Lifelike + The Presets is a combination we already know and love. When French Touch luminary Laurent Ash remixed the Australian duo’s 2008 single “This Boy’s In Love,” the result was a supremely funky track that inspired epic dancing in far flung corners of the globe. This time around, producer and French dance music legend Lifelike works his disco magic on the Preset’s latest single, “Promises.”

The original track, which you can stream above via YouTube, is one of the best pieces of 80s-influenced electronica we’ve heard all year. In signature Lifelike style, the rework is a euphoric banger that manages to be intense and melodic at the same time; swirling synths, classic filter house effects, and punchy bass and snare set the stage for some big drops. Once again, the veteran shows he’s still very much on top of his game.

Lifelike’s remix will be included on a Promises Remix EP coming out December 4th via Modular.

STREAM: The Presets – “Promises (Lifelike Remix)”

LA producer Wes James (AKA Le Youth) dips his toes into the vast Lana Del Rey remix pool with a lovely disco-infused take on “Ride.” James’ remix of this tuneful ballad off LDR’s Paradise EP offers more of the same laid-back funkiness that recently caught our ears in his original track “Cool”.

A man of humble musical roots, Wes is a Toledo native who “was influenced by the idea that music could get me out of Ohio.” A coworker showed him how to use synths and drum machines while he was selling records at a “lame department store” in Seattle, and the rest is history. According to the same La Nuit interview, Wes claims to have an English Bulldog who enjoys skateboarding. Support the two by following Wes on Facebook and SoundCloud.

STREAM: Lana Del Rey – “Ride (Wes James Remix)”

In addition to ATG favorite Anna Lunoe, Aussie label Future Classic has a host of other talented artists under its auspices. One of the most promising among these is Panama, a Sydney-based quartet headed up by classically trained pianist Jarrah McCleary. The brand new track “It’s Not Over” is the first thing we’ve heard from the band since their chilled out summer jam “Magic,” and it’s enough to leave us seriously excited for their impending debut EP. The song follows a formula familiar from house classics like the Chemical Brother’s “Surface to Air” and LCD Soundsystem’s “Home”: a slow, steady build, driven by propulsive disco percussion and a sparse but hopeful instrumental arrangement – a sort of indietronica version of R&B’s Quiet Storm subgenre. It’s a recipe I’m a sucker for, and Panama’s tropically-tinged iteration is a lovely one.

The video, produced by the people at A Nice Idea Every Day, features some stylish bandits and their bemused toddler accomplice.

Panama’s It’s Not Over EP, recorded in LA with assistance from the wizards at New York’s DFA studios, is set to be released November 2^nd via Future Classic.

STREAM: Panama – “It’s Not Over”

Belgian DJ, producer and mixtape maestro Vito de Luca (Aeroplane) just released his first remix in months and it’s a gem. This time, Vito applies his signature hybrid Italo/Balearic/Nu-Disco magic to Kiwi singer-songwriter Kimbra’s track “Two Way Street,” featured on her debut album Vows. It’s a dancefloor-ready remix with super sharp production and a tight funky groove.

Aeroplane used to be a two-man act featuring de Luca and Stephen Fasano, who is now known as The Magician). Both as a duo and on their own, these two gents have helped to spearhead a worldwide Italo disco revival, bringing fresh Balearic dance tunes to bigger and bigger crowds. With this latest track, Vito flashes some of the talent behind his increasingly big name and shows he isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon.

Catch his set at the venerable U Street Music Hall tonight. Tickets are available here.

STREAM: Kimbra – “Two Way Street (Aeroplane Remix)”

Japan’s Catune records, who released Windsurf’s Weird Energy EP earlier this year, delve deeper into the San Francisco electro scene with a new compilation of remixes by Ryan Bishop, also known as the Beat Broker. Bishop was raised in Southern California and worked at a local college radio station before linking up with Dream Chimney, a website dedicated to obscure and wonderful disco, jazz and funk music. Since then, he has co-founded a DJ and production outfit called Broker/Dealer and collaborated frequently under his Beat Broker moniker with fellow Dream Chimney contributors Hatchback and the Sorcerer (who together form Windsurf).

Catune’s Beat Broker compilation, Nice To Mix You, is great from start to finish. Highlights include an upbeat remix of talented Mexican group Marbeya Sound and a previously unreleased dub of Hatchback’s seriously cosmic track “The Violet Sequence,” which you can stream below. Nice To Mix You ships September 28^th, but you can pre-order here now for the low, low price of 2,300 Yen.

