My Friend Dario Cosmic | Balearic 3 Items

My Friend Dario is back on Hell Yeah this August with more of his low tempo, high-temperature dance floor bombs. Dario has been carefully nurtured by label head Marco over the course of a few fresh EPs in the last year. Just before this EP lands he will release on Nu Northern Soul, and earlier in the year he served up a stunning live set at the foot of iconic volcano Etna, so is very much part of the current wave of Balearic tastemakers. Opener 'Desertico' has already been caned by Alfos chief Sean Johnston who recognises the power of its heavyweight chug. Over the course of nearly ten minutes and two epic breakdowns, the tune builds on supple techno pulses, with tense synth phrases keeping you in suspense before the drop brings a sense of tropical rain and thunder. 'Sunset Outro' was the last track from his live set and gets your heady amongst the clouds. The churning drums, wooden hits and lush chords are dreamy yet heavy and have an effortlessly hypnotic effect that will lock in any dance floor. These two tunes prove My Friend Dario can do no wrong right now.

Dario Aiello’s first EP for NuNorthern Soul as My Friend Dario, Cosmic Sailing, was one of the label’s most inspired releases of 2020 – a six-track musical voyage into the unknown that cannily combined elements of Balearic disco, ambient, turn-of-the-90s Italian dream house, horizontal jazz-funk and colourful synth-boogie.

With such strong musical motifs and instrumentation to work with, NuNorthern Soul boss Phil Cooper decided to ask some well-established producers and friends-of-the family to put their own spin on the Sicilian producer’s EP. The result is Cosmic Sailing Remixed, a four-track set of reworks that takes Aiello’s mesmerising, atmospheric and enveloping cuts to whole new musical places.

Crazy P’s Chris Todd dons his now familiar Hot Toddy guise for an EP-opening revision of ‘Neve Su Acireale’. Todd makes the most of Aiello’s Pat Metheny style jazz guitar motifs, teasing the track in via an ambient intro that recalls both the Orb’s earliest singles and Steve Reich classic ‘Electric Counterpoint’. After building tension through loose-limbed, progressively more intense drum fills, Todd unleashes a glorious Balearic disco groove that carries the track forwards towards a blissful conclusion.

Sometime Music For Dreams, Hell Yeah recordings and Leng contributor Willie Graff steps up next, brilliantly re-imagining ‘Fenice’ as a hypnotic and bass-heavy chunk of Balearic dub disco rich in layered, samba-style percussion, glistening electric guitar motifs and fluid synthesizer flourishes. Later in the track, Graff introduces more elements from Aiello’s original track – twinkling pianos and dream house style aural textures for starters – before adding touches of tape delay to emphasize the track’s dubby dancefloor mood.

Those seeking extremely immersive, mood-enhancing music will be thrilled by Blair French’s tactile, sunrise-ready take on ‘Malvisa’. The Detroit-based musician and soundtrack composer draws heavily on the kaleidoscopic but mellow synthesizer textures of Aiello’s original version while continually adding new layers of percussion and electronic melodies. The result is a swirling, calming remix that should delight home listeners and slow-motion dancers alike.

To round off the EP, Balearic synth-pop specialist James Bright puts his creative stamp on ‘Storm’. In keeping with the warm, tactile and synthesizer-heavy sound of his superb debut album on !K7, Headroom, Bright re-frames the most atmospheric cut on Aiello’s EP and a yearning, heart-aching journey through slow-motion acid lines, twinkling pianos, huggable synth-pop grooves and the kind of sustained chords that feel like they’re wrapping your body in a toasty blanket made of the finest cashmere. It provides a poignant, jaw-dropping conclusion to a high-quality set of imaginative and kaleidoscopic remixes.

Based in the Sicilian coastal city of Catania, Dario Aiello has plenty of chances to longingly stare into the endless deep blue of the Ionian Sea. It should therefore come as no surprise that his debut EP for NuNorthern Soul, Cosmic Sailing, is a six-track musical daydream about a kaleidoscopic sea voyage into the unknown. Although his recording career as My Friend Dario is still in its infancy, Aiello has already made an impact. He won plaudits from Balearic-minded Bandcamp diggers for a string of self-released singles, before offering up a handful of inspired remixes and tracks on a number of releases on the admirably saucer-eyed Hell Yeah! Recordings imprint. Even so, his NuNorthern Soul debut is a big development, portraying him as an accomplished producer and musician with a gift for crafting colourful and inventive musical fusions. Across the course of six tracks, Aiello perfectly sets out his mellow, warming, spacious and mind-soothing approach, smoothly navigating cosmic waters. Opener ‘Fenice’ sets the tone, with the Sicilian producer cloaking rising and falling synthesizer arpeggio lines in twinkling piano motifs, simmering chords and colourful electronic motifs. He channels the spirits of Italy’s turn-of-the-90s dream house movement and horizontal Balearic disco on the impeccable ‘Malvasia’, while ‘Mr Mellow’ sees him mix-up post-electro beats, pots-and-pans percussion and starry electronics to great effect. Aiello’s varied inspirations come to the fore across the reminder of the EP. Check, for example, the rubbery and undeniably intergalactic 21st century boogie bounce of ‘Neve Su Acireale’, where Pat Metheny style jazz guitar flourishes, sparkling synth riffs and elastic slap-bass notes dance around a snappy, early ‘80s drum machine groove. ‘Campagna 2’ goes further, with the Italian smothering a deliciously crunchy drumbeat with warming chords and looped sax samples, while ‘Storm’ sees him calming choppy waters via fluid, slow-motion piano solos, sleepy beats, enveloping musical textures and a handful of atmospheric samples. It’s a breath-taking end to an EP chock full of evocative, ear-pleasing aural treats.