sould funk of the 70s

alongside farfa and roby j, miki the dolphin kicked italy s tuscan techno movement into high-gear during the 1990 s. earning his first residency 38 years ago, the captivating sounds purveyed by miki and his compatriots would go on to influence the entire italian peninsula for the greater part of a decade. miki can still be found fusing elements of his avant-garde past with future-leaning house and techno in his dj sets today, having assembled a cult-following thanks to his sought-after mixtapes, highly-collectable releases and research into the 432hz phenomena.

originally released between 1996 and 1997, the tracks on this phonographic disk have been remastered and re edited with contemporary standards in mind for your listening pleasure and playability.
lead track, apple, incorporates live instrumentation with tough, northern italian rhythms. caterpillar glimmers and undulates across its pristine psychedelic and progressive landscape, sacre graal is a fine slice of timeless, electronic body music. one for those who know.

babe roots are a relatively young duo from turin, italy, making a unique brand of atmospheric, techno-infused dubwise. on our radar since their splendid debut 7 inch on rohs! records in early 2016, we are very pleased to invite them into the zamzam fold with two mesmerizing and contrasting tunes. * be still* is a deeply meditative yet driving dub techno trek in classic fashion, featuring rastaman kojo neatness intoning on righteous living, working the land, guarding the tongue, and avoiding babylonian schemes and traps laid by the wicked. maternal bass and shimmering reverbs envelop a heartbeat rhythm of kick, shaker and distant snares for a timeless vibe that shows mastery of the idiom while updating it for contemporary sound systems. * rawness* is an extraordinarily deep 140 journey that opens with rich pads and swirling atmospherics, creating a psychoactive ambience that builds into a steady kick. the full riddim hits and plunges us even deeper with restrained, syncopated drums and percussion. churning bass powers us through the dense, hallucinatory fog as tendrils of electricity probe and zap, and serrated snares cut through the tape haze and studio clouds in the last third. carving out a gorgeous edge between deep dubstep and dub techno, * rawness* hits all the marks and will find a home in a huge range of sets.

after releasing records on l.i.e.s. and its offspring russian torrent versions labels, caserta (close to neaples, italy) native domenico crisci quickly rose to prominence among purveyors of timeless techno. a third record on eerie cemented his reputation as a careful engineer of effective, crafty dance floor cuts that comfortably sit next to early works of the genre’s pioneers.
august of 2016 sees domenico’s sonic determination surprisingly rematerializing on silent servant, regis and james ruskin’s jealous god label with a new, strong ep crowning the distinct quality of this limited series.
through such particular path domenico got inspiration to start his own summa cum laude label project, where his most forward thinking works and brand new, surprising talents will have the first chance to get properly published.
domenico himself is inaugurating the label by “the violinist” ep, including 3 peak-time techno tracks anticipating the strongest emotive intensities, carefully finalized by the valuable experience of a mastering engineer like matt colton. to visualize domenico s particular, straightforward sound, we’ll find the kind intervention of the neapolitan artist mariangela levita.

when tresor founder dimitri hegemann stumbled into a former bank vault in east berlin on march 13th 1991, he had little idea that the space he had unlocked would fast become one of berlin s most influential and enduring techno clubs. “we didn’t know what would happen 10 months later,” he says. “we signed a lease for a year. which eventually got renewed for another three months, and another three months…”
as tresor celebrates its 25th anniversary with this work of artists from the us, germany, china, france, austria, italy and the uk, it is worth dwelling on how the cultural conditions that birthed detroit techno – economic neglect and broken industry – were mirrored by the disused bunkers and impromptu parties of post-unification east berlin, where techno found new, vigorous expression.
the triple vinyl release includes a download code.

karim sahraoui, known by releases on labels such as transmat, cocoon and arts, as well as dj appearances on boiler room and on dancefloors all around the world, makes his debut on off recordings. book of life is a melodic techno track in karim s signature style. warm and emotional, albeit with a strong drive for the dancefloor, it can set a strong accent in a set. italy s dast created a slamming peaktime techno interpretation, which is sure to create a massive effect on the dancefloor. syncopated chords and a rolling groove build towards an epic break. -exodus- is aptly named as a perfect track to close the set by the end of the night. lush and warm pads and melodies evoke a warm and optimistic atmosphere. anton pieete remixed exodus with a minimalistic and more groove-focused interpretation. altogether an ep with a timeless feel, spanning the borders between techno, house and electronica.

