Manc DJ/Hero Luke Una returns to Mr Bongo with the third volume of his eclectic ‘É Soul Cultura’ series.
Luke Una‘s transition from underground DJ to national treasure of clubland has been one of dance music’s more euphoric stories, and much needed in an era of club closures and relentless rave pessimism. His madcap social media ramblings have been entertaining us for decades, shrieks of “what’s this?” punctuating acerbic monologues that deliver his take on everything great to the downright disgusting in our beautiful subculture of house music.
All this is nice, but the real reason he remains essential in these times is that he retains an unparalleled example of the most crucial DJ trait: a really fucking good ear. This compilation, the third instalment collection from his É Soul Cultura imprint, demonstrates why.
There’s the dubby disco drums on Gaucho’s ‘Dance Forever’, the delicious supersonic soul of Janete Renee’s ‘Whats On Your Mind’ or 49th Floor’s swinging NYC house ‘Night Passage’. A killer acid workout from Orion Agassi on ‘Desacato’ rubs shoulders with the moody hi-nrg of Alphonsus Idigo’s ‘Flight 505’ with jazzier flavours from Admin and Toshiyuki Honda. But the standout is the presence of another maverick, DJ Harvey’s entrancing beatless take on DJ Food’s ‘Peace’. The sort of record mere mortals clear dance floors with but one Luke, and no doubt Harvey himself, uses to send them into delerium
Wherever your tastes lie on the dizzying spectrum of soul, house, disco, rave and everything else that punctuates Una’s DJ sets, this compilation has it for you in spades. An absolute masterclass in curation – just don’t try to trick or treat him.
Buy the LP/MP3 via Mr Bongo here on Bandcamp.
