- New York record heads know Toshi Moriguchi as the guy at A1 Records who is always sifting through stacks of house and disco and playing exquisite selections over the shop's system. It's therefore not surprising that Moriguchi, who also runs the mix series and record label Dailysession, can put together a great edits collection. The first East Village Edits, produced alongside Stewart Upchurch, comprised four obscure grooves that ranged from sunny boogie to jagged post-punk. Vol 2 takes the same approach but doesn't feel stale, perhaps because the enclosed grooves are so well sourced.
I can only identify the sample source of opener "All U Need Is Music," which Moriguchi pulls from the unbridled cheese of THP's "Music Is All You Need" by pitching it down and swapping the original's lyrics for tight guitar work and wacky sound effects. "Groove Go Round" is a Philadelphia International-style roller that features jovial vibraphone and organ interplay and an Easter egg for fans of Those Guys' "Tonite." "Wrecked Drain Train," a disjointed slice of new wave that rounds out the record, gives Vol 2 an appeal that should stretch beyond disco fans.
Three of these tracks are five minutes or less, which means they aren't the kind of edits that simply drag out a catchy loop over eight minutes—they feel like fully realised songs. The downside is that dancers don't have much time to spend with, for instance, the gorgeous guitar delays of "You Are My Superwoman." But that might just mean DJs need to buy two copies.
TracklistA1 All U Need Is Music
A2 Groove Go Round
B1 You Are My Superwoman
B2 Wrecked Drain Train