ad Man’s wet-dream group Nouvelle Vague), the track is unnerving and extraordinary. With it’s slightly off-kilter four to the floor beat and minimal yet driving sound, it’s a song that was way ahead of its time. Featuring on many mix compilations over the years (most notably Hot Chips’ DJ Kicks album), just shows the timeless quality of this cult 1981 gem.

Grauzone – Film 2