Beppe Loda EP on People In The Sky

Beppe Loda is another pioneering Italian dj from the same school and era as Daniele Baldelli, and, like Baldelli, his legacy has been been overlooked until recently. In the last five years both of them have been recognized as the innovators they truly were and are. Without them, the genre known as Italo disco might never have happened or at least wouldn’t have spawned as many forward looking records before the bidness men got hold of it and turned it into a Stock, Aitken, Waterman bubblegum Frankenstein.

Loda is currently enjoying a renaissance of his sound and is djing all over Europe to celebrate it. The UK label, People The Sky have tracked down some of his old productions from the mid ‘80s under the Egotrya monicker and released them with two remixes. The tracks, “Wind” and “Volcano,” appear in their original form and are augmented with remixes by the cosmic Irishman John Daly (who lives in Salthill, Galway and hangs with my old friends back in the wesht) and Belgian electro discoers, The Revolving Eyes.

The record drops today and it’s killer, all four tracks are lush, wide screen Italo monsters capable of turning the club into a madhouse. The original version of “Wind” and Daly’s mix of “Volcano” really do it for me as they’re full of cinematic drama, electronic textures and uplifting melodies. Scoop it if you see it.

Orr