Good friends and Record Mission co-captains, Dan Tyler (one half of the Idjut Boys) and
Nick The Record, take the reins for the third volume of the Mr Bongo Edits 12" series.
With previous editions coming courtesy of Danny Krivit and Luke Una, Dan and Nick set
their sights on a hand-picked selection of iconic ‘70s Cuban recordings for this three-track
cosmic whirlwind. Across the A side, Dan picks out two Juan Pablo Torres tracks, with
Nick taking on Grupo Los Yoyi on the B. Tweaking, extending and reworking the
recordings with a dose of extra magic they remould the tracks to fit the sounds and
structure of today’s dancefloors.
Having formed the Idjut Boys in the early ‘90s, Dan and Conrad McDonnell have crafted a
dubbed-out, disco-tinged style that permeates their countless productions, remixes and
DJ sets. Speaking of the two tracks Dan has chosen to rework for this EP he mentions,
“Having been caught under an avalanche of good music from Mr Bongo, I took it upon
myself to extend and add effects to a couple of the fantastic tracks from the Juan Pablo
Torres LPs they recently re-issued. Just for disco jockey and barn dance use.”
First, Dan looks to Cuban maestro Juan Pablo Torres’ 1978 album 'Algo Nuevo', taking
one of the standout tracks ‘Cacao’ and giving it more space to breathe. Teasing out the
scatting vocal line and percussive climax that nods to George Kranz's ’83 electronic disco
anthem 'Din Daa Daa', whilst adding more cosmic tripped-out synths and space echoed
dubs, Dan builds the tension to fine effect. This track sounds immense on a big club
system and the swirling synths felt like they were lifting the ceiling off when we played it at
the amazing La Paloma ballroom in Barcelona.
Dan then turns his attention to Torres’ 1977 'Super Son' album, giving the psych-Latin-
funk track 'Pastel En Descarga' a dub makeover. Rich in delay and drama, whilst
maintaining and extending the breakers funk intro, he juices it up into a punchy, no-
nonsense, cosmic-funk delight.
On the B side, Tangent co-founder, long-standing Life Force resident and seasoned
rework master, Nick The Record, revisits an edit that he originally constructed in 2009.
Clocking in at over double the length of the original cut, Nick’s edit of Grupo Los Yoyi’s
1977 cut 'Paco La Calle', is made with dancers firmly in mind. This secret weapon builds
and simmers, with the drums and percussion pushing and pulling before the psychedelic
synth lines return in a sweltering fashion. In this new 2025 version, Dan is drafted in to
work some brilliant new synth lines into the mix.