Dirty Disco 629: Deep House, Disco & Long-Form DJ Culture in 2026
Curated and mixed by Kono Vidovic Dirty Disco 629 is a reflection of where underground dance music stands today when it is allowed to breathe. This episode is not built […]
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Some releases feel less like a single track drop and more like a snapshot of a community at work.
Family Affair Vol. 5 on Razor-N-Tape is exactly that. Hard to believe the series is already at volume five, but time moves fast when a label keeps its circle tight and its standards high. This year’s edition once again pulls from the extended Razor-N-Tape family, bringing together longtime contributors and fresh voices across house, disco, dub, breaks and everything in between. It is not about chasing one sound, but about showing range, personality and shared values.
Right in the middle of that sits Hold Your Body, the new track from Mike Misiu, and it feels like a natural fit. This is his contribution to the Family Affair compilation, and it carries that quiet confidence you only get from someone who has been shaping dancefloors since the early nineties.
Mike’s journey runs deep. From releases on labels like Razor-N-Tape, Bastedos and Low Life, to founding Heads High in 2020 and operating as one half of Club of Jacks, his output has always stayed rooted in movement first, trends second. Whether he is working with cosmic disco moods, underground edits or deep house pressure, the goal stays the same: make music that works in real spaces, for real people.
In this Track Talk, we dig into Hold Your Body as part of Family Affair Vol. 5, unpacking the influences, the mindset and the long-term relationship with club culture that shaped the track. Not nostalgia, not revivalism, but continuity. The kind that keeps scenes alive.
Bomb The Bass – Don’t Make Me Wait (1988)
I bought the 7” of this from my local Woolworths the moment it came out. My 11 year old self was obsessed with everything about this record: the sound, the style, the typography, the colours, the symbols (smiley faces and yin-yangs were subsequently drawn all over my school books). I vividly remember sitting in my bedroom repeatedly listening to the arrangement of the intro and enthusiastically trying to convince to my Dad how great it was. The flip side was ‘Megablast’ which was also a massive back-of-the-school-bus tune at the time. A blistering record all round and the initial inspiration for ‘Hold Your Body’.
BWH – Stop (1983)
Wish I could say I bought this when it came out, but I was 6 and living in rural Somerset, so Italo Disco wasn’t really on my radar. I’d like to think that the relentless arpeggiated bassline, chunky kick drum, piercing synth stabs and uplifting piano line would have made the 6 year old me do disco backflips. In the same way they do today.
Sylvester – I Need Somebody To Love Tonight (Instrumental) (1979)
Deep, moody, other-wordly masterpiece from producer Patrick Cowley. The vocal mix is wonderful but this instrumental version keeps the focus on the beautiful sound design and hypnotic groove. When that liquid synth line comes in at 2.55 it sounds simultaneously like being at the depths of the ocean and the farthest reaches of outer space at the same time.
Gat Decor – Passion (Naked Mix) (1992)
The dictionary definition of a piano line coming out of nowhere to smack you in the feels. Despite hearing it countless times it still has the same rushy effect on me every time.
16B – Water Ride (1998)
Discogs is a funny place. People often pay stupid sums for bang average records, yet you can pick up an absolute golden era VG+ Deep House gem like this for 2 quid! (which is exactly what happened when I recently bought a 2nd copy). Produced by Omid Nourizadeh, he also did some other great tracks around this time including ‘Black Hole’ and ‘Secrets’ which are well worth hunting down too.
Le Club – Un Fait Divers Et Rien De Plus (Re-Re Mix) (1983)
Just that intro synth line alone gives me chills. The sparse percussion, ice cold delayed claps and moody bassline only add to the drama. And then it just goes off on one into some funky guitar meets jazzy piano meets shouting female vocals meets synth stabs vibe. Unique, quirky, brilliant dark disco funk out of France.
Vallerenga Blues And Disko Combo – Ballerina (2006)
I first heard this on the Idjut Boys ‘Press Play’ mix and recently picked up a Cottage 12” of it. Wonky, trippy, dubbed out dark disco with a slightly menacing feel which then flips into a delightfully contrasting jazzy piano and guitar section and then back again. A genius spaced out pot of organic cosmic jam from the two Norwegian maestros Lindstrom & Prins Thomas.
Wednesday Club – Dub & Care (2023)
One from my own label Heads High, this has a similar dubby, moody, synthy Disco/Deep House feel. More than a little influenced by ‘Give’ by Harari.
Raw Silk – Just In Time And Space (Dub) (1983)
One of my most beloved dub disco records, I absolutely love everything* about this track. The way the almost spooky, percussive intro breaks into the main groove and then just keeps amping the energy and the soul higher and higher until that piano solo comes in and I go into fully uplifted transcendental mode. By 6 minutes in every molecule of my body is rushing.
*Actually it does end far, far too abruptly and maybe needs an edit thinking about it haha…
West Pest Synthesizer
West Pest is, on the surface, a semi-modular, West Coast–inspired synth that uses wavefolding instead of filters and complex timbres instead of polite subtractive tones. In practice, it’s a gleefully unruly noise gremlin that exists to misbehave musically. Instead of asking, “Would you like a nice warm pad?” West Pest asks, “What if your bassline briefly became sentient and tried to escape?” I used it for the main bass sound in ‘Hold Your Body.’
Model D Synthesizer
This Moog clone can go from warm bass to sinister cinematic tones in the twist of a few knobs. It was used for the dark drone stabs in the track. Most times I start out with a plugin like Monark to get the initial idea down but no VST excites the body and mind like this synth does.
Thank you.
Huge thanks to Mike Misiu for taking the time to share the thinking, the records, and the machines behind Hold Your Body. This is the kind of insight that reminds you why Track Talks matter. Not hype, not algorithms, just honest connection to the music and the culture around it.
Hold Your Body is out now as part of Family Affair Vol. 5, and whether you catch it on vinyl or digital, it rewards proper listening. Loud enough to move you, detailed enough to stay with you.
Support the release, dig into the compilation, and keep an eye on Mike’s output. This is deep-rooted dance music done the right way.
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Author
Kono Vidovic
DJ | MUSIC CURATOR & SELECTOR | PODCAST MAKER | BLOGGER Professional online interpreneur. Coffee practitioner. Electronic music culture maven. Total music guru. Infuriatingly humble problem solver. Food & sports fanatic.
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