Saturday 14 March 2015

What Year Is It? (Part 1)

Well hello there, old friends.

Some of you may remember me, others may not, so let me formally introduce myself. My name is Brodie Hamilton and I am a software engineering student from Australia, although some of you may know me better as Colour: that guy from the internet. While it really does not seem like that long ago, I was once a writer here at Ilictronix (back in 2010, wow that was a long time ago hey?). But now, after 4 years of being a follower, lurking quietly in the background, I have returned to share some of the gems I've found on my travels. One of the things Ilictronix has distilled in me over the years is a love and respect for disco, French and funk house, and that is exactly what I plan on bringing you today.


I wanted to dedicate this post series to songs that severely pre-date their actual release, and have somehow found a loop in the time-space continuum to find a way back from the past to delight music lovers in the present. Believe it or not, but every one of these songs was released in the past twelve months. Unfortunately the number of songs I wanted to include was too much for a single post, so I am going to split them up into a series of two for your enjoyment. The first post is going to be dedicated to those old-school disco vibes which made me fall in love with the house genre all those years ago. The second post will focus on a mashup of the various other funk house genres. So grab a drink, slip into something comfortable, sit back, and enjoy the ride.

Ahh, remember the good old days known as the 70's? Yeah neither do I. Being a 90's kid meant I missed out on this decade of implacable fashion, various social and political change, and not to forget the awesomeness that was/is disco. Thankfully the best bits have continued to influence our world all the way into the current century, and also thankfully the worst bits have been all but forgotten *cough* flares *cough*.

Cassara is a producer from Germany currently signed to a German/UK label known as Pole Jam Vinyl. 'La Vela', his tracks from just over 8 months ago, combines a funky bassline and that damn catch loop into a fast paced nu-disco track bursting with nostalgia.



Now lets slow thing down a bit with the disco powerhouse known as Ghosts of Venice. GOV have cemented themselves in the online disco community as one of the kings of disco house, and this track proves exactly why they are so loved and respected. Oozing disco vibes in every direction this track provides a repetitiously catchy loop with a damn fine funky bassline. And those vocals. Oh my lord. Those. Vocals.



Next up is Mr Joey Chicago, one of the gems I've stumbled upon while trawling SoundCloud, and he's a keeper. Dropping beats from Germany. Wait, Germany? You mean Chicago? Nope, definitely Germany. Anyway, while his SoundCloud may not get the greatest number of hits, his tracks reflecting classic disco house sounds is a trove of treasures for the old school disco and house fans and he has proves again and again that this guy is a pro when it comes to making catchy loops.




Right now it's about time I expose some serious talent from my end of the world. Both James Curd and Luke Million are two seriously talented blokes from nowhere else but my little city: Adelaide, Australia. These two excellent producers have teamed up to produce a track infused with some of the more traditional disco vibes all wrapped in a beautiful nu-disco package. While this track may not have quite the timeless vibes many of the other previous tracks had, it is refreshing to hear slightly more traditional disco elements emerge within the Australian house scene, and this track has been on solid repeat on my playlist over the past 8 months and doesn't appear to be leaving it any time soon.



Thanks for tuning in to Part 1, please stick around for Part 2 which should be up sometime in the next few days. I would also love to hear from you so if you're feeling the old disco nostalgia please hit us up in the comments below and let me know what you think.

Stay funky,
- Colour

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