Phwoar! TD go four for the floor on Volume 9, letting loose with a set of sure-shot hits from all corners of their sonic spectrum. A tag team match up, this action spectacular trades peak-time pump, Balearic cool, Italo thrust and dance-punk theatrics on its way to snatch the championship.

Obviously TD ooze subtlety and taste, so as we sat sipping Schnapps from our Stanley cups, we couldn’t help but take a little inspo from our kitchen decor. “Live Love Pump” - what a mantra. In musical form, this philosophy takes the shape of a capital D-isco delight, equal Pats Cowley & Adams, EQ-freaked and filtered into something Dafter than a pair of chrome clad millionaires. Big room mirrorball magic if ever we’ve heard it. The A2 sees the drunk AOR funk of “Sure Line” take a leisurely stroll down the coast, a Gauloises in the gob and tattered Baldwin in the back pocket, flipping and flopping along the prom to buoyant bass, melting brass and more than a little melancholy.

Booting off the B-side, “Un America” is a massive mid tempo chugger replete with laser fire, synth scree and nipple high guitar. Powering along on a serious bass sequence armed with hooks-a-plenty, mostly incomprehensible lyrics and a groove which won’t quit, this has all the ingredients required for an Italo all timer. The finale finds us in the company of some punk pioneers at their absolute silliest, bringing the kind of whacky vocal vibe, surf-centric style and off kilter groove the B-52s made a career of. Add in animal chatter and scratchy guitars and you’ve got the sort of secret weapon the Idjuts unleash waaaay post peak.

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Hot on the heels of Luv (LuvLuv) comes a sublime new Drum Chums from midlands madlads Wrekin Havoc. Over the years we’ve shared great tunes, fun times and A-grade dance floor debauchery with these permanent party people (our first encounter almost exactly like that Spiderman pointing meme) so it made more sense than we usually do to invite them aboard the V*nga bus for some Balearic-disco edit excellence.

Things kick off with the sexy throb of “Shine A Light”, a stonewashed funk workout complete with Paisley guitars, Troutman bass grunts and some big time blue-eyed soul vocals. It’s a bit like an extended and unheard collaboration between George Michael and Tears For Fears recorded immediately after a particularly heavy night at Future. Unsurprising perhaps that this one’s been getting a whole lot of love from DJ Harvey.

“Mars Bar Party” grabs you by the hips from the first bar of its swaying Mediterranean house rhythm, then tugs at every single one of your heartstrings with melancholic pads and a silken vocal croon. Fuuuuuuckin’ hell! Sorry, was totally bewitched by the primal power of piano house magic - it’s like John Rocca was in the room for a second. Armed with an awesome arrangement and clocking in at ten massive minutes, this may be the ultimate Balearic house journey.

If all this weren’t enough to have you stocking up on 5-HTP and sinus rinse, those crafty cats close the set out with the shimmering disco euphoria of “Leccy Meet Her”. The bottom end pulses endlessly, Cowley synths trill and crystal clear Vox soar above, sending us far off into mirrorball orbit. If this isn’t a hit at Horse Meat, we’ll neck a bottle of poppers and never eat a tomato again.

Each and every track Wrekin Havoc touch is a pearler, but we’re particularly chuffed with ourselves for snapping this top trio up.

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Punching our ticket for the tenth trip on the Drum Chums line, we rattle past the control centre, where Approach Release delivers another masterclass in genre-blurring brilliance. Darting through emotional New Beat, psychedelic soul, stomping Afro-disco and coastal cosmic, AR keeps things right on track and perfectly off the rails.

"So Wrong" starts the party with a growl and a gurn, all gnarly sequences and robotic drums until that mournful vocal moves us into a land of Lynchian longing. Teardrops on the dance floor, clouds in your coffee, it's, it's, Goth Italo folks. Shifting tone like McCrae shifted gears, Approach Release moves on from Main-Room Gloom into the smooth and sensual soul of "LuvLuvLuv". Low-slung, lilting, loose and lysergic, this versatile version-excursion works wonders as warm up and rub down, its brilliant bedroom vocals floating atop the synthetic and psychedelic groove.