poker flat recordings offers up another mouthwatering collaboration in the form of this ep by mennie and julien sandre. mennie hails from italy, and had fast been gaining a serious reputation on the underground, both as a resident at club 999 in his home country and as a talented up and coming producer. teaming up here with the frenchman julien sandre, this is an international project that will hit home with djs and house lovers globally. the night riots ep kicks off with partitions, which sees the boys in sparkling form - twisting and teasing a sick groove out of fairly simple sources.arth j follows a similar path the devil is in the detail, and mennie and sandre get down to some serious beat science, punctuated with some subtle chords and vocal stabs in the process. in a pixel world’ reveals the pair’s love of classic chicago vibes distilled though french touch, bringing in a super funky groove filtered though various effects and processes, and paying homage to the timeless sounds of early daft punk. ‘no more closes out the ep with a yet another weapon - a ray of house sunshine that skips along on a fidgety beat offset by filtered strings and chopped up vocal stabs. its got summer written all over it.

a young 18 years old talented pianist from italy (with some awards for his piano playing) delivers us a real big house bomb called >piano madness< and for sure with some piano elements. 2nd man from italy with love to playing guitar brings us a melancholic deep techno track called >drumma<. italian nr. 3 shows us with >play that beat< how timeless and groovy a dub-tech track should be. and last but not least our man from spain deliver us a techno bomb for the brain. >tormenta< will kick your ass for sure…!

apparel music gives life to a catalog of small size, aplmini, 7-inch format. kisk gathers the first duet and this time they are young artists, a talented russian guy, maxim buldakov, and stefano esposito, only twenty years, naples, italy. the work was built to give the feeling of listening to an old-school funk track, reworked. to get a perfect project was also required to give a warm voice that unmistakable taste. so funkin on contains a special sample of the recording pushin on performed by the quantic soul orchestra feat. alice russell, timeless, used with permission by tru thoughts ltd. enjoy!

tokyo black star is finally back in full effect on reincarnation with 2 timeless deep house music gems in collaboration with our very dear friends at slam jam. >sotto marino< takes on a long ride and is reminiscent to the early 90s beautiful ecstastic italo house music vibe we love so much, while black box pays tribute to the real black funk at the now legendary friday fever black box party at club suono in ferrara with resident djs pasta boys and dj hendrix making you funk, jack and sweat under the strobe light dancing on a light floor lost in the jacking zone! produced and mixed by alex from tokyo and isao kumano for tokyo black star production in spring 2010. this ep is a tribute to our special friends at slam jam, to the maestro enrico crivellaro and to our extended music&party family in italy! arigatoni!!

dj support by adultnapper & matthias kaden !! cynosure is proud to present the debut ep of one of italys finest house and techno djs, andrea fiorito. hailing from the southern city of bari, andrea brings new warmth to the otherwise ice cold italian house sound and delivers a timeless deep house original. things commence on >moderato mistico< with a subtle tribute to a close a friend that has some serious issues with partying called >boti world<. a stripped down minimal house groove with several different monster bass hooks. a killer bumping, grinding, walking bassline that heats the floor with every change up. but as we all know this is not enough to really push things to the limit, so andrea answers the call and brings the furry with givan on the sax. imagine that moment where things in your night boil over the edge and you begin to loose control. thats when givans post punk style sax attack begins to push things past the threshold of insanity. next we have the lovely >betty loop< feat the sensual voice amelia saul. a layer of percussion a la spring reverb set the pace leading into some piano chords and a giant bass hook that make up the foundation of the groove, laying the sonic rose pedals down for amelias presence to be heard. with a voice sweeter than honey and some twisted lyrics, she creates a sexy yet warped feeling in this track. and of course if the vocals were too much, you can play the dub version >betty goes to gio< and mix your heart out. with >moderato mystico< andrea fiorito lights the deep minmal house flame for cynosure closing the summer releases in style by producing heat that only a southern italian can. howie mangel

big with todd terje, munk, danny wang , after his releases on players paradise and dirt crew, the young italian dj marcello giordani shares with us his love for the boogie/funk/italo disco once again! two tracks on this >cosmic communications< e.p.: >bronx dogs< is an 83s flavoured house/boogie track with a moog bassline and fm synth sounds in a metro area mood. >alice< is a deep italo track with an intense arpeggio and live drums, inspired by the cosmic sound of the early 80s - the real underground movement at that time in italy. a timeless piece of cosmic sound!