Elaste Volume 2 is the second in a series released by German house label Compost of dusted-off disco tunes. The inaugural volume, mixed by DJ Mooner, harked back to the cosmic disco (or “Slow Motion Disco†as the tag on the CD proclaims) of the eighties, resurrecting a typical playlist that would have been heard at Italy’ legendary Discoteca Cosmic during the decade of excess. On the second time around, Vienna DJ and producer Tom Wieland has been called in to delve into the vaults and crates of seventies and eighties space disco, and consequently has compiled a set of 14 tunes that run the gamut of styles, from funk to early electronica, nudging all the nuances in between.
It is as much a trip down memory lane for Compost founder Michael Reinboth, who in the eighties was the co-editor of the fanzine named Elaste. Wieland has dug deep to dredge up lost songs by acts such as Hippolytes, prolific composer Alan Hawkshaw, early dub proponents Panoptikum and Rufus, who featured a young Chaka Khan. The latter’ track, a remix of their signature tune “Ain’ Nobody’, is a noticeable harbinger for the synth-pop sounds that were to dominate the eighties and make an act like Madonna a household name.
Although pop music is starting to reference disco once again as the stigma of the genre is slowing being forgotten by a new generation of music obsessives, despite the label’ claims, some of these tracks do sound dated. “The Other Side of Heaven’ by Zodiac, which opens the compilation, a song which fuses a house aesthetic with nu-jazz instrumentation, sounds like the soundtrack to a hair salon. Ditto Two Man Sounds’ “Que Tal America’. There are, though, surprises along the way. Panoptikum’ sine-wave synths and Nintendo-esque beeps that feature on “Gluckskugel’ are light years ahead of their time, and their track “Elaste’ is a perfect example of Kraut electronica. Vulcans’ “Star Trek’ references the music of Jamaica to create an atmospheric astral dub tune. Selection’ “Rebel On The Run’ is authentically seventies funk, combining guitar work akin to Curtis Mayfield or Eddie Hazel with stabs of horns, strings and keyboards, and the ever-present female vocals often found on the era’ disco and funk numbers. You can hear where Jamiroquai was finding inspiration.
The nature of these compilations inevitably means the strength of the material will ebb and flow. Not recommended then for the casual observer, Elaste Volume 2 would please any disco devotee by offering a look back to a time when flared jeans and platform shoes ruled the dance floors.
Dom Alessio
