Electric Blue | 02

"Feel Alright (Extended Disco Version)" - Komiko

"So Glad Mark Wayward Edit" - Mark Wayward

"Let's Talk About Love" - SLMDNK

"When You're Standing On The Top (SoulSeduction Stand On Mix)" - Super 3

"Give Me (U.S Remix)" - I Level

"I Love You" - Karriem

"Theme For Someone Special" - Aged in Harmony

"Play It By Ear" - Cojo

"Too Tight (Long Version)" - Con Funk Shun

"Let Me Show You" (Extended Version) - Larry Wu

"Feel Alright (Extended Disco Version)" — Komiko

Komiko's short-lived studio project on SAM Records brought together producer Gary R. Turnier of Gary's Gang and New York club auteur Darryl Payne, with a song penned by Nick "Nicky" Braddy; the 12 inch was mastered by Herb Powers Jr., who signed as "Herbie", at Frankford/Wayne, which helps explain the outsized low-end synth bass. Payne's fingerprints link Komiko to the same post-disco ecosystem that produced Sharon Redd and Sinnamon for SAM and Prelude. The track lives on through a Bandcamp reissue that has kept it in rotation across the modern boogie scene.

"So Glad (Mark Wayward Edit)" — Mark Wayward

London editor Mark Wayward's early-2010s cut-and-extend approach on "So Glad" trims fat and leans into the pocket; the edit went up on his SoundCloud in late 2013 and still circulates as a free download. Respectful rather than revisionist, phrases are looped to extend the sweet spot, and enough runway added for the long blend. Wayward's wider catalog of soul, funk, and psych edits is sketched out on the long-running Funking Up blog.

"Let's Talk About Love" — SLMDNK

A chrome-bright boogie edit to serve as a late-set connector. Sydney-based SLMDNK's edits surface in Australia's community-driven series That's Not An Edit, Vol. 14, with "Let's Talk About Love" slotted among like-minded boogie and radio-soul reworks; his footprint lives primarily through SoundCloud and local crews. The TNAE compilations function as a running chronicle of the scene and a showcase for edits that rework early-80s dance cuts.

"When You're Standing On The Top (SoulSeduction Stand On Mix)" — Super 3

A 1982 12 inch on Street Beat by Super 3, an old-school disco-rap hybrid prized by breakers living a second life through 12 inch rips and private edits; this version was produced by Athens-based SoulSeduction (aka Nikos Tsifis), whose Bandcamp and SoundCloud catalogs deliver recuts that tighten drum imaging, extend breaks, and bring overlooked B-sides into rotation. The Super 3 original was later anthologized on Soul Jazz's Big Apple Rappin', Johan Kugelberg's archive of early New York hip-hop from 1979 to 1982. The title echoes the Temptations and Rick James collaboration "Standing On The Top", released on Gordy the same year, helping situate Super 3's bass-forward, post-Parliament swing in the 1982 club vernacular.

"Give Me (U.S. Remix)" — I Level

British trio I Level, comprising Sierra Leone-born singer Sam Jones with Essex musicians Jo Dworniak and Duncan Bridgeman, brought Brit-funk subtlety to "Give Me", then handed the U.S. club remix to Boston-born John Luongo; the American 12 inch carries Luongo's extended and dub versions that pull the bass out front and lace percussion edits throughout. Greg Wilson's archival profile places Luongo alongside Tom Moulton and Walter Gibbons as a pioneer who slipped through the cracks of dance history. Collectors will find the U.S. Remix anthologized on Arthur Baker Presents Dance Masters: John Luongo, Edsel's four-disc box covering the remixer's catalog. The track later turned up in the sample chain for AZ feat. Nas on Doe or Die, Lost Boyz, and A Tribe Called Quest.

"I Love You" — Karriem

A cult mid-tempo 1979 single from Oakland's Pashlo Records, produced by Central Heat and Gerald Robinson with label founder Leroy Smith as executive producer; Smith also ran Ocampo Records and worked early with Darondo. The original 7 inch is scarce, which made the Favorite Recordings reissue in 2016 a small event in modern-soul circles. Oliver Wang's Soul-Sides piece traces the single back to a literal house in deep East Oakland, noting that Robinson also produced the Numonics' "You Lied" and that Karriem later resurfaced as Dr. Karriem Muhammad. Music Is My Sanctuary flagged the reissue as a "Forgotten Treasure" on release. The Favorite Recordings edition revives both short and long versions while preserving the roomy drum sound and electric-piano lead.

"Theme For Someone Special" — Aged In Harmony

Perhaps my favorite track on the mix, featuring Detroit soul, string-sweetness, rhythm-section discipline and gorgeous guitar. Aged In Harmony cut their Mor-Tones singles in the mid-to-late 70s, all written, arranged, and produced by Arnold Moore; the catalog returned via the Melodies International "You're A Melody" 3×7 inch box (2016 and 2021), which paired "Theme For Someone Special" with "I Feel Like Dancin'" and helped move the group from collector lore to DJ nugget. The reissue grew out of Sam Shepherd's (Floating Points) namesake party at London's Plastic People, where "You're A Melody" was the spiritual anchor. XLR8R covered the project's slow burn from private press obscurity to modern-soul touchstone.

"Play It By Ear" — Cojo

Originally issued in 1984 as "Play It By Ear" b/w "Heads Up" on the Wilmington, Massachusetts imprint Destiny Records, this indie boogie 7 inch resurfaced on Serge Gamesbourg's archival project Boston Goes Disco!, a BBE compilation dedicated to obscure disco and modern soul from Boston and surrounding Massachusetts scenes between 1977 and 1985. In a Vanyaland interview, Gamesbourg recounts finding the Cojo record by knocking on the original label owner's door in Tewksbury and tracking down bassist, songwriter, and producer Joe Sumrell. The Arts Fuse's piece on the compilation's release party notes that Sumrell still performs the track live. Gamesbourg's notes point to Berklee-era connections and a web of small studios and bespoke labels, placing Cojo in a regional continuum of dance records that rarely traveled beyond local radio or club circuits at the time.

"Too Tight (Long Version)" — Con Funk Shun

"Too Tight" opens the 1980 album Touch, recorded at The Automatt in San Francisco and self-produced by the Vallejo seven-piece, with guitarist Michael Cooper penning the tune whose bassline and clipped rhythm guitar became a live set piece. The sessions also drew on the Bay Area percussion family of Pete and Sheila Escovedo. As a single, "Too Tight" peaked at 8 on Billboard's R&B chart, 25 on the Dance Club chart, and 40 on the Hot 100 in 1980–81, sealing it as a crossover funk classic, and it now sits alongside "Ffun" and "Shake And Dance With Me" in the group's canonical run.

"Let Me Show You (Extended Version)" — Larry Wu

Cut for Atlantic in 1984 and produced by Amir Bayyan, youngest of the Bell brothers and former leader of the Kay-Gees, the 12" Extended Version is the original long vocal mix (6:30) issued on a US promo and later reissued by Above Board with Atlantic. Record Mirror columnist James Hamilton tagged it a "good Kashif-ish bass synth bumped beefy 113bpm 12in swayer" in February 1984, a useful period earprint. Larry Wu, born Lawrence W. Wedgeworth, had earlier appeared as Larry Wedgeworth and Clique on the 1980 Boston Celtics fight song "No More Games" before this Atlantic move. The groove files neatly next to De-Lite and Prelude material from the same window. A consummate boogie closer.

Listen to: Electric Blue | 03