Berlin-based Tom Bolas has long been one of the most reliable re-editors on the Duca Bianca roster, regularly delivering inspired reworks of Balearic obscurities, flea market record finds and under-appreciated gems. Predictably, there’s a similar sonic aesthetic to his latest collection of re-cuts, his first for four years. Four groovers of Cosmic, Disco and Italo adventures for all.
Influenced by the likes of Wanexa, Eddy Grant, and YMO, Legowelt teams up with synth-funk artist Shook for a colorful, fun, and melodic new LP on Nightwind Records. A raw mix of saturated Italo disco, city pop, and electro-funk — drenched in haunting melodies that will linger in your mind for months to come.
In anticipation of the highly awaited LP ‘Cafe Futuro,’ Franz Scala releases ‘Crush Test.’ This track features Charlie, Wrong Era’s own enigmatic electro icon. ‘Crush Test’ captivates listeners with Scala’s menacing bass arps and haunting whispers. Continuing their collaborative efforts, Scala and Charlie evoke the celebrated essence of the Neukölln melting pot, drawing a ballad on kindred memories and welcoming listeners into the atmosphere of before.
After launching his own record label “Biloba,” Raffaele Arcella, aka Whodamanny, returns to Periodica with a limited-edition double tracker infused with unmistakable Italo-disco vibes and a Latin touch. Placebo and Loca Loca deliver rhythm with depth, reminding us how vacations can feel like a fleeting illusion of escape from reality—and how much nostalgia lingers in the memories of summer nightlife.
Imogen Recordings label head and Peti Kupe’s frontrunner, Antonio Zuza, joins Slow Motion’s ‘A UFO’ free edit series. Zuza reworks the enigmatic journey of Zdenka Kovacíček’s “Elektra,” infusing it with his crisp, disco flair. Capturing the energy of the original 1978 track, he incorporates dancefloor-friendly percussion that drives the arpeggiated melodies from this Yugoslavian disco gem, enhanced by sharp hi-hats and the snap of snares. Croatian native Antonio Zuza delivers a thoughtful reinterpretation of the original while carefully preserving its soulful essence.
Apersonal Music, the Barcelona-based imprint known for its sun-drenched blend of house and disco since 2010, presents the new EP by one of its longest-standing artists: Cisco Cisco. Portuguese duo Cisco Cisco are renowned for crafting emotional and uplifting house and disco, filled with hypnotic sampling and shimmering effects. Their sound has become a signature of Apersonal’s catalog, and The Heat EP is a glowing continuation of this.
Bill Vortex is back on Serendip Lab. In this second album he takes us on a cosmic ride full of lush synth, funky bass lines and drum machine breaks.
A nocturnal ride through the magnetic waves of an imaginary club that never sleeps, where groove becomes ritual and the dancefloor an extension of the body. Francisco & Cosmo Dance – aka Francesco De Bellis and Cosimo Mandorino – orchestrate a mechanical and naif dance between man and machine, where synths chase each other and drum machines dictate tight, unrelenting beats. “Go Go Dance” is a concentrated dose of analog groove, electronic funk, no-wave pulses, and retro-futurism.
A dark Italo compilation not for the faint of heart with the mystery, murder and madness of all that is Giallo. Serving as a soundtrack to a fictitious film Luna Rossa Johnny Jewel of Italians Do It Better fame laces the opening with the breathy arsenic laced ”Flesh” as Simple Symmetry’s ”Il Gatto Nero delivers a disco banger that even samples a cat’s heartbeat. Legowelt creeps into lens with ”Oberalp Catarsi under his Occult Orientated Crime moniker. Other suspects include Prefuse 73, Antoni Maovvi, Umberto, Makeup And Vanity Set and Om & Grails member Emil Amos. Lucky dip vinyl with base transparent blood base edition with a red moon marbled rare version.
The late great Ron Hardy had as much influence on DJing and club culture as anyone before or since. It’s not just what he played, but how he played it that set the standard from his legendary residency at the Music Box – not least the fact that he often had the highs squealing out of his system because they were the frequencies that had most impact on him while he was high on heroin. His productions all reflect his approach in the booth, and this latest collection of classics is back with rising disco, rawness, low-slung funk and high-speed, feel-good disco bliss. This release features four monstruous edits straight from the basement.
Franz Scala, head of Slow Motion Records and Italo Pioneer, launches his Cafe Futuro LP with the new-beat, instant classic “Saxon Rebel”. Cafe Futuro, once the homebase meeting point for the true italo music soul of Neukölln now encapsules an album that is both forward thinking and filled with italian dance wave nostalgia that is the very proper will of Franz Scala. The single features striking vocals from Local Suicide and embodies Scala’s forward-thinking, proto-house nature. It includes both vocal and instrumental versions. With its refined flashes of the past combined with intense dancefloor energy, “Saxon Rebel” showcases the strengths of true IDW fashion.
Kid Machine returns with his 7th album and features ten spaced out, robotic Italo-Disco / Electro dancefloor destroyers covering various cosmic vibes. Expect the usual catchy melodies, big slamming beats, chugging basslines, sci fi sounds and vocoders.
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.
The Hipodrome Of Music 