- I do love the whole nu-disco/re-edits aesthetic of finding interesting and odd music and reworking it for a modern audience—it’s pluralistic, it leads to fun and varied sets, and it can be a real breath of fresh air compared to other more narrow genres. One thing, however, that really gets my goat is the ‘limited edition’ culture that goes with it—the releasing of the choicest pieces in vinyl-only runs of 500 or so. The whole scene is built around the idea that some DJs have rare tracks that others don’t, so it makes sense for them to do this, but it still smacks of elitism, and I can’t help also feeling that it’s unfair to the artists to restrict sales like this.
Rant over. It just needs to be said that this is a much more accessible and playable package than the non-limited EP. The Glimmers take the original and extend it, the end result being basically indistinguishable from Todd Terje’s mix on the other release. The first little bit of gold here though is the Mayaku remix, which dispenses with the club-footed New Beat drums in favour of an afro-tinged breakbeat. Bravely, they lose the famous bassline and build something warmer and more flowing by basing the melody around some of the sampled FX on the original.
Finally, the legendary Jon Da Silva turns in a muscular, acidic remix which augments the bassline with bleeps and squelches that give the track some wiggle and swing, and uses backspin effects to bookmark changes in style and structure. It’s a lovely piece that would sit nicely with a lot of Rekids releases, or equally well with the more twisted end of disco.
The challenge now is to get hold of a copy.
TracklistA1 Death Disco (Extended Version By The Glimmers)
B1 Death Disco (Mayaku's Break It Mix)
B2 Death Disco (Jon Dasilva - Virgo Hi-Fi Mix)