Over on the B-side, "E-Killa" bursts out the speakers with about 100,00 volts of Afro-disco energy, each one perfectly harnessed to whip a crowd into a grinning frenzy. Armed with an unstoppable arrangement, vital vocals and a stomping rhythm section, this delicious drink of tropical pop just keeps on fizzing. For an encore, Approach Release drops the deeply dramatic "Lou Cee", a full-hearted bit of Balearique-brilliance stacked with enough synth strings, faux-accordion and earnest outpourings to give Chris Rea a run in the anthem stakes.

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Team TD get back to it... paying their own oddball homage to some of our DJ deities in the form of Talking Drums Volume 8.

Keeping things diverse-yet-disco, this little mover grooves through Muzic Box pump, Lofty symphonics and a Ku-curveball with a smile on its face and a pep in its step.

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We interrupt our regular Drum Chums programming to bring you a little V/A tackle via the ‘Percussion Pals’ project. These razor sharp cuts come from friends near and far, old and new, each one primed to upgrade your record collection.

Debuts abound on the A-side, first via international man of mystery DJ Poufsouffle and his Balea-rock disco stomper "Totally Manic". Brimming with Flash & The Pan style pub-rock wonk this one boasts a growling vocal, sparkling keys and an uplifting chorus which doesn't quite break the spell of extreme silliness. On the A2, Bristol’s Spice Route rescue a nebulous reggae gem from Library obscurity, swinging the scalpel and working the desk to turn out an unstoppable groover. Built around an irresistible rhythm section, “Gruler Dub” keeps on getting higher as the space-based vocals and trilling synths turn your brain inside out.

The B1 brings the return of Drum Chum extraordinaire Neil Diablo, who follows the Balearic brilliance of his last label outing with a cosmic caper into pure oddball pop. "Starry Night" slinks along in a chromed out catsuit, purring weirdo vocals over robo-chug and mechanical drums before indulging in a catchy chorus packed with addled innuendo. Not only is this as arch as Gina X doing a forward fold, but it also boasts some serious bass weight in the later half - you have been warned. We're delighted to finally feature a little magic from Australian Italo wizard Hysteric, who brings the curtain down in utterly emotional fashion via AOR disco dream "Pinball". A steady beat, infectious bassline and glistening chords play host to a swooning vocal, which reminds us to go with the flow and follow fun at all times.

Slip this delirious disc out of the lime/slime green sleeve and you're up close and personal with the new chapter in the TD saga.
A dance floor triptych of such seismic scale that the crew spent two years trying to wrangle the tracks on wax, finally finding a plant with the power to press them up.

Sprawling across the A-side is the devastating 'Doner Summer', an instrumental extension of some lost Munich disco masquerading as an Anatolian excursion. Ditching the vocals and cutting the kase, the crew lay down a galloping groove topped with Turkish licks and disco strings, take us into the psychedelic swirl of a tumbling drum breakdown before hitting the big red button marked banger for a searing second half. Firing up the hardware, TD blast this one further into the Phuture, dropping technoid sequences, nagging 303 and Cowley-style FX fuckery for a full on club assault.

In the alternate B-side universe, Hans Zimmer lost his dread note and Denis Villeneuve was forced to turn to Talking Drums for the Dune soundtrack. They obliged with the sci-fi rai of 'Chaba Ranks', reshaping an Algerian OG with a dancehall kick, off beat vamps and star-crossed synths, then letting loose with a heavy bass tone.
|In time honoured fashion, the team also drop a dub version, cutting out the vocals and focussing on those additional elements for the wildly cosmic 'Chaba Skanks'.

Now who's getting the spice in?

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Pieces well and truly picked up by a who’s who of collectors and selectors, the TD team follow Bobby Snacks’ super smash with some seriously synthy slices from good buddies Miserymix. A collaboration born behind the Piccadilly Records’ counter, Miserymix is the dark disco alias of Goth Spice (Kohl AF, dressed in black and armed with nonpliments) and Mushy P (a toothy and goofy Talking Drummer). Based a mere 192 away from Senõr Snacks in the thriving metropolis of Levenshulme, this pair of disco delinquents share a penchant for pingers, Prosecco and the lesser known corners of Europe’s 80s club sound. After a mysterious appearance on one of Duca Bianco’s brilliant V/As, Miserymix drop their debut EP on Drum Chums, aiming directly for the dance floor.

