Super selections and wonderful words by our favourite four-to-the-floor expert, The Insider. 

SIM FOSSIL / TIDAL FIGURES / DREAM CHIMNEY

Sim Fossil‘s range of influences is truly impressive. The Paris-based Russian has made everything from disco to new beat,  from ambient to chug. Here he stretches his sonic legs once more across four new cuts on San Francisco’s evocatively titled Dream Chimney label. Here, his grooves are indeed perfect fuel for a mental escape with ‘Echo Marina‘ lazing on dubby rhythms while lush synth daubs and soft acid gently unfurl. ‘Null Meridian‘ has a hint of 90s post club downtempo and new age idealism to it, while ‘Nyrosine‘ is a gentle jostler with molten cosmic motifs and pure lava lamp fluidity. ‘Blackcurrent‘ casts you even more adrift in the cosmos while Max Essa and Project Sandro remixes twist things into more propulsive sounds. 

THE FUNKIN’ MACHINE / NUN TROVO CCHIU / CHIKI CHICANCAN (INSTRUMENTAL MIXES) / STAR CREATURE

Italo disco is a vast sound world which is often lazily used to mislabel various different styles that don’t belong. The Funkin’ Machine are on a mission to serve up true school Italo that’s full of scorching Mediterranean sun, lashings of their native Neapolitan groves and, as their name suggests, plenty of funk. The talented five-piece now lands on Star Creature with a fine taster for their upcoming full-length. ‘Nun Trovo Chou‘ is a cosmic jazz-funk burner packed with shimmering keys and live drums with breakout synth magic,  and ‘Chiki Chicancan‘ rides an Afro tinged rhythm that’s elevated by fizzy astral synths and an unrelenting funkiness, which builds to a rich, colourful crescendo that Sun-Ra might lap up if he were to hear it while high at Barbarellas. 

LINDA MIRADA / QUÉ LARGO ES EL VERANO / LOVEMONK

After 23 years away, Linda Mirada returns with a luminous seven-track suite that reinvents Mediterranean pop for right here, right now. Produced and mixed with contributions from top dogs Darshan Jesrani, Bart Davenport and Daniel Collás, plus a guest spot from North Satellite, these songs fuse sunlit Italo synths, delicate electropop melodies and subtle disco propulsion into pure bliss. Mirada’s vocals float between intimacy and wry world-weariness along the way, as she turns everyday moments into miniature epics. Nothing here feels retro for retro’s sake. The songs breathe with clarity and restraint. They’re charming, bittersweet and impeccably arranged, and result in a modern twist on Balearic that’s newly matured and sophisticated. 

LONTRA FT. SIR JEAN / MONEY, MONEY / CANOPY RECORDINGS

We often hear about various healthy local house and techno scenes in Portugal, but the Iberian peninsula also brims with funk, disco, and boogie, often infused with infused with diasporic influences from West Africa and the Caribbean… And that’s where Canopy Recordings comes in. The label is now four years deep and essential for both choice reissues and new school sounds alike. Brazilian Lontra is the latest to contribute with four cuts crafted between Bogotá and Lyon that draw on disco, house, Nigerian boogie and Afrobeat. The artist’s guitar and bass form the foundation, top brass players adding fiery horns, and the result is a multicultural fusion of instrumental prowess, while Sir Jean’s expressive vocals are sunny, and sublimely spirited.

TRIP TEASE & ALAIN VICE / SEX HAVING DISCO / ASTROLEAD RECORDINGS

As I write, temperatures in the UK are slowly falling and autumn colours are starting to creep in. What better way to cling on to the last throes of the best season than with this dazzling disco drop from Mexico’s Trip Tease and Alain Vice. It’s unashamedly sunny and joyous in its collision of 80s machines and retro / future disco colours. ‘Palcon Funch‘ is arp driven Jan Hammer-esque cinematic, while ‘Milano 2098‘ is a more introverted naval gazer with subtle prog licks  – that is until Prins Thomas flips it into a cosmic cruiser. ‘The Finest‘ has a rugged rhythm topped with tinny synth nostalgia and ‘Acapulco Wave‘ is all about reliving some hot, long-lost night of mid-summer lust you never really had but still yearn for. 

TOM NOBLE / LOVE TRIP & HOLDING ON / RAZOR-N-TAPE 

Lipton Whitaker and Tom Noble‘s House of Spirits project produced a highly acclaimed album on Razor-N-Tape back in 2024 and now some of the key jams from it are rewarded with their own 7″. ‘Holding On‘ is as good as it gets – live drums, with dusty imperfections, achingly beautiful strings and jumbled congas peppering its mid-tempo groove while a soaring vocal swells your soul. ‘Love Trip‘ takes flight with life-affirming vibes from the funky, knotted bass and lush vocal harmonies that cannot fail to lead to hands-in-the-air and loved-up sermons at the altar of whichever DJ has the sense to play it. Pure, ageless and emotive brilliance.

