daniele baldelli: cosmic drag

Legendary DJ, remixer, and producer Daniele Baldelli presents Cosmic Drag, a work that is something more than just a heartfelt twisted dance album. During his long residency at Cosmic, the nightclub by Lake Garda in Italy, Baldelli mixed funky disco, electronic, synthpop, reggae, fusion, rock, funk, Brazilian, African folk, Indian melodies, batucada, and jazz, and became famous for his eclectic meltdowns in which he might drop Ravel's Boléro overlapping with a Djola track or an experimental piece by Steve Reich mixed together with a Malinke chant from New Guinea. His worldly, hypnotic sets brought together the sounds of Kraftwerk, Fela Kuti, the Sky Records catalog, Killing Joke, Incredible Bongo Band, ZAZA, Chris & Cosey, Antena, Azymuth, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Yellowman, all often played at improper speeds and mixed with effects and drum machines. This practice gave birth to the cosmic sound, a highly influential musical movement that set itself apart from the Italo-disco scene. Since then Baldelli's record bag has stayed eclectic and he still plays scintillating sets all over the world. The CD version of Cosmic Drag contains all four tracks from Baldelli's 2014 Cosmic Drag EP, plus eight more stimulating, hypnotic, trend-setting tunes. Each track spreads deepness with diversified melodies, chords, and rhythms. One can feel Baldelli's vast musical roots in the electro vibes and the techno-driven grooves. Sometimes the funk hits hard, while in the next moment the listener is blown away by futuristic soundscapes. All of these arrangements have in common a cosmic dust that melds a playful sense with high-flying synth-lines and outer-space tones. A truly weird, mesmerizing album that stays appealing while experimenting profoundly. Baldelli describes the album's inspiration: "Most of my ideas emerge while travelling by train, driving my car to a club where I will perform, and foremost when I devote myself to listen to my large vinyl collection." It's a statement that explains why his tracks often build a bridge between careless, funky '70s vibes, offish '80s coolness, and the freedom of '90s rave culture, while landing fresh and unafraid in the present and carrying the listener away into spheres where the self is forgotten among irresistible rhythms and melodies.