Balearic Breakfast | Episode 200 | Meeting Manu Archeo (Archeo Recordings)
- by The Lioncub
- Nov 5, 2024
- 27 min read
Updated: Dec 24, 2024
Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 200th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on November 05th 2024.
About this episode. – Streaming live from New York, where she'll meet François K in a few hours for a live event, Colleen proposed we discover Manu's Archeo Recordings in today's Balearic Breakfast 200th episode thanks to a beautiful recording where the DJ, producer and label owner tells us his musical story (bandcamp page). You can find the whole interview fully transcribed by Manu himself here, including a brand new edition of his recording I did exclusively for the blog!
Thank you both to Colleen and Manu who agreed and allowed this to happen here! Balearic Breakfast is the gift that keeps on giving, and we're not faking, there's a whole lotta lovin' going on around here!
In the show's second hour, Colleen took us to a very dub-fueled mix which evolved into a Balearic party and I can say that the Balearic Breakfast Family adored it to bits!
"This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud for your listening pleasure at https://shorturl.at/ho664 (and please give me a follow while you’re over there). Today’s show features an exclusive mix and interview with @manu_archeo who is celebrating 10 years of Archeo Recordings – his label that reissues wonderful Italo classics with remixes from contemporary Italian producers. He has a lovely story and has given us a gorgeous mix of music from his label. In the next hour I catch up with some new music, your requests and a couple of old favourites.
I’m in New York City at the moment and in a few hours I’m heading over to François K 's studio as we are hosting a live stream in tribute to Quincy Jones and the election. You can join us from 1pm EST on Francois’ Mixcloud Live.
For now, thanks for listening and I hope you will enjoy this morning’s Balearic Breakfast with music from @higherloverec @sam_redmore @delesosimi @motonrecords @davidhill_photo @tactus_music @thenextmenofficial @danwainwrightmusic @rude_audio @feel_fly @daveharrow @huqo377 @tonyespositoofficial @airto.moreira.54 @bbemusic"
Listen back to Balearic Breakfast's 200th episode:
PLAYLIST
Manu Archeo Mix:
Infradisco – Beyond the Dulcis’ (Manu Archeo Remix)
Pepe Maina – The Infinite’ (Manu Archeo Remix)
Roberto Aglieri ft Stefano Faravelli – Danza N 1
(Feel Fly Meditan Trippy Remix)
Futuro Antico – Pan Tuning (Mushrooms Project Danza Mix)
Radio Band – Radio Rap (Radiomarc Remix)
Tony Esposito – Kalimba De Luna (Hear & Now Onda Nueva Mix)
Ettika – Ettika (The Veteran Delinquents Remix)
Colleen Mix:
(2024) Hugo Nicolson & David Harrow – Revolvalution
(Dan Wainwright and Rude Audio Original Mix)
(2020) Karime Kendra – 90% of Me Is You
(2024) Lab Infinity – Touch Me
(1984) Anne-Tina – I Mit Efterar
(1985) Datalife – Dancing Dreaming
(2024) Moton – Hold On
(1982) Denroy Morgan – Happy Feeling
(2024) Sam Redmore ft Dele Sosimi – Home
(1995) Outernational Meltdown – Hungry on Arrival
MANU ARCHEO'S FULL STORY
Mix by Artur the Lioncub
Unaltered audio
[Colleen]
Please tell us about your passion for music when you were young?
[Manu]
Ciao Colleen, thank you so much for the invitation, it’s a real pleasure and honor for me. Wow! I'm so excited. My passion for Music really dates back to when I was very young. I'm so happy to be in this world, I can say, for quite all my Life.
When I was 8 I started studying classic drums for 5 years and I remember I used to spend lots of time listening to my mother's collection of vinyl. I should probably say thanks mom for having such great records! There were a couple of Tony Esposito in particular that thrilled me: his first ‘Rosso Napoletano’ LP (1974) and ‘Incontro Con’ (1978), a sort of compilation from Tony's first 3 masterpieces, with that incredible cover photo of him behind the drums and with the sunglasses. A true hero for me! He was my Master!
I spent hours and hours to listening to those records and I can say to have been pretty lucky to have had such a collection in my musical formative years. That's why I love now the Italian artists like Tony Esposito, Tullio De Piscopo, Miro, Pepe Maina, Roberto Aglieri, Mario Acquaviva, Paolo Modugno ... such great legends for me!
[Colleen]
How did you get into DJ-ing?
