This time I’ve been expanding way beyond Italy – hence the title – and way beyond minimalist music.
The mix opens with an excerpt from a live set by Mace, one of Italy’s most interesting urban producers. A hip-hop beat maker who pivoted to house in the 2000s, he become quite successful in the late 2010s thanks to his work with the worst (and most popular) Italian rappers. He released his debut solo record in 2021, revealing a ’70s-infused vein that really resonates with me. Yet, as much as I love his instrumentals, I can’t stand the unskilled (t)rappers that inevitably ruin his songs for me.
In this live session, however, even his guest vocalists fit neatly into the tapestry of his sound. Recorded during the pandemic on a rooftop overlooking a deserted Piazza del Duomo in Milan, the concert brings Mace’s psychedelic sensibility to shine. The full show is available on YouTube here.
Don Cherry needs no introduction; next to Toni Esposito, whom I have recently written about here, the two actually played together at the Lambro Festival in Milan in 1976.
Napoli Centrale are probably my favourite group of the Naples Power: a powerhouse of Mediterranean jazz-rock fusion, their ‘Jesceallàh’ starts a piano thread that continues, in very distinct ways, through Coil and Swans’ tracks, the latter featuring the essential contribution of jazz trio The Necks. To me, Johnn Balance and the late-era Michael Gira share a similar “shamanic” quality in their voices: Balance embodying the archetype of the English eccentric, visionary poet; Gira, the Lynchian cowboy who has seen the other side.
The last section of the mix gives way to softer sounds – hence the second part of the title.
I discovered Guangzhou producer Cola Ren thanks to the always inspiring Concrete Avalanche, a newsletter about music from China. ‘Be Water’ from her latest album Mekong Ballad is pure 4th world magic. It has the sound of a tropical forest breathing, just like Jon Hassell’s pieces from his fantastic Seeing Through Sound (Pentimento Volume Two), which might be one of the best things he ever made along with Listening To Pictures (Pentimento Volume One).
Last but not least, Sparkle Division is the (unexpected) side project of William Basinski. I knew Basinski for his Disintegration Loops and I had no idea what he looked like when I first saw him perform, so I was quite surprised by the leopard-clad figure on stage, who didn’t quite match the sternness of his music. His flamboyant character fully expresses itself in Sparkle Division, where he plays the saxophone in a bright pink mix of swing, disco and lounge. ‘To Feel / to feel embraced’ are the more ambient moments of the records, but the rest is pure, unabashed joy.
Happy listening!
Tracklist
Mace – ‘Intro’ (MACE x MILANO, Live dall’Arco Trionfale della Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, 2021)
Mace & Colapesce – ‘Ayahuasca’ (MACE x MILANO, Live dall’Arco Trionfale della Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, 2021)
Don Cherry – ‘Brown Rice’ (Brown Rice, EMI 1975)
Toni Esposito – ‘L’Eroe di Plastica’ (Rosso Napoletano, Numero Uno 1974)
James Senese Napoli Centrale – ‘Jesceallàh’ (Jesceallàh, Blue Angel 1992, La Canzonetta 2026)
Coil – ‘Red Queen’ (Musick to Play in the Dark vol.1, Chalice 1999, Dais Records 2020)
Swans – ‘Leaving Meaning’ (leaving meaning, Young God Records 2019)
The Necks – ‘Sex’ (Sex, Spiral Scratch 1989).
Cola Ren – ‘Be Water’ (Mekong Ballad, PLANCHA / Human Pitch 2025)
Jon Hassell – ‘Moons of Titan’ (Seeing Through Sound [Pentimento Volume Two], Ndeya 2020)
Jon Hassell – ‘Unknown Wish’ (Seeing Through Sound [Pentimento Volume Two], Ndeya 2020)
Sparkle Division – ‘To Feel’ (To Feel Embraced, Temporary Residence Limited 2020)
Sparkle Division – ‘To Feel Embraced’ (To Feel Embraced, Temporary Residence Limited 2020).
