Scott Young
Ket City

COLORE VIVO is a concept album with an atypical genesis: the idea was born from a sequence of images, as the soundtrack for a movie (never made) on the exploration of the uses and customs of archaic and mysterious populations. The soundscape he paints shows an extraordinary coherence in this. Bjondo is an artisan, as in the tradition of the great masters of the Italian Mondo Films, and it’s precisely to that manual knowledge, to that exploration and to those sounds that the disc is most recalled. The artist's research and his eclecticism translate into the wise use of rudimentary tools (bamboo, pieces of wood, stones, vases, necklaces and even a sort of self-made berimbau) to obtain unique and unclassifiable exotic sounds. His research on the evocative skills of primordial sounds breaks with the COLORE VIVO is a concept album with an atypical genesis: the idea was born from a sequence of images, as the soundtrack for a movie (never made) on the exploration of the uses and customs of archaic and mysterious populations.His research on the evocative skills of primordial sounds breaks with the narrowness of the genre and opens up to total experimentation.Each listening opens the window of imagination on other worlds. A dizzying look at the lost memory that is hidden inside each of us. A continuous (re) discovery! There's strong Gamelan music inspiration. Gamelan music can be describe as the traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called kendhang which register the beat.

Whilst a certain Parisian electronic duo were still (probably impossibly chic) toddlers, French band/production Space had worked out that making lots of hooky synth disco and wearing Space suits in public at all times were a potent pop combination, one that enabled them to sell 12 million records across 4 albums from 1977-81, before imploding in the time honoured fashion of lawsuits and bitter recrimination all round.Space was the brain child of French producer JP Iliescuo. He assembled a crack band of French session musicians for (at the time) a previously unheard cosmic-disco-synth combination. The unforgettable melodies came from talented young composer Didier Marouani (also known as Ecama). The musicianship from Roland Romanelli and Jannick Top, Joe Hammer and Madeline Bell.Fast forward over 4 decades and for our debut release we at Array Recordings are proud to present our first release which captures the essence of those 4 albums, and the breadth and diversity of their sound in one 14 track extravaganza. All remastered to present a new sonic experience."Magic Fly" sounds as fresh and other-worldly now as it did then with it's irresistible hookline, whilst at another end of the spectrum, "Carry On Turn Me On" remains Space's most genuine contribution to the disco pantheon, with it's orgasmic vocals and floor destroying, organic groove."Running In the City" and "Air Force" is the sound of forgotten futures past, "Flying Nightmare" a cosmic funk odyssey. "Deliverance" remains one of the few Disco tracks to feature a full male voice choir and "Deeper Zone" ushers in the sound of the 80's.The band were not short on conventional pop moments, "Save Your Love For Me", an epic, over blown euro-synth pad belter, full of genuinely synthetic emotion. "Symphony" is grand, positive and catchy as. The band also knew how to preserve (and intensify) the emotion at the slower tempos. "Just Blue" is a gradual funk odyssey and a perfectly plastic soul. The haunting, dystopic "Velvet Rape" draws the work to an menacing closeThe compilation is a fitting tribute to one of Europe's great forgotten innovators.

Italian producer Azzurro 80 makes his debut on Four Flies with a super limited edition 7 inch (300 copies only) that draws its energy from and is inspired by the Italian library scene of the 80s. More specifically, its retro but innovative sonic landscape combines shiny synthesizers and dynamic jazz-funk with pop and television culture.
As he himself explains, the name “Azzurro 80” is meant to refer to a particular shade of light blue: “a worn-out, faded light blue that feels retro and outmoded”, just like the color adjective “azzurro” feels a bit outmoded these days (most people seem to prefer “celeste”). Through his music, he aims to evoke precisely that color, and the nostalgic but comforting combination of sounds that corresponds to it.Side A features AGIP, titled after Italy’s first national oil company (later absorbed by Italian multinational oil and gas company ENI), whose famous logo is a six-legged dog spitting fire. The track transports you to a night-driving scene seen through the eyes of a kid sitting in the back of a family car (i.e., the composer himself back in the 80s), the asphalt roads dimly lit by yellowish street lights surmounted by the fire-spitting canine. Side B opens with ASTROTENSIONE, a cosmic synth-pop journey through a nebula, almost like the sonic depiction of someone touching a fast traveling asteroid, while TELEFONO GIALLO is a tribute to the late 80s Italian true crime and docudrama TV show of the same name.Just let the tunes spin on your turntable and follow Azzurro 80 into his reimagined version of the Italian Eighties.

Two years after his Apron Records debut in 2017, Molinaro makes a poignant return to Steve’s forward-facing label. What The Future Was is both an ode to personal growth and a reminder of the responsibility to keep the tradition of musical trailblazers alive.What The Future Was is the result of 10+ years spent honing his craft and home studio into his finest, most progressive work to date. Fans of his APRON35 debut will find home in the rugged, cosmic ruckus of “EMBER”, “PURITY” and “THE PNEUMA”. Elsewhere, tracks like “AEVEA FOREST”, “ENTITY” and “HER THEME” expose a more vulnerable and tender side to his growing palette of sound and feeling.In a world where online personalities and reach are increasingly glorified more than actual skill, hard work and talent, Molinaro has constructed an alternative, sonic utopia where soulful, groove-based music is the antidote.