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A Phonica favourite for years, and the one that ALL the staff agreed upon is this 1979 African classic, released on Strut this year. An accepted Afro-disco classic of its time, Williams called in the ‘A’ list: Tunde Martins from Afro Collective played bass guitar, the brilliant Biddy Wright (player on albums by Lijadu Sisters, Blo and many more) contributed the famous synth lines and handled production, Fred Fisher was on trombone and Saliu Alabi played talking drum. Enjoying limited success upon its release in Nigeria, ‘African Dances’ nevertheless gained some international attention when Earthworks’ Jumbo Van Renan licensed two tracks from it for an international 12” single release in 1984, remixing ‘Agboju Logun’ in a more stripped back mix for dancefloors. However, it was the period following Fela Kuti’s death in the late ‘90s that truly ignited interest in archive African grooves for a new internet generation. Strut’s frst ‘Nigeria 70’ compilation featured the track in 2000 and it has been a staple in DJs’ crates ever since.

A 1990 Sheffield Bleep classic (or rather, 2 classics) that were lost until now when Dean Marriott (aka D.Ramirez and Lloyd Douglas rebuilt the entire track as the original tapes couldnt be found!!

It's a unanimous opinion that this super rare 12” sits within the bracket of one of the most celebrated disco records of all time. Originally released in only Canada, the record already enjoyed an edit last year with Mood Hut's 'Better'. It just needed a 12inch pressing - unfurtuantely, however good this 12inch version is, it just isnt the full 11-and-a-half minute full Walter Gibbons mix that was included on his 'Jungle Music' comp or 'The Men in The Glass Booth' box set - seek for one of the finest extended mixes ever! What a record!

Nigerian singer-songwriter Steve Monite was warranted a re-release of the classic afro-boogie single Only You. Fashioned by producer Tony Okoroji and originally released on the immensely favourited Doing It in Lagos: Boogie, Pop & Disco, ‘Only You’ remains to hold it’s bewitching power nearly 40 years later!

Codek is the brainchild of Parisian Jean-Marie Salaun, starting its life as an electric baseline. Claude Arto sequenced the floating synthesizers. Laurent Grangier and Frédéric Lapierre of reggae band Immigration Act played the horns. Whilst, the flip “Tam Tam” was inspired by Burundi drummers playing on the plaza in front of Beaubourg where the song was recorded. Jean-Marie enlisted one of the drummers from the circle, Georges Atta Dikalo, to lay down percussion for the song. The female singers were from the French Caribbean and added falsetto tribal chants. The recording of “Tam Tam” and “Closer” spanned over two years. They started on 16-track in Studio d'Auteuil, where JM blew the woofers, before resuming in Studio Centre Georges Pompidou with an added 8-track recorder. Jean-Marie was producing other bands, and a lot of this was recorded on "borrowed" studio time. The single was released in 1981 on West African Music, a tiny label from the Ivory Coast, and was re-released a year later by Island Records in the UK (where the B-side was re-named “Tim Toum”). Both tracks were staples in the DJ sets of Beppe Loda and Daniele Baldelli, finding a spiritual home in the Cosmic scene of Italy. And now all repressed thanks to the sterling work of Dark Entries' Josh Cheon!

Zulu brings the slow burning dancefloor energy of 1980s South Africa into sharp focus. Comprised of Sello Mmutung and Keith Hutchinson, the original six track album Zulu Disco was laid down in Johannesburg circa 1983. Quite likely the first pressing to vinyl, ‘Zulu’ carries the mystical original recording mastered from its cassette tape predecessor. Each track shows the fever for American funk and disco that was sweeping through South Africa at the time, but with unmistakeable township elements, infectious grooves, simple melodies and a deep synth workout.

Aiming to reissue rare but timeless disco and soul, release number six from Floating Points' Melodies International was a euphoric edit of the 1979 single ‘Disco Baby’ by Manhattan pianist Yaaron Gershovsky. The edit is filled with appealing jammed out riffs, plucky strings and brass solos, resulting in a cut that rapidly became dubbed the disco-funk track of the summer.

