Disco Not Disco - Post Punk, Electro & Leftfield Disco Classics 1974-1986 [Album]

Strut Records

October 21, 2009, 05:25 PM

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Strut records (STRUT) has quite an array of talent signed to their label. Luminaries such as Grandmaster Flash sit alongside up and coming artists such as Kid Creole and Amp Fiddler. With Disco not Disco, Strut Records is attempting to educate a wider audience to the joys of the roots and beginnings of Disco music. Music that was released an age ago, that was distinctly different to what had come before, and as such, paved the way for new genres to be born - like Post Punk, Leftfield and Electro.

Now it must be said that I am no expert in music from the mid seventies and mid eighties, but I listened to Disco not Disco with open ears, eager to find nuggets of creativity, imagination and sublimely talented production that paved the way for the future artists that we know today. Low and behold that is exactly what I got.

Vivien Goldmans 'Launderette' opens "Disco not Disco" and we get a very lively bass, coupled with some nicely reverberated vocals. The line "I can't get away from you, even in the launderette" kind of sums up the track: the off-kilter drums and sporadic percussion elements give 'Launderette' a slightly drug inspired, psychedelic feel. Delta 5 - 'Mind Your Own Business' immediately makes me realise how much, if not all of todays music is somehow derived from what has come before. It is so obvious that The White Stripes were influenced by this track from Delta 5.

Track Four 'Your Life' by Konk is a stand out on "Disco not Disco" with its early synth bass and drums reinforcing some Tribal-Punk thoughts. On listening to 'Your Life' I imagined that it would have worked an absolute treat in the heady days of the early eighties, with a call and response vocal having more than a shade of an Italo-Disco feel. James White and The Blacks with 'Contort Yourself' is a real Funk treat. Obviously wanting to be an alternative James Brown, James White throws a whole load of Funk our way, with a tight bass line and immaculate drum production, it is a very effective song.

Yellow Magic Orchestras' 'Soul Music' is another stand out, with a very modern 4/4 beat and techno percussion, the rhythm elements are deep, full and very modern. Featuring a strong dose of Psychedelia and Progressive Rock, along with a telephone-effect filtered vocal, the song is a definite stand out on "Disco not Disco." The final few tracks though is where "Disco not Disco" really excels itself. The early Hip/Hop and Electro tracks that Afrika Bambatta used so effectively to inspire so many, really stand out on this compilation. Material's 'Don't Lose Control' features what now seems customary in today's music, a vocoded vocal, synth percussion and synth bass. The overall effect harks back to very early Kraftwerk that could easily be called the parents of Daft Punk, if you get me.

Kazino's 'Binary' is another early electro number with a big, wide lead synth line backed up by a funk rhythm guitar. The final part of the compilation though is where things really start to wind up. The Spanish 'Los Ninos Del Parque' by Liasons Dangereuses is a very early Electro-House number, with a heavily effected vocal and an arpeggiated bass line which builds and builds in a way that even current Electro-House tracks struggle to do even with the current technology they have at their disposal.

What stands out most on "Disco not Disco" is the fact that the production techniques that have have been used to produce these songs are not far removed from the techniques used today. The only difference being that there wouldn't been quad-core Apple Macs, Reason or Logic. It would have been done with Atari's and DAT's. A Number of Names' 'Sharivari' has already become a modern day dance music classic with a string of big name remixes, and listening to the original, we can see why. With the originals reverberated claps and hi-hats coming straight from what is now a classic and much in demand hardware drum machine.

"Disco not Disco" is a real treat of a compilation. It brings to the listener (me included) a wealth of great new music that is in fact old. The fact that a lot of the music still sounds current shows that Strut knows their stuff. They have provided us with a collection of "old" music that is still echoed in much of today's music. Six Sed Red in their 'Beat em Right' feature skipping drums, reversed kicks, and highly effected vocals, techniques that would have been at the forefront of music production technique at the time. Maximum Joy's 'Silent Street/Silent Dub' is also a track on "Disco not Disco" that is heavily referenced in today's music, with, what is undoubtedly a dub-step shuffle, some very strange, airy, reverberated vocals and even some vinyl crackle to boot!

Strut have given us a gem of a compilation that will appeal to all fans of music of this era. It may not be for everyone, and a lot of the younger audience may not appreciate the fact that the music was made twenty or so years ago. I certainly did. Good work for not letting these tracks get lost Strut.

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