[Manu]
I start DJing when I was 16, buying 2 grey Technics 1200,I still have them, and a mixer. I was a regular visitor of Night's Life before and I used to go to dance to Matis, Les Bains Douches and Kinky in Bologna on Friday and Saturday nights and Tenax, Space Electronic and Happyland (the ‘Torquemada’ venue) in Florence, also on Sunday afternoons. It was the Italo-House, Dream House and Progressive scene and I spent hours in front of DJ Ricci and others to see how they worked and mixed and let people dance and have fun. All this I can say in a certain way, turned on a light in me that still shines today! I was so influenced by the classic New-Wave, House, Electro, 80s and 90s scene. It was also when I started to buy vinyl regularly.
A small step back ... Around 1985/1986, I started listening to music with friends, at the first private parties or on MTV, the popular TV program of the time, and I started buying cassettes which I then listened to on the cassette deck in my room, at home or on my Sony Walkman or again on the car radio. Then I always wanted the vinyl version of those titles that I asked my mother to buy. Any examples? 'Thriller' by Michael Jackson (1982), an artist I adored even though I was only 8 years old when that innovative album came out. I was completely entranced by the video clip, for the music and the effects. The zombie ballet was cutting-edge and every time I felt a feeling somewhere between amazement and fear when the music stops and he turns into a living dead ... Wow! I wanted the red and black jacket that Michael was wearing at all costs and I managed to get a similar one, even if a low quality copy, which my parents gave me with my immense joy. Other titles that marked my youth were 'Diamond Life' of Sade (1984), big companion of the trips in the car. And 'So' of Peter Gabriel (1986). The video of 'Big Time' was something unique and innovative for the time. Also 'Revenge' by Eurythmics (1986), which I went to see in concert at the PalaEur in Rome in 1989 – I went crazy for 'Missionary Man', 'When Tomorrow Comes', 'The Miracle Of Love' and above all 'Take Your Pain Away' - and finally 'Blue's' by Zucchero (1987), a must-have at naive and awkward middle school parties.
I remember the first 12" that I bought was 'Buddy / The Magic Number' by De La Soul, in 1989. To get it I had to take a long ride on my yellow and red BMX bike from home to a small record shop in the suburbs and I was very satisfied with the purchase, not only for the music but also for the beautiful cover.
A small parenthesis is also necessary regarding record shops of the time. In Florence, I used to go to Black Out, run by the legendary DJ Riccardino, who at the time played regularly in all the most important clubs in Italy and who introduced me with his sound to the world of Trip-Hop and labels such as Mo Wax and Ninja Tune; and to Disco Mastelloni in Piazza Del Mercato Centrale, where the owner was the great and unforgettable Roberto Bianchi, now no longer among us, a super DJ and a competent person and a true point of reference at a national level in the 90s. Then I often made trips to DJ Aky Tune's Disco D'Oro in Bologna, and to Goody Music in Rome. These 2 still exist and are active. At Disco Mastelloni I used to buy the a sort of 'artisanal' cassettes recorded by Roberto between 1991 and 1993 compiled with all the successful singles of the moment and artfully mixed, which at the time inspired me quite a bit to purchase many records that still are in my collection.
The atmosphere in there was very lively. Every time I went I could meet friends and famous DJs with whom I could talk and learn about important background infos and cute gossip of the 'Night's World and Life'. I remember I always took my stack of records to listen to them patiently on headphones and it was fantastic to immerse myself in that atmosphere, I was always so excited. Now I go to my dear friend Daniele's Danex Records shop in Florence, to Logout of Fabio from Bosconi Records and Michele Alunni and Isoma of Lorenzo Fortino, my trusted shops and a meeting point where I can discuss about music and more with fellow friends and DJs.
From the early 90s I started play more and more regularly as DJ in clubs, bars and private parties in Florence and Bologna. And this taught me a lot from the point of view of technique and how a club works and how to build the dancefloor from the beginning to the end. I'm quite lucky to have played at the famous Tenax and other venues between the early 90s until now, such as Dolcevita, Space Electronic, Rex, Viper Theater, Capocaccia, Stazione Leopolda, Palace, Caffè Italiano, Logic, Zoe, Rivalta, Mix Bistrò, some of which unfortunately no longer exist. They were very lively years with a great music scene of all genres.
With my friends, DJs and not only, we started exchanging music and spending entire days and evenings playing, mixing and listening to everything and more. We met and talk about new, rare vinyl gems that we had in our private collections or just discovered. It was fantastic and so stimulating and I can say it only added fuel to the fire of my passion and has trained my ears to an eclectic sound.
[Colleen]
What was the club scene in Firenze like at the time?
