Bop & 291out / L’Alba Dei Vinti / Early Sounds Recordings

Wow. I wasn`t prepared for this.

I`d sampled the wares of both Bop (Singlayer) and 291out on Walter Del Vecchio`s Really Swing label. Been a fan, in particular of 291out. A core of seven of players. Known to expand to include another nine on occasion. Their jazzy themes informed by their homeland`s heritage. Italy`s Library Music pioneers and Giallo soundtrack composers. But, here, the combination of the band and Bop on electronics is full-on Cosmic Funk.

Insistent bass-lines, incisive guitar and alien synths. The title track, L’Alba Dei Vinti, is a fifteen minute epic of chugging, Boogie-bumping Prog Rock. Think Goblin`s dance floor masquerade as Giorgio Farina. Arranger, composer, Giuseppe Prestipino Giarritta`s one-off with the Lebanese Samson ne Khoury Brothers as Shitân. Throw in a bit of Toni Esposito`s underground classic, L`eroe Di Plastica. Slot Machine features ethereal harmonies and a lead part Holger Czukay, part Dieter Meier. Slower. Sleazier. Like a stoned Can covering Stevie Wonder`s Superstition. Che Male C`e is classy mid-tempo Italian Pop. Something that Leo Mas could have selected for his Mediterraneo: Rare Balearica Vol.1 compilation. Loredana Berte in duet with Lucio Battisti. Lucio Dalla with Mina.

The only releases I can recall in recent memory with comparable chops are Vakula`s Voyage To Arcturus, and Early Sounds` own Mystic Jungle Tribe.