Description
A long-awaited reissue from Italy's Best Records. The reissue was prompted by German crate-digging DJ Frinda Di Lanco. It was mastered by Dom Scuteri and includes two edits by George Hysteric, an Australian DJ/producer known as one of the leading authorities on Italo Disco.
Roaring Mosquitoes is a female duo consisting of cousins Agostina Casalino and Antonietta Casalino. Known for their sensual vocals and physical performances, their two tracks share the same sense of rhythm and aesthetic while reflecting different roots and inspirations.
"You Aren’t With Me" does not attempt to redefine the genre, but instead fully embraces pop-dance accessibility. Starting with a short intro, it features clear verses and choruses and relentlessly repeated melodic hooks, creating a structure that intuitively draws the body into the dance floor. The arrangement is characterized by tight electronic drums, sinuous basslines, clean guitar riffs, sharp synths, and the use of chorus. Melodic and rhythmic developments reminiscent of "Tonight... Crazy Night," produced by Canadian artist Dorine Hollier with Pierluigi Giombini at Rome's Titania Studios in 1984, can be heard throughout.
On the other hand, "Ah Ah Ah Ah" features a bright, bouncy sound and playfully incorporates ideas that Diego Pepe sampled from a Micky & Joyce track. It strongly evokes Jean-Pierre Massiera's "space disco" spirit and the influence of the French scene around 1979, developing polyphonic synth strings, echoed hi-hats, and a futuristic soundscape. Combined with modern-edged basslines and processing, it brings out both vintage and modern appeal.
An essential release not only for Italo Disco fans but also for anyone tracing the lineage of electronic dance music.
A1. You Arent With Me
A2. You Arent With Me (George Hysteric remix)
B1. Ah Ah Ah Ah
B2. Ah Ah Ah Ah (George Hysteric remix)
Further enrich this reissue - masterfully remastered by Dom Scuteri - with two his splendid edits is the Australian DJ-producer George Hysteric, one of the world’s foremost authorities and a leading figure in Italo Disco.
The juxtaposition of the two songs performed with grit and physicality by cousins Agostina Casalino and her cousin Antonietta Casalino (aka Roaring Mosquitoes) highlights two aesthetically and rhythmically similar approaches, yet with different roots and inspirations.
"You Aren’t With Me" has the merit of not wanting to reinvent the genre, but exploits the familiarity of pop-dance forms, obtaining an immediate catchiness. The piece stands out for its linearity while reworking melodic mechanisms typical of the 80s new wave: short instrumental intro, well-defined verse-chorus, obsessive repetition of melodic hooks that make it an immediate and “dragging” song on the dance floor.
The arrangement focuses on a solid electronic drum groove, sinuous basslines, clean guitar riffs, “cutting” keyboards and the use of the chorus typical of the Italo Disco of those years. Some passages recall the melodic line and rhythmic progression of “Tonight... Crazy Night”, an intriguing song that the Canadian artist Dorine Hollier created in 1984 at the Titania Studios in Rome with the arranger Pierluigi Giombini.
Even with "Ah Ah Ah Ah" which features a vibrant and cheerful sound there's a playful use of citation for some idea that Diego Pepe took from a Micky & Joyce track. It evokes the “space disco” spirit of Jean-Pierre Massiera and the influence of the French scene of 1979: polyphonic synthetic strings, echo effects on electronic hi-hats and a vaguely futuristic atmosphere, but with an even more captivating sound revitalized with more scratchy modern touches and compressed basslines.
A mix of vintage and contemporary that enhance its charm.