The Italo-noir of "Sexy Cowboys" gets the set off to a sleazy start, its seductive synths and strangled guitars riding throbbing bass and leather-clad percussion right into the darkroom, where the yelping vocal echoes over the creak of a swing. Miserymix push the tempo for the pacey disco pump of "Proverbial S.O.B.", a peak time stomper dubbed senseless for the perfect tops-off groove. Subtle kalimba, cut up vocals and orchestral hits find every sweet spot atop the one note bassline, while those airy piano chords steer us straight into the sublime.

Kicking off the flip is the uber-anthemic, endorphin-laced and mid-paced dancefloor destroyer "E Motion". Our disco duo spend plenty of time on the foreplay, teasing every ounce of ecstasy out of the nuanced perx, rolling bassline and sparkling synths before unleashing some flawless Francophone vocals on the way to a colossal chorus. Smouldering like a Propaganda club mix, this Europop obscurity has been upgraded into an accidental pill tune of perma-gurn proportions - this one is a road-tested dance floor sure shot. Indulging the afterglow, Miserymix sign off with the superb synth pop of "Name Game". Stomping drum machines play host to an insistent bassline and some slinky keys, while the cucumber cool Euro vocal serves cabaret camp and maximum vamp.

Remember folks, the TD crew (drum)rolls deep...

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Drum Chums is back with the Snack Attack! For the uninitiated, our Bobby is a man of true culture. Look for a sun kissed café on Stockport's cobbles and you might just find him, sat back in a string vest and shades, coiffing a natural wine and cracking the wisest. Or else deep in the pound bins and car boots of the North West, calmly cutting through the AOR ocean to find the next Yacht Rock gem. And when Snacks snatches the scalpel, he's a wizard, a true star. So dig into this debut delight to find anthemic soft-rock, swooning Balearic, fizzy cosmic and the greatest left-field club track we've ever heard.

Bobby opens his account with the yearning Yacht boogie of 'Picking Up', a timeless tune which sounds a little like a Doobie Brother doing devotionals over a fist pumping rhythm-box. Tempo Moderato, trilling sequences, serious synth bass and searing guitar solos are gonna get the hands in the air, believe me. Snacks slows the pace a touch for the shoulder-rolling sway of 'Wipe Y'Hands (XXXtra Chant Version)', a sultry slice of Balearic disco replete with orchestral flourish, tumbling percussion and a spine-tingling serenade perfect for fans of Sarcastic Disco.

Flip the pancake and prepare for genius as Bobby Snacks manipulates a sample like a deep house Dilla, arranging swelling strings, hand percussion and Linn drums into a living, breathing, sacred rhythm, before taking the whole club west into ecstatic uncharted territories. 'Slippy Energy' is the power source of the future. Last, but by no means least, Snacks puffs on the grape vape gets narcotic, slowing sugary synth-disco into a suitably sleazy cruise through the cosmos called 'Shaky Boys'.

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Riding high on the inexplicable tech-house adoption of their last release, Talking Drums return with hit number six. This desert island disc finds the family bagging a last minute flight to sunnier climes, where the cocktails are strong and the seas are calm.

On “Air Ecosse”, the crew provide an engine overhaul to a middling slice of Scotch boogie, squeezing maximum thrust out of the new beat-y intro before a bubbling bassline and chiming chords provide some serious uplift. The captain takes the comms for a late deadpan vocal, hinting at a little Pet Shop Boys karaoke prior to touchdown in paradise.

The percussion pals kick off the Birkies on the B-side, boarding the bateau with a pair of proper harbour heaters. “Too Yacht To Handle” bubbles along like Mick’n’Keef in disco mode, oozing grooves under a swooning vocal a lá Nicolette Larson. A hazy arrangement lets the music play, indulging the instrumental breaks, soaring synths and subtle delays in true 12” Extended Mix styleé, perfect for peaktime at poolside or la playa. Dropping the tempo to a sunset strut, “AORwaves” provides the perfect cool-down, as TD cut back the fat on a forgotten soft-rocker to create a cosmic yacht bomb. Low slung, sleazy and spaced out, this is gonna rock a bar set and beyond.

