The French producer Infinity Night returns to Bordello a Parigi with ‘Le Temps Qui Passe’. Six slices of select synthesizer music make up the 12”, tracks lovingly crafted with Frederic Bergamaschi’s trademark analogue warmth.
What do you get if you put two synthesizer sorcerers in the same room? In the case of Skatebård and Lauer, the answer is Trollkraft. Between them, the Norwegian-German partnership have hundreds of releases, run record labels and have wowed crowds across the globe. In short, the two tracks of Trollkraft are the product of some serious electronic talent. Rich and textured drum layers give way to strings and a vibrating bass for the title piece. Twists and turns abound, elements of disco and house brush shoulders with indie and italo as the pair tear down genre divisions. A 90s heyday influence that runs through both offerings, with “One Night In Geilo” taking its cue from house rhythms and a two-stepping melody adopted from that emblematic decade. Reimagining rave in their own effervescent and playful style, these strobe and fog veterans serve up a fat slice of glow-stick elation. Strings weave high into the dawning sky, bongos and toms reveling next incandescent synthines with just a touch of trance thrown in to add spice to this heady and euphoric mix.
Mr. Computer sees two figureheads of Dutch electronics pay homage to the voice of electro disco, the vocoder. Figi and Luca dell’Orso team up to sing praise of a tool that has crossed genres and styles and give the little metal larynx deserved limelight on their own three track theatre. Rumbling bass is shot through with crisp snaps in the title piece, warbling vocals rising as keys dance in this wonderful collaboration.
Antoni Maiovvi is an artist like few others. “Knights of New Haven” summarises his unique ability and unparalleled range. This return to the Bordello reflects the influence of the West Coast Sound of the Netherlands as well as that machine music of his adopted home of the U.S. “Later Not Lately” bends bars above a throbbing kick, hi-hats ruffling the clean arcs of string. Echoes of Chicago and Detroit penetrate the EP. Melting melodies fold and oscillate under the crashing cymbals of “Slack Blabbath”, staggered synthlines jolted by tight percussion patterns. A brother-in-arms opens the flip, Danny Wolfers drafted in under his Legowelt moniker to turn his magic to “Later Not Lately”. Undulating undertones are sliced by serrated snares before a sordid TB303 is unsheathed, Wolfers’ soulful and squalid retelling of the original. “The Madness in the Method” closes. Fizzing static blurs drum patterns, a taut note piercing the dense bass fog. Teetering between the profound and the profane, Maiovvi pivots his horror disco trademark sound with driving house drums and devil-may-care grandeur. An EP of epic proportions.
More or less in a chronological order this is the last part of our favorite tracks from 2024.
We start presenting our favorite tracks from 2024. More or less in a chronological order we present here the ninth set of tracks.
Like the morning sun penetrating a Winter sky, a shimmering frost flecks the brightness of “Message to Nowhere”. The four tracker showcases the sound of Ruben Benabou’s Hyperstellar nom de plume, a sound that draws inspiration from sci-fi soundtracks and the warmer currents of electro. Refracted bleeps introduce the title piece, shorn beats cutting through glowing synthlines as the EP takes flight. Tight terse drum patterns are the launchpad from which melodies sail and swoop in “Words in a Void”, bittersweet strings and warbling pads bending and shifting above juddering basslines. Fellow Frenchman, and all-round electro virtuoso, The Hacker remixes “Message to Nowhere”. Pulling the track toward the centre of the floor, scissoring snares slice through echoing notes and silken shrouds in this machine funk remake. Temperatures rise for the close. Bold key changes and snapping rhythms gather in “A Thousand Nights”, a lively late evening close to a quartet of sheer quality.
We start presenting our favorite tracks from 2024. More or less in a chronological order we present here the third set of tracks.
In 2012, Army of God released a cult cut of cold wave: “Salvation”. This was the only EP by the partnership of Aroy Dee and Miss Jagroe, the only EP until now that is. Army of God are back, after more than a decade the duo return with Endless Skies. Analogue warmth is sliced by surgical synth stabs and bittersweet strings, Jagroe’s unmistakable voice echoes into the distance with the beseeching mantra of “until the music dies”. Aroy Dee’s edit of the title piece fortifies drums for the floor, emotion is further stripped from the already deadpan lyrics as melodies bleed into distorted wonder. The black streak that characterises Army of God turns a shade darker for the flip. A throbbing bass is inked by off-kilter keys, clusters of claps piercing the thicket of static and chilling chorus of “Fear the Night”. Venturing ever deeper into the night, the darker version will set speaker cones shaking and shivering. Juddering and trembling, basslines are bolstered with vocals invoking the very darkest regions of the dancefloor.
Doctr is no stranger to the Bordello. ‘Now You Can Fly’ is his third visit to the label, his first with company. Paired with Julia, the offering is pure peak-time elation. Bending bars are cut through by beats and synth stabs, Doctr building a palpable energy with vocals synergising perfectly. Daring key shifts unveil the full track, inspirational words and melodic wizardry waltzing arm-in-arm. Flying ever higher, electrical pulses of hi-nrg jolt this dancefloor burner. Julia’s vocals are parred back for the flip, leaving those sun-kissed synthlines to soar above calypso-infused percussion. Two works of sheer happiness; just what the Doctr ordered.
