Schema Italy Vinyl & CDs

Review: Earlier this year, we were treated to two top-notch Joaquin 'Joe' Claussell remixes of 'Inner Light', one of the standout cuts from Nicola Conte and Gianluca Petrella's fantastic collaborative album People Need People. Here we're treated to two more fresh takes on cuts from that essential LP. On side A, DJ Spinna gives his 'galactic soul' take on 'New World Shuffle', re-imagining the track as a languid but floor-friendly fusion of cosmic soul, neo-boogie, deep house and contemporary jazz-funk electronics. Equally as impressive is former Ron Trent protege Anthony Nicholson's remix of 'Inner Light', where twinkling jazz pianos, spacey synth sounds, evocative synth-strings and Raashan Ahmad's fine spoken word vocals rise above a sumptuous and luxurious deep house groove.

Review: Nicola Conte is one of the central figures in the Schema story, and his nu jazz and broken beat partnership with Gianluca Petrella has yielded some golden music in recent years. Nigeria originally came out in 2018, and then last year popped up on the duo's People Need People LP, but now it's getting a proper remix treatment which sees Tall Black Guy twisting the track out as a heady disco house roller for sundown moments when you need a little jazzy flair in the proceedings. That version comes in vocal and instrumental versions, and then the mighty Andres steps up for one of his simmering groove escapades as he delivers an extended remix of 'African Spirits'.

Review: African Spirits is the coming together of musician and producer Nicola Conte with his friend and colleague Gianluca Petrella, who is an ECM and Blue Note associate and internationally renowned talent who emerged from the Italian jazz scene. Their recent album found them exploring a wide range of music in our globalised world with nods to Detroit, disco, house, and jazz. Now Berlin-based New York don Fred P offers up two of his reinterpretations. They are of course long, deep, spiritual and moving in both physical and emotional ways.

Review: Nicola Conte and Gianluca Petrella follow up last year's beautiful "African Spirits / New World Shuffle" with two more lavish instrumentals. "Sun Song" lives up to its name with wave after wave of heated musicianship from the belting harmonies to the light-touch keys. "Nigeria" taps deep into the source too as it drives us through the heart of Lagos with full horns and sweeping keys. Spiritual, sun-splashed and vital.

Review: Another two club bangers from The Invisible Session's album repertoire, as remixed by the hugely influential UK DJs, Phil Asher and Faze Action (aka the Lee brothers). The two club re-works are in slick UK dance style. The appeasing feeling in the song "I Knew The Way" remains, although it is elegantly transported to the clubs' atmosphere courtesy of the touch given by veteran DJ/producer Phil Asher. Even though the bass drum is in 4/4 the result is always soulful, ever groovy and never predictable - as proved by Mr Asher’s care for details and sound effects, as well as the twiddled keys by non-other-than Mark De-Clive Lowe. This vinyl presents the vocal piece in fine soulful-house style on Side A, whereas on Side B is to be found the remix of an instrumental piece in the album "Heroes Of The Conquest". More driving and faster than the other 2 instrumentals of the album, "Invisible Blessing" and "Three For You", this re-work of it by respected dance-duo Faze Action is rich in bongos, sound effects and delays. In a smart way the powerful horn section of the original piece is here, led to impress and shake the tune to a possibly even higher extent, melting the Latin-jazz influence into a strongly rhythmic club tune. Tip!