IRMA Italy Vinilo y CD

Review: Anduze is a new school vocalist with an old school soul sound. He has that rare quality of being able to bring to mind greats like Marvin Gaye and James Brown while also having his own sound. He reimagines the greats on this new album that was written during the pandemic and blurs the lies between jazz, soul, funk, R&B and pop similar in fashion to the likes of Prince or Lenny Kravitz. Raised on the native land of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, Anduze draws also on reggae sounds on the deep cut 'Helen' while picking up the funk on cuts such as 'How To Love A Good Man.'

Review: Don Carlos will always be best known as the legendary Italian producer behind the enduring Balearic and Italo/dream house classic 'Alone' which was, rather impressively, his first ever release. Here we get to hear some of his favourite tunes on another vital volume of this series from his longtime home label Irma Records. All the tracks on this essential double pack have been re-edited by Don Carlos himself, especially for this occasion with highlights from the likes of Deep Aural Penetration, Love Nation and Outdance.

Review: Following a rework of their 1991 hit 'I'm Gonna Love You' on Groove Culture back in April, Italian soul legends Jestofunk get their 1997 album Universal Mother reissued on IRMA. Comprised of northerners Alessandro Staderini, Claudio 'Moz-Art' Rispoli and Farias, they went on to release six albums. All the anthems you probably remember still sound as good on here as they did 24 years ago, such as the disco explosion of 'Be A Warrior' featuring vocals by legend Ce Ce Rogers, the deep down and dirty groove of 'Special Love' with the one and only Jocelyn Brown, to the funky acid jazz joint "If You've Got It, You'll Get It" with percussionist Bill Summers and Fred Wesley on the trombone. Timeless.

Review: Since appearing in limited numbers back in 2019, vinyl copies of Luca Trevisi's seventh album as LTJ Xperience, Deepening of a Groove, have swapped hands for surprising sums online. IRMA has responded by delivering this reissue. We're glad they have, because it's one of the Italian veteran's strongest sets - a wonderfully groove-driven fusion of chugging disco, deep house, jazz-funk, soul and sample-rich club cuts that's packed to the rafters with playable treats. Our picks of a very strong bunch include the acid-flecked loop funk of 'Deeper', the rolling swamp funk headiness of harmonica-laden future classic 'I'm Coming Down', the sensual nu-disco soul of 'Infiltrator', and the bluesy, slow-motion hypnotism of standout 'Black Feeling'.

Review: Since 2019, Nairo "Papik" Poggi has served up a trio of Cocktail Italy albums, all of which make use of an impressive variety of (mostly) Italian musicians and vocalists. Volume Four sticks to the same script as its predecessors, serving up sun-flecked, often soulful treats that variously mix and match elements of classic string-laden jazz, soul-jazz, jazz-funk, P-funk, bossa-nova and Latin jazz. Basically, it's music to enjoy while sat somewhere hot (either in the sunshine or by a roaring fire) with a glass of something tasty and refreshing in hand. Highlights include the revivalist disco-soul of 'Primavera (featuring Nadyne Rush)', synth-laden Danny Losito hook-up 'Prima di Andare Via', mid-80s Italo-disco-goes-jazz number 'Notti (featuring Anna Fondi) and superbly summery dancefloor workout 'Ti Sento (featuring Vittoria Siggillino)'.