[Manu]
Unfortunately I was too young to have experienced the 80s firsthand but I was absolutely involved and influenced by them, without a doubt. Florence in the 80s was a true cradle of innovations, new bands and new places, from Litfiba (the famous Italian New Wave / Rock band formed in Florence in 1980) to Neon (legendary New Wave band again, formed always in Florence in 1979 and part of the Florentine Dark Wave / Electronic scene of the 80s) and Diaframma (another famous Italian New Wave / Rock band, also called the 'Italian Joy Division'), from Krypton to Magazzini Criminali, from Tenax to Video Music, from Controradio to Radio Cento Fiori, from jazz clubs to New Wave cellars, from Pitti Trend to great prominent figures such as Piero Pelù, Ghigo Renzulli, Alexander Robotnick, Antonio Aiazzi and Francesco Magnelli, Ringo De Palma and Gianni Maroccolo, and so on.
Each of these bands and people deserves a story of its own, but we don't have time now to tell them.
But I would like just to tell a nice story with Krypton. Teatro Studio Krypton was founded in 1982 by Giancarlo Cauteruccio and Pina Izzi, dear friends of my mother and my aunt here in Florence and I remember that they often had dinner at our house and I often went to their wonderful avant-garde shows. In 1983 they release the fantastic LP 'Eneide Di Krypton' with Litfiba: the soundtrack for the theater show 'Eneide', at the Teatro Metastasio in Prato and one of the cornerstones of New Wave and Rock Music. Now it's a very rare and sought after vinyl and I own an original copy from the time given directly by Giancarlo and Pina to my mother.
Those were also the years of the famous IRA Italian label, founded in 1984 by Alberto Pirelli in Florence. IRA stands for 'Immortal Records Alliance' and wanted to support the Italian underground scene with national groups who preferred to use Italian language rather than the more fashionable English in their songs, as advertised by their slogan: 'the new Italian music sung in Italian'.
Tenax was born in 1981 and after a decade in which it had hosted the best DJs of the time, decided that it was time to expand the evening program with also live music, such as what for example later became the 1987 Litfiba LP 'Aprite I Vostri Occhi' (Open Your Eyes), an absolute masterpiece that contains the freshness, the dreams, the angers of those memorable years.
Towards the end of the 90s, full of events, Tenax offered tropical, rock and heavy evenings and even high-level concerts. Fashions and trends changed but Alex Neri, former member of Planet Funk and resident DJ and one of the most famous and appreciated Italian DJs still today, relaunched by organizing the Nobody's Perfect format right at Tenax, giving life to an evening that would make the venue one of the most loved in Europe.
Venues at Meccanò began at midnight and ended at dawn. It was spread over 2 floors with a main room and a private room on the upper floor, the very famous and so called 'pigeon house' (piccionaia). During the summer season it extended into the Cascine Park with 2 dance floors and a VIP terrace. Imagine that in 1993 Vasco Rossi, the so famous and beloved Italian singer, shot there the video for his song 'Vivere'. If Tenax represented the essence of cultural non-conformism with an 'International' club atmosphere, Meccanò was its mirror image, I can say pure entertainment and the desire to appear.
Unfortunately in the spring of 2008 the disco was completely destroyed by fire and the flames, together with the fascinating steel structure, also took away the glow of those Florentine nights forever.
Still today the most famous nightclub in town, YAB is a point of reference for 2 generations of Florentines and not only. It now boasts 40 years of success but immediately stood out for its attention to details. The mirrored entrance with great scenic effect, the private room with personalized rooms, the fiber optics on the chandeliers and in the center of the dance floor the floor with a very particular lighting effect.
In the 90s famous people were spotted there, such as Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Sean Penn, Madonna, David Bowie, Renato Zero and Yves Saint Laurent. We kids love to tell each other those anecdotes.
Furthermore, equipped with 6 bars, 4 dance floors, a restaurant and a pizzeria, Central Park - right in front of Meccanò - was another key point of the city at the time. Closed 15 years ago, today that space has been converted into a restaurant and children's playground. The activities certainly keep the place alive, but they are far from the glittering atmosphere of what was the largest open-air disco of the Florentine summer.
In Empoli, a small town not far from Florence, there was the legendary Jaïss, a cult disco of 90s Progressive Music, also structured along the conceptual lines of Central Park. Inaugurated in 1992, it achieved national notoriety in a couple of years. And in 1994 it was already one of the most important trendy venues in Italy, doubling its openings: not only on Sunday afternoon but also on Saturday evening. Ten years later, overtaken by the new trend of "commercial" disco music, unfortunately it closed its doors. So many beautiful memories while I'm trying to remember, wow!
