Space Echo Italy Vinyl & CDs

Review: ANAN is a project by DJs Roberto Agosta and Massimo Napoli and it takes its name from their surnames, repeated twice. Their new album is inspired by jazz, 70s psychedelia, Afrobeat, cumbia and soul and was recorded in a space in Catania, Sicily, where they melded those inspirations into a versatile and innovative sound. The session musicians manage to really lay down some deep melodies to give the album a live session feel. Tracks like 'Eden' and 'Naif' combine cinematic jazz with African influences, while 'Eros' blends Ethiopian and Indian cultures. 'Mind' offers a hypnotic cumbia and 'Etna' evokes spiritual psychedelia. The album includes also collaborations with The Invisible Session which take things to even higher spiritual planes.

Review: Italo house has enjoyed quite a resurgence in the last few years, with plenty of new releases popping up that sound convincingly authentic in their production and aesthetic. It's always nice to savour the real deal, though, and it doesn't get much more real than the one and only Don Carlos when it comes to direct-from-the-source dreamy 90s peninsula house. Here, the Don compiles a comprehensive selection of classics from the genre. With shimmering pads, soulful vocals and synth-flute leads aplenty, this bygone LP is steeped in both nostalgia and not-so-subtle reminders that not too many of the more recent pretenders have added a great deal to the form. Highlights permeate the comp, from Montego Bay's 'Everything' to Kwanzaa Posse's 'Wicked Funk'. The unabashed positivity of Golem's 'Music Sensations' makes for a welcome addition, as does the driving synth energy of Eagle Parade's 'I Believe'. In truth, the LP doesn't put a foot wrong, transporting listeners to the balmy hedonism of golden-age Rimini. Though it's never good to generalise, the old adage 'Italians do it better' certainly seems apt here.

Review: Whereas the first volume of Italian house pioneer Don Carlos's retrospective of Italian house, Echoes of Italy, largely stuck to the picturesque but chunky and organ-rich "Italo-house" template, this second volume expressly focuses on "paradise house" - what Young Marco and Christiaan MacDonald dubbed "dream house" on their superb Welcome To Paradise series. As you'd expect given his association with the sound, Carlos's selections are notably different (and arguably less well known) than theirs, even if some of the same artists feature. It's cultured, tactile and loved-up dancefloor dreaminess all the way, with highlights including the slow-build wonder of Onrico's saucer-eyed 'Echo Gimini', the low-slung groove of Alex Neri's 'The Wizard (Hot Funky Version)', the piano-laden, breakbeat-driven shuffle of Moto Grosso's 'Titanic', and Carlos's own gorgeous, organ-heavy 'Boy'.

Review: If you're a fan of the golden age of soul then you will well know that this album Taking All The Love I Can from The Chosen few is one of the canon's most revered. Since its original release on Maple Records in 1971 it has not been reissued on vinyl until now. It features their uniquely moody take on Northern Soul and plenty of swaggering arrangements and heart-melting vocals, not least the gorgeous falsetto of 'Something's Bad'. Oringals of this will cost you over $500 on second hand markets so make sure you cop this newly remastered version on all-new audiophile and virgin vinyl.