Various
Oz-e Drum Traxx

Napoli has long been one of Italy’s most musically vibrant cities – a metropolis famed for colourful, atmospheric and vivid dance music, with a rich and diverse sonic history stretching back to the disco era. For the last 36 years, it has been home to Gigi Testa, a bona fide local hero whose work not only draws inspiration from Neapolitan music of the last four decades – think Pino Daniele, Tullio de Piscopo, Tony Esposito, James Senese & Napoli Centrale, Nu Guinea, Mystic Jungle Tribe and rising stars such Fabio Fattore, Daniel Monaco and Raffaele Attansio – but also high-quality deep house and African music in all its forms.Testa remains largely unheralded outside his home city, where he’s long been a regular fixture behind the decks at events such as Neuhn and at renowned audiophile club Basic, despite winning plaudits for a string of singles and EPs on his own World Peace Music and Freedom Dance imprints. Now Testa has become the latest artist to contribute to the Rush Hour Store Jams series, delivering a four-track EP that takes his self-proclaimed world music-meets-club music approach in kaleidoscopic new directions.Inspired by a mixture of 1980s, post-boogie African music, the sounds of the Caribbean, Testa’s love for dance music from New York and his own Neapolitan musical roots, the Esoteric Paradise EP is an entertaining, each-catching collection of cuts the effortlessly blurs existing musical boundaries. Rich in synthesizer and drum machine sounds, it should delight all those who love melodic, tropical-tinged electronic music.

Sensational – that’s Frank Hatchett! These words can be found on many of the 16 albums credited to the legendary jazz dancer, choreographer, and teacher to the stars. At the height of his fame in the 1980s, Hatchett’s classes in New York City at the wildly popular Hines-Hatchett studio (now renamed the Broadway Dance Centre) attracted celebrities including Madonna, Brooke Shields, Olivia Newton-John, and Naomi Cambell. Though he hated flying, preferring to cruise in a Corvette from Massachusetts to Manhattan, each week saw Hatchett jet setting for classes and performances around the world.In the highlights compiled on this expansive double LP set, the sounds of Hatchett’s albums run the gamut from disco and funk in the 1970s to electro and proto-techno as they glide through the ’80s. Like many albums in the dance instruction genre, nearly one third of the songs are covers (Prince, Paul Hardcastle, Earth, Wind & Fire, Billy Cobham) and most clock in at a brisk 2:30 – the ideal length for Hatchett’s classes or his students’ recital performances. Fans of library music will find a similar focus on immaculate performances, while the tightly coiled drum breaks, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and thumping 808s will send rare groove collectors into a state of head nodding bliss.

Ross From Friends—AKA British producer Felix Clary Weatherall—returns with ‘Tread’, his keenly anticipated new album. 140g clear vinyl 2LP housed in artworked inners in a gatefold sleeve. Artwork by Matt Avallone. MP3 album download included.

long overdue reissue with rock city pioneer Billy Jones.. here's what he had to say about his crew....in the early 80's Billy Jones was the lead guitarist for an outstanding group of touring musicians who called themselves 'The Incredible Rock City Band'. They performed on military installations all over the United States for the U.S. Dept. of MWR for more than ten years during the 80's and 90's. ...I'm sure that there are many veterans out there who remember seeing this band at NCO and Officer's clubs back in the day.