STREAM: Hatchback – “The Violet Sequence (The Beat Broker’s Winter Beard Dub)”

If you’ve ever carried on a semblance of a conversation with someone unfamiliar with your language, you know what an amazing phenomenon body language is. Sharpen up your facial expressions and hand movements and it’s like you’re living on Pangea, suddenly allied countrymen with all the world’s miscellany. Brooklyn-based experimental outfit Body Language embodies this concept of universality; if you played their new single “Lose My Head” at a U.N. meeting, every delegate would end up on the floor drinking champagne and joyfully dancing with envoys they were sent there to destroy. It’s like the song version of a secret handshake between Stevie Nicks and Neil Armstrong. There’s some theory that 93 percent of human communication is body language and only 7 percent the words themselves. “Lose My Head” makes me wish 93% of music were Body Language.

Body Language’s new EP Grammar drops September 18th on Om/Lavish Habits.

STREAM: Body Language – “Lose My Head”

We’ve been waiting for Breakbot’s debut album with the kind of jumpy anticipation we haven’t felt since our 8th grade selves glued our eyes to a very specific screenname on our AIM buddy lists waiting for that earth-shattering “hey” to light up the computer. The French DJ may have his away message up until the release of By Your Side on September 17, but he must have DeadAIM because he’s still chatting with us and sending love in the form of a new single, “Another Dawn.” The track features Breakbot’s partner in crime Irfane and starts off as sad and smooth as a rain drop sliding down the window of your apartment. Fortunately the dawn comes before the raindrop hits the gutter, and the song ends like a drop of morning dew sparkling with all the potential of a new day. Or, a new AOL buddy. Or, a new album. Whatever.

Breakbot is also making Robin Hood look like a scrooge with the generosity he’s showing, dropping not only “Another Dawn” but also a new video for “One Out Of Two.” Catch it here and just try to sit tight for his next move, or go chat with Smarterchild.

STREAM: Breakbot – “Another Dawn (feat. Irfane)”
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Sydney’s Future Classic record label has become a reliable source for smooth, shimmering disco-infused dance tracks lately, and Anna Lunoe & Friends’ Real Talk EP is no exception. Lunoe is an Australian born singer and DJ, currently residing in LA, who’s made a name for herself by playing alongside big electronic acts like Diplo and Soulwax and providing musical direction for fashion labels including Prada, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. On “I Met You,” she teams up with fellow Aussie and Future Classic artist Harley Streten (Flume) to deliver a sharp piece of R’n’B influenced tropical disco. The track develops nicely around the midway point, with a driving bassline and sun-drenched synths setting the stage for a lovely vocal outro. You can watch the official video for “I Met You” above, shot in the idyllic natural dreamscape of Australia’s Turon Gates with a healthy measure of kaleidoscopic effects, neon filters and stardust. Real Talk is out now on Future Classic.

STREAM: Anna Lunoe & Flume – “I Met You”

Another month, another wonderful mix from “horizontal disco” maven Zimmer, a member of Lisbon’s Discotexas music collective. Every time I start to think nu-disco has peaked as a genre and settled into a pattern of staleness and imitation, a new artist or DJ steps up and pushes things to a new level. That’s exactly the kind of statement Zimmer has been making with his lush, expansive solo productions and mixtapes, especially his June “Tobogan” Tape, which you can stream and download below. I have no idea what “horizontal disco” really means, but the label seems apt enough, particularly if it implies that this would be good music to listen to while lounging in a physically reclined position – maybe in a hammock in a tropical lagoon or beneath a meteor shower. Zimmer’s mixes share a quality you get from another of our favorite DJs, The Magician: vocals, riffs, and grooves seem to percolate up and waft into the mix from all directions like a glittery array of cosmic vapors, making for a spacious and euphoric sound. Zimmer’s bio explains that he grew up between France and California, making his music a “smooth combination of both worlds: west coast carefree attitude with a twist of Parisian chic.” Enjoy this lovely summertime mix – featuring artists such as Van She, Little Boots, Poolside, and Cassian.

STREAM: Zimmer – “Tobogan / June Tape”

Plastic Plates is a DJ who has the unique ability to make me dance regardless of the situation–in my chair at work, in my car, on the elliptical–you get the idea.  The LA-via-Australia producer has just put out an original called “Toys,” which is making me all sorts of nostalgic for a west coast summer. “Toys” has a subtle 80′s feel backed by layers upon layers of synth that really shine on this nu-disco track. Make sure to catch him on tour — he knows how to get a summer pool party moving.

MP3: Plastic Plates – “Toys”