Italian master, London based Stefano Ritteri takes centre stage for the latest edition of Shir Khan presents Black Jukebox — number 32 in this illustrious series. This one is a chiefly electro-flavoured affair, joining the dots between the genre’s past, present and future across four slick tracks — with a dash of garage at the end.
‘Slow Tripping’ is a homage to the charismatic boogie sound of the early ‘80s, resplendent with beautiful melancholic melody and a wistful air. As the name suggests, the lazy beat perfectly compliments the array of dreamy sounds, and there’s a definite nod to French disco/electro/hip-hop fusions of days gone by.

‘Donna’ is a collab with Mytron (Bordello A Parigi, Multi Culti)which continues the chuggy theme, its gently swaying synth arpeggios and unhurried beat recalling some of Soulwax’s more pared back material. Its simple arrangement is kept engrossing with synth automation and subtle atmospheric touches.

‘Brutesque’ strips things back to an almost minimalist approach, where twanging, monotone sounds slowly morph over a taut backbeat and a variety of bleeps and blips. With its spoken word sounds and Krautrock-ish mixture of sounds, it recalls the work of Public Service Broadcasting.

‘Robot Love’ takes its cues from the sweeter side of 2-step garage, bubbled down to a more laconic pace. Cute melodic refrains and big reverbs adorn the stuttering rhythm to make for a colourful, atmospheric, reflective track. More

time to welcome another newcomer to Freerange with a brilliant debut that has already been gaining a lot of interest from early spins. Stefano Ritteri should be a familiar name to many, having dropped several well- received releases on key labels such as Pets, Rockets & Ponies and Get Physical as well as his own monthly Rinse France radio show. A producer in the old school sense, he has the ability and desire to flip from deep, emotive and down tempo jams to the most impactful, high energy floor fillers, all with a deft touch and unique and experimental spin. The Italian producer, now relocated to London, has a studio chock full of vintage synths and hardware outboard which keep him inspired and ensure his output sounds fresher and fatter than most, as can be heard on this excellent two-tracker entitled A Different Happiness EP. The title track is a spaced out, percussion-heavy jam which takes a minimal approach but wins hearts and minds with an ear-worm of a melody that gets gets you hooked in from the start. Snippets of spoken word add to the intense atmosphere making this one of those sure-fire, perennial tracks which can work in a variety of sets and still guaranteed to make an impact and stand out in the crowd. Flip over for Pocket Melody, another simple yet effective and inventive track which sees Stefano letting loose on his synths and coming up with some warped Zawinul-inspired vibes in the process. The playful melody snakes around in an improvised way whilst the dubby drums and classic analogue machine beats ensure everyone stays locked into it's hypnotic groove. Definitely a producer to watch for us and we're sure Stefano is on track to continue making some amazing music. We hope you love this as much as we do! More