The return of Disco

"It irritates me, the ignorance of some people when you mention disco," says Oliver Jones, otherwise known as dubstep don Skream. He feels so passionate about the subject he has agreed to be interviewed from a bar in Kuala Lumpur, where he is on tour. "They don't realise that, if it wasn't for that era, there would be no house, no hardcore, no jungle or drum'n'bass, and no UK garage or dubstep."

After several false starts and the occasional Sophie Ellis-Bextor or Kylie single, disco appears to be enjoying an Indian summer. Daft Punk are ruling in the album charts with Random Access Memories, thanks in no small part to the lead single Get Lucky - a showcase for the inimitable rhythmic guitar of Chic's Nile Rodgers.

A slew of new outfits, from Parisian producer Breakbot to the 17-piece troupe Escort, draw from the genre. Their output is redolent either of the classic 1970s New York sound with its hi-hats and strings, or the slower, funkier 1980s style, heavier on the synths and drum machines, known today as "boogie". Others such as Norway's Lindstrom are exploring a more cosmic, trancey variant. And the fact that Australian duo Flight Facilities - French house fans who deliver a knowing take on disco - have signed to the Glassnote label, home of Mumford and Sons, is a sure sign of commercial faith in the music.

It doesn't stop there. Veronica "Ronika" Sampson, also known as the "Madonna of the Midlands", sampled an old Chic production on her recent single Automatic, earning a favourable tweet from Rodgers. According to Mixmag, last year's finest dancefloor hit was the disco-indebted Inspector Norse by Todd Terje. Many of these artists have been quietly making disco-influenced music for years (there has been a "nu disco" chart on online music retailer Beatport since 2008), but there are now so many of them that the scene is reaching critical mass.

"It's becoming more commercial, definitely," says Dec Lennon, who makes boogie tracks as Krystal Klear and has a disco-centric show on Rinse FM, the east London station formerly synonymous with dubstep and grime. "I can see it driving that uptempo disco sound to the forefront." Lennon is glad disco is finally being vindicated. "I see people I went to school with who used to belittle my taste and say things like, 'That's music for faggots'," he says.

Lennon insists disco is no fad - "I was making disco mixtapes when I was 14 and 15," he says - and points to artists associated with other genres moving in a disco direction such as the grime MC Skepta. Probably the most credible enthusiast, though, is Skream, a serious disco head who has just put a mix dedicated to the genre online and is issuing a disco single this summer called Rollercoaster. He played an early version to French disco-rockers Justice, who "lost their mind over it", he says with some pride. So, is this really the summer of disco? "If I have my way - yes, definitely," he says.