|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LP
|
|
IFEEL 078LP
|
Rome's own disco wizard L.U.C.A. aka Francesco De Bellis is back for his second LP Terra, hot on the heels of his Venus 12" EP earlier in 2022. In this far-reaching album, the Edizioni Mondo founder explores the deteriorating relationship between man and nature, and the dire consequences. The album is split into two themes -- part one is "Consacrazione (Consecration)" and side two is "Coscienza (Conscience)" -- as L.U.C.A. charts a trip through mankind's psychic universe, and imagines worlds beyond our physical dimension. The opening composition "Cities" is an up-tempo number that slowly comes into focus, as dreamy drum machines emerge from the urban bustle, before settling into a soulful groove as keyboard, upright bass and guitar figures dance across bright percussion. As it builds up a head of steam, the piece gives way to an ambient, tribal breakdown, which is also echoed in the following song, "Drum Talk". This second tune sets up in a fourth world dreamscape of drums, synths, and abstracted echo effects, and is peppered with word fragments from the bush of ghosts. By the time we've reached the third track, "Congiunzione" sounds like travelling at singularity speed, beaming in from a future where human consciousness and gaia can finally dance on a cosmic plain. Part two of Terra details how revelation of the spirit can guide the mind, as "Time Spirals" rises out of a drum motif with a nod to classic ragas, as a disembodied voice asks questions on the nature of corporeality. The sound design is just as front and center as the sitar and fretless bass, and the song gives way to a richly-layered soup that sounds like the vast space between atoms. It's this shift from composition to ambience that is the dynamic core of Terra, giving L.U.C.A. plenty of space to showcase his next-level audio and arranging skills. Midway through part two, "Giallo Assoluto" begins with reverb tails and choral voices before expanding in brightness and texture until the audio field is practically levitating your hi-fi speakers, vibrating them with drones, twinkling keys and shards of digital noise. The closing composition "Ritorno al Domani" is a perfect balance of optimism and mystery. Tension and release collapse in on themselves as waves of ambient pads crescendo and then break over stretched-out sonic turbulence, before reversed synths bring the listener to a closing door, and the end of the journey.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2x12"
|
|
MND 006LP
|
2x12" version. L.U.C.A. is Francesco De Bellis aka Francisco. Years ago he started putting together some selections for a friend of his: Luca. The intention was to pick songs to be played during car rides, and like any other kind of ritual, this too would come with strict rules. You'd have to go through the whole selection of 100 tracks without skipping, because every single one was important: Be it the sounds, the arrangement or its creativity, each track was there for a very specific reason. It quickly became a monthly event which for several years evolved in a deep musical research without genre boundaries: disco and psychedelic, soundtracks, library music, exotica, electronic and dance music, Italo, new-wave, pop or prog. Tracks of each and any historical period and provenance had been featured in these special compilations. But it wasn't always that easy to come up with the right piece and eventually Francesco started producing a few on his own to fill in the gaps. After six tracks, it was quite clear that there was a project developing, one in which he could finally experiment freely, leaving behind the rules that often come with dance tracks. And so L.U.C.A. was born. I Semi Del Futuro is an album that embraces a new-hippie vibe, strongly pervaded by a mystical naturalism. This is a whole new universe in the making, where rumbling magmatic atmospheres evolve gradually in a journey through an idealist new world, celestial interludes revealing a full takeover of nature, with a pervasive library feel that dates back to the great Italian masters, carrying on Edizioni Mondo's legacy. The label name Mondo has its roots in "Mondo Movies", an Italian movie genre born in the '60s. Mondo movies are characterized by documentary-like content that addresses several topics from around the world. The Mondo label has the goal to produce music that is descriptive of concepts, images and environments. Mondo is inspired by library music, a genre frequently used as theme or background music in radio, film and television in that very same period.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
MND 002CD
|
L.U.C.A. is Francesco De Bellis aka Francisco. Years ago he started putting together some selections for a friend of his: Luca. The intention was to pick songs to be played during car rides, and like any other kind of ritual, this too would come with strict rules. You'd have to go through the whole selection of 100 tracks without skipping, because every single one was important: Be it the sounds, the arrangement or its creativity, each track was there for a very specific reason. It quickly became a monthly event which for several years evolved in a deep musical research without genre boundaries: disco and psychedelic, soundtracks, library music, exotica, electronic and dance music, Italo, new-wave, pop or prog. Tracks of each and any historical period and provenance had been featured in these special compilations. But it wasn't always that easy to come up with the right piece and eventually Francesco started producing a few on his own to fill in the gaps. After six tracks, it was quite clear that there was a project developing, one in which he could finally experiment freely, leaving behind the rules that often come with dance tracks. And so L.U.C.A. was born. I Semi Del Futuro is an album that embraces a new-hippie vibe, strongly pervaded by a mystical naturalism. This is a whole new universe in the making, where rumbling magmatic atmospheres evolve gradually in a journey through an idealist new world, celestial interludes revealing a full takeover of nature, with a pervasive library feel that dates back to the great Italian masters, carrying on Edizioni Mondo's legacy. The label name Mondo has its roots in "Mondo Movies", an Italian movie genre born in the '60s. Mondo movies are characterized by documentary-like content that addresses several topics from around the world. The Mondo label has the goal to produce music that is descriptive of concepts, images and environments. Mondo is inspired by library music, a genre frequently used as theme or background music in radio, film and television in that very same period.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
12"
|
|
MONDO 001EP
|
The name Mondo has its roots in "Mondo Movies," an Italian movie genre born in the '60s. Mondo movies are characterized by documentary-like content that addresses several topics from around the world. The Mondo label has the goal to produce music that is descriptive of concepts, images and environments. Mondo is inspired by library music, a genre frequently used as theme or background music in radio, film and television in that very same period. Production music libraries typically offer a broad range of musical styles and genres describing everything ranging from deserts to war and sports. Library music composers and session performers had no constraint at all. They typically worked anonymously, rarely became known outside their professional circle and they have produced what probably is the most creative music catalog ever. The Mondo productions start with four releases dedicated to seascapes; scenarios range from sea fauna to poaching, from natural parks to sea dunes. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl.
|
|
|
|