DA FUNKIE JUNKIE & COSMIC GIRL / CAVIAR JAZZ / RIGHT TEMPO

Every genre has a so-called golden era, but exactly when that is differs according to who you ask. This collection from Italian label Right Tempo makes a damn strong claim that house music’s halcyon years were between ’95 and ’05, which is when all these jazz-inflected sides first dropped. It starts strong with Daft Punk‘s loopy, filtered, funk remix of I:Cube‘s ‘Disco Cubizm‘ and continues to soar from there with the restless jazz licks of Cricco Castelli‘s ‘Life Is Changing,’ thumping drums and the synth rapture of NYC Live & Direct‘s ‘Move Like This‘ plus the swaggering house bump and majestic Rhodes work of Frankie Knuckles‘ ‘Bac N Da Day (Clepto Mix)’. All sounding as real and irresistible as ever.

ARTWORK / RED / BIG APPLE RECORDS

Big Apple Records dig into their vaults and reissue Artwork’s landmark debut dubstep EP. In the process reminding us the OG sound takes some beating. In the talented hands of Arthur Smith Techno, wayback when in 2002, garage and dub all collided and got reshaped into something new, presented here across the three filthy, lip-curling classics. ‘Red‘ is all about the warped low-end throb and the lively drums and hits, while ‘Relic‘ is something previously unreleased, lifted from a resently unearthed DAT, that has a darker energy and menacing late-night urban swagger. Closer ‘Rank‘ still sounds so fresh, it could well be have been made today, arriving as part of the current mutations of bass and garage soundtracking booming basements all across the UK. 

LOGO ALLOY & ZAM T / LOVE ODYSSEY / VIBE ME TO THE MOON

Vibe Me To The Moon continues to stake its claim as one of the US’s most essential new deep house labels. There’s nothing especiallly ground breaking about the music, but it’s just so well crafted, put together with such feeling, that it will always be welcomed by real heads. South African duo Logo Alloy & Zam T are behind this latest transmission, tapping into the musical legacy of heroes like MAW across four vocal cuts. Some swirl to the stars in sentimental reverie, some are widescreen, jazz-tinged cruisers for the small hours and some get more humid and heady for cosy backrooms. The strident drums and empowering pomp of ‘Don’t Go Stay‘ is our current favourite. 

JIMPSTER, ASH LAURYN, OVEOUS / NORTH ATLANTIC / FREERANGE RECORDS

You always know what you’re gonna get with UK deep house don Jimpster, but that doesn’t stop you wanting more. As time passes, the Freerange boss gets ever more refined and focused in his work, and this latest soulful outing is more proof of that. ‘Flo‘ has a playful and aloof OVEOUS vocal over shuffling syncoipation and makes for a super cool vibe. ‘Feel Me‘ features spoken word musings from Atlanta-based house doyenne Ash Lauryn over cascading synths and ass-wiggling drums. The same tune gets two remixes full of analogue textures and cheeky surprises that keep you on your toes. What sets this EP apart is the charm and character each groove exudes. Pure class. 

MOTEL PHANTASMA / CLAP TRAP / RAZOR-N-TAPE

Motel Phantasma’s Razor-N-Tape cherry is a thrilling double A-side that marries Afro heat with acid intensity. Title cut ‘Claptrap‘ is a peak-time detonator, packed densely with sharp, skittering percussion, razor synth stabs and a Portuguese vocal mantra, making for a ritual-like rave weapon, perfect for deployment on big systems. The flip reveals a softer face for the duo in the form of an Afro-boogie groove, featuring vocalist Kaleta. It’s buoyant, organic and impossibly catchy with a human feel, belying the tight DJ-ready structure. This is an undeniably playable debut. 

DJ SPLIT / KISS REVENGE / SHADOW PRESSINGS

2025 is proving to be quite the year for Guy Bar Orr aka DJ Split. He’s dropped a bunch of no bullshit EPs and, once again, here brings brilliant old school realness to London’s Shadow Pressings. This EP feels like an unearthed Chicago classic, complete with rugged Roland rhythms, frazzled synths and plenty of sweat and grit. ‘Kiss Revenge‘ rides jacked-up drums and chopped vocal fragments, straight from the streets of Windy City, circa ’88. There’s a darker swing and warehouse moodiness to ‘Jack It‘ while ‘Pose Funk‘ leads more into a Dance Mania style ghetto sleaze. ‘Thirsty Max‘ is a whirlwind of drum machine madness, and ‘It Out‘ twitches with acid anxiety. Brilliantly bad-ass.