4 out of 5

Label: Rephlex Records

Produced by: Jacky Giordano

In 1978, “Joachim Sherylee” and “Junior Claristidge” – aka Jacky José Giordano and Bernard Fevre – were credited for a 6-song disco LP by Black Devil, featuring a “yup, that’s a black devil” bit of artwork by Patricia Fevre. Setting aside some of the fuzziness as to how involved Giordano was, “Disco Club’s” oddball dance tunes were bizarre little curios at the time – muxing a disco beat with some mercurial vocal hooks, and a kind of raw production style that looked forward to the house / garage that would start to inspire some heavy hitting electro types in the 80s and 90s. …Hence why Rephlex Records rescued the release from obscurity and gave it daylight in the early 00s, and given the original’s obscurity, double-hence why folks figured Black Devil as another pseudonym for Richard D. James, and / or Luke Vibert.

I appreciate this conspiracy-ing. This would make more sense as a Vibert joint vs. RDJ, sharing much more in common with Luke’s passion for funk, but then I’d toss Ed Upton into the possible candidates as well, as Disco Club definitely shares sensibilities with some of Ed’s sample-centric, old school, Breakin’ Records work.

On the other hand, the continuous mix on Disco Club, and its fairly minimalist vibe, peg it as a legit earlier era relic; the Rephlex reissues don’t have any remastering credits, so that lo-fi crackle and the analog hiccups we hear feel very “real” as well – though to be clear, the record sounds amazingly great for its time, which winds around to commenting on the actual content: it’s very fun. The disco beat provides a great sense of momentum throughout but it’s kind of chill in its production, not triggering any overt retro vibe. The layering of funking bass and rather oddball, reverbed synths atop – not to mention the bizzarely washed-out drug-trip vocals – all make for a unique, and appreciably timeless, experience.

Really, the only downside here is the release format: the original Disco Club was a single LP of 6 tunes. Rephlex, for whatever reason, decided to split that up across different vinyl versions with different songs, and even a CD release with a different song. The only “why” behind that is to encourage collectors like myself to get ’em all, and if / when you’re celebrating some otherwise unheard of release, that feels like the wrong approach.

(Note: The version reviewed has the first three songs from the album, even in a different sequence than the original.)