Spanish Crash – Life Is Now [THANKYOU040]

Playful Italo-Disco project by Florentine Marzio Benelli, originally released in 1984. “Life Is Now” delivers a number of what seem to be almost very important life-teachings over a rather sloppy beat. The hi hats, although very present also make it clear “Spanish Crash” is in no rush to get anywhere any time soon, sounding almost off beat. What strikes the listener even more than the smudges of highly valuable advice in some form of English language is the creative usage of what might have been some of the latest studio recording toys to reach Italy in 1984, an array of rather unorthodox synthy effects, vocoders, trippy delays all topped off with imposing guitar riffs for good measure. Very much sounding like what could be the soundtrack to a bootleg Disney comic strip on acid. Castro’s “Paella Crash” shifts the original lazy gear into a dubbier, high BPM, striped down version of the original that is more club oriented.

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Spanish Crash – Life Is Now [THANKYOU040]

Apiento & Castro – The Orange Place [BLESSYOU027]

The kind of track that makes you want to know what kind of morning routine Apiento has on a weekday, “The Orange Place” is simply an underground dancefloor classic of the 2010’s that makes you realise something very special was going on with Paul Byrne’s Astrological charts at the time. Pure Sleazy Belgian Indiana Jones vibes, impossible to forget and very timeless. Now with full cover artwork and additional dubbed out afro cosmic remix by Castro.

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Apiento & Castro – The Orange Place [BLESSYOU027]

Babes In Love – Surrender [BLESSYOU024]

It might sound like an overlooked European dance record from 1985, but “Surrender” is a catchy Pop oriented production with strong influences from Italodisco and HiNRG, written and produced entirely from scratch by Benny Howell (aka DJ Subaru) and his friend Bella Quirin. Innocent and charming lyrics over 120’s BPM drum machine and a simple melody that you’ll be humming in the back of your mind for days to come. The remix on the B-side by Castro takes a darker turn into what almost sounds like a Techno version with heavy dubbed out effects taking the “Surrender” theme through an unhinged Ketamine flanger vortex.

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Babes In Love – Surrender [BLESSYOU024]