Hot on the heels of Luv (LuvLuv) comes a sublime new Drum Chums from midlands madlads Wrekin Havoc. Over the years we’ve shared great tunes, fun times and A-grade dance floor debauchery with these permanent party people (our first encounter almost exactly like that Spiderman pointing meme) so it made more sense than we usually do to invite them aboard the V*nga bus for some Balearic-disco edit excellence.

Things kick off with the sexy throb of “Shine A Light”, a stonewashed funk workout complete with Paisley guitars, Troutman bass grunts and some big time blue-eyed soul vocals. It’s a bit like an extended and unheard collaboration between George Michael and Tears For Fears recorded immediately after a particularly heavy night at Future. Unsurprising perhaps that this one’s been getting a whole lot of love from DJ Harvey.

“Mars Bar Party” grabs you by the hips from the first bar of its swaying Mediterranean house rhythm, then tugs at every single one of your heartstrings with melancholic pads and a silken vocal croon. Fuuuuuuckin’ hell! Sorry, was totally bewitched by the primal power of piano house magic - it’s like John Rocca was in the room for a second. Armed with an awesome arrangement and clocking in at ten massive minutes, this may be the ultimate Balearic house journey.

If all this weren’t enough to have you stocking up on 5-HTP and sinus rinse, those crafty cats close the set out with the shimmering disco euphoria of “Leccy Meet Her”. The bottom end pulses endlessly, Cowley synths trill and crystal clear Vox soar above, sending us far off into mirrorball orbit. If this isn’t a hit at Horse Meat, we’ll neck a bottle of poppers and never eat a tomato again.

Each and every track Wrekin Havoc touch is a pearler, but we’re particularly chuffed with ourselves for snapping this top trio up.

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Punching our ticket for the tenth trip on the Drum Chums line, we rattle past the control centre, where Approach Release delivers another masterclass in genre-blurring brilliance. Darting through emotional New Beat, psychedelic soul, stomping Afro-disco and coastal cosmic, AR keeps things right on track and perfectly off the rails.

"So Wrong" starts the party with a growl and a gurn, all gnarly sequences and robotic drums until that mournful vocal moves us into a land of Lynchian longing. Teardrops on the dance floor, clouds in your coffee, it's, it's, Goth Italo folks. Shifting tone like McCrae shifted gears, Approach Release moves on from Main-Room Gloom into the smooth and sensual soul of "LuvLuvLuv". Low-slung, lilting, loose and lysergic, this versatile version-excursion works wonders as warm up and rub down, its brilliant bedroom vocals floating atop the synthetic and psychedelic groove.

Over on the B-side, "E-Killa" bursts out the speakers with about 100,00 volts of Afro-disco energy, each one perfectly harnessed to whip a crowd into a grinning frenzy. Armed with an unstoppable arrangement, vital vocals and a stomping rhythm section, this delicious drink of tropical pop just keeps on fizzing. For an encore, Approach Release drops the deeply dramatic "Lou Cee", a full-hearted bit of Balearique-brilliance stacked with enough synth strings, faux-accordion and earnest outpourings to give Chris Rea a run in the anthem stakes.

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We interrupt our regular Drum Chums programming to bring you a little V/A tackle via the ‘Percussion Pals’ project. These razor sharp cuts come from friends near and far, old and new, each one primed to upgrade your record collection.

Debuts abound on the A-side, first via international man of mystery DJ Poufsouffle and his Balea-rock disco stomper "Totally Manic". Brimming with Flash & The Pan style pub-rock wonk this one boasts a growling vocal, sparkling keys and an uplifting chorus which doesn't quite break the spell of extreme silliness. On the A2, Bristol’s Spice Route rescue a nebulous reggae gem from Library obscurity, swinging the scalpel and working the desk to turn out an unstoppable groover. Built around an irresistible rhythm section, “Gruler Dub” keeps on getting higher as the space-based vocals and trilling synths turn your brain inside out.

The B1 brings the return of Drum Chum extraordinaire Neil Diablo, who follows the Balearic brilliance of his last label outing with a cosmic caper into pure oddball pop. "Starry Night" slinks along in a chromed out catsuit, purring weirdo vocals over robo-chug and mechanical drums before indulging in a catchy chorus packed with addled innuendo. Not only is this as arch as Gina X doing a forward fold, but it also boasts some serious bass weight in the later half - you have been warned. We're delighted to finally feature a little magic from Australian Italo wizard Hysteric, who brings the curtain down in utterly emotional fashion via AOR disco dream "Pinball". A steady beat, infectious bassline and glistening chords play host to a swooning vocal, which reminds us to go with the flow and follow fun at all times.

Pieces well and truly picked up by a who’s who of collectors and selectors, the TD team follow Bobby Snacks’ super smash with some seriously synthy slices from good buddies Miserymix. A collaboration born behind the Piccadilly Records’ counter, Miserymix is the dark disco alias of Goth Spice (Kohl AF, dressed in black and armed with nonpliments) and Mushy P (a toothy and goofy Talking Drummer). Based a mere 192 away from Senõr Snacks in the thriving metropolis of Levenshulme, this pair of disco delinquents share a penchant for pingers, Prosecco and the lesser known corners of Europe’s 80s club sound. After a mysterious appearance on one of Duca Bianco’s brilliant V/As, Miserymix drop their debut EP on Drum Chums, aiming directly for the dance floor.

The Italo-noir of "Sexy Cowboys" gets the set off to a sleazy start, its seductive synths and strangled guitars riding throbbing bass and leather-clad percussion right into the darkroom, where the yelping vocal echoes over the creak of a swing. Miserymix push the tempo for the pacey disco pump of "Proverbial S.O.B.", a peak time stomper dubbed senseless for the perfect tops-off groove. Subtle kalimba, cut up vocals and orchestral hits find every sweet spot atop the one note bassline, while those airy piano chords steer us straight into the sublime.

