Mordisco Spain Vinilo y CD

Review: During the 1980s, Fred Ventura (real name Federico Di Bonaventura) was a well-known name in his native Italy, moving from obscure new-wave and Italo-disco underground hero to dance music-influenced synth-pop hero. Here, the veteran's 21st century collaboration with Paolo Govetti, Italoconnection, reworks four of his most loved tunes from the 80s. They begin by delivering a cheery, melody-driven nu-Italo take on 'Wind of Change', before re-framing Fairlight-heavy 1988 classic 'Hearbeat' as a Bobby Orlando-esque chunk of Hi-NRG excellence. Their take on 'Lost In Paris' is a funky, arpeggio-driven throb job that doffs a cap to the power synth-pop popular in Europe at the tail end of the 1980s, while the new version of 'The Years' is a glossy, peak-time-ready slab of classic-sounding big studio Italo-disco.

Review: Mordisco back the multi-format reissue of Disco Romance by Sally Shapiro, a sensitive and luxuriant debut record from a contemporary Italo disco and synthpop act whose identity is not at all as it seems. First cropping up on the Austrian label Diskokaine before migrating to their longtime Canadian hosts Paper Bag Records, the artist(s) operating under the name lasted an admirable while in the guise of a Swedish solo indie pop regina. In actual fact, and in a move that invited more questions than settled answers, "Sally Shapiro" was later revealed to be a duo, with instrumentals produced by ambient mastermind Johan Agebjorn in cahoots with an anonymous singer. The music is as inscrutable as the story behind it, day-dreaming up bleary terrains of synthetic, snow-sheeted sonic pine forest, with Sally's ponderous bel canto vocals serving to melt and part the icy seas around it. Mordisco here release the fittingly hued white marbled vinyl version.

Review: Mordisco reissue an incredibly compelling exercise in contemporary Italo-not-Italo which cropped up in 2006, going under the name Sally Shapiro. Manifestly the work of a snow-dappled Swedish blonde - with vocal velours rivalling the plushness of the finest satin, and backed by ten exquisite bedroom Italo uplifters - "Sally Shapiro" was eventually revealed to be a duo's work, that of producer Johan Agebjorn and an anonymous singer (Shapiro was later revealed as her pseudonym). As mysteriously arresting as it gets - with the identity of the record's star voice remaining unknown to this day - this is a record that proves the artfulness of the recorded music form: one that allows for humbling experiments in ostension, which in turn invite much speculation and intrigue. A grand total of eight albums ensued through the artists' Paper Bag Records home turf, but it's the debut, Disco Romance, that set the Nordic snowy ball rolling.