The gospel according to Midnight Riot

The UK-based label head back to church with third instalment of feel-good compilation

If there is such a thing as an award for the hardest-working man in disco, Midnight Riot boss Yam Who? must be a contender for a place on the podium. Both his label and personal production output are nothing short of prolific, with signature sounds ranging in style from low-down Balearic, classic and obscure edits, disco and boogie originals, all the way through to pumping club house.

Here, he puts together the third in a series of gospel-inspired flavours on ‘Take It To Church Volume 3’.

Now, devotional music of any religion, sect or denomination has the power to rouse audiences into spiritual fervour, and the recent revival in the house and disco community to compose, repurpose and reimagine gospel has certainly struck a collective chord. Sophie Lloyd had a giant hit on her hands with ‘Calling Out’, Ray Mang's remixes of Phenomenal Handclap Band's ‘Judge Not’ were extraordinarily good, and it’s a safe bet that somewhere in the world right now Danny Krivit’s inspired edit of The Vision’s ‘Heaven’ is currently tearing up dancefloor.

The previous instalments of Midnight Riot’s TITC series were thick with holy smoke, our personal favourite from the collections, ‘The Light’ by Jack Tennis, is still getting plenty of plays from us.

The forthcoming instalment sees unashamedly uplifting efforts across the board, with contributions from (Basement Boy and original gospel house master) DJ Spen, Opolpopo, Michael Gray, RedSoul and more.

We’ve decided to play you ‘Reap What You Sow’ by The Wayfaring Strangers - a new collaboration between Divine Disco's Greg Belson & Yam Who?

Los Angeles-based Londoner Greg has released two albums on Cultures of Soul and is set to drop the hugely anticipated ‘The Time For Peace Is Now’ on David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label.

On their debut production as The Wayfaring Strangers, the duo effortlessly blend the obscure gospel song with extra percussion and instumentation, taking the track into a new realm altogether. The music has a roots-heavy feel, the chorus powers on over an extended and adventurous arrangement, and the net result is truly life-affirming.

‘Take It To Church Volume 3’ is out February 21. You can buy it our pick and check the rest of the release here.