Bordello Travels presents the fifth volume of ‘Buone Vacanze’ with your tour guides Karassimeon, Nude Disco, Maltitz and Lennart.
Barcelona’s Anbau debuts on Bordello with a Giro d’Italia themed EP. Dedicated to its heroic riders and specifically the late Marco Pantani. He broke through in 1994, winning one of the hardest Giro climbs with an incredible time record; the Passo del Mortirolo. He eventually became second in the final rankings of this legendary tour of Italy.
Four years ago, Francesco Strippoli debuted on Bordello A Parigi. Once again, donning his Armonics alias, the Bari based producer returns with four tracks for “Future Echoes”. The synthesizer warmth that has characterised past releases is immediately present. At the heart of “Floating High” is Strippoli’s keyboard work. Beats are crisp and understated as waves of melodic murmuration bob and weave to perfectly complement each other. A steady kick introduces the textured title work. Warbling notes give way to bolder chords, chords that are blurred by shimmering arpeggios as layers of harmony expand and unfold. Nostalgia meets the needle on the flip. “Retrospectiva” blends subtle shades with brassy extravagance, the sun and romance of southern Italy radiating in tempered brilliance. The energy of “Music and Lights” closes. Throbbing keys are further fortified by swirling synth stabs, the intensity being ratchetted up to boiling point in this dancefloor delight.
Few artists have done as much as Heinrich Dressel to rekindle the genre of soundtracks. Even fewer are as capable as the Italian at writing such silver screen scores. Yet, Valerio Lombardozzi is much more than just one style. He has shown this time and time again, doing so once more with The Obscure Cities. Works of fiction, rather than film, are the fount of inspiration with tracks drawing on the likes of J.G. Ballard, Francois Schuiten, Benoit Peeters and Valerio Mattioli. The listener is transported to worlds of Dressel’s own making, landscapes of melody, textures of bass punctuated by drums. “Galatograd” opens. From understated beginnings, the track expands into a symphony of strings as columns of warmth descend. Tempos rise for “Eden Olympia”. A different tone is set. Juddering arpeggios and clean snares are elevated by bright and hopeful keys that sparkle with an enthusiasm and innocence. Deep unctuous bass gives way to gliding notes for “Remoria”. A piece where melodies and memories melt in the morning dawn. “Mylos” is the last visit of the EP. Delicate, almost fragile, notes are buttressed by drum patterns in this hazy dreamlike finale.
Giorgio Records teams up with Bordello A Parigi for the reissue of this beautiful italo disco tearjerker, originally released in 1984 in very limited quantities. Straight from the original master tapes provided by the maestro himself, Rodolfo Grieco.
Here are our favorite albums from 2023 compiled in chronological order.
Continue reading “2023 Best Albums”
Vacanze di Natale! Four party jams by Alberto Melloni, Luca Bacchetti and Modula feat. Carmen Lubrano from Italy and Red Woodchuck, the Dutch cherry on top.
For more than thirty years, Ruud Lekx has been corrupting hearts and minds with his unmistakable brand of synthesizer music. Under his Rude 66 mask, this titan of electronics returns to Bordello A Parigi with twelve darkened tracks for ‘Conditioning Consciousness’. Tempos glide low in the opening incantations. From the breathy murmurings of “Magick Angels’ Invocations”, the listener is brought into Rude’s world. Shauna Lekx’s signature vocoder lyrics and blackened subject matter are central tenets, as are hauntingly delicate melodies. “The Riddler In Me” is a deep psychological journey through cable and circuit, an unsettling monologue accompanied by liquid analogue lines. BPMs are allowed to rise for the shimmering warmth of “In Exile” and in the reverb soaked “The Chariot”. But these are the outliers. Across the collection, percussion drives without ever being a central force. Instead, the focus is the bewitching and brooding compositions. Take the drugged low slung groove of “The Talisman of Algol” or the loose modulations of “Le Sagittaire”, here the listener is brought into the heart of the machines and the musician. The curtain close, “The Five Swords Of Venus In Aquarius” gathers a spread of influences, bringing them together into one piece. Synth. Soundtrack. Strings. All culminate in this superb climax, a climax to an album that broaches the boundaries between terrifying and terrific.
Recorded live at Hell on Earth (Winter Dance II), in Adelaide on 12th August 2023
Rome’s Andy Romano joins the Bordello family with his long-awaited debut release. These tracks were shelved for more than 10 years and floating around between a handful of DJ’s after Andrea Confrancesco chose a different path in his creative career by becoming a professional illustrator. The A-side makes space for the almost 10 minutes long monster anthem “Monday”. A killer composition in typical Romano fashion and on repeat at the Bordello HQ for many years. The flipside starts with the very catchy love ballad “Loredane” featuring the master himself on vocals, followed by the galactic journey “Cyber Black Spaceship”.
The Hipodrome Of Music 