Crash Into Summer with Giovanni Damico’s The Boogie Tracks

Five years ago or so, Giovanni Damico was some kind of one man deep house factory, dropping an avalanche of genre tracks on Fresh Meat, Home Audio and Morris Audio. It’s not a legacy to shy away from (typically producers who change up their sound dramatically are hiding from progressive or some other youthful indiscretion), but he seemed to flip a switch with the release of several records on Lumberjacks In Hell. He wouldn’t be the first to be corrupted by the disco fever of the notorious Marcel Vogel but following All Humans After All, The Essential EP, Afro Stomp on Kalakutasoul and The Sounds of Revolution, Damico has re-emerged as a multifaceted devotee of disco – the good kind – with just enough Italo spice to give his tracks a cutting edge.

The Boogie Tracks, a new LP from Chicago mothership Star Creature Universal Vibrations, plays like a house party DJ’d by Moroder in his prime, swapping records like he’s shuffling cards. “Spazio e Tempo” sounds like Cameo crash landed into Giorgio’s Electric Dreams soundtrack. It’s a diabolically addictive track and straight in line with Star Creature’s electronic funk sound. All of them are, which makes you wonder if this was custom made with the label in mind. Boogie Tracks is studded with instrumental retrofuturist funk masterpieces, including “Bday Mood” and “Boogie Erogeno” and especially “Puma Beat.” You keep expecting something to falter, the skyline to shake and some artifact of the modern age to appear in the cracks and shatter the mood, but it never does. In the context of new boogie, funk and Italo, you’re not going to find a better record released by anyone else this year.

Giovanni Damico: The Boogie Tracks / Star Creature Universal Vibration
1. Giovanni Damico: Spazio e Tempo (04:18)
2. Giovanni Damico: Boogie Erogeno (03:55)
3. Giovanni Damico: Bday Mood (03:14)
4. Giovanni Damico: Puma Beat (02:59)
5. Giovanni Damico: Rise Up (04:02)
6. Giovanni Damico: The G-Sound (03:32)
7. Giovanni Damico: New Directions (04:50)
8. Giovanni Damico: Stream of Souls (03:44)

Out of Time: First published inside #5Mag170 with Shawn Rudiman, Soul Clap’s House of EFUNK, Kastle, Moppy, Melodymann & more. Help support 5 Mag by becoming a member for just $1 per issue.