[Colleen]
What is it like now? (Tenax?)
[Manu]
Tenax is fortunately still alive and under the wise and refined guidance of Alex Neri always offers excellent Music. Yes, I have to say times have really changed and Florence has become a very difficult town for Music and with a trend that in my opinion is 'too' commercial and not one of research and innovation as it was in its heyday. Anyway sometimes something nice is still happening.
[Colleen]
Why did you start Archeo Recordings back in 2014?
[Manu]
Archeo Recordings was and is the normal extension to all these things and it satisfies my desire to be active in the production and diffusion of old and new good music. Also music is an artistic patrimony which might be lost and I don’t want it to happen.
Mine – in a certain way – is a 'Labour of Love'. I can't think of my Life without my Love and Passion for Music and I also love sharing it with the whole world. This is the purpose of my label and I am very happy when I receive positive feedbacks from many people from everywhere. It really means a lot to me.
For two years I documented myself and asked advices from friends in this world, then in a year I implemented all the technical and bureaucratic parts and in the meantime I got an idea of what the possible first releases would have been. And here is how my journey has started.
I come across the music I have reissued with all the vinyl I have and obviously with what I like listening to, playing in my gigs and think they deserve a proper attention.
Like many other diggers I love to rediscover and bring back to light an old record, perhaps forgotten or not yet fully appreciated, so then people can appreciate it and know about it.
Since I was a boy I was passionate about archeology and I remember I always bought the Italian Archeo magazine. I liked the idea of a name - from the Greek 'ancient', 'primitive' - that referred to a search for the past, for the lost.
The Archeo logo is a stylized Angel that comes from a fresco in the Romanesque-Byzantine crypt of the Abbey of Monte Maria (1160), a Benedictine monastery that rises above Burgusio, in Val Venosta, north Italy. It's the highest Benedictine building in Europe.
The crypt can be visited during the evening prayer of Vespers and I remember the first time I saw them. It was something unbelievable, I was completely embraced by all these Angels and their wings ... A wonderful feeling that I always carry deep in my heart.
The Angel on the Archeo Logo is my guardian angel and I'm sure it brings good luck to me and to all the people who are involved, playing, listening to, buying or just following the Music I produce. The message was and is so important to me that I decided to take inspiration from it for the logo.
[Colleen]
Please tell us about the different projects & artists on the label (reissues and new music)?
[Manu]
I’ve had contacts with all the artists that I have reissued and that I will reissue and release. This is so important to me, it’s an essential part of my work and I really love it. It’s always so stimulating and I think enriches the entire process.
Every artist has a great and important part of the musical history to tell and discover with her / his productions but also with her / his past and tales. I spent hours with them, in ecstasy with their stories which are many and varied. And that is what sometimes I try to bring on my releases with Archeo Recordings, yes with the music, but also with inserts full of old photos, anecdotes and others. I'm quite a nerd about that. When I do a release I always think about it as if I were the buyer.
I have released 5 Tony Esposito records out of the 30 total now of Archeo Recordings. If I don't say I love him madly I would be lying. His 'Rosso Napoletano' is a key album for me. It was the soundtrack of my childhood, as I have already said, when I learned to play the drums, from the age of 8 to 13, of my adolescence and my maturity. I love percussions and drums and Esposito is the undisputed king worldwide. In particular, in this album there are some of his most beautiful and significant songs, starting from ‘Rosso Napoletano’, a seventeen-minute journey entirely covered on the side A which takes you to another planet. ‘L'Eroe Di Plastica’ was and is one of my favourites. As a boy I listened to it on loop for hours trying to understand how Esposito played the drums and then tried to imitate him with my Yamaha of that time. Also the album came out in 1974, the same year I was born. A coincidence or a connection again? I love to think about it.
I started my adventure with the label with Tony Esposito - Je-Nà / Pagaia, the sought after 12" from 1983 with the 2 extended versions by Mario Boncaldo from Klein & M.B.O.
Never get tired of these 2 masterpieces.
In 2018 I released AR013 - Tony Esposito - Viaggio Tribale EP, with 2 previously unreleased tracks from Tony's 'Viaggio Tribale' CD from 2004 - Dove C'è Luce and Veronica Song - with also a special Balearic Remix of Dove C'è Luce by my dear friend and super DJ and Producer LucaEffeSunset, and enriched by 3 previously unreleased tracks from the Lucan musician and songwriter and dear friend Antonio Nicola Bruno, from his 2004 CD: 'Storia Della Terra Mia' and 'Danza E Ridanza'. He regularly plays with Tony and I'm very proud of this release.
