Paraphrasing the Soul Sonic Force and sorting through today`s releases for tunes that could have graced Alfie & Leo’s Amnesia dance-floor…

Asa Tate / Last Dance / Rhythm Section International

Asa Tate has a 4-track EP out with Rhythm Section International. Two of the tunes are kind of proggy, while the others play with more Balearic tropes. One of those, for me, Last Dance is the pick of the bunch. 

Riding an old school afro-house rhythm – while listening I was thinking of Zanga Zanga’s Second Summer Of Love favourite Oh Ciolli – with a great, groovy B-line, its loved-up, emotive synth swirls and swells recall Danny Rampling’s remix of The Beloved’s Sun Rising. Topping this off with some Amazonian rainforest panpipes, it’s another track that harks back to the classic deep vibe of Marshall Jefferson / The Truth’s Open Our Eyes. 

Mohinder Kaur Bhamra / Disco Wich (Peaking Lights Remix) / Naya Beat

This Peaking Lights remix is another highlight from the Naya Beat Records reissue of Mohinder Kaur Bhamra’s “lost” 1982 album, Punjabi Disco.* While Mystic Jungle’s dub of Mainu Apne Pyar Wich is a cute “Balearic” pop skank, Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis reframe Disco Wich’s syn-drums and persistently pinging computerised cowbell as playful jumping, pumping acid house. Flashing back to the late `80s, rather than Chicago, the tune now references UK club / chart crossover hits, stuff by outfits such as S’Express or The Beatmasters, and in this setting, Bhamra – who was a hugely important figure in London’s Punjabi community – bears a resemblance to A Guy Called Gerald’s Voodoo Ray. 

*There’s a great little clip about how the LP master tapes were rescued here.

Gordon & Gabriella Kaye / Galactic Ride / Joy 4 Life

Back in June Gordon Kaye sent out a track he was working on, titled Galactic Ride. Ban Ban Ton Ton were big fans and put a few words together at the time. Gordon’s now completed several new mixes, and also added vocals, care of his daughter, Gabriella. To my ears, at least, this addition makes the track far stronger. A slow, trippy chug, drenched in dubwise delay and powered by a muscular post-punk funk bass, Gabriella’s voice and lyrics lend the song an early `90s indie rock / Balearic Beat crossover vibe. Running close to 10 minutes, synths circle, cycle like orchestral strings, before hitting a coda of sweet West Coast inspired harmonies as the spaced-out sound effects get wilder and wilder. Passing for something that could have been the result of shoegazers getting switched on at Future or Shoom, and that easily could have come out on a still sky high Alan McGee’s Creation. 

µ-Ziq / Houzz 14 / Balmat

Houzz 14 is the second single to be taken from Mike Paradinas forthcoming album, 1979. Where its predecessor Escorial was a sublime slice of ambient techno, this new tune, in contrast, is a breakbeat-driven, acid-spiked banger. Focused around filtered drum drops, and a central, floating synth riff, the track is buoyant, up, its spirits most certainly lifted. 

Tuff City Kids / NRG Zone (Moody Again) / Running Back

Originally released over a decade ago, Tuff City Kids’ R-Zone EP was a love letter to early 90s rave. An unapologetic, unrepentant rush of bleeps, breakbeats, and renegade snares. The 2025 reissue contains the OG’s 2 tracks, and 4 mixes, plus a couple of new takes / shakes. Predictably, it’s the mellowest one that I’m plumping for. The Moody Again remix of Nrg Zone marries James Brown’s Funky Drummer to a big house kick and Detroit techno Hoover synth drone. A chunky, bionic B-line grounding soaring Transmat / Planet E strings and a heavenly choir of fractured / Fairlight-ed human harmonies.