Music Without Labels
How good is this!! it's a must have and scheduled for plays on Music Without Labels radio shows on Soulpower-radio and Totally Wired Radio.
GALATHEA is the new project created by DJ Massimo Napoli, and the title of his first album.
Galathea comes from Greek mythology. She is one of fifty ‘nereids’ – nymphs of the sea, daughters of Nereo and Doride. Such an image points the way to the atmosphere that pervades this new production: dub sounds, spiritual sounds and African settings.
Whilst seeming to be a mixture of ideas, the album conceals a strong personality that establishes Napoli as a creative force. This creativity stems from a focused attitude to club culture with an emphasis on electronic dub which then evolves into a myriad of influences and styles that makes Galathea a unique listening experience.
Mediterranean culture, Afro, cinematic melodies, jazz, spiritual sounds and hypnotic settings lead the listener into an unconscious escape. Galathea’s ten superbly mixed tracks succeed in demonstrating how a skillful production that uses fluidity and a mixture of genres, can naturally evolve into a dream–like journey.
SPIRITUAL WIND – The essence of spiritual jazz music can be heard on the central 5/4 rhythm, the deep double bass line and the operatically informed voice.
AFRIQUE – The melodic line and the rhythmic Nigerian Afro-funk blends with the dub sounds; the result is a song that’s innovative, heavily loaded and powerful, but also a fine listening experience.
DUNE – From Africa to the Caribbean, the dividing line is narrow: ‘Dune’ references Cuban and Puerto Rican culture. But the atmosphere that distinguishes this track is the interplay between Latin rhythms and dub sounds.
BLACK SAND – An Afro dub jazz composition enriched by dub sounds and African instruments accompanying a poignant and intense vocal performance.
SCIROCCO – The warm and hypnotic atmosphere of this song with Asian hues is reminiscent of the Shurhùq or midday wind – a warm wind that blows from the southeast over the Mediterranean Sea. The result is an explosive mix of musical cultures with the addition of dub spiritual sounds.
SIMETO – Asian influences merge with jazz. The delicate sitar fits perfectly with dub sounds, like the river’s ripples gently flowing towards the sea. Simeto (Symaithos in ancient Greek) is a name derived from a river that flows into the Ionian Sea from the slopes of Etna.
SUNSET DUB – Composed in collaboration with musician producer Salvo Dub, with a dynamic and percussive first section followed by minimal dub and electronica.
SIRENS – This could be called the ‘song of the sirens’. An ethereal and percussive track enhanced by the sound of the sea, sea birds and the haunting sirens’ voices.
KARMA BLUES – An Afro blues track with real impact. The presence of kora and reggae singing perfectly colours the recording, rendering the composition delicate and atmospheric.
THIS IS AFRICAN JAZZ – The sounds of the Savannah inspired the development of this track and takes the listener on an intense and spiritual journey accompanied by African dub and percussive sounds.
AMANECER – Meaning, the appearance of daylight, as though it were a sweet soundtrack that welcomes the sun, while the strings accompany the sound of the sea and the singing of sea birds.
MASSIMO NAPOLI is a DJ from Catania, Sicily, with a passion for jazz and black music. He began his musical career in the early ’90s playing funk, hip hop and acid jazz in the most influential clubs in his city, contributing to the spread of the most eclectic and refined sounds in Sicily.
He was one of the founders of the musical projects Piatto Forte and Nero Espresso at the Mercati Generali, as well as the main promoter of the Funky Summertime and Wintertime Festival at Ma and Mercati Generali.
For ten years he was curator and resident DJ at the Home project, one of the most representative evenings of the Italian Club Culture, whose mission was linked to the alternative scenes of Afro, Soul, Jazz and Deep House Music. In this period he hosted and shared the console with DJs such as Moodymann, Osunlade, Gilles Peterson, DJ Spinna, King Britt, Rich Medina, Phil Asher, Theo Parrish and many others.
He has produced and arranged numerous songs and formed the collective Koom.h together with the DJ Salvo Borrelli and the musician Salvo Dub, releasing an album together on the Big Sur label.
He has compiled several albums dedicated to African and Brazilian sounds, including “Feel the Beat: Afrofunk” and “Break n’ Bossa 7’’ introducing the sounds of funk to these long-running compilations.
His productions have taken him around the world, with an intense touring activity between Europe and the USA.
His eclectic DJ sets range from soul, funk and afrobeat to new forms of electronic music, with a strong dose of experimentation, but without giving up completely the classic 4/4 rhythm.
credits
released June 18, 2021
Conceived and produced by Massimo Napoli (Galathea) for Space Echo Records
with:
Salvo Dub: bass and keyboards
Gendrickson Mena: trumpet and flugelhorn
Haruna “Jalimansa” Kuyateh: Kora
John Lui: vocals on “Karma Blues” and “Black Sands”
Kadi Koulibaly: vocals on “Afrique”
Mario Pappalardo: electric piano and piano on “Aurora” and “Spiritual Wind”
Recorded in Nicolosi/Catania at Salvo Dub Recording Studio
mixed by Carlo Longo at Nuevart Studio
all tracks written by Massimo Napoli and Salvatore Bruno.
lyrics on “Karma Blues” written by Marco Pettinato
mastered by Giovanni Versari @ La Maestà
DJ Massimo Napoli from Catania, Sicily, with a passion for jazz and black music. He began his musical career in the early
’90s playing funk, hip hop and acid jazz in the most influential clubs in his city, contributing to the spread of the most eclectic and refined sounds in Sicily.
His eclectic DJ sets range from soul, funk and afrobeat to new forms of electronic music....more
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