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Summertime sounds abound on the sixth Drum Chums disc, which comes lovingly dubbed and diced by our friendly Fruit Merchant Hidden Spheres. Known globally for his free-flowing DJ sets, halcyon house hits and mastery of melody, Tom’s been at the top of his game for time now - just check those releases on Rhythm Section and Scissor & Thread - and it’s a pleasure to carry his drum sticks for this one. Cracking open his vault of top secret DJ tweaks, Spheres explores sweltering proto-house, tropical disco lilt and deepest waters across three floor-ready cuts.

The Fruit Merchant plucks something ripe from the Kalimba Tree on the A1, starting the party properly with joyous Afro-house jam “Stolen”. Carnival-friendly drums and a Boyd Jarvis bassline wind up your waist while the call-and-response vocals and exuberant brass send hands and heads skywards before the track transitions into an utterly ecstatic sax-led breakdown. This is magic.

For the B-side, Hidden Spheres treats us to a couple of deep digs from his time in Australia, both originating in the Aboriginal community. Emerging from the astral vibrations of a didgeri-drone, “You Better Dance” casually locks into an irresistible 105bpm groove, strolling through the echo-laced dubspace as its poetic vocal speaks to your soul. Balearic-paced and cosmic-minded, this one plays perfectly next to those I-Level 12”s. For finale “Together”, Spheres shifts back into proto-house mode, locking a hypnotic piano riff into some militant snare rolls to lay the foundation for the impassioned vocal. Delivering the occasional diversion into more mournful territories, Spheres reminds us why deep house deity DJ Sprinkles always takes his calls.

At Tom's request all profits from this release will go to Pay The Rent, a grassroots charity in Victoria, Australia working to honour the Sovereignty of Aboriginal people.
paytherent.net.au

Drum Chums Vol. 5 marks the arrival of Captain Attractive, an international man of mystery, head-nod hero and edit expert whose many masterpieces inspired us to pick up the scalpel in the first place. Last seen leaving Berlin on a world tour, this legend parked the Red Motorbike outside Talking Drums HQ and treated us to a lesson in San Fran sleaze, hippie disco and MPC bump.

The A-side opens with the sticky funk of “It’s More Fun 2 Make Love”, a pitched down disco cruiser extended for the tantric dance floor and mastered on an old porno VHS. Sultry, slinky and rated X. We’re always hungry after the act and graciously Captain Attractive is on hand with a donut called “Memories” to close out the A-side, looping some sweet soul into the kind of hypnotic hip hop as house romper which defined beatdown way back when.

The Captain takes the yacht to the Med on the B1 with the super Balearic groove of “Dreamer”, an astounding combination of dexterous bass, choral vocals and rolling piano, all set to the shimmy of hippie percussion. It could be a Laurel Canyon memory, an Xtian obscurity or something much deeper, but it’s definitely twelve minutes of sunset bliss - just wait until my guy flips the script after seven minutes! The dude drops the curtain with another bitesize portion of MPC mastery, cutting up some thick wax guitar and cool keys over a swung groove for “Ghana Do It”. Captain Attractive taking you where you want to go.

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Your favourite percussion pals take aim at the peak time on Volume 5, offering some different disco with a Balearic bent. Though the 45RPM button on the TDHQ turntable is finally fixed, these edit idiots managed to spill a spritz on the pitch control, so prepare to read this at -6%.

A-side “Slow Motion” sees the crew swing through some Canadian crates, transforming a high energy froth into sweet mid tempo syrup. Hydraulic sequences chug away to a cybernetic 4/4, lasers dance around the vocoder and a spacer woman sends us into ecstasy with an arms aloft chorus. The heads were spinning when this one teased in their radio mix, so don’t miss it on wax.

There’s a double feature on the flip, where TD tackle an overlooked slice of German glam, taming the tempo and turning out a totally cokey bit of disco rock. Repping expert bass grooves, euro boogie breakdowns, unexpected talk box, headband guitar riffs and a killer drum solo, this gives you that tops off at a family function feeling. The vocal version keeps it authentically off kilter, while the dub should appease peeps who think that Barrabas sounds like a deranged Rod Stewart.

