This time Best Record Italy presents an Italo masterpiece from 1983 produced by the duo : Francesco Paolini (Pasta DJ) and Alessandro Novaga that became a massive dancefloor classic in Chicago House with the likes of the “Hot Mix 5” on cult radio station WMBX and regularly played by the legendary Ron Hardy at the infamous Muzic Box. It was very influential at it’s time on the early Chicago house and acid movement.
Seminal early 80’s HI-NRG / Synth disco emanating from the gay clubs, bath houses and discotheques of San Francisco. A truly original and groundbreaking sound and style helmed by studio genius Patrick Cowley. Heavily informed by sonically charged science fiction fantasy and the darkest corners of nightlife, ‘Mind Warp’ is a cornerstone of electronic music that still astonishes today. Originally released on Cowley’s own Megatone imprint in 1982 the album marks a definitive change in direction of post-disco dance music, undoubtedly inspired by European artists such as Kraftwerk, Moroder, Yello and more. A huge influence on what was to come through in later years via house and techno music, ‘Mind Warp’ is a bonafide classic and every single self respecting music lover or DJs home should have a copy. Celebrate 40 years of the label with this unmissable reissue package beautifully presented on wondrous coloured vinyl by your friends over at Unidisc.
Worthy italo re-issue of this early Roberto Ferrante’s project. Roberto started his career being part of various electronic music groups in Naples around the early 80s. In 1985 “Faces” came out, a simple but direct and honest song with an irresistible rhythm and lyrics that tends to move away from that typical dark sound in other Italo-Disco songs of that era. This song is a triumph for synthesizers and electronic drums as it’s fully electronic, something still a rarity in those days. The beautiful melody and spiritual essence of ”Faces” represent the revolution of a new beginning of the Italian pop of the 80s with a perfect arrangement by Roberto Ferrante, a bouncing bassline, and strong and clear vocal. The sweet and sensual voice, full of personality and charm is by Clio (Maria Chiara Perugini).
The year is 1981. The Kiel-based PostPunk / Wave underground outfit NO MORE releases their second ever single „Suicide Commando“ and their world changes forever. Well, not only their world – THE world. What began as an independently published 7“ single became a cult classic, a genre defining – and defying – song, an all-time dancefloor favorite of many, a timeless signature piece that escaped its original realm of PostPunk x Wave x Indie x Alternative to also become engrained in the DNA of modern electronic dancefloor culture most prominently in the beloved late 90s permutation presented by DJ Hell which became a classic in its own right. Now the year is 2021. Four decades have passed and NO MORE’s „Suicide Commando“ is back once again. And staying true to the underground blueprint this 40th anniversary re-release edition once again is put out on the circuit through a small independent label: the Intrauterin Recordings offspring El Caballo Semental.
In the summer of 1989, when Trevor Miller’s ”Trip City” was first released with a five-track cassette EP by A Guy Called Gerald, there had been no other British novel like it. This was the down and dirty side of London nightclubs, dance music and the kind of hallucinogenic drug sub-culture that hadn’t really been explored since Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Maybe this is why Trip City is still known as “the acid house novel” and an underground literary landmark. For 2021, Trip City is back and the original soundtrack by A Guy Called Gerald is also being reissued and all five tracks are available on vinyl for the first time.
Second release on the new Rawax West Coast Edition comes again from The Arabian Prince & The Sheiks.
It’s the 1986 hit ”Situation Hot” originally released on Street Kut Records.
Megatron Man is the second studio album by American disco producer and musician Patrick Cowley, released in 1981. Highlights include the vocoder-driven title track and the relentlessly funky “Get A Little.” Cowley is most famous for his collaborations with American disco vocalist Sylvester.
Bicep continue to bolster their Feel My Bicep imprint with another reimagined classic. With this – the seventh addition to the catalogue, the Irish duo pay homage to another equally seminal recording as they rework ‘In Yer Face’ by 808 State.
“Dimmi Bello” was written in 1986 and is re-printed today after 35 years with the very kind permission of two wonderful people who have dedicated their lives to music and love of neighbor, Francesco and Lucia Varanzano.
Long awaited reissue of Connective Zone’s Qwerty EP. Originally released in 2002 on Emoticon, the deep electronica sister label of Headspace Recordings. Connective Zone, aka Lincoln-based duo Graham Sims and Simon Button, have been making their unique brand of deep techno for many years. Warm strings, thick chords, multi-layered synth melodies and crisp beats are the order of the day, with influences coming from early Detroit techno and ‘artificial intelligence’ era UK electronics. All four tracks pack a soulful punch, drawing from the past but allowing their individual sound to shine through. Rhythmically they range from straight-up 4/4 beats to more syncopated patterns, and are sure to find favour with more adventurous DJs as well as home listeners.
Rawax welcomes Thomas Barnett to the family. with the “Foundation Series Volume One”. Originally released in 1997 on Visillusion Records (Detroit).
Housewerk presetns a limited re-press of the classic of Dan Nurse aka Dave Sumner, “Other Side Of The Tracks”.
When Aniruddha Das (DSPSSSSD) and Gary “Roy” Stewart (Dubmorphology) met at Trent University in the mid-80s, they started on a life-long friendship and musical collaborative partnership that continues today. While Das went on to acclaim as part of Asian Dub Foundation, Stewart is an artist and experimental sonic musician, producing projects featuring sound design and immersive works, for the likes of Tate Museum. In 1990 they took their first steps in a recording studio, mixing the early influences of Acid House with their interest in drone and sound effects, to create to two pieces, Tilt and Fari 116. Recorded as improvisational jams and dubbed live to the mixing desk, they were pressed as very limited white labels. Archival testaments and simply great music, here remastered and reissued some 30 years later by Platform 23.
Recorded and released in 1983, ‘Cybernetic Love’ was the first of a string of Italo-era club hits from the late Salvatore Cusano AKA Casco – an undeniably the most impactful and timeless. On the A-side you’ll find the original mixes: a sweet vocal version featuring lyrics seemingly about falling in love with a robot, and an instrumental tale in which Cusano and his collaborators’ dreamy chords, sparkling synthesizer melodies, funky electro bass and unfussy machine drums come to the fore. Over on the flip you’ll find a new remix from Danilo Braca. He wisely retains the feel of the original, adding a few clonking electronic bleeps and a more chugging groove, whilst retaining the sparkling melodies and immersive chords.
Getatchew Mekurya is probably the most revered veteran of Ethiopian saxophone. A real giant, both physically and musically. Not only is he at the very top level of Ethiopian saxophonists, but he is the ‘inventor’ of an extremely distinctive musical ‘style.’
Alèmayèhu Eshèté is no less than one of the great voices of the heyday of modern Ethiopian music, the swinging sixties which, in this country, went on until the fall of the Emperor Haile Sellassie 1 in 1974. On a par with Tlahoun Gèssèssè, Bzunèsh Bèqèlè or Mahmoud Ahmed, Alèmayèhu is a star at the top level of the constellation that once lit up the wild nights in the capital.
Axodry was founded in Frankfurt am Main in 1983 , the founding members were Talla 2XLC and RaHen aka Ralf Henrich. This is a remastered of the 1991 release on ZYX Music.
Italo group Aleph’s epic 1988 album “Black Out“ finally get’s, after 33 years, the re-issue it deserves by Dutch High Fashion Music. But not “just” a re-issue. This one only contains the extended or 12” versions of the original Aleph album tracks, including the famous Dutch remixes of “Fire On The Moon” and “Fly To Me” by Dutch Peter Vriends (previous released on Italoheat and Streetheat).
The Hipodrome Of Music 