Various Artists - CockTail d'Amore EP

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  • For every minimal versus deep house fight that was picked in Berlin in the last five years, there seems to be a label popping up that is decidedly uninterested in not only the outcome of such an argument but, also, the argument itself. Italian ex-pats Discodromo (Giacomo Garavelloni and Giovanni Turco) struck up a strong friendship with the equally bearded Boris in Berlin and, after establishing a night in Gorlitzer Park of the same name, recently launched CockTail d'Amore as an imprint, which features a European band of merrymakers; many gay or Italian (or both), all with hearts pumping in an arpeggiated whole. Discodromo's remix of José Manuel's "Vampyros In Love" leads off with a vaguely nostalgic wind chime as space wooshes and percussive tribal mechanics soon follow before introducing an elastic octave bassline. The Halloween-like atmospherics which could have sounded corny, instead ring authentic; riding that all too fine line that Italian culture's virtually invented. Bottin re-screws Miss Plugg Inn's "Chanson d'Amour" into a steamy, slutty slice of kitsch-en sink surrealism. For those already familiar with the original, Massimiliano Pagliara's rework of Hard Ton's "Earth Quake" begins as a cheeky, seemingly more sedate version...until it explodes into a debauched polysexual (m)anthem. The acid line from the original stays intact, but the re-ararngement turns this into a more dramatic and melancholy statement, even though it fringes on overcooking itself. Something tells me playing this at midnight is still a bit premature. Slovenia's Ichisan delivers the original track "Neli," a benevolent instrumental, which I'm struggling to see how and when it would work practically, as it feels like more of a connector than a stand-alone piece. The throughline is a coherent sense of a disco/Italo-disco history and pop sensibilities filtered through measured, robust sound selections and properly re-injecting some sensuality and sleazy indulgence into the often antiseptic (and sometimes trivial) nu-disco dance floors. They may not be exactly reinventing the wheel, but they're tightening the gears and steering it in a new direction.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Jose Manuel - Vampyros In Love (Discodromo Remix) A2 Miss Plug Inn - Chanson D'Amour (Bottin Remix) B1 Hard Ton - Earthquake (Massimiliano Pagliara Remix) B2 IchiSan - Neli
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