10 of the most influential disco labels of the last decade

We're celebrating the last 10 years of dance and electronic music with the Label Of The Decade poll. Here, we shine a light on the imprints pushing and reinventing disco from 2007-2017.

We’re not exaggerating when we say disco is the reason we all have our jobs here at Mixmag. No, seriously, without the genre's four-to-the-floor kick, simple two-part chord progressions and focus on grooving basslines, we wouldn’t have anything to report on because modern dance music wouldn’t exist. Everything from today’s music to club culture to unbridled hedonism has its roots in disco.

But since it’s 70s mainstream heyday, it’s been pushed back underground, consigned to the past with only the commercial hits busted out for your drunk aunt at a wedding. Surely the genre can’t exist in the new millennium? Today we listen to the music of the future, created on computers for a digital age that has outlasted the analog attitude bands.

While we don’t see many fully-fledged string and horn ensembles anymore, disco is still alive in new, re-contextualised forms and still makes up the backbone of modern dance music. The re-editing tradition started by the likes of Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles and Tom Moulton is still very much kicking, while the reissue game is possible the strongest it’s ever been as people dedicate themselves to unearthing gems from far-flung music scenes.

Then there's the amount of house music that still samples disco's golden eras. Midland's 'Final Credits' (which takes its cue from Lee Alfred's 'Rockin-Poppin Full Tilting') was named our track of the year in 2016, showing new generations of producers will always have love for the genre.

With that spirit in mind, here are 10 of the most influential disco labels from the past 10 years.

Cut in Brooklyn, New York City, Razor-N-Tape has been releasing fresh disco edit gems since 2012 garnering fans like Chicago legened Roy Davis Jr. The likes of Dimitri From Paris, Late Nite Tuff Guy and Ron Basejam have all released club-ready versions of Gap Band’s ‘Someday’, Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’ and ‘Do I Believe In God’ by Prince. This year has seen them convert Ben Sims into a disco genius under the Ron Bacardi alias.

Ran by Mixmag Disco Editor Yam Who? a gentlemen at the forefront of the disco edit scene back in the early 00s along with Harvey and Idjut Boys, Midnight Riot is one of the biggest selling labels on Juno in the past five years. The label recently released Amp Fiddler's new album 'Motor City Booty' and the Sound of Chicago compilation featured tacks from Black Madonna and OOFT. It's also all about digging and reworking ultra rare gems, as shown on the J-Pop compilation that unearthed and re-edited some of the most obscure Japanese disco. The label released a rework of disco legends Imagination album with remixes from Soul Clap plus Yam Who? is currently producing the new album from disco legends Odyssey with John Morales.

Having started out as a popular music blog, House Of Disco's mission is to bring the best new and classic disco with a decent smattering of house. They've certainly adhered to that modus operandi so far. Art Of Tones, Ron Basejam and Fouk have all produced slices of wax for the London label thus far. This year they've also collaborated on an EP with the much-loved and disco inclined Aroop Roy.

An imprint keeping the tradition of killer disco edits alive. Disco Deviance has seen Late Night Tuff Guy, Rahaan and Dimitri From Paris (as Dimitri From Tokyo) contribute edits of obscure and popular disco heaters alike. Run by UK DJ Dicky Trisco, the label has earned a reputation as a true torchbearer for the edit tradition of DJs like Larry Levan, Nicky Siano, Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy.

Fully fledged credentials are in order when it comes to Dave Lee aka Joey Negro & his Z Records. For over 2 decades the imprint has supplied dancefloor drama of the highest order. Started as a successor to Lee's Republic Records, which introduced the UK to classics like Phase II's 'Reachin', the label became a powerhouse in the 90s with Lee's many aliases. Not only has the output continued in the last 10 years but they also reached new heights with their 'Remixed With Love' series which involved acquiring the original master tapes of tracks like Patrice Rushen's 'Haven't You Heard' and then rebuilding them for modern generations to come.

Established in 2002 by Gerd Janson and Thorsten Scheu (though now it's mainly DJ and producer Gerd at the helm), Running Back is known for forward-thinking, modern electronic disco and quality analogue house that continues to push the boundaries of 4/4. Leon Vynehall recently released his artist album 'Rojus' (Designed To Dance) on the imprint, which very much serves as a who's who of talented underground artists. Redshape, Theo Parrish, Phillip Lauer, Matthew Styles, Mr.G, Move D have all offered their services. Most dance music fans will have heard Todd Terje's 'Ragysh' from 2011, a release that very much epitomises the hypnotic, groove laden, style of the label. In fact the modern disco overtones, which often strike a similar chord to the Nordic disco scene is what makes Running Back more than just another house label. Such is the cult status of the imprint, it's the place that many big, established artists would kill to release on for the kudos.

Born out of frustration in the middle of nowhere (Uruguay), responsible for bringing DJ Harvey back into the studio and famous for its curveballs (Adventure Party, Marcellus Pitman and Baldelli remixes). Mark Barrott now runs the label from his compound in Northern Ibiza, which, according to Harvey’s definition of Balearic Music (‘music made in the Balearic Islands’), makes him a true modern purveyor of the genre. Releasing eclectic nu-Balearic music with quality cover art, it's at the forefront of the nu-Balearic movement, a scene of diggers mining library music, obscure b-movie soundtrack gems and for post-party meanderings.

Disco has really seemed to resonate with Scandinavians in recent years. So much so that it's lead to it's own genre: Nordic disco. Norwegian label Full Pupp, founded by Prins Thomas and Stevie Kotey, is a leading figure in the scene and responsible for seminal releases from the likes of Todd Terje, spearheading a hypnotic analogue nordic sound that has gone on to define modern day disco.

Since it's inception in 2009, Jimpster's label has become a go-to for big-name house and disco tracks. Artists like Session Victim, Tornado Wallace and 6th Borough Project have made their names on the imprint with disco-influenced bombs. In particular, Session Victim's collaborations have all been smartly-sampled dancefloor fillers which has resulted in two full-length albums, 2012's 'The Haunted House Of House' and 2014's 'See You When You Get There'. Bucking the trend of, at the time, declining vinyl sales, their vinyl releases have seen them become a favourite for DJs like Seth Troxler, Soul Clap and Deetron.

Soul Clap is a Boston-based label run by Soul Clap’s Eli and Charlie that’s been releasing since 2012. The imprint is part of Crew Love, a collaborative concept from them, Wolf + Lamb and Double Standard, pushing the boundaries of e-funk, hip hop and disco. With notable releases from Nick Monaco, Midnight Magic and Benoit & Sergio, the label has also introduced legendary jazz funk musicians to a new audience and found a home for new records from the inimitable George Clinton of Parliment fame.