Personally, I think that both sides of this new Archeo Recordings 12 are the best dance-floor “balearic” bits that I’ve heard in a while. Originally released on a 7 in 1979, Tonica & Dominante`s Tigre / Gennarino ‘O Sioux was / is the kind of curio that’s coveted, super highly sought-after, by cosmic dudes and dudettes. The sort of stuff that folks competitively collect on 45 – scouring, rinsing, continental flea markets, hitting up unscrupulous dealers, to secure their leftfield, oddball, European disco fix. The Nu Genea guys previously plundered the duo’s other double A-sided single, Babelonia / Cicogna, for their two volumes of Neapolitan funk nuggets, Napoli Segreta. You can find all four tracks on Tonica & Dominante`s sole LP, Fantasticando, if you happen to have a spare 400 Euros to hand. Prolific Italian arrangers / composers, Antonios Iglio and Moxedano masterminded the project and it shows in the what is effectively rocky-edged, jazz-funk. Adding quirks, such as socca-like keys and brass, and, on Tigre, an electronic b-line worthy of (Patrick) Cowley or (Giorgio) Morroder. 

Latter day Italian dance music maestros, Leo Mas and long-term studio partner Fabrice, deliver the remixes, which rather than their customary updated dubs and reworks, are instead more respectful, most excellent, edits – expertly extending the grooves, while retaining the feel of a late `70s production. Looping drum breaks, ramping up the drama, building the tracks gradually, before stripping them back down. Isolating clipped rhythm guitar licks, emphasizing the tunes` underlying African influence. Setting the scene for soaring sax solos. There are, of course, contemporary touches, like when they twist Gennarino ‘O Sioux’s tropical horns inside out. 

Tonica & Dominante`s Tigre / Gennarino ‘O Sioux 12” – featuring both the original and Leo Mas  / Fabrice mixes – is released next week on Archeo Recordings.