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It's debut time!
Making his first appearance on wax is Manchester's hottest property, Approach Release. When he isn't creating cross-genre chaos behind the decks, this genial gee mans the tram, so you gotta know he's comfortable at the controls.
In addition to a clean drivers license, the man is in possession of some seriously deep crates and this three-tracker sees him pick out a few obscurities in serious need of some scalpel.

The A side serves up the swooning space disco of 'Krypton Factor', a mid-tempo trip into the mirror ball nebula which pairs sweet female vox and dramatic sax with malfunctioning electronics and chest height bass riffs. File it under set opener, sci-fi frother and future anthem!

Over on the B side, A.R. indulges in a little beatific boogie via 'Coma', an outer national excursion building from bubbling bass and classy keys into the eventual heart-swelling vocal, an arms aloft moment if ever we've heard one.
We've been dropping this anywhere there's a CDJ and are just as happy as you lot to have it on wax. Approach Release makes it three hits out of three on the B2, as a slept-on slice of synth-pop Francais gets a necessary extension and leaves its lame chorus on the cutting room floor. Tune in for taut drum machines, playful melodies and a chic vocal.

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After indulging in a little free movement over the first two releases, Vol. 3 sees us back in blighty, hanging loose with a hometown hero!

Way before our bongos had really begun to beat, Neil Diablo was slaying the hand-stamped edit scene with razor sharp disco reworks on his To Rack & Ruin imprint.

His energetic and effervescent sets at El Diablo's Social Club were the stuff of legend and his occasional appearances behind the Piccadilly Records counter helped pack the TD racks with some of our favourite floor fuel. Here, our newest Drum Chum digs extra deep with a triple threat of balmy Afro-disco, comic book funk and disco uplift.
Loose-limbed and laid back, 'High Emotion' stretches out across the whole of the A side leading the kind of slow motion dance we can't get enough of.
Potent polyrhythms underpin scratchy rhythm guitar and slick slap bass while that echo-laden vocal just keeps lifting us higher and higher.

The B side bounces into being with the synthed-up strut of 'Sex-N-Drugz', a portal into a parallel universe where Prince painted the Compass Point Paisley and the tempo never exceeded 100bpm - it's tropical pop served cooler than Kia-Ora.
The finale comes with the misty eyed magic of 'We Can', a triumph of snapping Italo snares and boogie optimism which shifts into bliss via a totally tops off chorus.

Keep the cowbell ringing folks!

After some inaugural heat from Hamburg, we catch up with our man from Saint-Ouen for Drum Chums Vol. 2!

As far as Percussion Pals go, Plastic Bamboo has the highest credentials.
Not only did he spend a decade behind the drum kit, but he was my flatmate for a few happy years in Manchester. Since relocating to Paris in 2012, he's played sets all over Europe, worked the scalpel with the Good Plus crew and secured a second dan black belt in digging.
Let's see what the prince of Les Puces has in store for us...

On the A1, Plastic Bamboo double doses an unknown new beat 7" extending the Arabic acid delight for a six minute soak. Properly peaking and packed with Middle Eastern flava, 'Ra Beat' is primed for dance floor demolition.
The Frenchman swaps the Arabic coffee for an Italian cocktail on the A2's 'Bertini', sticking an extra large umbrella in the frothiest of disco winners.

'Kamboja' offers a chance to catch your breath on the B1, bringing Balearic boogie with the upmost emotion and a melody you'll never forget.
We end the set in a peak time mode via the mysterious 'Forest Dance', a witches brew of dark disco and new beat stomp with just a hint of that techno-tropical flavour the Talking Drums love.

Bon soir et bisous.

Back with a bang for 2021 the TD team tame another couple of unclassics, offering end of night emotion and druggy chug on this wavey wax.

The A side looks skywards from the Mediterranean shore, waves of delay lapping its toes as Italo melancholy and Balearic sincerity go straight to its head. A lovelorn ragazza finds comfort in kalimba and 'Wicked Game' sobs softly from a nearby tabaccheria, signing off a postcard of this holiday romance.

Things take a turn for the trippy on the flip as 'Close Orbit' shifts gears on a synth-pop standard in favour for a zero gravity throb. Packed with slap bass, slanky percussion and the faint hint of new beat, this Afro-cosmic stomper is a slow tempo, high energy heater.

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Bon soir et bisous.