Again in 2018 it is then the turn of AR014 - Tony Esposito - Rosso Napoletano (Mushrooms Project 2018 Rework) single-sided 12", a 13 minute journey worthy of the best Mushrooms productions. I remember I met Mushrooms Project, in the person of the very nice and brilliant Marco and Giorgio, 2 great friends, one evening in 2015 at one of their DJ sets, in Bologna. We exchanged one of our personal releases ... they gave me Rio Disco 12" which I really love, with also a fun written dedication and I, if I remember correctly, I think I gave them AR003 Miro - Safari Of Love 12". Since that moment we have never lost each other and our friendship and collaboration has enriched and deepened, from their incredible Rosso Napoletano Rework, to AR023 - Sara Loreni - Neve A Maggio 12”, to AR025 - Infradisco - Aqua Cheta 12” and many more in the pipeline too.
A great news: in spring 2025 we will finally come out with the first release of our new label Zahfari Recordings with an entire new LP from Mushrooms Project, after 8 years. Please stay tuned on this!
Then, AR021 - Tony Esposito - Kalimba De Luna (Hear & Now Remix) 12", one of my favorite Archeo releases! I think it needs no introduction, but I would like to briefly tell you about the great friendship and immense esteem that binds me to Hear & Now.
Hear & Now duo, in the persons of the great DJ Ricky L and the lovely and talented Marcoradi, are 2 other true friends, 2 splendid people with a refined soul and a touch of unique kindness which is reflected in their work on the beautiful 3 LPs on Claremont 56, one of my favorite labels of all time, of which I always buy and play everything.
When 'Aurora Baleare’, their first album, was released in 2018, I immediately fell in love with that sound, so ethereal, dreamy and Balearic. For me it embodied and still embodies the best of current productions. I remember that Ricky played here in Florence one evening many years ago. I went to listen to him with the record in my hands to compliment him, thank him for the magic and have him sign it and from there a special friendship was born. Shortly afterwards Ricky introduced me to Marcoradi in Perugia and another special friendship was born with him too. I asked them to do a Remix for Tony Esposito and they chose Kalimba De Luna which then became the wonderful 2021 release, played by everyone, as well as DJ Harvey. Ricky L, a true genius, would love to underline the importance of Tony's Tamborder, his special drum an d invented by himself. So he thought about it and the gadget was born, a real shaped and working Tamborder parking disc ... Simply fantastic!
From there our collaboration intensified with AR025 - Infradisco - Aqua Cheta, AR017 - Ettika and many many more in the pipeline.
And last but not least, AR027 - Tony Esposito - Pagaia (Feel Fly Versions) 12", the reissue of his transcendent fusion-pop masterpiece 'Pagaia' alongside a trio of brand new reworks from Perugia's mighty Feel Fly. A killer release!
Dani Feel Fly, another great friend, DJ and Producer, is a very talented and good boy from Perugia who delights us more and more with his amazing productions. Met way back in 2017, when with my immense pleasure and honor, he contacted me to play at the amazing Afro Templum venues for the Archeo 3 Year Anniversary. From that moment, a unique friendship and partnership was born with him too. I would also like to underline that from those years a special connection was born between me and Perugia and people linked to it, which led me to play many times, both in the city, again for Afro Templum in 2019 for the Archeo 5 Year Anniversary, and on the Lake Trasimeno ... I can say ... a super Balearic connection.
With Dani we had been working on a collaboration for Archeo for years which came to fruition with his splendid masterpieces of Remixes for AR027 and, another small spoiler, his remix of Roberto Aglieri - Danza N. 1 which will be released for the first Volume of Archeo Recordings 10 Year Anniversary in late November. Dani has always managed to amaze me, making profound remixes, with his unique style but always respecting the original song and adding that magical touch that distinguishes him.
AR025 - Infradisco - Aqua Cheta 12” + CD. I have been friends with Mark Bee and Albenati for years and I greatly respect their music and their work. Mark I remember contacted me and made me listen to these beautiful 6 previously unreleased tracks, the Originals on the CD and from there we built the idea of making a release with 4 new Remixes too, the 12". It was the stimulus and my official debut as a producer with my Remix too. So happy, yes! The other 3 Remixes came as almost always in a very natural flow. Hear & Now and Mushrooms Project immediately appreciated the original work and joined the project. With Jon / Ocean Moon, we had been in contact for a long time and I'm a big fan of his, both as part of the amazing Seahawks duo, and as Ocean Moon, with his Ambient / New Age Music I really love. I had wanted his Remix for a long time, he too was immediately enthusiastic about the project and so he joined the team for this release.
