Archeo Recordings Italy Vinyl & CDs

Review: Archeo Recordings bring us some more Balearic Italian treasure here with some gold initially recorded in Bologna almost two decades ago. It's a collaboration between friends Bottin and Lucio Dalla that has never before been on vinyl. 'Lunedi Cinema' was an ident that played before Monday night movies on of one of the main Italian TV channels for many years. This electronic version includes the Martedi Mix from 2008, a Minibar Bonus Track and also a mix by pioneering Italian dream house dons Leo Mas & Fabrice with a Bottin dub sealing the deal. It's a superb package of real Italo music history.

Review: Archeo Recordings present the best works of Ettika, who way back when laid down an interesting fusion of Italo, new beat, Arabic funk and Balearic hip-hop for a synthetic, sample-heavy chanters. Really, it's quite difficult to nail this one in words. Resurfacing after it was found in an online mix known as the 'Balearic nightmare', original copies of the record soon found itself being snapped up again; now it hears a thorough reissuing, owing to a demand that hasn't tapered since. With versions in French and Arabic respectively, it's clear that this plodding Balearic emoter more than deserves its place as a hidden classic.

Review: Exquisite Balearic inquisitors Archeo Recordings' one mission is to dig up the lost paleolithic fossils of pelagic yore; this time they unearth the 1984 LP stylings of Ettika, with thier self-titled debut track. This bop has gone down in time as an initial obscurio, one that flew well under the radar until, apparently, tastemaker Vidal Benjamin 'rediscovered' it in a bargain bin. Then plugging it via the ironically named 'Balearic Nightmare' mix, it became an overnight re-sensation. It's easy to see why its popularity lay dormant for so long; it was originally made for a 'back-to-work' scheme aimed at unemployed immigrant youth in Rouen, France, so its utilitarian function has since been transcended here. Now reissued on fresh 12" with three newer mixes, 'Ettika' testifies to the fact that we simply need to look harder, and in the unlikely places, for the still undiscovered species of banger out there.

Review: Archeo trumps once again with a stunning reissue of Riccardo Giagni's highly desirable 1988 masterpiece "Kaunis Maa". It's a subtle, refined body of work that places Giagni's delicate guitar refrains front and centre, with a hazy mist of atmospheric synth pads drifting in the middle distance. The title track is especially sublime, folding dreamy exotica tones into the pastoral sound palette with stunning results. Alongside the six original pieces, Archeo have also commissioned a special, Balearically charged remix from Claremont 56 artist Simon Peter

Review: Relative newcomers Infradisco blend a Balearic sound of disco and house for the Italian label Archeo Recordings. Aqua Cheta is a blend of proper electronic examples of Balearic and chill out influences. 'Caduca' (Hear & Now remix) is ideal for the late-night scene with a blend a perfect blend of 80s and 90s but still sounding futuristic. Manu Archeo's remix of 'Dulcis' is a beautiful laid back downtempo jam that shimmers like a hazy day on the beach. We think you will like the organic and mystical 'Fluminea' as well. This EP couldn't finish any better than on the ambient tip with a soul warming float on the marina remix by Ocean Moon. Fans of Balearic, Cafe Del Mar and chill out music will treasure this EP no doubt. This 12" comes with a CD as well.

Review: Archeo love a good archive story, not least when it comes from the annals of Italian studio history. Here is one such story featuring Manrico Mologni and Nicola Calgari, who collaborated around 1990 on a series of rich, accomplished recordings with a highly musical, multi-instrumental backbone and the swoon of chanson in its heart. Due to Manrico's serious illness, these recordings were buried on a DAT and forgotten for 30 years, only to be recalled, recovered from DAT and given their chance in the sunshine. It's very much in line with Archeo's tastes - lush, dreamy pop with a Balearic tint, lovingly mastered and presented with the serious collectors in mind.

Review: For the label's latest release, the dusty-fingered diggers behind Archeo Recordings have decided to reissue a little-known but undeniably brilliant album from fellow Italians Fulvio Maras, Alfredo Posllipo and Luco Proietta. Recorded in 1992 and originally released in staggeringly low numbers (only 300 were pressed first time around), "Sfumature" drew on a disparate array of influences (think jazz, ambient, new age, fourth world, Afro-cosmic and electronica for starters) and loose-limbed drumming and melodious percussion instrumentation (marimba, glockenspiel etc) with ear-catching synthesizer sounds, sparse drum machine rhythms and occasional improvised vocals. It's a genuinely unique sounding anthem and well worth picking up, especially in this highly limited white vinyl pressing (apparently only 100 of these exist).

Review: Ultra-watery, ultra-space-age, ultra-vocoded and ultra-limited-edition new Italo disco wax from the folks over at Archeo Recordings. Engineered and executed in the style of an oldskool space disco cut - one which bears the same cover-artistic hallmarks - it's also a crossover electro/Italo release. Produced by Manu Archeo and remixed by Pellegrino in full progressive house stylee on the flip, this is a beautiful replication of the electro-disco essence.

Review: Sth. Notional was a short-lived project that manifested in one album back in 1992, originally released on Japanese label Zero Corporation. Yawn Yawn Yawn focused primarily on various Balearic-friendly mixes of the title track and some other scattered pieces, and now they've received a much-needed spruce up from Archeo Recordings. The "Dream... Another Reality" versions of "Yawn Yawn Yawn" are laid back to the extreme, revolving around delicate instrumentation and occasional threads of speech and singing. There's a mellow beat behind the "G-Tar Cannyon Mix," and the "Thankful Mix" brings a weightier groove to the table. With the other tracks adding to this utterly smooth, early 90s shake, and spread across three discs, this is the holy grail reissue collectors have been waiting for.

Review: Originally released in 1979 on Dominant Records, this double single features production by Italian composers and vocalists Antonio Iglio and Antonio Moxedano. 'Tigre' and 'Gennarino 'O Sioux'' saw extreme demand after becoming instant cult classics. The bass is tight and the vocal melodies are instant foot tappers, you'll be humming it for hours. The original 7" is one of the most wanted and rarest around, with very few copies ever going on the second hand market - reaching the hundreds in some cases - a huge leap forward for the Neapolitan Disco Funk scene, and a testament to the pure talent of these artists in what was arguably the beginning of a golden era for Italian funk and soul.