You may not be familiar with the experimental French disco scene of the '70s... but if you are then Yan Tregger's name will probably be one that you recognise. For genre collector's of original vinyl, there are two of his LPs that have long been coveted. Originally released on the Musical Touch Sound label in 1978/9 Catchy and Ducks & Drakes have become like the holy grail of rare disco. Now, thanks to the careful curation of UK music collector Frankie Valentine, BBE is able to reissue both of these in-demand LPs...

Yan Tregger's Ducks & Drakes is a totally different beast to his previous Catchy LP. This is a more refined and "modern" sounding album. You could almost believe that tracks like 'Friend Island' were produced just yesterday. Yes, it has a retro feel to it, but a lot of the tracks have a timeless, classic feel to it.

The album contains 13 tracks (35 min, 29 sec) and shows the disco genre morphing and maturing before your very ears. It straddles the line between disco and dance music and makes for an interesting listen. If you lived through the era, this is the perfect album to wallow in nostalgia.

There's diversity aplenty here, although I had to smile when I heard 'Threshold'. It opens with a drum and waka waka guitar theme that brought to mind Barry Gray's theme tune for Season One of Space 1999.

Disco isn't dead... it's just been languishing in a basement somewhere awaiting BBE to rediscover this gem of an album.

8

Nick Smithson