WARM BREEZE

Welcome to a selection of contemporary grooves mostly (but not only) from Italy and the Mediterranean that have very little, if anything, in common with the thudding and anthemic jams played in mega clubs. They are instead representative of a style of soft dance music that traverses genres such as Neo Soul, Downtempo, Trip Hop, World Psychedelia, Balearic Funk, Cosmic Disco, Afrobeat, Cumbia and Dream Pop.

Blowing like a warm breeze from Naples to Rio de Janeiro, Rome to Berlin, and Marseille to Bogotá, this music evokes colourful vistas, pink-and-orange sunsets, wide starry nights and deserted neon-lit streets. It’s the sound you want to tune into when the evening star rises in the sky!

Neapolitan instrumental trio Psyché blend hip-hop drums with dreamy guitars in ‘Kelebek’, a melodic ballad that sets the tone for many of the tracks that follow, like Roman producer Lapa Dula’s ‘Baibai’, which combines soft/organic drums, sinuous basslines and subtly hummable melodies.

World music influences span from Neapolitan reggae (Tonico 70’s ‘Quaquaraquà’) and Brazilian-infused boogie-funk (Doinel’s “Saideira”) to Afrobeat/Latin fusion (Rhabdomatic Orchestra’s ‘Wonder Us’, Conjunto Media Luna’s ‘Baile en el Infierno’, Psyché’s ‘Cumbia Mahàre’), while Balearic vibes permeate tracks like Quiroga‘s ‘Kundabuffer’ and Banda Maje’s ‘Living Disco Club’, as well as more dancefloor-oriented numbers like Whodamanny‘s ‘La Tartana’ and Jolly Mare‘s remix of Piero Umiliani’s ‘Discomania’.

For a laid-back downtempo/neo-soul feel, check out French multi-instrumentalist Tenda Senda’s ‘You’re the Best Planet Earth’, Berlin-based composer Ike’s ‘In My Feelings’ and Portuguese DJ/producer Dedy Dread’s ‘Don’t Wanna Wake Up’, as well as the ethnic-flavoured ‘No Point Complaining’, a brilliant collaboration between French producer Suif and UK vocalist CW Jones.