In the end it happens to them all. There’s only a certain amount of time before DJs gets the urge to make their own tracks to spin at club nights. If we’re lucky, said DJ will have been holding down a local residency and have honed their craft to perfection, knowing exactly what makes the crowd rock without having to resort to the ‘classic trax’ trick (one’s enough, two’s for an all-back-to situation, three or more and your name is Norman Jay).
One such DJ with this skill is the newly monikered Evil K’neil, who you may already know as Neil Diablo. Over the past eight years Neil (or Evil if you prefer) has quietly and steadily been building a reputation as a consistently high quality DJ who always has the dancefloor full. Joint resident at El Diablo’s Social Club since 2003 (and sole resident since Danny Webb’s move down south in 2008), Neil has always spun a heady mix of house and disco (in all its forms, from cosmic to boogie), leading the club to be considered the rightful heir to the dear departed Electric Chair (that other long-running Mancunian clubland institution). Neil is also part of the furniture at Manchester’s respected Piccadilly Records shop, and can be found behind the counter at weekends ‘pulling tunes’ for punters, or more likely, for himself. His DJ tastes also feed into what stock Piccadilly take, pointing buyers in the direction of new-to-vinyl hidden gems that he’s been spinning off burnt downloads for an eternity.
So, several years of DJing and many studio hours later, Neil has reached that ‘level one’ entry point for DJs moving into production; the re-edit. Danny Krivit did it, Dr. Dunks does it, Greg Wilson never seems to stop doing it... In fact, everyone’s at it! Therefore, in a musical sector that is practically collapsing under its own weight of releases you only need to know one thing before bothering to listen to the MP3 clips provided, or parting with your hard-earned cash for a slab of wax: Are the tracks any good? Well, of course they’re good; proper dancefloor-friendly disco cuts with the BPMs set for peak-time play (we’ll have none of that turgid early doors bar business here, thank-you). If you like your edits at the Disco Deviance, Cosmic Boogie and Try To Find Me end of the disco spectrum, then this release is for you.
Both cuts have been 100% road-tested over the past six months at El Diablo’s and have also gone down a treat at the likes of Glastonbury, the Big Chill and the Garden Festival this summer. But don’t just take Neil’s word for it, as the tracks have also received plays from the likes of Eric Duncan (Rub N’ Tug / Still Going / COMBI), Severino (Horse Meat Disco), the Unabombers (Electric Elephant), and Crazy P. Favorable crowd reactions were obtained every time.
This release is limited to 300 and is hand stamped, sprayed and numbered. You’ll only end up sorry if you don’t buy one, you just know you will.
supported by 5 fans who also own “To Rack & Ruin Vol. 1”
I had never heard of Luke Una until 2022, when this fantastic compilation appeared on Mr Bongo.
The more you listen to it, the more you realize the exceptional quality of the work behind it... Ordinary Joe
The first official release from Banana Hill. Repurposed African electro-house, fusing Gnawa guitar, jazz, and a whirling flute breakdown. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 11, 2017