A Collection of DJ friendly edits from around the world tweaked for maximum dancefloor usage (largely Antillean retro zouk)

JOSH FB (aka Discothèque Tropicale) EDITS

By legendary Guedeloupe zouk artist Edith Lefel from her 1988 record 'La Klé' - first of a series of edits me and the Discothèque Tropicale crew are working on, hope you enjoy it x

Edith Lefel - Etiw Doudou (JOSH FB / Discothèque Tropicale Edit)

Taken from the iconic Hibiscus Records' 1990 release of zouk/reggae fusion band 'Shango'. The Bamboo Beat album is a straight up killer record with 'Irie' being one of my all-time favourite tracks ever put out.

I changed the intro, cut out some parts and rearranged bits to make the breakdown you can hear at 0:31 for example. Hope you enjoy the edit, more to come... :)

Shoutout to my good pal and fellow zouk digging nerd Bedoui for turning me onto the record. It's sadly very rare, I'd love to be able to reissue it on my label 'Discotheque Tropicale' one day so more people could listen to this wonderful work of music x

Shango - Filinn' (JOSH FB / Discothèque Tropicale Edit)

Taken from the 1992 release on the legendary label 'Debs' from zouk duo Guy Houllier & Yves Honoré. Dug out in Paris from one of the most impressive private collections of Caribbean music I've ever seen - was great to see the record lived up to its impressive artwork... these guys clearly had some style!!

Intro is adjusted to be more club ready with several other tweaks here and there. As always big thanks to anyone who checks this out - I hope you enjoy!

Guyves & Co - Danje (JOSH FB / Discothèque Tropicale Edit)

Discovered courtesy of our good friend Under Radaar / Arthur - aka the zouk wizard I aspire to be! 

Taken from a truly wonderful 1988 zouk record from Barbados released on the iconic Hibiscus Records. En Nou Alle Zouké is also glorious, but this slower and more emotive track also deserves some serious attention!

Amazing horns, vocals, guitar riffs and melodies - what a Jam. Catch the OG on our Discotheque Tropicale youtube channel - It is amazing! his one has an altered intro, an interlude removed, more horns and is just a but more dancefloor/DJ ready. 

Thanks for checking it out, hope you enjoy x

Fil Pak - Moin Ké Diw (JOSH FB / Discothèque Tropicale Edit)

A real legend of the game! Jean Philippe Marthély has a huge discography, and since 1981 has been part of the legendary zouk band Kassav'!

The influence of this super-group on music not only in the Caribbean, but also across West Africa and beyond cannot be overstated. The pioneering collective of incredible Antillean musicians basically founded the zouk genre, and Jean Philippe has been a choice vocalist for decades.

This edit I dedicate to my grandmother Lulu. With the title and vocals to me sounding like "To Lulu" especially in the call response chorus, this was immediately the first thought that came to mind. Just like this track she had incredible positive energy and was a force to be reckoned with, may she rest in peace. Thank you to Hunee for the continued inspiration!

I hope you like it - as always if you're reading this and listening to the track.. a huge thank you to you all x

Jean Philippe Marthély - Touloulou (JOSH FB's 2-U Lulu Edit)

Seriously dope 1991 release on the South Africa's famous Tusk Records. At the time this label was outputting some of the country's finest music with countless kwaito and bubblegum synth pop bangers to be found!

A unique record as latin vocals and rhythms are infused into the bubblegum synth pop and kwaito sounds. Producing a one of kind killer album. 'La Luna' and 'Working Man' are both huge tunes also!

There was a section in the middle of this that I really wasn't a fan of, the edit aims to maintain the energy a little more, and using the already killer baeline, construct an intro that should be very straightforwards to mix. 

Hopefully does the job! As ever thanks for checking this stuff out... I hope you enjoy it!

El Pedro - Carnaval (JOSH FB / Discothèque Tropicale Edit)

Teorema - DJ Never Sleep (The Square Sun & JOSH FB Edit)

Hope you enjoyed the last two synth pop edits. Back at the usual stuff here with a Zouk adjacent Kizomba / Cape Verde Bomb from a dope 1996 compilation.

An ultra romantic infectious beat, beautiful synths, vocals and chord progressions. Nice for opening or closing... Similar to Antillean zouk but the beautiful Portuguese derived vocals work magic here, encompassing the track with a lovely vibe

As always thanks for checking these out. Drop a comment if you liked it pls! Peace and love, JOSH FB x

Vado Semedo - Kel Dia (JOSH FB / Discothèque Tropicale Edit )

This ones a biggie! Introducing a new edit from DT residents JOSH FB and Sunni D... Poutchi by Gustave Lefaivre! 

Enjoy!
DT

Gustave Lefaivre - Poutchi (Discothèque Tropicale Edit)

Edit of 'Makosmurf' by Jimmy & Fredo from their 1985 release. Cameroonian musicians Jimmy Mvondo Mvele and Fredo Tete combine to produce a record filled with afro zouk crossovers. With this digi makossa heater being the standout of the album for me. The soukous break is reduced and the intro extended for maximum dancefloor effect!! Hope you enjoy x

Jimmy & Fredo - Makosmurf (JOSH FB / Discothèque Tropicale Edit)

In this 1992 obscurity George Biron produces a zoukkiller sizzling with emotion and energy. His near falsetto voice is soothing and perfectly accompanied by beautiful trumpets, female backing vocals and baselines. With some difficulty I managed to remove a particularly heinous siren that played throughout the track, completely ruining it in my opinion! My 10th edit - Hope you enjoy :)

George Biron - Prevention Routiere (JOSH FB / Discotheque Tropicale Edit)

Awesome 1990 cover of a haitian zouk track by Mizik Mizik originally titled 'Pale Avem' released the year before. Although both versions are great, the female vocals in this cover are especially smooth and soulful. A truly incredible baseline accompanies wicked keys and horns in this wonderful piece of zouk love. Along with extended intros & outros, both versions contain a section which is not dancefloor ready and has been removed. Hope you enjoy!