Amazing minimal classic that was originally released in 1996 - and now thankfully re-released this year!

A 1981 classic repressed thanks to Dark Entries, with all the 4 mixes included on one vinyl. "Transdance" was embraced by Chicago’s WBMX, Hot Mix 5 and Ron Hardy as well in New York at Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage and Tony Humphries’ Club Zanzibar in New Jersey. Considered a blueprint song that connects the dots from UK Synthpop to Italo Disco, Chicago House and Detroit Techno.

Originally released in 1977, Gloria Jay’s gospel coloured ‘Know What You Want’ was honoured a superb re-release from Floating Points' Melodies International late in the year. The simple instrumentation permits Jay’s pure and soulful vocals to take centre stage.

The Italian producer is widely known for his combination of world-influenced rhythms and dance floor focused beats. This Afro-flavoured groove earned a respectable repress due to high demand following its original release in 2010.

Another revived obscurity, this time from Strangelove Music which re-released a two-track piece of wax from Portuguese Lena D’Agua. Jardim Zoologico is a new wave-dub-pop-esque single which remains to sound as fresh as it did in the early 1980s.

Released in 1983, Guy Cuevas’ 12” Single "Obsession" is probably one of the ''best'' French Disco-Boogie records, enriched by Jean-Paul Goude's artwork for the cover.

Dark Entries and Emotional Rescue team up to further explore Psychic TV’s Acid House years. Virginia was the studio project of Dave “Mista Luv” Ball and then-wife Virginia “Gini” Ball, a classical violinist who toured and recorded with Siouxsie and the Banshees and Marc Almond. The duo had previous collaborated on Dave’s solo album ‘In Strict Tempo’ in 1983 and with the group Other People in 1984 and this was one of their 1988 London recordings. The name "Blue Pyramid" was inspired by a photograph from Pink Floyd's album ‘Dark Side of The Moon’. Also at the time Dave was taking quite a lot of acid and came across some stuff ironically called "Blue Pyramid". Gini’s violin has an arabic feel, adding to the already bright and hypnotic dance rhythms.

Another busy year for Athens of the North which saw the release of Elbernita “Twinkie” Clark’s jubilant gospel disco track ‘Awake O Zion’. This track has been extremely popular through the festival season and beyond with support from the likes of Motor City Drum Ensemble and Horse Meat Disco.

2 classic tracks by the highly influential calypsonian Bro.Valentino. Both songs are calypso-flavoured with the newly introduced Soca melody of the mid 1970s, and now back on our radar thanks to Analog Africa!

Recorded in Miami in 1985 by a school teacher and originally released as a self-published single for educational purposes, copies of ‘Do You Know Black History’ did not circulate much further than Florida’s public school libraries and the record has been shrouded in mystery up until now. Dr Mary Sullivan Bain recorded the song to be used as an educational and motivational tool in the Miami-Dade public school system she taught in. Produced with no label constraints, this cross-genre grail sits comfortably in many boxes... 808’s, bass synths, deep chords, live percussion and effects dubbed into the mix. The production leans towards the electronic diy framework that informed the local sound on the Miami south side. Whilst the categories are blurred what’s clear is that Bain was thinking outside of the box. Official 12” reissue from Backatcha Records.

Following the limited release of this disco-soul classic on Record Store Day, KUDU made the release official with an official full repress. An absolute classic which has notably been sampled by Jamie XX!

Excellent EP apparently taken from a dusty tape found in his vault. Alessandro Alessandroni is one of those pioneers, a maestro that built the legend of Italian soundtracks and library music along with Ennio Morricone, Piero Umiliani and many others. His vault testifies how prolific had been those times, with hundreds of tapes and obscure recordings from that period. Among the many, a dusty tape bearing the hand-written label “Afro Discoteca” captured the attention of Four Flies. The perfect union of Afro influences and Italian taste.