Kicking off the flip is the uber-anthemic, endorphin-laced and mid-paced dancefloor destroyer "E Motion". Our disco duo spend plenty of time on the foreplay, teasing every ounce of ecstasy out of the nuanced perx, rolling bassline and sparkling synths before unleashing some flawless Francophone vocals on the way to a colossal chorus. Smouldering like a Propaganda club mix, this Europop obscurity has been upgraded into an accidental pill tune of perma-gurn proportions - this one is a road-tested dance floor sure shot. Indulging the afterglow, Miserymix sign off with the superb synth pop of "Name Game". Stomping drum machines play host to an insistent bassline and some slinky keys, while the cucumber cool Euro vocal serves cabaret camp and maximum vamp.

Remember folks, the TD crew (drum)rolls deep...

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Drum Chums Vol. 5 marks the arrival of Captain Attractive, an international man of mystery, head-nod hero and edit expert whose many masterpieces inspired us to pick up the scalpel in the first place. Last seen leaving Berlin on a world tour, this legend parked the Red Motorbike outside Talking Drums HQ and treated us to a lesson in San Fran sleaze, hippie disco and MPC bump.

The A-side opens with the sticky funk of “It’s More Fun 2 Make Love”, a pitched down disco cruiser extended for the tantric dance floor and mastered on an old porno VHS. Sultry, slinky and rated X. We’re always hungry after the act and graciously Captain Attractive is on hand with a donut called “Memories” to close out the A-side, looping some sweet soul into the kind of hypnotic hip hop as house romper which defined beatdown way back when.

The Captain takes the yacht to the Med on the B1 with the super Balearic groove of “Dreamer”, an astounding combination of dexterous bass, choral vocals and rolling piano, all set to the shimmy of hippie percussion. It could be a Laurel Canyon memory, an Xtian obscurity or something much deeper, but it’s definitely twelve minutes of sunset bliss - just wait until my guy flips the script after seven minutes! The dude drops the curtain with another bitesize portion of MPC mastery, cutting up some thick wax guitar and cool keys over a swung groove for “Ghana Do It”. Captain Attractive taking you where you want to go.

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It's debut time!
Making his first appearance on wax is Manchester's hottest property, Approach Release. When he isn't creating cross-genre chaos behind the decks, this genial gee mans the tram, so you gotta know he's comfortable at the controls.
In addition to a clean drivers license, the man is in possession of some seriously deep crates and this three-tracker sees him pick out a few obscurities in serious need of some scalpel.

The A side serves up the swooning space disco of 'Krypton Factor', a mid-tempo trip into the mirror ball nebula which pairs sweet female vox and dramatic sax with malfunctioning electronics and chest height bass riffs. File it under set opener, sci-fi frother and future anthem!

Over on the B side, A.R. indulges in a little beatific boogie via 'Coma', an outer national excursion building from bubbling bass and classy keys into the eventual heart-swelling vocal, an arms aloft moment if ever we've heard one.
We've been dropping this anywhere there's a CDJ and are just as happy as you lot to have it on wax. Approach Release makes it three hits out of three on the B2, as a slept-on slice of synth-pop Francais gets a necessary extension and leaves its lame chorus on the cutting room floor. Tune in for taut drum machines, playful melodies and a chic vocal.

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After some inaugural heat from Hamburg, we catch up with our man from Saint-Ouen for Drum Chums Vol. 2!

As far as Percussion Pals go, Plastic Bamboo has the highest credentials.
Not only did he spend a decade behind the drum kit, but he was my flatmate for a few happy years in Manchester. Since relocating to Paris in 2012, he's played sets all over Europe, worked the scalpel with the Good Plus crew and secured a second dan black belt in digging.
Let's see what the prince of Les Puces has in store for us...

On the A1, Plastic Bamboo double doses an unknown new beat 7" extending the Arabic acid delight for a six minute soak. Properly peaking and packed with Middle Eastern flava, 'Ra Beat' is primed for dance floor demolition.
The Frenchman swaps the Arabic coffee for an Italian cocktail on the A2's 'Bertini', sticking an extra large umbrella in the frothiest of disco winners.

'Kamboja' offers a chance to catch your breath on the B1, bringing Balearic boogie with the upmost emotion and a melody you'll never forget.
We end the set in a peak time mode via the mysterious 'Forest Dance', a witches brew of dark disco and new beat stomp with just a hint of that techno-tropical flavour the Talking Drums love.

Bon soir et bisous.

New mutant offshoot from the Talking Drums crew...
You know how it goes at the after party, over indulge and you end up hogging the conversation. So, in the interest of better dancefloor discourse allow us to present Drum Chums, a new series of edits by percussion pals from across the globe.

This inaugural edition comes from our good buddy Basso, a Hamburg homie whose digging expertise is rivalled only by his scalpel skills and superb silliness. Dipping into the darkest corners of his ever-Growing Bins, Basso shines up a quartet of rediscovered delights for an edit EP which oozes grooves and off balance moves.

On an uptempo A-side, the German luxuriates in the spectral arps, glistening licks and uplifting chords of fusion boogie winner 'Do Stay For Breakfast', before serving the steamy, sultry and seductive vampire disco jam 'Soft Choppers'
Things take a turn for the Balearic on the B-side thanks to the Afro-tropical pop of 'Simple Stroll', all electroid bass, chugging percussion and playful guitar, and finally the cosmic cool of 'Breaking Bread', a spaced out bossa for heads and feet.