Jean-Louis Maguy - Palé Avé M (JOSH FB / Discothèque Tropicale Edit)

Another Cameroonian killer record - with this track brimming with soul and energy. The chorus is simply fantastic and I tried to extend certain parts, and removed some sections that took a big left turn that might've sounded strange or killed the energy on a dance floor. Ambiana's vocals are fantastic and her falsetto reminds me of the vocals in Kollywood tracks. Hope you guys enjoy! Shoutout to Oliver Pinto for sending me the rip xx

Ambiana - Youpiya (JOSH FB / Discothèque Tropicale Edit)

A marvellous piece of makossa from 1988. Charlotte Mbango's amazing vocals carry the track along with hypnotic guitar riffs, baselines and euphoric horns. Some sections have been cut as they wander into happy soukous territory, whereas this track shines best when it's deep and bittersweet in my opinion. Hope you enjoy!

Charlotte Mbango - Konkai Makossa (JOSH FB / Discothèque Tropicale Edit)

ℝ𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕙𝕒𝕞 𝕃𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕧𝕖 Red alert 🚨 Watch out for this truly ridiculous zouk banger! 100% dance-floor heat sure to light up any crowd, this is without doubt one of our favourite ever uploads on the channel. Everything that's magical about zouk is present here, an example of some of the best things this genre has to offer! 

Joyous, yet beautifully bittersweet vocals accompany mind blowing horn sections, with a killer baseline holding the groove. The track refers to 'divine sunshine' which is apt as thats exactly the feeling and imagery this wonderful song elicits

Big credit to monsieur Rackham Le Groove for the all important dig and tweaks to maximise the utility of this DJ tool. The snares in particular are a wonderful addition. We really can't claim too much credit here at DT, we instantly fell in love with RCKHM's first edit, but upon repeat plays decided to loop some horn sections and remove several breaks that we felt didn't maximise the energy and dance-floor effect this wicked track can offer! Plus you can still checkout the initial edit on RCKHM's soundcloud.

Discogs link:
https://www.discogs.com/release/85603...

Rackham Le Groove's Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/rckhmlegroove

Where to find all things Discothèque Tropicale:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/discotheque_tropicale/
Youtube: www.youtube.com/@DiscothequeTropicale

Ursula, Roberto, Papo - Soleil Divinité (Discothèque Tropicale & RCKHM Edit)

Short and punchy 140+ bpm percussive, dancefloor ready killer zouk from the 1985 release by Group Ayé. Some cheesier vocals and instrumentals have been removed with most of the track centring around the ending of the original and various drum breaks found throughout. Hope you enjoy... also shoutout for the tip to Norman who runs the amazing youtube channel "Jean Ferrer", merci frérot!

Groupe Aye - Bodé (JOSH FB / Discothèque Tropicale Edit)

This wonderful cabo zouk from 1995 provides the perfect first team up for Gaz Preston & me. Quite a tricky edit involving multiple cuts, loops, rearranges and additions, but we feel it sounds great now! Ideal for warming up dancefloors :)

Jack Darosa - Sorraia (JOSH FB & Gaz Edit)

Another epic masterpiece of synth-compas fusion from 1985 created by Haiti's Erick Paul (who some may remember for his legendary track "Bel Carnaval / Mardi Gras". Jazzy and uplifting, the vocals elicit comparisons to Brazilian music. This track makes for great dancefloor material with it's euphoric horns, flutes and beautiful keys and synth melodies. Certain parts looped along with a reshuffled structure to maximise the dancing potential! Hope you enjoy x

Erick Paul - Rising (JOSH FB / Discothèque Tropicale Edit)

Record loving selector DJ based in London (and formerly Edinburgh). I love sticking my head in crates and learning more about the amazing music that can be found across the world. 

I'm a bit of retro zouk specialist (checkout my zouk show on My Analog Journal for more) but also have a great interest in soca, highlife, makossa, PALOP music, bubblegum, kwaito, latin freestyle and beyond - I enjoy celebrating globally sourced groovy records to fill dancefloors, and deliver an experience that makes club goers smile while they move

My mission is to spread this wonderful music and the talented artists that contributed to its creation with as many as people as possible! 

I run a clubnight and reissue / edits label along with a few friends called “Discothèque Tropicale”. Music to bring the boogie, fill the floors and put smiles on faces! 

I do the programming for London based radio station LOOSE FM where I also run the radio shows ‘The Listening Bar’ & 'Musical Backpacking' focussing each show and the record digging on a specific genre, theme or area. 

Pls ask for IDs I’ll always give them! Don't be a stranger, drop me a DM on Instagram anytime I always love to connect with fellow music lovers from around the world. Send me music pls 🙌

Music is a universal language with the power to break barriers and bring people together ❤️ 

jtsfryerbloom@gmail.com for bookings or probs faster to whack me a message on insta (@joshffb). Much Love, JOSH FB xx