During the processing of the Remixes, Jon had also done another soft version, very Ambient and ethereal and so I thought to also ask Hear & Now and Mushrooms Projects and me of course, to do our soft, relaxed versions, something that was behind and beyond the original Remixes. Here ‘Beyond The Remixes’ were born, then released in July 2024 only digitally. But I can now reveal as a preview with great happiness that the 2 'Beyond The Remixes', the Hear & Now one and mine, will be released on vinyl in a super limited release in spring 2025.
I'm so happy with my Beyond The Dulcis, a meditative, spaced out 13 minutes track, a sort of New Age meditation immersed in a balmy horn, delicate hand percussion and watery pads.
AR026 - Modula Featuring Gino Saccio - Che E' Stato? 7". Filippo / Modula contacted me years ago, letting me listen to a draft of this wonderful track and saying that in his opinion it would be a perfect Archeo release. He was right! I accepted immediately and we worked on the idea of the cover artwork and on the Remix. Filippo proposed me Pellegrino, his dear friend and collaborator and obviously it could not have been otherwise: an entirely Neapolitan release. And here is this fizzy and crisp Disco / Funk Neapolitan interpretation of Gino Soccio's cult cut 'Who Dunnit', backed with a remix from hometown hero Pellegrino.
I'm obviously a big fan of the Neapolitan scene, from Tony Esposito, Tullio De Piscopo, Pino Daniele, Enzo Avitabile, Master Roberto De Simone and Nuova Compagnia Di Canto Popolare, to today Modula and Pellegrino, Quiroga, 291Out, Nu Genea, Whodamanny and Mystic Jungle. I love that unique sound and I am deeply attached to it.
AR017 - Ettika ... The Holy Grail! It's truly a sought after record and I was obsessed with this song. I got a copy of the 1984 original years and years ago, when the price was still acceptable. I have had this title ready for years, but I wanted to do something really special. And finally here is the Record Store Day April 2024 Box Set (AR017-RSD24 Box Set) and the 2 singles, the 7" (AR017-7) with the 2 Original versions (French and Arab) and the 12" (AR017-12) with the 3 new Remixes, 2 by Hear & Now and 1 by The Veteran Delinquents (Craig Christon and Tim Hutton), a new interpretation both respectful and revolutionary. All enriched by a wonderful insert with the Liner Notes of my dear friend, DJ and curator of fantastic compilations, Vidal Benjamin, which I absolutely recommend you read to get an idea of the incredible story behind this record. One of the Archeo releases that I'm most proud of and which reflects the work I do with my label. Again, a 'Labor of Love'.
Sadly and with a little bit of shame, I didn't have the opportunity and time to meet Lucio Dalla, it would have been something incredible for me. For Lucio I have an enormous admiration for all his artistic work and a truly deep affection, as if he were part of my family, a distant uncle or cousin. When he died I was truly shocked and often missed him and still do today. An absolute genius! When I think of him and listen to his music I enter into a deep positive emotional transport that makes me feel very good and takes me to another dimension, as often happens to any of us when listening to the music we love. I made a T-shirt some time ago with Lucio's face, dreamy, enigmatic and a little melancholic, from his 1978 LP 'Lucio Dalla', which contains some of my favorite songs too, first of all 'La Signora', then 'L'Ultima Luna' and 'Stella Di Mare'. So many memories! It was a record that was in my mother's collection so I can say that I really grew up with it.
In 2018 I had the pleasure of visiting Dalla's house in via D'Azeglio, now a museum, in my hometown, Bologna. It was a unique emotion. I was with a group of unknown people since it was a pre-booked visit, but I fully enjoyed that trip, immersing myself in the musical world and daily life of the artist, one of the greatest ever, as if a part of him was still there to breathe the magic of his poetry.
'La Signora' is one of the songs that has practically always accompanied me, I listened to it as a child, as a teenager and now as an adult, and every time it transmits something magical and indescribable to me. It would be a dream to be able to have the licenses for these masterpieces to release them on Archeo with various Remixes. I'll try, who knows.
Lucio was also originally from and lived in Bologna like me, so again a deep connection.
As for AR024 - Bottin Featuring Lucio Dalla - Lunedì Cinema 12", it is a record that I particularly care about and I am so happy and honored to have given light to this release.
Lunedì Cinema track was for many years the RAI, one of the most important Italian public TV, theme song which preceded Lunedì Film, the films broadcast on Monday evening in the 80s and 90s. I remember as a child being totally in love and obsessed with this song.
It all started then from the beautiful remix of Lunedì Cinema by Bottin released on the CD 'I Love Me Volume 1' in 2004, which I have been listening to and playing for years and years. I have been in contact with Guglielmo Bottin since long time and I respect him a lot both as a Producer and as a DJ. We share a great Love and Passion for the Italian music of the 80s and 90s and its greatest exponents, such as Lucio Dalla, Lucio Battisti, Toto Cutugno, Gianni Morandi ... the Bigs, the 'Sacred Monsters' in short!
In one of our many emails I asked Guglielmo why his beautiful Remix had never yet been released on vinyl and if he wanted to make a specific release on Archeo, perhaps involving someone else for a remix. He accepted with joy asking if we could involve Leo Mas for a new Remix. The featuring of Lucio Dalla was a gift of the time that the great singer gave to Guglielmo as they were very close friends. I then asked Guglielmo to tell about their friendship and the story of the original track and so that's how the insert that is part of the release was born.
Bottin, Leo and I worked on the idea of the cover graphics and the packaging of the remixes and thus the release was completed, with Bottin's 'Martedì Mix 2008' and Leo's 2 new Remixes, the 'Drive In Mix' and the 'Dub Mix'. Lunedì Cinema is finally a record! How wonderful!
A small necessary parenthesis on Leo Mas ... Leo, a true legend, my older brother, as I often like to think of him, a person with a talent and an unique taste who made the history of the club, of the Balearic and a piece of living history. He has always enriched the Remix he handled for Archeo in a superlative way, with a great attention to details and the final result. Let's think about precisely of the 'II° Coro Delle Lavandaie' 12" and 'Devozioni Dialettali' by Enzo Avitabile - another small spoiler, we will soon do the official release with new Remixes from the now 2017 promo - and again 'Tonica & Dominante' and obviously 'Lunedì Cinema' by Dalla. A champion and a true friend.
More or less once a month we have long and very pleasant phone calls lasting hours in which we tell each other lots of things and he always comes up with new anecdotes that leave me speechless. So funny!
AR023 - Sara Loreni - Neve A Maggio (Remixes) 12". It was another incredible story and release that I am very proud of. Sara Loreni is a very good singer and wonderful person, also originally from Parma, like Mushrooms Project.
I remember that in the midst of the pandemic my dear friend Marco Mushrooms Project, as we usually do with each other, sent me a draft of a remix to listen to, what would later become the 'Mushrooms Project Disco Maxi Single Mix' of the 12" and I was very impressed. Many months later I asked Marco what had happened to that remix and he told me that it should have been part of a compilation but that it had been discarded and so I immediately thought and asked him if he wanted to make a proper release for me.
Marco accepted the idea enthusiastically, but told me that he would take care of how to structure the entire 12", thinking of making another version - what would later become the very powerful 'Mushrooms Project Rave Mix' - and asking Alessandro Deep88 to make his own 90s house version, the 'Deep88 Remix'. I also asked for a Balearic version and Leo Almunia came to our minds and so the 4th Remix was born, the 'Mushrooms Project Featuring Leo Almunia Balearic Version'. I spoke to Sara who was immediately very happy too and we agreed on the licenses. This is how this wonderful collaboration was born. I later met Sara in person and we became good friends. She is such a kind and polite person with a unique talent and voice. I will definitely do more things with her in the future.
AR020 - Tonica & Dominante 7" and 12". Another amazing and really sought after record is the Original 7". Originally released in 1979 on a small record label, the two songs became a total cult through the years and one of the most wanted and rarest and impossible to find record, with few copies pressed ... a true milestone in the underground Neapolitan Disco Funk sound.
Leo and I were literally obsessed with these 2 tracks and decided to find the licenses and do a collaboration on the release. To enrich everything, the 2 new killer Remixes by Leo Mas were then born ... Marvellous!
AR006 - Blues Gas - Shadows From Nowhere 12". Blue Gas is another incredible story. I had been obsessed with 'Shadows From Nowhere' for years and was desperately looking for the licenses and the artist. Finally I managed to find Celso Valli's phone number and have an appointment in his studio in Bologna. Another wonderful meeting with a special person of immense humility and humanity. Imagine that he was enthusiastic about the idea of a reissue and thanked me for my interest, having never believed that his wonderful 1983 song could still be listened to today, work and excite people.
A special mention goes also to these wonderful Artists, with whom I have established a particular relationship of friendship, esteem and collaboration.
AR015 - Pepe Maina - Scerizza LP of 2019. The 1979 New Age / Electronic masterpiece by the Italian contemporary inter-dimensional and multi-instrumental maverick Pepe Maina. He is ranging between Prog Rock, New Age, Organic Jazz and Global Minimalism in his own unique way over the course of 50 years and almost as many albums, largely self-released and always absolutely far from commercial concerns. He is based in a small village in the hills of Brianza, just north of Milan and he spends much of the day in his studio making Music and translating the beauty of his surroundings into transformative tone poems.
I can say that he is truly one of my favorite Artists of all time. I love his Music, his touch, his depth but at the same time his simplicity and his Joy in Life. I'm working with him on a Compilation of his most beautiful songs. It's a super important release for me and I'm really happy and honored.
AR011 - Roberto Aglieri - Ragapadani double LP of 2017. The Original 1987 LP enriched by a bonus LP, which contains other versions and unreleased songs by the Italian flutist and composer Roberto Aglieri.
His flute sounds haunting and evocative over the range of delicate synth treatments. Soothing, thoughtfully crafted music for tender times with an incredible esoteric atmosphere.
I'm in love with 'Sogno Di Mezzogiorno' with the sound of crickets in the background, 'Danza N. 1', 'Made In Terraneo', a title that plays on the Italian pronunciation 'Mediterraneo' of the Mediterranean Sea, and 'Twin Piece'. I love this release and I love Roberto too. We're planning other collaborations for the future.
AR018 - The Mario Acquaviva EP of 2019. The 1983 Balearic / Pop / Soft Rock masterpiece 12" and now so in demand by Italian Musician and Songwriter Mario Acquaviva, with the famous song 'Notturno Italiano', which will be featured with an amazing Remix in one of the next volumes for 'Archeo 10 Year Anniversary'.
AR022 - Manrico & Nicola - Le Piante Del Lago LP 2021. A 1990 previuosly unreleased project by the Duo Manrico & Nicola: Manrico Mologni, the Italian artist, singer, musician and composer and Nicola Calgari, the Italian saxophonist, composer and sound engineer, enriched with 2 new Balearic Versions by Ed Longo, Italian DJ, Producer and Mixing Engineer based in Berlin. Please let's have a read about the beautiful and moving story behind this release.
[Colleen]
What is the future for Archeo Recordings?
[Manu]
I hope and wish for many many more years. I have various things in the works. First of all and of which I am very happy, proud, excited and grateful, I have been thinking of celebrating the Archeo Recordings 10 Year Anniversary with a series of vinyl releases with Remixes, Reworks, Covers by various Italian and worldwide Artists, Producers, Musicians, DJs and Friends on almost the entire catalog. The idea is to do a series of EPs / 12” on which the label's favourite contemporaries pay homage to past masters.
Every single Artist, Producer, Musician can choose a song from the Archeo catalog and creates her / his new version. Volume 1 EP is in production and will be out for the end of November with 4 new Remixes: one is Pepe Maina - The Infinite (Manu Archeo Remix), a song originally released on Pepe’s 2014 only CD ‘Tales From The Hill’ with an intro with a recitation of Leopardi’s poem 'L'Infinito' (1825) by famed Italian actor Vittorio Gassman. Giacomo Leopardi, a leading figure in the Italian romantic movement, in this poem, explores the idea of time and space within the natural world, and the peace that comes with an appreciation of the immensity of eternity. It was a poem that I adored as a student in high school and that 200 years later evokes a strong feeling of ecstasy that seems so contemporary.
The second Remix is Roberto Aglieri Featuring Stefano Faravelli - Danza N. 1 by Feel Fly, the Feel Fly Meditan'Trippy Remix, something unique; the third Remix is Radio Band - Radio Rap Remix by the mysterious Radiomarc from Popcorn Groove label, a killer track, and the fourth Remix is the fifteen minute fusion of séance and science Futuro Antico - Pan Tuning, Mushrooms Project Remix, the Mushrooms Project Danza Mix Part 1, 2 and 3. I’m so happy with this first Volume in the series! Please visit the Archeo website at www.archeo-recordings.com for more infos and details.
Next Volumes will feature Artists such as Hear & Now, Mudd from Claremont 56, Leo Mas, Club Soda from Flexi Cuts, Bottin, Lova, Lorenzo Fortino, LucaEffeSunset and many many more give birth to new and exciting Remixes. Really looking forward!
Then, I’d like to do some parties to celebrate with great DJs and friends. More infos soon in the next months, maybe I think we’ll go for Spring / Summer 2025.
A special thanks & big big Love to Colleen "Cosmo" Murphy!
Comments